Steroid Nation

Lenny 'Nails' Dykstra to occupy state prison for 3 years; Nailed for grand theft auto...HGH found in raid

Long time bad boy Lenny Dykstra will be calling a California State prison home for three years after one of his innumerable schemes landed him in trouble.  Dykstra was sentenced for GTA:

Lenny Dykstra, the former professional outfielder for the New York Mets, received his sentence on charges of providing false financial statements as well as grand theft auto. After pleading no contest, Dykstra was sentenced Monday to serve three years in a California state prison.

Dykstra’s scam involved claiming a line of credit through a fake company in order to lease luxury automobiles from unsuspecting car dealerships. After Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ulfig denied his request to withdraw his plea, Ulfig said that the scam showed extensive planning and sophistication for which he was ultimately sentenced 3 years in prison.

The 49 year old former professional baseball player has had an unfortunate string of run-ins with the authorities resulting in legal repercussions including the most recent sentencing. The ex-New York Mets outfielder has found himself in a downward spiral which has ripped him from the enchanted lifestyle of a professional athlete to a sober living facility and now California state prison.

Dykstra stored some HGH, along with other illegal drugs at his SoCal palace:

Dykstra was arrested in his Los Angeles home by police who found ecstasy, cocaine, and synthetic human growth hormone (HGH) in his possession. After his initial not guilty plea on all 25 counts, Lenny Dykstra decided that it was in his best interest to change his plea to no contest and prosecutors decided to drop 21 counts in exchange for his change of plea.

Dykstra, infamous for ripping off several professional athletes with his financial advice' has been involved with (short list):

• Drug possession
• Bankruptcy fraud
• Indecent exposure

Dykstra's lawyer played a violin for the poor fellow, who has long been known to be out of control:

“No way this wasn’t a probationary case. To Give him state prison is outrageous. I find it disgusting.”

Dykstra has been ripping off people for decades.  One could point out that it is disgusting to let him run around  unfettered.

Nails claimed he was a steroid pioneer - he and Jose Canseco:

“You know,” Lenny finally said, breaking the ice, “I was like a pioneer for that stuff (steroids).”

• Randall Lane: Jim Cramer Stock Touting Scandal“Excuse me, Lenny?”

“The juice. I was like the very first to do that. Me and [José] Canseco.”

He straightened up, as he prepared, somewhat proudly, to reveal his role in this dangerous, unseemly history.

Dyskstra's Phillies 1993: 19, 66, .305 and a contract for 25 million.  Dykstra has long defrauded fans and friends.

Should Barry Bonds be immortalized outside of ATT Park? Holding a syringe?

From the Sacramento Bee, comes this item on the possibility of a Barry Bond statute outside of AT&T Park:

It's safe to say Roger Clemens won't have a statue of his likeness outside Fenway Park.

Not just because of his link to steroids and legal troubles, but because Clemens went on to win two championships with the New York Yankees. In Boston, that's unforgivable.

A statue of Sammy Sosa outside Wrigley Field? Not going to happen.

A statue of Mark McGwire outside Busch Stadium? We're not here to talk about the past, sorry.

A statue of Barry Bonds outside AT&T Park? Hold the phone a second.

Does Bonds deserve to be immortalized with a statue of his likeness – his arms raised as he watches home run No. 756 sail over the center-field wall? Should he join other Giants greats – Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda – who have statues?

Some Giants fans will say that while they cheered for Bonds before his arms, chest and head made him look like a cartoonish figure, he disgraced the game by using performance-enhancing drugs.

Others will say none of that matters; he provided them with memories that will last a lifetime. Besides, how can the Giants not honor a Bay Area son who is baseball's all-time home run king (wink, wink)?

Though the Giants benefited from Bonds' home run era, they are in no hurry to decide on a statue, and they will continue to keep a polite distance from their former star for now.

The Giants most likely will wait to see if Bonds is elected into the Hall of Fame in his first ballot later this year. If he is, it's just a matter of time before a statue is unveiled.

Why not put a bronze Bonds outside the park?  Maybe a statue of Bonds holding a syringe?  Or Bonds with gynecomastia from 'roiding?  How would you pose Bods to immortalize the career home-run leader?

Kirk Radomski, steroid dealer, pushes supplements

Kirk Radomski, who supplied all kinds of unhealthy PEDs to professional athletes is now concerned about health.  As noted in the Daily News, Radomski pushes supplements, like Mass Arrival X0Treme.

A man wearing a blue lab coat and a shower cap pushes a hand truck loaded with 249 boxes of dietary supplements out of the factory loading dock and toward the GMC Acadia. The next chapter in the life of Kirk Radomski — the man who supplied steroids and human growth hormone to dozens of major leaguers for 10 years — has begun.

“I want to see people lose weight,” Radomski says as he and his partner, Steve Cohen, loaded boxes of “Mass Arrival X-treme,” a supplement that boosts testosterone levels, into Cohen’s vehicle. “I want to see people get bigger muscles. I want to see them live healthier live...

“I’m a convicted felon, but that didn’t stop people from coming up to me and asking my advice about supplements,” he says. “I really couldn’t recommend a lot of products. There are a lot of companies out there that shouldn’t be in business. They put illegal ingredients in their products.

Radomski is free to engage in business activites, of course.  What is bizarre is that people ask him about supplements and nurition.

Like asking a street narcotics dealer what to use for pain relief.

Roger Clemens lawyer Rusty Hardin on society

Here is Rusty Hardin's quote on society. 

We would add: Hopefully we haven't reached a stage in this country where you lie under oath about something you DID do.

Clemens) high-priced legal team, led by Rusty Hardin, probably is happy, too, as those legal bills really will start to pile up now. Clemens, 48, faces up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted, though he'd probably serve fewer than two years under federal sentencing guidelines. But he wanted no part of a plea bargain, instead vowing to pitch his way out of another jam.

"Hopefully," Hardin said at a news conference Thursday in Houston, "we haven't reached a stage in this country where you have to admit to something you didn't do."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100821/OPINION03/8210397/1129/sports0104/No-surprise-in-way-Roger-Clemens-is-handling-indictment#ixzz0xLMp4i

One

Early takes on the Roger Clemens indictment: Oath and narcissim

Numerous comments followed the Roger Clemens indictment accusing him of perjury in a congressional hearing.  Some hit the mark, some miss.

One illogical column in the Detroit Free-Press reasoned Congressmen are liars, and therefore should indict themselves rather than Clemens.

Congressmen of all party affiliations can blatantly lie to their constituents and often the only crime committed is their re-election. But if you lie to them, your address could change to Leavenworth.

Ah ... the sweet elixir that is hypocrisy.

There's no defending Roger Clemens if he indeed lied under oath to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during his nationally televised testimony in January 2008.

If he's that stupid, voluntarily putting himself in this mess, he deserves all the humiliation he gets. I suppose he's employing the George Costanza Principle -- "It's not a lie if you believe it's the truth."

But Congress' relentless pursuit -- a six-count indictment against Clemens for obstructing justice and perjury -- nonetheless comes across as arrogant for a legislative body that has a hard enough time holding itself accountable.

Sigh.  The principle here is that under oath, a witness shall not lie in a congressional hearing.  How does pursuing truth amount to egotistical?  Does the writer not understand that the justice system is based on veracity under oath.  It continues:

These political hacks can't understand that Clemens' and Bonds' career legacies and personal reputations already are shot regardless of what Congress says or does. Nobody really cares if Clemens and Bonds spends a second in federal prison, because the court of public opinion already has tried and convicted them, sentencing them to a life of open scorn and ridicule.

OK dude, the world is not all a sports driven event.  Because Barry Bonds will not make the Hall of Fame, justice is not served under oath.

The message is that when sworn in a court or a hearing that the truth needs to come out -- or simply shut up.  Clemens was not compelled to testify; He could have declined the opportunity.

Journalists speculate why Clemens might have distorted the truth (which we don't really know that he did). The Rocket is NOT delusional.  Clemens knows reality; he does not think green men are bugging his cell phone.

However like other powerful men, acclimated to power and adulation, the narcissism comes out.  This is a man who didn't attend spring training, who flew in his own plane to games.  He didn't play by team rules, and thus why should he play by the usual rules common non-VIPs observe?  (who would pose with his wife for skimpy photo shoots without a huge measure of narcissism?)

Bonds too, suffered from the VIP-adulation-power narcissism where he demanded public attention and worship.  Rules are for mortals, not gods like Clemens and Bonds.  Same reason that John Edwards, Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, George Bush etc etc.  Power, Visibility, Sex...

Imagine if John Edwards were President today...

Cheating be it like Tiger Woods or John Edwards infidelity sense, or with PEDs in the Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens sense is understandable when you look at the aggressiveness of these men.

The cheating may lead to certain consequences, however the cover-up really torpedo these guys.

Should Clemens be indicted?  IDK, however one could predict that Congress will protect the matter of truthfulness under oath.

Roger Clemens indicted for obstruction of justice during Congressional steroids hearing in 2008

In a House of Representatives chamber in 2008, Roger Clemens assured the gathered congressmen that he never took steroids.  US federal attorneys are accusing Clemens of not representing the truth in his testimony.  (from the AP)

Roger Clemens was vehement: "Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH," he told a House committee in 2008. Now, instead of the Hall of Fame, baseball's seven-time Cy Young winner could go to prison after being indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress.

The case writes a new chapter in one of baseball's worst scandals, the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in the 1990s and early 2000s, and leaves Clemens' legacy in jeopardy.

The six-count indictment alleges that Clemens obstructed a congressional inquiry with 15 different statements made under oath, including denials that he had ever used steroids or human growth hormone.

Virginia Congressman Tom Davis relates this about the Rocket:

"Clemens was not under subpoena. He came voluntarily," Davis said. "And I sat there in the office with (committee chairman) Henry Waxman and said, 'Whatever you do, don't lie.'"

Clemens was sticking to his story Thursday. He insisted he was telling the truth, again denying any wrongdoing on or off the field.

Through his lawyer, the veteran Rusty Hardin, Clemens claims  he neither lied, nor took HGH or steroids.  Clemens turned down a plea bargain.

Clemen's ex-trainer Brian McNamee reports he administered PEDs to the Rocket.  One would think that the Government has ascertained other witnesses or other evidence to Clemens' PED use.

Baseball's Mitchell Report mentioned Clemens a few times -- like 82.

Jose Juiced Canseco injected into Texas minor league team

Juiced author and broke entrepreneur Jose Canseco will report to a Texas minor team -- the Laredo Broncos.  Apparently Canseco cannot sell enough steroid books to cover his  bills.

Note the comment by the league president.  He thinks that having a washed up irresponsible ex-major league All-Start is a league highlight.  Celebrity once again trumps intelligence.

LAREDO, Texas -- Jose Canseco has signed a contract with an independent minor-league team in south Texas.

The 46-year-old Canseco, a central figure in baseball's steroid era, was introduced Monday as a member of the Laredo Broncos -- one of six teams in the United Baseball League.

Canseco says he'll play designated hitter, serve as a bench coach and pitch for the team. He'll play in Laredo's remaining six home games this season.

The former slugger named names and detailed steroid use around major league baseball in two memoirs. In one, he admitted using steroids and claimed that up to 85 percent of players also did.

Canseco hit 462 home runs in 17 major league seasons. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1986 and MVP in 1988, after he hit 42 home runs and stole 40 bases.

"My first step was getting back into the game, in whatever way, shape and form," Canseco said. "I don't know how I'll perform physically, since I'm 46 and haven't played at this level in a long time. We'll see what happens."

Byron Pierce, the UBL president, said luring Canseco was "one of the highlights of our league."

In the 1960s there was a TV series about Texas Rangers called 'Laredo' staring William Smith.  Smith looks like he could have taken Canesco. 

