Blog Hound: Congressional Hearings On Steroids In Baseball

Following yesterday's hearings on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, in which George Mitchell, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, bloggers discuss whether federal intervention will meaningfully aid the process of reform.

BUILDING THE BUZZ: Sports Media Challenge's Buzz Manager analyzed the online buzz about the hearings. Bloggers who felt the proceedings would move baseball’s drug reforms further along were counted positive, making up 38.46% of the posts. Bloggers who felt Congress’ involvement would do little to promote change were tallied negative at 46.15%, while 15.39% were neutral. Click here for more info. Visit www.SportsBusinessDaily.com for more info.

• The topic ranked 7 of 10 on The Buzz, indicating a high level of interest.
• Positive sentiment stemmed from bloggers who felt baseball had undergone real reforms to its drug policies since Congress first intervened.
• Negative sentiment came from bloggers who either felt Congress would be hindered by the Mitchell Report's lack of concrete legal evidence, or who argued the body should stick to pertinent issues and let baseball handle its own problems.