Ok, I'm going to be very blunt. Anyone who is surprised that there is a potential NFL steroid scandal brewing is stupid. I'm sorry...maybe I should soften that statement a bit.

Here's a softer version: Anyone who is surprised that there is a potential NFL steroid scandal brewing has had their head in the sand and is truly not aware of the brutal nature of football, and why NFL'ers would enthusiastically use steroids.

Bear with me for a minute as I take a little detour in order to provide y'all with some background info.

Dr. James Shortt, an alternative practitioner from South Carolina, is under criminal investigation by the Feds for his role in the deaths of two of his patients to whom he gave hydrogen peroxide infusions. There is some belief that hydrogen peroxide can provide relief from - or cure - diseases like cancer and Multiple Sclerosis.

However, most legit evidence indicates that such treatment is quackery.

For these folks who died, hydrogen peroxide apparently isn't the panacea it's advertised to be. As a matter of fact, the coroner who examined Katherine Bibeau in May of 2004, one of the unfortunate victims of Dr. Shortt's therapy, said that she died from internal bleeding due to multiple organ failure.

Mrs. Bibeau's family has filed a federal suit against Dr. Shortt claiming that the good doctor ignored Mrs. Bibeau's complaints following the infusions and failed to act on the clear signs that Mrs. Bibeau was in "acute hemolytic crisis."

In July of 2004, another of Dr. Shortt's patients, Michael Bate, who suffered from prostrate cancer, died. In September of 2004 the Feds stepped in and confiscated Dr. Shortt's files, and from this confiscation it was learned that Dr. Shortt had prescribed steroids to several Carolina Panther football players.

So here we are in March of 2005, and it seems as if several Carolina Panthers have taken advantage of Dr. Shortt's easy prescription writing hand. And quite frankly, quackery aside, Dr. Shortt makes some very good points when he defends himself from the charges that he engaged in improper activity when he prescribed steroids for football players.

Dr. Shortt says that he only prescribes steroids for legitimate medical reasons. Here's a great quote from the good doctor, and pay attention because this is all that you need to know about steroids:

"Do I consider healing and repair, and regeneration and recovery, and working at optimal function, a legitimate medical function? Yes."

In this one passage Dr. Shortt has provided the definitive reason every athlete in the world finds steroids attractive. Forget about the increase in muscle mass and how much harder that you can train while taking steroids. Forget the silly arguments put forth by Barry Bonds and other athletes that try to make the point that they don't use steroids because drugs can't help a person hit a ball better.