Padres acquire 'roider Tejada

In an interesting twist, the San Diego Padres (remember a Padre is a priest) acquired Miguel Tejada, the juiced, who lied in front of Congress about the issue.

Padres eh?

Must need a team leader there...imagine if your employer hired a person who lied to Congress about anything.

The NL West-leading San Diego Padres obtained infielder Miguel Tejada and cash from the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in exchange for Double-A right-hander Wynn Pelzer. Tejada was scratched from the Orioles' lineup before their game Thursday night at Kansas City. The trade was announced a short time later. Tejada is hitting .269 with seven homers and 39 RBIs. The former AL MVP can play shortstop and third base. He has appeared in 93 games in the field this season, all at third base, after having played shortstop in each of his previous 1,846 games.

A-Rod heats up MLB steroids controversy with #600 looming

Let's get the dope straight...nonprescription use if anabolic steroids is/was/will ILLEGAL.  The history was long ago documented here.  So why do writers continue to be wrong about this?

Anabolic steroids are controlled substances.  Nonprescription use is as illegal as using Valium or amphetamines without a prescription.  Sales outside the legal sales chain is likewise a felony.  Why can't people understand that?  From The Bleacher Report:

PEDs have, unfortunately, became a part of baseball. Its gotten so bad that there is an era, known as the Steroid Era, that defines the time in which steroid usage was at its peak. We will really never know how many players actually used steroids before, during, or after the Steroid Era.

The problem with PEDs and baseball is it is impossible to quantify how much PEDs helped players' performance. I heard one person say that at least 100 of A-Rod's home runs shouldn't be counted due to his steroid use, while another thought that since A-Rod hit 91 home runs while in Texas (he admitted to steroid use from 2001-2003 while he played for the Rangers), those 91 homers shouldn't count.

I have a big problem with that thinking. If you are going to diminish home runs, it has to be all or nothing. It is impossible to say whether or not steroids aided any of those home runs that A-Rod hit. In fact, there are actually a lot more factors that affect home runs than just PEDs. Here are just a few of several factors:

• Technology: Baseball bats have come a long way since the dawn of baseball. Now, bats are quite a technological marvel, and the bigger and better sweet spots allow for more power out of the swing. Imagine how many home runs Babe Ruth could have hit if he used the bats that players use today!

• Technology (part 2): Training (without PEDs) is so advanced at this point that players are bigger and stronger than ever. When comparing the accomplishments of players now to players in the early 1900s, it really is like comparing apples to oranges. Yet, we still need to name a home run king in all of baseball history. Is that fair?
• Stadiums: In just New York, the two stadiums are polar opposites. Yankee Stadium is notoriously small, while Citi Field is notoriously large. Can you say that some "cheap" home runs in Yankee Stadium are diminished because they would not have been a home run in any other park? Can you diminish the statistics of players who played in Coors Field when balls were flying out of there before they kept the baseballs in humidors?

The point is, there are a lot more contextual factors that go into records and statistics than just PEDs. If we don't diminish statistics for other factors, we can't for steroids. I know that steroids are an illegal substance, but at the height of the steroid era, they weren't banned by baseball. I really can't blame the players for using PEDs to get any advantage they can, in a game as competitive as baseball, while using PEDs wasn't illegal. Can you?

If the writer is in college he should check his logic.  Illegal is illegal.  If murdering your wife isn't prohibited by baseball, it remains illegal (kicks the dog here in frustration).

Perhaps worse than the failure to appreciate the law, would be the consistent rationalizations for cheating.  Cheating is cheating, there are no excuses.  Considering the widespread cheating in college, and in general, people must b very skillful in scheming excuses. Should your banker steal money from your account because he needed a new car?  He can rationalize it...this paragraph is morally disgusting.

I don't want to condone players using illegal substances, but I can't blame them either. As a college student, I liken the use of PEDs to the use of Adderall, or any other study drug. Due to the rigor of college, tons of students illegally take the perscription drug Adderall like it's no big deal, to study better. It's impossible to know how much better of grades students get from taking Adderall, though, or how many students actually take a study drug. You can't say that a student really got a 3.4 GPA, when his/her transcript says 3.7 and he/her took Adderall. Same thing with steroids.

When it comes to study drugs, there is no testing by colleges for it, so you can't really blame students for trying to get any advantage they can. Same as in baseball, before PEDs were illegal, all players did was try to get any advantage they could.

Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog: MLB allowed stroids to juice the game

In the Daily Herald Barry Rvvner quotes new HOFer Whitey Herzog on steroid and PED use in baseball.  Herzog discusses the attendance factor, the envy factor, and the cheat the old timers factor (assuming they were clean.

Back in the early '90s, it was always amusing when the Athletics got off their team bus in spring training and walked past the Cubs' dugout.

Inevitably, at least one Cubs player would say, "There goes the Oakland Raiders again."

That's how big the Mark McGwire/Jose Canseco Athletics were, and it wasn't just the big boppers.

It was a monstrous team, one that didn't go unnoticed by Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog, who had his own take on steroids this past weekend and remembered when several NFL and MLB teams inhabited the same facilities.

"I think you have to look at the baseball teams that shared stadiums with the football teams," Herzog said, while not specifically naming the Athletics, since the Raiders were in L.A. from 1982 to 1996. "There's a lot of cities where they worked together in the training rooms. The football players were going from 250 to 335 and they got faster.

"Baseball players watched that and next thing you know they had something going.

"I was fortunate I didn't have to manage during the steroid era. I managed during the drug era. I had players with problems. Everybody knows that.

"I often wonder how many games we lost as managers in the '80s because of drugs. But by the same token I wonder how many victories managers got in the '90s because of steroids."

Herzog pointed to the work stoppages of 1990 and 1994 as another factor in the performance-enhancing explosion.

"Baseball was down after the strike and McGwire gets all those home runs (in 1998) and it brought baseball back," Herzog said. "Everybody goes back to the ballparks. So maybe that's where the mistake was made.

"If they stopped it then, maybe we wouldn't have the situation we got. I don't know the answer to that.

"Baseball looked the other way because they didn't want attendance to fall. I don't think it was right, and I don't like that a lot of records were broken. It's hurt a lot of retired players trying to get here (to Cooperstown), and I think it's just plain wrong.''

Big Mac confirms Big Stack: Mark McGwire admits to anabolic steroid use

Apparently trying to avoid a multitude of controversy, The new Cardinal batting coach -- former slugger Mark McGwire -- has released a statement to the press admitting his anabolic PED use.  All is forgiven, welcome home to mother St Louis Mark McGwire.

Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade.`I wish I had never touched steroids,'' McGwire said in a statement.

``It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.''

McGwire also used human growth hormone, a person close to McGwire said, speaking on condition of anonymity because McGwire didn't include that detail in his statement.

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, his final big league team. Tony La Russa, McGwire's manager in Oakland and St. Louis, has been among McGwire's biggest supporters and thinks returning to the field can restore the former slugger's reputation.

``I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come,'' McGwire said. ``It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected.'' He became the second major baseball star in less than a year to admit using illegal steroids, following the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez last February.

American loves a reformed (fill in the blank).  For example Elliott Spitzer is working his way up the business world again, and Martha Stewart is decorating with renewed aplomb.

Perhaps Bernie Madoff could come completely clean about cheating his clients out of billions of dollars then be allowed to serve as SEC commissioner.

While it is true McGwire deserves a commendation for admitting past steroid sins, it is also true that his baseball statistics are simply a fraud.  Any Big Mac career total of offensive stats are frankly a sham.

If a scientist who cheated on cancer research admits that his research was actually fraudulent, would those publications continue to  be allowed as a reference?  (now that depends on his standing and power in the scientific community)

McGwire cheated his sport (and not talking of the merits of PEDs here) and thus should probably be banned as a participant in the sport in the future.  He is a cheat, and now an admitted one.  That may seen harsh, but if baseball has integrity, then cheaters should not  be trusted to participate in any future MLB activities.

Any allowance of an admitted steroid cheat like McGwire means MLB tells us that rules, and that integrity are simply not valued in their world. 

Sports fraud laws should be enacted to punish the cheaters; otherwise a fan should believe nothing about the athletes on the field other that they will destroy the rules as the PED fraud fest continues on.

Sorry, Mark McGwire, but you used steroids to cheat your fellow athletes, an action not all of the MLB conspired in.  You cannot wish away the facts, but you can continue to bask in the stats you put up by cheating.

Keep the head down and inject 2 cc of nandrolone: Mark McGwire to be hitting coach at St. Louis

Once again proving that the MLB really at heart doesn't give a  damn about the steroid problem, St Louis Cardinals appear to ready to announce that hermit juicer Mark McGwire will return to the Redbirds as a hitting coach.  Really?  Hits of what...nandrolone. Need to keep the weight shifted back...try Winny.  Topping the ball...HGH.

McGwire - who could not tell the truth about his illicit steroid use to Congress -- brings exactly what teaching skill with him to the Cardinals?  LaRussa's implicit approval of PED use?

To the Biz of Baseball:

Twitter can be a fantastic tool for breaking news, and this may be one of those cases.

Brian McRae posted the following on Twitter, and then pulled it shortly after, but not before several re-tweeted the news:

My dad is out as Cards hitting coach (Hal McRae).....McGwire is in! (as in Mark)-fire it up boys/girls

ESPNewsService is backing the rumor on Twitter. The only tweet left standing by Brian McRae simply reads, "Good 5yr. run with the Redbirds," yet another reference to his father Hal's tenure with the Cardinals.

No word out at this point from the Cardinals, but don't think many aren't hanging wondering whether Mark McGwire moves out from the shadows to become the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. Stay tuned.

McGwire has kept a low profile after tearfully testifying before Congress regarding possible steroid use during his career. He has fallen short of the required votes by the baseball writers for inclusion into the Hall of Fame.

The news of McGwire coming back the Cardinals may make some sense. Reports on Sunday have Tony La Russa returning as manager of the team. La Russa managed McGwire with both the Athletics and Cardinals.

Let's stoke up those Pujols is a juicer rumors again...

2003 Major League Baseball steroids list: fact or fiction

Apparently a list of 104 players testing positive during the 2003 MLB preliminary steroids testing, surfaced on the net yesterday.  There is no way of knowing the authenticity of such a compilation of names.  It could be fantasy, or it could be a leak -- which did not find outlet through a credible source.

If such a list were available, then why did Senator Mitchell not discover the document during his well-financed, thorough investigation?

Links are found here (Rotoworld) and here (The Big Lead)

MLB fan opinion: High salaries are more problematic for baseball than steroids

The American Chronicle carries a piece on baseball, and the problems fans perceive.  Apparently salaries -- which are set by supply and demand -- are perceived are more problematic than steroid-cheats.

I was watching Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN 2 today (March 2009), when they discussed an interesting survey conducted with baseball fans. The question: What is the one thing that is most responsible bringing Major League Baseball down? Both Mikes thought the majority would say high ticket prices, but this was only 23%.

Even the steroids abuse was only 22%. The answer that received 51% was the high salaries being paid to baseball players. Interesting is it not? Despite all the media exposure of big name ball players exposed as hypocrites and liars about their steroid use. Despite high ticket prices directly affecting their family economics. Exorbitant salaries are what tick fans off the most.

Perhaps this should not be such a surprise. After all, exorbitant salaries and bonuses have been getting even more media attention than steroids as of late. The public is quickly losing their taste for those being paid ridiculously high salaries and bonuses. We see so many examples of pay far exceeding the value that any one person could offer. If you are the owner of a business, then I say that this is an entirely different matter, but if you are an employee (and even a CEO is an employee), of a publicly help corporation, there should be a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders for reasonable wages.

