getting on top of an issue.

You can complain about the unbalanced relationship between the NFL and its players' union (and I have regarding the disability payment plan for veterans), but you can't knock the league and the NFLPA for reacting appropriately to the bizarre situation Shawne Merriman's positive steroid test put them in this season, and it looks like players who test positive for steroids won't be eligible for individual awards or Pro Bowl honors come next year.

Now, the baseball folk like to slag on responses like this -- it makes them feel better about the comparative slug-like response by Selig and Fehr -- but, if true, the league is getting out in front of this, and as Roger Goodell talked about in his big presser pre-Super Bowl (which largely becomes a defense of league policy, bad zebra calls, etc.) , at least they're trying. Until we get a good blood doping test for HGH, it'll be tough, but at least the NFL is being reasonably proactive for pro sports, which is by its very nature, reactive and conservative. It probably has to do a lot with players like Jason Taylor and Champ Bailey talking about it out in the open, though -- you don't get that kind of unanimous reaction from sports with better unions.