Feb. 9: Keep Only "The Light" On At UM And Give ARod Back His Money

By Sylvia Gurinsky

University of Miami President Donna Shalala - former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services - should say "thanks, but no thanks" to Alex Rodriguez, give him back his money, cancel Friday's dedication ceremony and leave Mark Light's name as the only one at UM's baseball stadium.

Here's a link to UM's page about what is set to be renamed Mark Light Field:

http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/facilities/mifl-mark-light-field.html

Assuming what Sports Illustrated, an excellent magazine, reports about Rodriguez is true, it's not in keeping with the spirit the Light family had about the school or its baseball program. Nor is it keeping with the high standards head coaches like Ron Fraser and Jim Morris have set for the program.

Neither is it in keeping with Shalala's history; just a year after Mark McGwire, who is now generally acknowledged to have used steroids, supposedly broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record, Shalala launched an investigation at HHS of the effects of steroids on youths. A lot more is known now, a decade later.

And Shalala should know enough to bring UM's partership with Rodriguez to an end.