One argument for high CEO pay is that they are being paid according to their peers. If you do not pay, they will leave and move on. The self serving argument has produced a situation in the USA where a CEO makes over 400 times the earnings of the average worker. The next highest country is 29 times the average worker. The boards of directors that are supposed to oversee companies are composed of CEOs. Why wouldn't they participate in the escalation of salaries and bonuses?

If you argue that the business increases and they deserve these extravagant amounts, I would argue the businesses might be charging too much. If we cut baseball player's salaries then this money flows back to the owners. We then put pressure on the owners to reduce the price of attending a ball game. If we cut executive pay, then shareholders, employees and customers should all benefit.

As a nation, we need to make better judgments as to when enough is enough. Why is it that we so envy power, money and fame? Where has it gotten us? Why are we so concerned about what we have rather than who we are as a human being? What would our daily life be like if we were all more concerned with being good people rather than rich people? All we have to do is establish a mindset of sharing the wealth rather than stealing the wealth.

Interesting comment.  We noted the fan survey which rates salaries a problem.  On one hand, salaries are determined by the market o supply and demand.  Ticket prices too.  This is what baseball fans will pay.

On the other hand the high compensation drives the cheating to a degree.

Ryan Theriot and Rick Telander meet: No steroids, no HGH, no bull

ESPN carries a story of reporter/columnist Rick Telander meeting Cub shortstop Ryan Theriot to talk about the column where the reporter discusses the cloud hovering over baseball since the steroid era came to town.  Theroit knew he was not under steroid suspicion, rather his May outburst (5 home runs) was used as a point of discussion about why everyone is under suspicion in the MLB.

The writer and the player met on the field after Sunday's game to discuss the Sun-Times' article and headline that attached Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot's latest power surge to baseball's performance-enhancing drug problem.

Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander waited for Theriot to finish his post-game duties, then talked to him along with myself and two Chicago camera crews. I asked Theriot what his response was to Telander's article and the attending headline, which Telander didn't write.

"I didn't like it very much," Theriot said. "My response would be, it's unfair and kind of hurtful for me just because of the work I've put in and the way I've gone about my business and the way I've lived my life up to this point. To have something like that come out, to me, is just not fair."

Theriot and Telander were very respectful of each other, and Theriot has always answered all the questions asked of him. Sunday was no different. Again, I asked the Cubs shortstop his main contention with the story.

"I understand the article itself and the article had a lot of validity to it, but the lead, headline and even the first few sentences of the story, to me, were a little irresponsible," Theriot said.

The remainder of the article documents the meeting between reporter and ballplayer, an intelligent introspective discourse.  More of what is needed to address the PED problem in the MLB.

Roger Clemens: Over and out...legal and literary

Roger Clemens makes the news again.  Apparently he cannot stand Manny and A-Rod stealing the headlines.

Roger: Out (US AG)

The United State Attorney General Eric Holder, all busy with torture and such, is calling himself recused from the Roger Clemens investigation going on in DC with the FBI. Apparently the Rocket showed Mr. Holder how to throw a backdoor slider.  From Reuters:

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has removed himself from the criminal probe into whether baseball pitching great Roger Clemens lied to Congress about steroids, a Justice Department spokesman said on Thursday.

The FBI began the investigation more than a year ago after Clemens denied in testimony before a congressional committee that he used performance-enhancing steroids. His former trainer testified Clemens had used steroids and human growth hormone.

Department spokesman Matt Miller said Holder was recused because he previously worked at Covington and Burling, a law firm that had represented Clemens.

Roger, meanwhile continues to maintain that Brian McNamee injected his rocket rear with PEDs.  The Toronto Star carries this one:

Clemens again denied that former personal trainer Brian McNamee injected him with performance-enhancing drugs in a phone interview on ESPN. "He's never injected me with HGH or steroids," Clemens said of McNamee's assertions to baseball investigator George Mitchell...

Clemens said he chose to speak out yesterday because it was the release date of a book about his alleged drug use.

"It's important for me to do that," he said. "I've seen excerpts of the book and they're completely false. ... You know, guys, it's piling on. It's hurtful at times. But I'm moving on."

Clemens must have some reason for fervent denials.  A deal with McNamee "Don't ask, don't tell what you're injecting".

Others are moving on too from the Clemens affair...like the Hall of Fame voters.

Lou Merloni: Did a physician inform MLB players how to use steroids?

MLB.com carries a story about Red Sox minor league player Merloni's recollection of a seminar on spring training while he was with Boston.

Former Red Sox utility man Lou Merloni said Saturday on Comcast's "The Baseball Show" that he remembered a Spring Training meeting in which a doctor explained to players how to use steroids intelligently and without abuse, according to multiple reports.

Merloni's exact quotes, according to The Boston Globe, were: "I'm in Spring Training, and I got an 8:30-9:00 meeting in the morning. I walk into that office, and this happened while I was with the Boston Red Sox before this last regime, I'm sitting in the meeting. There's a doctor up there and he's talking about steroids, and everyone was like, 'Here we go, we're going to sit here and get the whole thing -- they're bad for you.'

"No. He spins it and says, 'You know what? If you take steroids and sit on the couch all winter long, you can actually get stronger than someone who works out clean. If you're going to take steroids, one cycle won't hurt you; abusing steroids it will.'

"He sat there for one hour and told us how to properly use steroids while I'm with the Boston Red Sox, sitting there with the rest of the organization, and after this I said, 'What the heck was that?' And everybody on the team was like, 'What was that?' And the response we got was, 'Well, we know guys are taking it, so we want to make sure they're taking it the right way.' ... Where did that come from? That didn't come from the Players Association."

The Red Sox angrily denied the allegation:

Boston's general manager during Merloni's Red Sox tenure, Dan Duquette, responded angrily to Merloni's claims, according to The Globe.

"It's ridiculous -- it's totally unfounded," Duquette said. "Who was the doctor? Tell me who the doctor is. If there was such a doctor, he wasn't in the employ of the Red Sox. We brought in doctors to educate the players on the Major League drug policy at the time at the recommendation of Major League Baseball. This is so ridiculous, I hate to even respond to it."

In fact, there were occasions when physicians presented steroids in a favorable light, in particular Dr. Robert Millman, of Cornell.  Here is what John Rocker said about a presentation:

The loudmouth former reliever said he and then-Rangers teammate Alex Rodriguez, among others, were advised in spring training of 2002 by management and players' union doctors on how to use steroids in a way that is "not going to hurt you."

Rocker said a doctor hired by the Players' Association pulled aside himself, A-Rod, Ivan Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro following a spring training lecture and candidly told them how to use steroids.

"Look guys, if you take one kind of steroid, you don't triple stack them and take them 10 months out of the year like Lyle Alzado did," the doctor told him, Rocker said yesterday during an interview on the Buck and Kincade Show on WCNN-680 The Fan in Atlanta. "If you do it responsibly, it's not going to hurt you."

Here is the account from the Mitchell Report"

During baseball’s winter meetings in Nashville in December 1998, baseball executives and team physicians heard a presentation from Dr. Millman and Dr. Solomon on baseball’s drug policy. One attendee, Dr. William Wilder, was then the team doctor for the Cleveland Indians. In a memorandum to then Indians general manager John Hart that he wrote after the meeting, Dr. Wilder reported that the presentation focused on the benefits that could be obtained from testosterone. He was disturbed by the presentation, observing in the memorandum that whether or not testosterone increased muscle strength and endurance “begs the question of whether it should be used in athletics.” He believed there was “no reason that some preliminary literature can’t be sent out to the players concerning the known and unknown data about performance enhancing substances,” and recalled that Houston Astros’ team physician Bill Bryan presented a good overview of these issues with respect to supplements at meetings the previous year.   Dr. Wilder reiterated these observations and views in our interview with him.

Manny Mania: HCG story pregnant with possibilities

A compendium of stories after the Manny Rodriguez HCG story, which is pregnant with possibilities:

1.  Sports Illustrated gives us a time line of MLB steroid use.

2.  I'm back, R-Rod injects himself back into baseball. (USA Today)

3. SI, who must have an army of writers chopping at the bit, surveys MLB cities about Manny.

4.  How does Curt Schilling work his way into this story?

Add you favorites below...

The Dodgers Manny Ramirez: Jacked with HCG, and now suspended from MLB

A zillion media outlets picked up on the Manny Ramirez story today.  AfP carries the outlines:

American baseball hero Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and has been slapped with a 50-game ban, Major League Baseball announced on Thursday.

Ramirez is the first marquee player to be suspended under MLB's stepped-up drug policy which followed the damaging Mitchell Report investigation into steroid use in baseball.

The 12-time all-star Ramirez, who turns 37 later this month, is also the best player in the Los Angeles Dodgers squad who have won 13-straight games at home and have the top record in baseball.

US sports broadcaster ESPN reported that Ramirez tested positive for the drug human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG.

As other reports indicate HCG is used for testosterone support.  The letters stand for human chorionic gonadotropin.  The hormone level rises in pregnancy, which constitutes the urine pregnancy test. Perhaps Manny is simply pregnant?  According to Manny it's a doctor's fault:

Ramirez's ban is effective immediately which means he will not be eligible to return to the Los Angeles lineup until July 3.

Ramirez, of the Dominican Republic, blamed the positive drug test on a doctor, but didn't say whether it was a Dodgers team doctor.

He denied taking steroids and said the problem stems from medication he took for personal use.

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid," Ramirez said. "I have taken and passed 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."

Is it ludicrous to believe Manny?  Not really.  Here are the indications for HCG:

HCG is used to cause ovulation and to treat infertility in women, and to increase sperm count in men. HCG is also used in young boys when their testicles have not dropped down into the scrotum normally. This can be caused by a pituitary gland disorder.

Manny would not be taking the drug for infertility.  Hopefully his testicles have 'dropped down'.  It is concevable (no pun intended) that the hormone was prescribed for low sperm count.  If so, there would be no reason for Manny and his doctor not to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Manny could be using the hormone to boost testosterone after a cycle of anabolic steroids.  If he got nailed in the spring he would have been finishing a cycle in preparation for the baseball season.  Use of an anabolic steroid reduces a man's own natural testosterone production.  Thus the need for a drug like HCG.

Ramirez will lose 50 games and 7.7 million dollars.

As Renault says:  I am shocked, shocked to find that juicing is going on in here!" No one in 2009 should be shocked a star like Manny juices.

Lenny Dykstra, 'Nails' with steroids, a complete sports and business fraud

EPSN compiled an in-depth story on Ex-Philadelphia Philly, Ex-New York Met Lenny Dykstra once known as 'Nails".  Dykstra was a  hustling aggressive ballplayer in the MLB, but when it was revealed that Nails used steroids to juice up his play, his athletic reputation appeared a a bit rusted.  (commentary at Deadspin)  Now, like other steroid cheats (Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Tim Montgomery) we see his business dealings are also fraudulent.

Fish's article looks at the fraud that is Lenny Dykstra's business 'empire'.  Like the fake stats he juiced up in baseball, Dykstra fraudulently juices up his business acumen, massaging the data to look great, meanwhile he lies, cheats, misrepresents, and defrauds his clients, friends and family.

In case you missed the HBO profile last year or the magazine stories that trumpet Dykstra's business acumen, his life beyond baseball includes acquisitions such as hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's old house ("the best house in the world," Dykstra says) in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which he bought for $18.5 million. He drives a black Rolls Royce Phantom with an extended wheelbase, and hires pilots to fly him around in his Gulfstream II jet...

And after thumbing through a series of lawsuits that stretches from coast to coast and chatting up his business associates, you wonder if this aspiring financial Pied Piper is, indeed, living in a fantasyland. You wonder if the dream, built on glitz and greed in a time of economic uncertainty, is a teetering house of cards. You wonder if anyone this side of Bernie Madoff has ticked off more people -- business partners and family, alike -- than Lenny K. Dykstra.

