A guy on that sports station that's not EEI was saying how people like me, who talk about Andy Pettitte's not fessing up until he was caught, are "self-righteous." He asked, "who ever fesses up before they're caught," and brought up the classic "cheating on your wife" comparison. (You know, as if no listeners have husbands, but that's a "whole nother" issue.)

I never said "Andy should've fessed up before he was caught like everyone else does." I am a member of this society and I know all about the cheating that goes on it, and how many people would go so far as to take a lie all the way to their deathbed. But that doesn't make it right. Some people act like the worse crime is getting caught than doing the deed. People hear about someone cheating on their spouse and doing something stupid that gives them away, and they say, "how could you be so stupid?!" Instead of "how could you cheat on your spouse?!" So, right there, we've got a faction of people for whom cheating is a given--the "right" thing to do is avoid getting caught.

Andy Pettitte is a very religious man. I'm not saying religious people should be held to higher standards. Nor am I saying that I think religious people are more law-abiding or moral or in any way better than anybody else. But we're talking about a guy who speaks out on behalf of his god on why you should do good. And while he was doing that, here's what else he was doing:

1. Cheating at his profession by taking human growth hormone to try to get a competitive edge (whether he chooses to admit that last part or not.) "But everybody was doing it!" Would Jesus jump off the Brooklyn Bridge if everybody else did? No, and not just because he'd hit the water like it were solid earth. Actually--can Jesus control when he walks on water? I mean, if someone was drowning, could he dive down, or is the surface always hard to him? Moving on...

2. Not admitting the first cheating episode, before going and cheating again in the same way.

3. Keeping the secret to himself. Lying to god and Jesus every night in his prayers.

4. Upon hearing about a huge investigation into the exact kind of cheating he did in his sport, continuing to not admit what he'd done.

5. Upon being caught for cheating once, finally admitting it. But just the one time. The other half, he'll continue to lie about.

6. Upon being asked to testify before government officials, admitting to the second time he cheated.

So I'm still trying to figure out what makes him a classy, stand-up guy. If he now gets caught cheating on his taxes, and then admits it, does that count as another case of cheating and lying, or is he still classy for admitting it after being caught, since it's a different form of cheating? Do you get that one mulligan for each form of cheating? What makes a "stand-up" guy? If another player is a prick to fans, wears baggy clothes and a crooked hat, runs his mouth, and is an atheist, but never cheats, is he better or worse than Andy Pettitte?


[Hey, why does my girlfriend keep asking me why I "hate Andy Pettitte so much"?]

Oh, and the front page of the NESN site has the complete, 20-minute cockpit video of Wakefield. In addition to "holy schnikes," he also says, "oh my laundry."