The lawsuits suggest that one of two things is going on here: Either Lenny hates to pay his bills, or he's a financial train wreck.

Just in the past two years, Dykstra has been the subject of at least 24 legal actions, including 18 since November. Three suits hit the courts on Jan. 29. He's been sued by publishers and print companies, by three different groups of pilots and by a Maryland-based financial and litigation consulting firm that offered expert testimony on his behalf in an earlier lawsuit. He's even been sued by a die-hard Mets fan who was the best man at his wedding 20-some years ago, though that New York investor claims there is no bad blood. 

Dykstra cheated at baseball with steroids and PEDs, and it also appears he cheats at business.  Critical point: look at Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and Lenny Dystra.  Heck, look at A-Rod too.  These athletes expose serious character flaws that cheat the games, the fans, their competitors, and now their clients.

Those who say illicit steroid and PED use presents no big deal need to answer to the cheating.  The cheaters are consistently flawed and frequently fraudulent.  Sports fraud leads to business fraud leads to personal fraud leads to a wacky moral compass.

Baseball may not be really important or as revered as devotees think.  Then again, ostensibly the sport offers a break from the stress of life...the sport defines itself between the lines where the setting is controlled and the results immediate.  Man v man, like the old days.  However, the cheating and back-stabbing that now takes place daily in the business sphere, is mirrored between the lines.  Great refuge huh?  Human nature, huh?

If Baseball doesn't give a dran about reputation, let the cheaters go on about their way, and we look on the sport as an interesting pastime, kinda like Vegas.  However devotees demand 'integrity'.  Clean up the game and the records if that is the case  From 1990 on there is little  integrity in the game in the 'Steroid Era'.

Dystra's brother turned against him, after the business burns; guess who supplied Nails with Roids:

Kevin Dykstra acknowledges that he briefed investigators for the Mitchell report as well as Major League Baseball security on what he describes as Lenny's use of recreational and performance-enhancing drugs during his playing days. Kevin says he was a source of the drugs for his brother, even after Lenny's baseball career ended.

And here is what the tainted records are worth:

So Dykstra, an assistant and a driver dash out of his office en route to the meeting, carrying plastic-wrapped bundles of The Players Club magazine. Inside the office elevator, Dykstra lifts his right leg like a dog relieving itself -- he retains a degree of the old flexibility -- and farts.

ESPN writer Howard Bryant calls out 2002 Angels - Giants World Series as apex of steroid juiced MLB

ESPN writer Howard Bryant (Juicing the Game) calls out the players and management of both teams in the 2002 World Series between the Anaheim Angles (Troy Glaus) and the San Francisco Giants (Barry Bonds).   Bryant doesn't spare the doctors, also popping unethical California physician Ramon Scruggs who supplied steroids to the Angels' players.

The cornering of Alex Rodriguez and his subsequent admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs represented, for all intents and purposes, the nadir of the steroid era with few, if any, remaining ambiguities: The A-list, Hall of Fame's best used drugs; and so did the mediocre; and so did the worst. The general managers demurred, the leaders shrank and the men who signed the checks, like everyone else, made a fortune. The shock is gone. Little else can surprise our calloused sensibilities.

That said, the intricate details of just how this confidence game was carried out still carry immense value, for they cement a discredited time with facts instead of speculation. Understanding the foundations of the steroid era also reveals that this industrywide failure stretched far beyond the players connected to Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski or the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. It provides even more evidence that so much of what we've seen on the field during the past decade and a half needs to be recast.

Recently, The New York Times obtained transcripts of interviews by federal agents with four major league players conducted as part of the ongoing criminal investigation of Ramon Scruggs, a physician under indictment for illegally distributing steroids to big leaguers, police officers and corporate executives, among others.

As we have said, dirty trainers, doctors, and health professionals often stand behind the doping curtain:

Meanwhile, dirty doctors such as Scruggs have applied the same cheap excuses for their behavior that we've heard for years from the players. Glaus told investigators he used steroids to recover from a shoulder injury that was not healing. According to the Times, Schoeneweis told federal agents he felt run-down. Greene said he was fearful of losing his spot on a major league roster and so would not be able to support his family. Valdez said shoulder and knee injuries were not healing. Suggs mailed him steroids and syringes.

Each player used an old rationalization -- I wasn't trying to cheat; I was trying to stay on the field -- to soften the appearance of his actions, but the domino effect remains the same. At this late date, the excuses grow thin, the lies nothing more than a self-created noose.

And that 2002 Series pitting Glaus and the 'Angels' v. Bonds and the 'Gaints'.  We will not point out the delicate irony behind those monikors (we just did):

The 2002 Angels, for example, are the legitimate champions of an illegitimate time, just as Bonds is the legitimate home run champion of a discredited era. Despite Angels manager Mike Scioscia's adamant public stand against drugs, people around the game point privately to that club as one of the premier steroid-fueled teams thanks in part to a bullpen rife with career minor leaguers who suddenly began throwing in the mid-90s after their 30th birthdays.

Glaus was the MVP of that 2002 World Series, which is looking more and more like the definitive Steroid Series. Glaus, Brendan Donnelly and Schoeneweis, all of whom have been implicated, played for the Angels that season. On the Giants, there were Bonds, Benito Santiago, Marvin Benard, David Bell and Rich Aurilia. And that doesn't include the players who were suspect.

Bryant's exleeent writing is very dense reading, packed full of fact and logic.  Excellent piece.

Gary Sheffield launches tainted home run *500*

One more milestone, one more 'asterisk'.  Gary Sheffield luanched home run #500 in Citi Field for the New York Mets.  Here is what the New York Daily News says:

"Everything happens for a reason," Sheffield would say. "There's a reason I hit 19 homers instead of 20 last year. Doing it on the biggest stage, it makes it that much more special to me." Then he talked a bit piously about "a higher purpose" and "a bigger reason."

Sheffield is only the 25th player to enter the 500 Club, the fourth oldest, yet his accomplishment deserves one of the larger asterisks handed out in the steroid era. His election to the Hall of Fame is far from assured, despite this statistical feat. Sheffield has admitted to using a performance-enhancing cream back in 2001 while claiming he had no idea at the time about its chemical makeup or potency. He is named in the Mitchell Repor

If the feat sells more caps and jerseys and tickets it's all OK.  Like one big MLB Ponzi scheme.  Of Sheffield recieved one penny for each home run, he could buy one share of CitiBank Stock...

His narrative on that subject is about as believable as the tales we have been hearing from Marion Jones and Barry Bonds all these years. Friday night, no reporter was going to bother Sheffield about such things when the slugger showed up at the postgame press conference with two children on his knees and his wife at his side. And again, if you think the crowd at Citi Field cared in the least about any of this in the seventh inning, down a run, then you don't know much about baseball fans. They'd cheer the cream itself, right there in the container, if they thought it could win them a pennant. "We needed it in a big way," Jerry Manuel said of the homer.

MLB players -- Glaus and Schoenewies -- talk of relationship with steroid doctor Ramon Scruggs

Major league baseball players Scott Schoenewies and Troy Glaus recounted their roles in steroids and HGH use,prescribed by renegade physician Ramon Scruggs.  Scruggs appears to be a significant source for illicit PEDs for a number of athletes.  The information form the New York Times was found in federal documents preparing for a Scruggs prosecution.

When an All-Star third baseman needed help recovering from a shoulder injury, he knew from one of his agents whom to call: a doctor who mailed him steroids and syringes without ever seeing him.

A journeyman catcher, fearing he would not be able to support his wife and children if he lost his spot in the major leagues, reached out to the same doctor.

A pitcher who was feeling worn down followed the same path, but another pitcher who was plagued by fatigue found an alternative: he said a team doctor injected him with steroids.

Ok, now we have gotten over the human interest pity for the players, let's get to the heart of the story.  The MLB players, despite knowing the drugs were illegal found a doctor who supplied them with illicit prescriptions.  Forget the fact that there is no good research (especially at the time) of the regenerative porperties of the PEDs, it was simply illegal.

The account hints that Schoeneweis even used inside information on drug testing timelines because he was the player rep of the club, to avoid detection

Glaus said he was “willing to take the risk” because he needed to play, according to a report written by the federal agent who interviewed Glaus. Schoeneweis said he knew when players were tested because he was his team’s union representative, according to the report, though Schoeneweis said in an interview last month that the agent misinterpreted him. A basic tenet of effective drug testing is that the element of surprise is essential. The accounts of Glaus, Schoeneweis, catcher Todd Greene and pitcher Ismael Valdez were written by federal agents who interviewed the players as they gathered evidence in the case of Ramon Scruggs, an anti-aging doctor who was indicted last year on charges that he illegally wrote prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone to the players, business executives, police officers and others.

Scruggs not only decides his own law, but his own interpretation of medical research:

“These players benefited from restoration, not performance enhancement,” Scruggs said in a telephone interview. “Steroids don’t make someone a good athlete or a bad athlete; they may make you stronger, but they don’t make you a better athlete.”

Dude, increased strength makes you a better athlete.  Basic.

Athletes and doctors may be involved, as well as agents. Wonder if the players thanked the agents for the great guidance. 

Glaus and Greene testified before a federal grand jury that they were referred to Scruggs by their agents, Mike Nicotera and Gene Casaleggio, according to people with knowledge of the testimony who insisted on anonymity because the information is sealed by a court order.

Here is the way Scruggs worked:

There was a buzz about Scruggs’s name at the Texas Rangers’ spring training facility when Valdez, the pitcher, arrived after signing as a free agent before the 2002 season.

Valdez told the investigators he had pain in his shoulder and knee, and contacted Scruggs, who mailed him syringes filled with steroids.

Mail order medicine...

Jose Canseco says A-Rod a "Canseco copycat"; Manny Ramirez "most likely 90%" steroid user

Jose Canseco spoke on the USC campus this weekend.  Always ready to unload some new juice Canesco bashed a few more fellow ball players.  (LA Times source)

About his retirement from baseball:

1998 has made him reconsider things. After long telling anyone who'd listen that he might not have made the big leagues without steroids, maybe the year in Canada shows he could have become a star without drugs. He holds tight to this new notion.

"I have regrets," he says. "The way people look at my career was compromised by using. Then the whole thing fell apart. . . . I was cut off. Not being able to play at 36. That's how old I was when baseball colluded to keep me out. They were sending a message to all the other players: 'Stop using, or you will be like Jose.' "

On Alex Rodriguez, A-Rod's 'roid use:

What about Alex Rodriguez, the audience wants to know? Canseco calls the Yankees third baseman a Canseco copycat, from the steroids to the dalliance with Madonna. He scoffs at the notion Rodriguez is telling the whole truth about his drug use.

On Manny Ramirez:

What about Manny Ramirez? someone asks.

Canseco laughs and offers his theory. A-Rod was exposed only when his name was leaked from a list of 104 major leaguers who in a 2003 test showed up positive for steroids. Because the test was anonymous, those names were not supposed to be made public. But in Canseco's mind, baseball's power brokers know who is on it: players he is sure will be seen as toxic if the truth comes out.

He says this, despite the fact that A-Rod isn't being treated as toxic, nor are other players who were caught up in the steroid scandal but publicly apologized, including Miguel Tejada, starting shortstop for the Houston Astros, and Andy Pettitte, a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees.

Why didn't Ramirez get a long-term deal? Canseco asks. Why were owners gun-shy about signing arguably the game's best hitter?

Never mind that Ramirez was asking for a mega-deal at age 36. Or that he was negotiating in a sickly economy, while weighed down by the heavy baggage of a surly reputation. Canseco will have none of it. To Canseco, the drawn-out negotiation, the lack of a long-term deal, the lack of interest all raise red flags, and so he tells the Bovard crowd that Ramirez's "name is most likely, 90%," on the list.

Canseco admits later that he has no way of knowing. But it makes sense to him, so he threw it out there -- kaboom! -- swinging for the fences, still.

Interesting that Canseco didn't bash USC linebacker Brian Cushing while he was at it...Canseco just doesn't give it up does he?  Also noted in the article was that Canseco continues to take testosterone, although therapeutic at this point...if you believe that.

Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts discusses breaking the A-ROD on steroids story

SI reporter Selena Roberts, who was initially trashed by AROD, discusses her role in the story of A-Rod juice:

On controversy involving breaking the A-Rod steroids story: "I learned a lot at the Orlando Sentinel, where I had on-the-ground training many years ago covering the Magic ... Certainly there's a bit of a backlash on me personally. I'm a big girl, I can handle that sort of thing. That goes with the business we're in. ... The goal is always the same -- to get to the truth."

 If you want to listen to Roberts' entire interview, click here and wait a few seconds for the download: Download SelenaRoberts

Tejada receives one year probation for lying to Congress about steroids

So if you lie to Congress during hearings -- repeatedly -- you receive a one year probation where you promise not to lie to Congress again for one year?  The Houston Chron goes into this:

Drayton McLane loves it when his players do community work, so he has to be thrilled Miguel Tejada has agreed to do an extra 100 hours this summer.

Nice going, Miggy. Way to represent The Good Guys.

Incidentally, who decided a $5,000 fine was any way to punish a guy making $13 million? Couldn’t the feds have ordered Tejada to pay whatever the government spent proving he’s a liar?

Anyway, about eight seconds after Tejada’s plea-bargain agreement was announced, the Astros issued a statement saying how happy they were to have this whole thing behind them.

In other words, let’s all forget that this guy is a cheat and that we got fleeced on this trade.

As for Tejada, he hasn’t exactly been forthright. He has confessed to what he got caught doing and nothing more. And there appears to be more there.

He played the contrite card when he showed up at spring training until someone asked about his use of steroids and HGH.

He bristled and said he wasn’t going to talk about it. Now that’s coming clean.

He doesn’t have to admit anything. The Mitchell Report does it for him. It’s right there on page 201 along with photo copies of checks to ex-teammate Adam Piatt for $3,100 and $3,200.

Piatt said he provided Tejada with steroids and human growth hormone, but he has no way of knowing if Tejada actually used the stuff.

We don't want a witch hunt do we?  Lying and cheating professionals should never be hunted down to answer for their peccadilloes.  The Astros don't think so:

....the Astros have handled this thing from start to finish (with) Ethics be damned.

First, they said they had no idea Tejada would be included in the Mitchell Report. This spring, McLane changed his story, admitting the team had discussed the issue and made the trade anyway.

Translation: We don’t care if a guy is a cheat as long as he helps us win games. There’s a good message for the youngsters in there somewhere.

That’s how baseball operated during the steroid era. If the ballparks were full and the home runs long, if everyone made a lot of money, then why bother with the annoying details?

Miguel Tajeda to receive sentence for steroid perjury today

The Houston Astros' Miguel Tejada will appear in federal court today to learn what his sentence will be for lying to a Congressional investigation into steroid use in major league baseball.  It sounds like justice will go easy on Tejada because he said he was sorry for lying about steroids.

Six weeks after pleading guilty to misleading Congressional investigators about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, Miguel Tejada is scheduled to receive his sentencing in Washington, D.C.

Tejada traveled to the nation's capital on Thursday and is expected to receive probation, as recommended by prosecutors. U.S. attorney Jeffrey Taylor wrote in a memo last week to Federal Magistrate Judge Alan Kay that Tejada should get a reduced sentence because he has publicly apologized for his actions and has no criminal history.

Tejada, a five-time All-Star and the 2002 American League Most Valuable Player, was accused of giving false statements about his conversations with another player, former Athletics teammate Adam Piatt, about steroids and human growth hormone. Tejada also admitted he didn't reveal information to House committee investigators in August 2005 about whether or not his ex-teammate Rafael Palmeiro took steroids.

Tejada lied about is age for years; it would appear he is generally hopeless in matters of veracity.  However, he does have a fat contract.

Steroid prophet Rick Helling, hired by MLB Player's Association

The LA Times says that Rick Helling, once the prophet of steroid corruption in the MLB, will be hired by the players union.

Rick Helling's major league career was nothing remarkable. He won 20 games for the Texas Rangers in 1998, albeit with a 4.41 ERA, but mostly he showed up every fifth day and ate a lot of innings.

But Helling, a Stanford product, was active in the players' union. In the winter of 1998-99, following the season in which Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivated America with the race to set the single-season home-run record, Helling stood up at a union meeting and said--this according to an excerpt from Joe Torre's book, "The Yankee Years"--what prompted Time magazine to label him "The Man Who Warned Baseball About Steroids."

He told his fellow union leaders that steroid use by ballplayers had grown rampant and was corrupting the game.

"There is this problem with steroids," Helling told them. "It's happening. It's real. And it's so prevalent that guys who aren't doing it are feeling pressure to do it because they're falling behind. It's not a level playing field. We've got to figure out a way to address it.

"It's a bigger deal than people think. It's noticeable enough that it's creating an uneven playing field. What really bothers me is that it's gotten so out of hand that guys are feeling pressure to do it. It's one thing to be a cheater, to be somebody who doesn't care whether it's right or wrong. But it's another thing when other guys feel like they have to do it just to keep up. And that's what's happening. And I don't feel like this is the right way to go."

What Helling had just done was the equivalent of turning up all the lights, clicking off the music and announcing the party was over. "He was the first guy," David Cone said, "who had the guts to stand up at a union meeting and say that in front of everybody and put pressure on it."

Back in the day, Donald Fehr disputed Helling's account.  However:

The news: Fehr hired Helling as a special assistant this morning. From the union's news release...

Interesting.

Cal State Fullerton editorial on steroids in baseball

From the Daily Titan, an interesting take on the PED/steroids in baseball issue:

Today’s baseball players are cheating just as their forefather’s before them, but their means to an end have far more severe consequences.

Gone are the days of spitballs, sandpaper and Vaseline. Now there are new buzzwords such as HGH (human growth hormone), performance enhancers and “the clear.”

There is never a good reason to cheat, but at least the old-timers were doing it to win, not to inflate stats and get a few extra million in their wallets. The bigger concern remains with what the long-term effects of using steroids will be.

Not only are the best players in the world using them without any regard for themselves and their long-term health, they are also jeopardizing the youth that idolize them so much.

With owners, the media and everyone in between turning away from the problem at the beginning, the use of performance enhancing drugs has quietly become acceptable for college and high school players looking to make the leap into professional sports.

There are no guarantees in sports. The lives of millions of student-athletes shouldn’t be at stake because it has become acceptable in the professional level. There is no reason to be using any illegal substances to improve your level of play.

Yes, everyone wants to be the best and have a chance, but by allowing baseball’s promiscuity with drugs get to this point everyone is now at risk.

Major League Baseball, Bud Selig in particular, has to step in and finally put an end to this mess...

Albert Pujols, now and then...Juiced?

Newsday carries a piece on the Albert Pujols story.  Did he or didn't he (juice with steroids)?

In the meantime, Albert Pujols - considered the best player in baseball who hasn't been linked to steroids - denied ever using steroids or PEDs in an article in last week's SI.

Color me cynical, but I'm not ready to call him Mr. Clean. I'm not saying he's drugged up, not by any means, but we've been burned so many times by athletes that we are trained to scoff at their denials. Sad, but true: when someone denies, I shrug and move on.

What else is there to do?

Look at the cover of a recent Sports Illustrated.  Compare with a cover of Muscle and Fitness a few years ago.  Are people decelerating their muscle and fitness or is there another reason Pujos appears so svelte?  Dramatic change.

Houston Astros sign another alleged juicer: Ivan Rodriguez

The Houston Press reports that the Astros signed Pudge Rodriguez today...In the great Texas tradition of ignoring steroid use.

After denying interest for most of this past year, the Houston Astros yesterday inked catcher Ivan Rodriguez to a one-year $1.5 million contract that also includes $1.5 million in incentives. Reportedly, the Astros had not been interested because he didn't mix well with pitchers, but supposedly Astros ace Roy Oswalt had been pushing the team to sign Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is known as one of the game's greatest catchers, having won 13 gold gloves for defensive excellence along with seven Silver Slugger awards for his hitting power. Over the course of his 18-year career, he has got 2605 hits, 524 doubles, 295 homers, 1217 RBI, and 1253 runs. He's got a career .339 on-base percentage with a.457 slugging percentage and a career .301 batting average. He was the 1999 American League MVP, and he was the 2003 MVP of the National League Championship Series.

He split last season between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees, where he hit a disappointing .276 with 110 hits, 20 doubles, 7 homers, and 55 RBI in 115 games with only a .319 on-base percentage and a .394 slugging percentage. It was partly because of those stats, and rumors of alleged steroid use, that Rodriguez went so far into spring training without signing a contract...

As for the steroid rumors... so what? The way the team and fans have embraced Miguel Tejada shows that nobody really gives a damn about players using steroids. And Rodriguez is a far superior player to Tejada, and always has been.

Why no positive for 'boli' (primobolan) in MLB testing for A-Rod?

Newsday wonders why Alex Rodriquez who admitted to using primobolan for at least 3 years, did not test positive for the anabolic steroid?

The MLB and MLB Players Association agreed to the 'screening' test in 2003.  As we know Sports Illustrated found credible information that A-Rod was among those players who tested positive.  However, according to the Mitchell Report, no MLB player tipped the scales with primobolan.

On Feb. 17, Alex Rodriguez held a news conference at the Yankees' spring training complex in Tampa intending to set the record straight about his steroid use, which had been reported by Sports Illustrated the previous week.

Nearly a month later, many of the questions raised by the original story have been answered...

If A-Rod really was taking Primobolan from 2001 to 2003, why didn't he test positive for that specific drug during the random survey in 2003? There may be a perfectly innocent explanation. Baseball needs to provide it...

...according to a breakdown of the drugs the players tested positive for in the 2003 survey released along with the Mitchell Report, not a single player tested positive for Primobolan.

According to the breakdown that was made public, 73 players tested positive for nandrolone, a hardcore oil-based injectable steroid also known as Deca-Durabolin; 26 for stanozolol, also known as Winstrol; eight for elevated levels of testosterone; five for boldenone, also known as Equipoise; three for methandrostenolone, or Dianabol, and one for clenbuterol, technically not a steroid at all but a bronchodilator used by athletes to cut fat.

Interetesting that no player tested positive for primobolan.  Also interesting that only 8 players tested positive for 'elevated testosterone'  Do we have any information that MLB looked at T:E ratios?  Onlny 8 positive for the most popular PED?

Consider A-Rod himself: Does this cast credibility on his story... or the man responsible for the testing?

Right now, baseball does its own in-house testing, by a lab contracted to work for Major League Baseball, and all results are evaluated by one man, Dr. Bryan Smith, who of course is paid by Major League Baseball.

(Dr. Smith also is the man who signed off on 106 therapeutic exemptions for players diagnosed with ADD, allowing them to use drugs such as Ritalin, a powerful stimulant, without penalty.)

This is not to impugn the integrity of any of those entities or individuals, simply to ask how much more reliable the data coming from them would be if the testing were administered by an entity entirely independent of the people it is testing.

Will A-Rod's donations lead to way to increased funding for the Hooton anti-steroid effort?

This Houston Chronicle carries a story on Don Hooton's effort at educating youngsters on the dangers of steroids and PEDs.  The Taylor Hooton Foundation from Plano TX received a nice donation from Alex Rodriguez following his steroids admissions.

THe Hooton Foundation often draws the ire of bodybuilders for being anti-steroid, however the foundation's effort target youngsters.  There would be universal aggreement that adolescents should not be exposed to the drugs.

Don Hooton doesn't buy the notion that Alex Rodriguez is damaged goods in corporate America.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

The suburban Dallas father whose son's suicide was linked to steroid use started the Taylor Hooton Foundation to honor the 17-year-old's memory and try to fill what he saw as a void in educating youth on the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

Fundraising has been modest, and the list of athletes joining Hooton's cause is short. Hooton believes both could change after he attended Rodriguez's first news conference since the New York Yankees third baseman admitted using performance enhancers from 2001-03. Rodriguez, an 11-time All-Star, used that forum two weeks ago in Florida to announce his intention to help Hooton's foundation.

Hooton is hoping Rodriguez can give his foundation access to corporate sponsors it hasn't had before. He is unfazed by derisive alternatives to Rodriguez's iconic nickname, A-Rod, or that the steroids admission meant Rodriguez lied in a nationally televised interview in 2007.

"If you ever went ... to Gamblers Anonymous and were going to take a lesson, you don't go to the guy that's never gambled," Hooton said. "If you think back to the last five or six years, who would you reach out to? Who is clean? At least we're dealing with a known quantity here. And certainly just from notoriety and visibility, we could not have found a better player, I think, to associate with..."

More on the Taylor Hooton Foundation after the jump...

Anti-Steroid, anti-doping crusader and IRS agent Jeff Novitzky under the spotlight

ABC News posts a story on the journey of IRS agent Jeff Novitzky, who once tried out for Lute Olson at Arizona basketball, as he crusades against steroids and  doping and some say too zealously Barry Bonds.

The story starts in a California courtroom where Novitzky participated in the BALCO trial of Victor Conte.  And it will continue in the same courtroom:

Sometime in the next few months, Jeff Novitzky will walk back into the same 10th floor courtroom, raise his right hand and swear to tell the truth in the case of the United States v. Barry Lamar Bonds. He will say that Bonds lied in that same courthouse five years ago when he told the grand jury he never knowingly took steroids. And then he'll wait for the jury to decide if baseball's home run king was telling the truth.

But no matter what the jury decides -- and face it, most of us have already made up our minds about Bonds -- it is clear that the detective and his gun has replaced the scientist and his test tube. What isn't clear is whether Jeff Novitzky is part of the solution -- or if he's now the bigger part of the problem. 

Novitzky's early life was highlighted by the Olson connection:

There is nothing about Novitzky's life before Balco that suggests a man destined to direct the biggest investigation in sports history. Or one who would crave or abuse power. He grew up the son of a Bay Area hoops coach, a basketball and track star who still owns the San Mateo County high jump record of 7 feet. Coming out of high school in 1985, he tried out for Lute Olson's Arizona University basketball team. When he fell short, Novitzky returned home to play backup forward and teammate to his big brother at San Jose State.

His athletic career over, Novitzky got a degree in accounting and took a job in San Jose with the IRS's criminal division, a select group of agents who use tax laws and their guns to bust up all sorts of criminal operations.

After the jump we examine more of the extended story on Novitzky...

HGH a growth industry in the Dominican Republic

The Caribbean is getting slammed today about PED suspicions.  In line with that, the New York Daily News reports the HGH can be scored in the DR, perhaps easier scored there than in the USA.

Hardcore steroids aren't the only drugs easily obtainable in the Dominican Republic. Human growth hormone - baseball's scarlet letter - is available on the black market in Santo Domingo, in Dominican supplement shops and even in the island's pharmacies.

Sometimes even without a prescription.

Baseball banned HGH before the 2005 season, but does not test players for the substance as there continues to be debate on the reliability of an HGH blood test. The league's current drug testing program uses urine samples only, and HGH cannot be detected in urine. Doping experts believe HGH use among athletes, particularly baseball players, has increased in recent years since a reliable HGH test has yet to be adopted in all sports.

Interest in the Dominican increased when A-Rod said his cousin smuggled in some Primobolan for the slugger's use.  HGH may also be scored in the DR:

Most steroids are legal in the Dominican, and last week a Daily News reporter was able to buy testosterone enanthate, a syringe and the oral steroid Dianabol at a pharmacy there without a prescription.

Human growth hormone is only legal in the Dominican Republic with a prescription, according to Milton Pinedo, the president of the Dominican Federation of Sports Medicine and a member of the Dominican Olympic Committee.

"By law, you need a prescription to obtain growth hormone here," Pinedo told the Daily News Thursday. "But a lot of the time you can get it without a prescription."

Pinedo said that he did not think HGH use in the Dominican was as big a problem as steroid use.

Several Dominican pharmacies contacted by The News Thursday, including the chain Farmax, said they do not sell HGH. One Farmax employee said HGH can be bought at health clinics with a doctor's prescription, and that HGH is generally prescribed for "extreme medical conditions," such as AIDS wasting.

But two other Dominican sources said HGH is easily accessible - in bodegas where milk, rice and food are also sold, or in supplement stores that sell a wide variety of performance-enhancing drugs. One source said that walking into any Dominican gym will yield whatever drug an individual desires.

HGH is not cheap, however. A bodybuilder who sold a News reporter a 10-cc vial of Primobolan last week in Santo Domingo - the same steroid that A-Rod tested positive for in 2003 and that he allegedly used during 2001-03 - said that a supply of HGH would run 20,000 pesos, or $571. That amount is good for five injections. The 10-cc vial of Primobolan - good for two injections in a week - costs approximately $95.

Ex-White Sox player Ron Kittle says Jose Canseco should watch his back

Ron Kittle, an ex-Rookie of the Year for the Chicago White Sox expresses his fears for the health and safety of steroid user/singer Joe Canseco.  Touching,and perhaps true.  True as steroid supplier to the NFL, bodybuilders, and the police David Jacobs found out in Plano TX (possibly whacked).

The Chicago Tribune tells the tale:

Former White Sox slugger Ron Kittle says he fears for the safety of steroids whistle-blower Jose Canseco.

Canseco, an admitted steroid abuser, was chastised when his first book came out in 2005 linking several big-name players to performance-enhancing drugs. Subsequent revelations impugning the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have vindicated him.

"My first thought was: 'I wonder who's going to be the first one to shoot him,' " Kittle said Monday. "I still think somebody who might have had their life ruined might take vengeance on him. If I were [Canseco], I would think about that.

"That's how I look at things. Maybe it's the wrong way, but I think in [bad] economic times when kids are exposed to it and they get to the big leagues to make the money, they will do [steroids]. But it's the wrong path. It's a quick fix."

Canseco, Kittle said, crossed a line when he chose to expose others.

"There is a sign in just about every clubhouse: 'What you see here, what you say here, let it stay here when you leave here,' " he said.

Wow, interesting warning.  As with track, cycling, and football, the code of silence that keeps player's mouths shut and the syringes active.  Did Kittle, a decent slugger ever use 'roids:

Kittle, the American League Rookie of the Year in 1983, said he was never tempted to take steroids.

"I knew it was accessible," he said. "I had known about [steroids] for years. When I broke my neck in the minors, I saw people using stuff like that to get their health back into shape.

"But I was more scared of my father than I was of anything else. I thought that if I did something stupid, my father would probably take my life away anyway."

Kittle knows the tell-tale signs of juicers:

"I could pretty much tell who had been on [steroids]," he said. "You can tell by their complexion, their temperament and their size. One year you take a picture of them and the next year it looks  like a before-and-after. It's not a thing to hide. But it is unfortunate that it has been brought out in the open like this. It is damaging to MLB. And it is damaging to the people who played in MLB."

A-Rod extras: Does this ever stop?

Like Roger Clemens before him, R-Rod might learn that being in the media spotlight is not good.  All kinds of stories coming out:

The Winnipeg Free Press tries to wrap things up on A-Rod.

 Say what you will about Alex Rodriguez -- call him A-Roid or A-Fraud -- but what the Yankees slugger has been doing since his hands were caught in the steroid jar promises to be a fascinating experiment of human sociology.

The Baltimore Sun says MLB is interested in A-Rod's buddies including Angel Presinal.

Primobolan in not OTC (over-the-counter) says the Dominican Republican via the Miami Hertald.

An official in the Dominican Republic is disputing one of Alex Rodriguez's statements in his news conference Tuesday, ESPN Deportes reported Friday.

Rodriguez said earlier this week in Tampa that he and his cousin, Yuri Sucart, purchased an over-the-counter drug, which he identified as ''boli,'' from a pharmacy in the Dominican Republic between 2001 and 2003. But Primobolan, one of the drugs that Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for, is not available for legal purchase with a prescription in the Dominican Republic, ESPN Deportes said. The network quoted Pia Veras, who oversees the agency that regulates pharmaceutical drugs in the Dominican Republic.

''What Alex Rodriguez stated in the press conference doesn't make sense,'' Veras said. ``It is important for us to clarify that such substance has not been registered, and is not currently registered for legal sale in Dominican pharmacies -- not now, and the same applies for the years 2001 to 2003.''

Alex Rodriguez -- A-Rod -- tight with steroids/doping tainted sports trainer Angel Presinal

This isn't good news for A-Rod fans.  If fact one wonders why the press didn't uncover the relationship between A-Rod, his 'roided cousin Yuri Sucart, and infamous juiced-trainer Angel Presinal.  However, the New York Daily News now links the tainted trainer with the tainted Yankee slugger.

Embattled Yankee Alex Rodriguez has had a long relationship with a steroid-linked trainer who's been banned from major league clubhouses, four independent sources told the Daily News.

Angel Presinal, who was banned from private areas of every MLB ballpark after an October 2001 incident involving an unmarked gym bag full of steroids, has been tight with the Yankee slugger dating back to his time with the Texas Rangers, several sources said.

A former New York-area scout says Presinal, whose named surfaced in the Mitchell Report, was with Rodriguez in New York and Miami as recently as this past fall.

MLB has warned players to stay away from him.

Presinal who carries a big stick in Dominican sports, made ESPN in 2007:

Presinal has been a persona non grata around the majors since an October 2001 incident in which he and former two-time American League MVP Juan Gonzalez, then Presinal's top client, were connected to an unmarked bag discovered by Canadian Border Service agents at the Toronto airport. The bag had come off a Cleveland Indians charter flight and, according to a New York Daily News story last summer, contained anabolic steroids and hypodermic needles. Gonzalez, an outfielder with the Indians at the time, told Canadian Border Service agents that the bag belonged to Presinal. Presinal disputes that it contained steroids, but contends the gym bag and everything in it belonged to Gonzalez. Canadian authorities never filed charges against either the player or the trainer, but rumors about the incident have festered throughout baseball ever since.

Continued after the jump...

San Francisco judge bars positive steroid drug tests in Barry Bonds trial

Judge Susan Illston barred federal prosecutors from introducing 3 positive blood tests in Barry Bonds perjury trial to begin later this year.  The AP reports this story.  (New York Times story here)

Evidence in court must adhere to rules unique to courtrooms, and good for that.  However, the judge cannot banish those positive tests from the minds of baseball fans and Hall of Fame voters, where Barry Bonds really lives...tainted forever.  (BTW Bonds is looking pretty old in the photo)

A federal judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors cannot show jurors three positive steroid tests and other key evidence in the slugger's trial next month.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the urine samples that tested positive for steroids are inadmissible because prosecutors cannot prove conclusively that they belong to Bonds. The judge also barred prosecutors from showing jurors so-called doping calendars that Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, allegedly maintained for the slugger.

The judge said prosecutors need direct testimony from Anderson to introduce such evidence. Anderson's attorney said the trainer will refuse to testify at Bonds' trial even though he is likely to be sent to prison on contempt of court charges.

However the judge did not bar us from continuing the story after the jump...

A-Rod cousin down in Miami: Pressed flat, Alex Rodriguez's cousin uncovered in Miami

Trying to recover after the ritual 'under-the-bus-throwing' A-Rod's cousin appears to be alive and well, and not talking in Miami.  Forty-six year-old Yuri Sucart survived his ordeal, however is now mum (until the big money draws him out).  Sporting News carries the story:

The cousin who New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said helped inject him with performance-enhancing drugs is living in Miami with his family.

ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that cousin is Yuri Sucart, 46. Sucart's wife, Carmen, confirmed to the website that her husband was the person about whom Rodriguez was speaking on Tuesday. But neither she nor her husband wished to discuss what Rodriguez said.

"I told you my husband has nothing to say," Carmen Sucart told a reporter who visited the Sucart residence Wednesday. "What A-Rod said at the press conference happened and that is all."

The website reported that a man who answered Sucart's cell phone Wednesday said Sucart wasn't there and asked a reporter to call back in 30 minutes. That follow-up call went to voicemail, the website reported.

Rodriguez told reporters Tuesday that a cousin, now known to be Sucart, supplied him with "boli," an "energy booster," after purchasing it over the counter in the Dominican Republic. Rodriguez said he used the "boli" from 2001-2003 while with the Texas Rangers. Doping experts, however, believe Sucart supplied Rodriguez with a steroid named Primobolan.

Sports Illustrated reported Feb. 7 that Rodriguez tested positive for Primobolan in 2003.

ESPN also reported that Yuri Sucart has followed Rodriguez around during the early part of Rodriguez's career, first to Seattle, then to Texas.

"Yuri was a mule, not a guy who would initiate anything," ESPN quoted whom it said was a friend once close to Rodriguez. "He did what Alex told him to. He was only looking out for Alex. He is not a guy who would take the initiative to go out and buy drugs. Alex said during the press conference that his cousin just did what he was asked -- that is perfect for Yuri's MO."

Seems like the press can track down anyone these days.  Can the press verify that A-Rod and his Cous really thought that Primobolan was a mundane over-the-counter injectable drug for weight gain only?

New witnesses to be called in Barry Bonds BALCO trial, including Patroit linebacker Izzo

The Los Angeles Times delineates the list of potential witnesses in the Federal case against Barry Bonds for lying to the San Francisco Grand Jury about PED use.  A few new names surfaced including Marvin Benard, and football player Larry Izzo.

The government's perjury and obstruction of justice case against Barry Bonds includes plans to call witnesses who will testify that they saw the slugger "being injected" and heard him make statements "admitting his use of steroids," according to court filings Friday in San Francisco.

Among its 39 witnesses, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Northern California said it would call upon "the defendant's mistress," Kimberly Bell, former personal assistants and former teammates Bobby Estalella, Benito Santiago, Armando Rios and Marvin Benard, as well as other major league players...

Syringes, human growth hormone vials and documents pertaining to other athletes with connections to Anderson, including Estalella, Santiago, Jason and Jeremy Giambi and New England Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo, are on the government's exhibits list.

The Feds will also present relatively embarrassing testimony from Bonds's ex-girlfriend Kimberly Bell:

In its filing, the government said Bell "will testify that the defendant told her that he was taking steroids prior to the 2000 baseball season. [She] will further testify to personal observations regarding changes in the defendant's body [beginning in 2000] . . . including bloating, acne on the shoulders and back, hair loss and testicle shrinkage," which prosecution experts will testify is indicative of steroid use.

We could do without some of the images that paragraph invokes.

University of Miami (Motto: "Great is the Truth") names baseball stadium "A-Roid Park"

Joining a group of institutions apparently selling naming rights of parks, stadiums, domes, streets, and back alleys, the University of Miami baseball team will be really pumped up (so to speak) when they take the field at A-Roid Alex Rodriguez Park this season.  The university motto is Magna est veritas which means "Great is the truth".  Appropriate to name a baseball park after a player who lied for years about PED and steroid use.

The Miami-raised slugger grew up in the shadows of the park in Miami, which he indicated at the dedication last night in South Florida.   As the New York Daily News points out, A-Rod joked about his recent steroid confessions; we never would have guessed his contriteness would last less than 48 hours now.

Alex Rodriguez's campaign for forgiveness could have begun Friday night. He stood before the most forgiving audience he could get - one that greeted him with a standing ovation - but he made no apology to his fans for cheating them and the game by taking steroids.

For the most part, really, he just made jokes. 

More after the jump

Federal prosecutors to inject surprise witness in Bonds trial: Says she saw Bonds inject

Federal prosecutors say they will produce a witness who saw Greg Anderson inject some boost into Barry Bonds.  The contents of that boost may not matter, but the injection may , as the Feds charge Bonds with lying to a Grand Jury.  Other witnesses, including some ex-baseball teammates of the Giant slugger will also be called to the witness stand.  They all should be on their best behavior, without lies.  To the New York Times:

Federal prosecutors said on Friday that they planned to call Barry Bonds’s former personal shopper at his perjury trial next month to testify that she saw Bonds being injected by Greg Anderson, his trainer.

Kathy Hoskins, the former personal shopper, is the sister of Steve Hoskins, a childhood friend and former business manager of Bonds’s and a person expected to be a key witness against him at trial.

The disclosure, in a pretrial filing by the prosecution, did not say what Kathy Hoskins thought Bonds was being injected with. But that may not matter. In the government’s indictment of Bonds, it said that Bonds lied when he testified before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative in 2003 that he was never injected by anyone other than his own doctors.

Kathy Hoskins “will further testify that she observed interactions between the defendant and Greg Anderson,” the filing said, “including Anderson giving the defendant an injection.”

The trial, slated for March 2, will also produce Giant players like Benito Santiago, and the ever present Jason Giambi:

The filing by the prosecutors listed current and former baseball players — including Jason Giambi, his brother Jeremy and Benito Santiago — who will testify about how they received performance-enhancing drugs from Anderson. The prosecutors said that Bobby Estalella, who played with Bonds on the San Francisco Giants in 2000 and 2001, will testify that Bonds admitted to him that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.

Hoskins, however, was a surprise to the press.

But it was the new information about Kathy Hoskins that was the most surprising development in the filing. Last week, the prosecution was set back when United States District Judge Susan Illston indicated she was inclined to throw out several pieces of evidence against Bonds, including positive steroid tests and doping calendars that the prosecution believes link him to drug use.

But Kathy Hoskins’s testimony underscores that the government is also accusing Bonds of perjury for denying that anyone but doctors injected him.

We would suggest Hoskins watch her back the next few weeks...

Maybe steroids do cause emotional instability: Madonna irked at A-Rod's flight to ex-wife

It appears the entire lot of these people take steroids because each day is some new emotional roller-coaster.  Madonna (we need to shower after typing that name) reportedly went roid rage when she found out A-Rod spent time with his wife, following the steroid story revelations, and didn't run for her steady guidance.

As the San Francisco Examiner tells us:

Even though she’s been spotted stepping out with hottie Brazilian model Jesus Lux, Madonna is reportedly not at all happy that rumored flame Alex Rodriguez is spending time with ex-wife Cynthia in Miami.

“Madge is pissed!” an inside source tells the New York Daily News. After the steroids scandal broke, “Alex ran right home to Cynthia, and to Madonna, this is the ultimate dis.”

“But Alex’s handlers want to make sure he’s as far from Madonna as possible,” the source explains. “He has enough negative publicity as it is.” (Gee, we hadn’t heard.)

Madonna might be mad at the story continuing after the jump too...

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig mulling A-Rod suspension and record book modification

In almost unheard thoughtfulness, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said to USA Today (via NBC News) that he will consider suspending newly admitted juicer A-Rod -- Alex Rodriguez -- and will also consider modifying the baseball record books to account for the widespread use of steroids and PEDs.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday left open the possibility of punishing New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for using performance-enhancing drugs. Selig also said he might consider amending the record book to acknowledge steroids use by players.

Selig told USA Today in a telephone interview he "would have to think about" taking action against Rodriguez, saying the player broke the law by using PEDs. Selig refused to be specific about possible penalties, and he indicated a decision would not be made quickly.

The MLB Player's Association executive Don Fehr brushed off the reports (of course).  The Yankees, likewise, will ignore A-Rods steroid confession; The Yanks desperately need his bat.

Donald Fehr, the association's executive director, told USA Today he was not expecting Selig to take any action. "I would be surprised if there was an attempt to do it," the newspaper quoted Fehr as saying. "I don't know anything about that."

The Yankees have said they would not discipline Rodriguez.

On the issue of changing the records, Selig said he would look into the possibility of reinstating Hank Aaron -- a personal friend -- as No. 1 on the all-time home run list and attach asterisks or some other note to the records of players involved in steroids use. "Once you start tinkering, you can create more problems," USA Today quoted Selig as saying. "But I'm not dismissing it. I'm concerned. I'd like to get some more evidence."

Miguel Tejada to admit to lying: Tejada tatakes taguilty taplea about telying to teCongress

When Miguel Tajada told Congress he didn't know a thing about steroids and PEDs last year, he was as truthful as he appears to be about his age: Not.  This could jeopardize Tejada's 13 million dollar Baltimore Oriole payroll scheduled for 2009.

Today Tejada will plead guilty to lying in front of Congress, which is not generally considered a hit.  To the Baltimore Sun:

Former Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada is expected to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington this morning to a charge that he lied to congressional investigators about illegal performance-enhancing drugs -- telling them he knew nothing though he had discussed steroids with an Oakland Athletics

According to a criminal information document filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia yesterday, Tejada provided "misrepresentations" to staffers from the congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Aug. 26, 2005. It was part of the perjury investigation of former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro.

The document in the misdemeanor charge can be filed only with the consent of the defendant, meaning Tejada likely has reached an agreement with prosecutors and subsequently is expected to enter a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Alan Kay at 11 a.m. today.

The document filing came one day after Major League Baseball was rocked with another steroid scandal when New York Yankees superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to ESPN that he took illegal performance enhancers for three years while with the Texas Rangers.

TaStory continues after Tajump...

Transcript of Gammons-A-Rod interview: Alex Rodriguez dodges all the soft balls Gammons throws

The transcript of the Peter Gammons - Alex Rodriguez interview at ESPN is found here.  A-Rod spewed several notable comments, most of which were crafted to avoid giving out information.  If examined you will find that A-Rod essentially said nothing about PED use, or steroid use, or the situation, and Gammons let him by with the skimming:

1. The A-Rod confession, which went something like this:

When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day.

Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. And I did take a banned substance. You know, for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful.

... The culture back then, and Major League Baseball overall, was very -- I just feel that, you know, I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for that time. I'm sorry to my fans. I'm sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about a substance of any kind, and since then, I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that.

    2.  No admission of what he took as a steroid or PED, or who was his dealer:

And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using...

Again, at the time, you know, you have nutritionists, you have doctors, you have trainers. That's the right question today: Where did you get it? We're in the era of BALCO ... Back then, it was just about what.

There's many things that you can take that are banned substances. I mean, there's things that have been removed from GNC today that would trigger a positive test.

I'm not sure exactly what substance I used. But whatever it is, I feel terribly about it.

So A-Rod, an intelligent, dedicated professional athlete doesn't know what PED he took, how he took it, and who gave the drugs to him, or doesn't remember?  Does anyone believe this?  Would an intelligent reader take a pill, or inject a substance recommended by (apparently) an apparition without knowing the effects or side-effects?

Rodriguez knows substances banned from GNC that cause positive doping tests, however he doesn't recall what doping drug he injected?  Unbelievable.  And yet A-Rod will be widely praised for 'coming clean',  The only thing that happened was a reporter investigated the positive MLB urine tests to expose A-Rod.  He still isn't fessing up to what drugs he used.

Read the entire interview.  A-Rod appears to have a selective demented memory.  He doesn't remember anything about his PED use.  He didn't even know he tested positive (despite the MLBPA claiming they notified positive tests):

Again, at the time of that culture, there was no illegal or legal. It was just -- you have to understand the time. To take you back there, again, people were taking a number of different things, from GNC, to whatever.

To be quite honest with you, the first time that I knew I had failed a test 100 percent was when the lady from Sports Illustrated [Selena Roberts] came into my gym just a few days ago and told me, "You have failed a test."

A-Rod cites GNC, which is laughable.  The people pushing steroids don't work at GNC.  Some -- like - are dead.  Others like Victor Conte are convicted felons.

How did A-Rod respond when faced with a outline lie -- a denial of PED/steroid use -- he espoused how he feels good about 'telling the truth'.  A-Rod skirted every probing question Gammons popped to him...and Gammons let him by with the skating.

PETER GAMMONS: Now, you mentioned the Katie Couric interview. You were asked if you ever used steroids, human growth hormones or other performance-enhancing substances. You said no, flat-out no. In your mind, that wasn't a lie?
ALEX RODRIGUEZ: At the time, Peter, I wasn't even being truthful with myself. How am I going to be truthful with Katie or CBS? Today, I'm here to tell the truth, and I feel good about that. I think my fans deserve that. I'm ready to put everything behind me and go play baseball. You know, we have a great team this year. I couldn't be more excited about the guys that we've brought in, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett ... It's an important time in my life to turn the page and focus on what's next.

A-Rod appeared to save his vitriol for Selenna Roberts who broke the story.  Shoot the messenger.  A-Rod who lied to an NBC reporter (I cannot bring myself to write the words 'Katie Couric'), who cannot actually put the facts out there, is no impugning a reporter who broke the story...fascinating and nauseating:

...this lady from Sports Illustrated, Selena Roberts, is trying to throw things out there that in high school I tried steroids. I mean, that's the biggest bunch of baloney I've ever heard in my life.

I mean, what makes me upset is that Sports Illustrated pays this lady, Selena Roberts, to stalk me. This lady has been thrown out of my apartment in New York City. This lady has five days ago just been thrown out of the University of Miami police for trespassing. And four days ago she tried to break into my house where my girls are up there sleeping, and got cited by the Miami Beach police. I have the paper here. This lady is coming out with all these allegations, all these lies because she's writing an article for Sports Illustrated and she's coming out with a book in May.

Really respectable journalists are following this lady off the cliff and following her lead. And that, to me, is unfortunate.

The biggest bunch of baloney is A-Rods dodge of his steroid and PED use.

A-Rod -- Alex Rodriguez -- admits to A-Roiding

Baseball slugging icon Alex Rodriguez, aka A-Rod, admitted today he gained some of his extraordinary power from A-Roiding.  A-Rod's admissions add one more piece of evidence to the baseball power era known as The Steroid Era, when sluggers went 'roid wild, toppling gravity with immense feats of power hitting.  It will also be known as an era when the top MLB talent simply cheated the game, the fans, and in the end themselves.

Some say events occur in threes; A-Rods confession coincides with Barry Bonds's BALCO/steroid legal battles firing up again this year, and Mark McGwire's brother pulling open the curtain on his juiced slugging career. The vintage sluggers of just 5-15 years ago now appear to have cheated past sluggers like the Babe with a ptoent mix of anabolic PEDs like testosterone, nandrolone, HGH, and other more exotic drugs.

A-Rod admitted in an interview with Peter Gammons (was this staged?) to roiding (blast magazine):

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003.

ESPN is reporting that Rodriguez, in an exclusive interview with Peter Gammons, has admitted to allegations that surfaced in a recent Sports Illustrated report online.

“I felt an enormous amount of pressure,” Rodriguez told Gammons. “Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth, you know, being one of the greatest players of all time, and I did take a banned substance.”

Rodriguez did appear apologetic in talking to Gammons.

Reports indicated A-Rod tested positive for testosterone and primobolan.  His 3 year run from 2001 to 2003 included 52, 57, and 47 home runs.  And who says anabolic steroids don't benefit sluggers?

The drug Rodriguez allegedly tested positive for, Primobolan, is less detectable than many other steroids because its markers stay in the body for less time than other drugs. It is also expensive, costing about $500 per week, SI reported.

Rodriguez called the time a “loosey goosy” era, saying he didn’t “know exactly what substance” he “was guilty of using.”

Rodriguez hit 47 home runs in 2003, good enough for his third consecutive home run title.

A-Rod A-Bomb! Slugger Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003

Baseball nuclear Armageddon exploded at Sports Illustrated today when the magazine/web site dropped an A-Bomb on R-Rod.  The website reports that Yankee slugger Alex Rodriquez tested positive in 2003 for two steroids: testosterone and primobolan (not legal in the US).

As background, A-Rod delivered fantastic 2001-2-3 seasons for the Texas Rangers.  The steroid slugging era was chugging on full-steam with accusations flying everywhere.  The MLB Players Association agreed to PED testing with the MLB;  if a certain percent of players tested positive, then a full blow elaborate PED testing system would be set up for MLB players.  As we all know now, the minimum criteria (5%) of positive tests was met which meant steroid testing for steroid sluggers.

Steroid testing started in spring training 2003, and apparently continued throughout the year.  Wonder when A-Rod dropped his positive urine?  Wonder how long Rodriguez juiced?

In 2001 for the Ranger A-Rod put up monstrous numbers: 52, 135, .318.  A-Rod's 2002 was even better:  57, 142, .300.  Slugging was .622 and .623 respectively. 

In 2003, A-Rod launched a 47, 118, .298 year, which was good for the MVP, even though the numbers were down from previous years.  Considering A-Rod's positive tests, one wonders why production decreased in 2003.  To Sports Illustrated:

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."

Test results were obtained when federal agents raided CDT labs as part of the BALCO investigation.

Though MLB's drug policy has expressly prohibited the use of steroids without a valid prescription since 1991, there were no penalties for a positive test in 2003. The results of that year's survey testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner's office and the players association. Rodriguez's testing information was found, however, after federal agents, armed with search warrants, seized the '03 test results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., of Long Beach, Calif., one of two labs used by MLB in connection with that year's survey testing. The seizure took place in April 2004 as part of the government's investigation into 10 major league players linked to the BALCO scandal -- though Rodriguez himself has never been connected to BALCO.

The testing procedure itself appears to be corrupt:

Because more than 5% of big leaguers had tested positive in 2003, baseball instituted a mandatory random-testing program, with penalties, in '04. According to the 2007 Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball, in September 2004, Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' union, violated an agreement with MLB by tipping off a player (not named in the report) about an upcoming, supposedly unannounced drug test. Three major league players who spoke to SI said that Rodriguez was also tipped by Orza in early September 2004 that he would be tested later that month. Rodriguez declined to respond on Thursday when asked about the warning Orza provided him.

An incredibly embarrassing situation exists in baseball now as corruption dogs the top sluggers and record holders.

Baseball's career and single season home run record holder, Barry Bonds, will be on trial soon for lying about his steroid use. The man pegged as having the best chance to overtake Bonds was A-Rod, who now appears to be a big time juicer.  Mark McGwire, who broke Roger Maris's single season HR record was exposed last month as a huge 'roider.

Baseball, like track, needs to dump the records of the lost steroids and PEDs decades.  Most performance records from the steroid decades appear to be tainted.

Barry Bonds's doctor -- Arthur Ting -- goes roid rage on another doc at hospital

Dr. Arthur Ting, Barry Bonds's physician appears to have gone a bit 'roid rage himself.  The San Francisco By area orthopod might be charged with assaulting a colleague during a confrontation in a hospital.  Good lord, do doctors need to pee for steroids tests 4 times a year now too?

Ting is not a stranger to controverts.  As we noted Ting has been disciplined by the California medical board in the past.  His twin boys quit the USC football team after a reported steroids violation.  And hey, California is a state governed by a former juicer -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. To the San Jose Mercury:

A physician obtained a court restraining order Thursday against former Giants slugger Barry Bonds' orthopedic surgeon, whom he accused of assaulting him last December inside a Redwood City hospital during a fit of rage.

Dr. Arthur Ting, who may be called to testify at the upcoming trial of baseball's all-time home run leader, is accused of attacking Dr. Michael Eiffert during a confrontation at Sequoia Hospital.

Ting has not been arrested and the case has been submitted to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office to determine whether criminal charges should be filed, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Under the restraining order signed by Superior Court Judge John Grandsaert, Ting must stay 100 yards away from Eiffert, an internal medicine physician and Palo Alto resident, for three years.

During Thursday's brief hearing, Ting's attorney Josh Bentley did not argue against the restraining order, telling the judge he would "not present any evidence at this time." Eiffert represented himself at the hearing.

Bentley declined requests for comment outside the courtroom. Ting did not appear in court and did not return calls seeking comment.

Here is the roid rage episide, which the assualted physiican termed 'roid rage'.  Priceless.

According to a police report on the Dec. 26 incident, Eiffert, 37, said Ting grabbed him by the neck inside a stairwell and pushed him up against a wall. Eiffert told Redwood City police that Ting, 57, was upset because Eiffert refused to do a consultation on one of his surgery patients.

Asked in an interview outside the courtroom whether he saw any connection in his case to Bonds' trial for perjury and obstruction of justice, Eiffert said: "The behavior exhibited by the defendant seems to be reminiscent or consistent with roid rage." The term "roid rage" refers to the intense bouts of anger people on steroids sometimes display.

Pressed to explain whether he believes Ting was using steroids when he allegedly lost his temper Dec. 26, Eiffert said: "I couldn't make a judgment as to that, but certainly the behavior was out of control."

Ting, who is the San Jose Sharks' team physician and has a medical practice in Fremont, performed knee surgery on Bonds several times in 2005. Court documents show federal prosecutors plan to call Ting as a witness in their case against Bonds.

Nandrolone or Winny?  Hmmmmmm, wonder what Ting benches?  Rest of the report:

Ting was placed on probation in 2004 by the state medical board for lax supervision of physician assistants and other subordinates, according to state documents.

Eiffert said he is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Ting but would not elaborate, saying he wants to consult with an attorney.

Redwood City police were dispatched to Sequoia Hospital at about 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 26 to a report of a battery, according to the police report.

Eiffert told police Ting called him to ask for a consultation on one of Ting's surgery patients, who had a history of seizures.

Eiffert said Ting just wanted another doctor to check out his patient on a Friday afternoon because that "unlucky doctor is stuck with the responsibility of caring for the patient" once Ting leaves.

The phone conversation escalated, with Ting saying "something to the effect of, 'Ya know, I had a problem with you a year ago,'" according to Eiffert's statement in the report.

Eiffert said he replied, "Your (sic) the ding dong who was giving alcohol to a patient," according to the report.

Ting had been accused of bringing alcohol into the hospital and making cocktails for a patient Eiffert was treating for alcoholism, Eiffert told police.

Eiffert went on to say he did not know whether Ting was disciplined for the alcohol incident. Sequoia Hospital spokeswoman Joanie Cavanaugh declined to comment on the matter Thursday.

After Ting arrived in person at the small office Eiffert was working in, Eiffert said he had other patients to see and refused to immediately consult with Ting's patient, according to the report.

Eiffert said he eventually left the room and an angry Ting followed him into a stairway, grabbed him by the neck and held him up against a wall, according to the report. Ting let go and grabbed him a second time more forcefully, then "pushed Eiffert hard against the wall," hitting the back of his head.

"I'll kill you. I'll crush you. You don't know who I am. I'll kick your ass. And don't ever call me a ding dong again," Ting said, according to Eiffert's account.

Eiffert said he continued to try to defuse the situation and Ting finally let him go, the report said.