Cashman Allegedly Wanted Giambi to Roid Up

According to The New York Times, Jeff Pearlman's new book, "The Rocket That Fell to Earth" recounts an incident that Brian Cashman, the general manager of the Yankees has taken issue with.

According to the book, in 2002 when Giambi went through a slump during his first year as a Yankee, Cashman was heard yelling at a television in the Yankees’ clubhouse during a game. Citing “one New York player,” the book said that Cashman screamed, “Jason, whatever you were taking in Oakland,” get back on it. Per the book, Cashman then added, “Please!”

Cashman strongly denied the incident ever took place. Cashman said, “That is completely false. This guy (Pearlman) never even called me and asked me if it was true. You think he would have done some fact-checking.”

Pearlman stands by his account, but acknowledged he should have reached out to Cashman. He said, "The source was a Yankee player who was an eyewitness and in whom I have 100 percent confidence. He (Cashman)’s totally right. I didn’t call him for comment and I should have. But that doesn’t mean the story isn’t correct.”

What's most interesting is the timing of this incident. The year was 2002. Jason Giambi's BALCO grand jury testimony was leaked to the media in 2004, a full two years later. If what is alleged is true, how did Brian Cashman know Giambi was roiding in Oakland? Who else knew? This flies against all general managers and baseball executives who have been on record as saying they didn't know anything about anyone. Seems as if someone is not being completely forthright in this matter.

A-Rod is Truly A-Fraud...Allegedly

Apparently, Jose Canseco was right again. This time, it was Alex Rodriquez and using PED's.

According to SI.com, Rodriquez tested positive for 'roids (primobolan aka methenolone and testosterone) in 2003 when the tests were supposedly anonymous and there were no penalties for a positive test. MLB issued a statement in response to the SI story stating that it could not comment on the accuracy of the report since it was an anonymous test, but did raise the concern of union officials tipping off players of upcoming tests back in 2004.

During the survey testing in 2003, 104 samples were positive. For reasons not yet known, the samples were not destroyed to ensure confidentiality. In 2004, all 104 samples were seized by the government relating to the BALCO investigation.

Initially the government requested just the 10 samples relating to the players who testified during the BALCO investigation including Barry Bonds; the players union refused and the government secured search warrants for the 10 samples and then gathered the samples for all positive tests from two different labs.

A-Rod can't catch a break. The tests were anonymous and should never have been made public. A serious breach of trust, but at the same time, if A-Rod was using, he lied when he appeared on "60 Minutes" and said he never used PED's and didn't need to. He needs to admit to his mistake and move on.

The timing is horrendous for Alex since it's a week after being called "A-Fraud" by his former manager, Joe Torre, in his new book, "The Yankee Years", co-written by Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci. Now A-Rod has to maneuver through both firestorms as spring training approaches. Were the players calling him A-Fraud because they knew or suspected he was on PED's? Is there a Sports Illustrated conspiracy against A-Rod? Let the suspicion begin.

Barry Bonds perjury trial begins March 2nd. When evidence was unsealed earlier this week, Bonds was tied to four positive tests among other damning pieces of evidence. Roger Clemens' DNA has been linked to the syringes provided by former trainer Brian McNamee. Joe Torre has now had an epiphany by seeing the Clemens 2000 World Series bat throwing incident at Mike Piazza in a new light, speculating that the incident could have been roid rage. In his book, "The Yankee Years", Torre does not openly suspect any players of using PED's.

And now A-Rod...Down goes another mythic hero.

Dara Torres is on PED's...Legally

NBC is pinning its ratings hopes for the Beijing Games on the momentum surrounding the unbelievable story of 41-year old swimmer Dara Torres. After her World Record performance at the Olympic Trials, it is now speculated that she will be the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies on 08.08.08.

Skeptics have questioned how it is possible that she swam faster this year than 20 years ago. Other recent athletes whose performance improved in their 40's were aided by PED's, most notably Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

This performance is made possible by the financial resources available to an ex-model and the daughter of the one-time owner of the Aladdin casino (along with Wayne Newton) combined with her Type A personality devotion to training, according to a piece in the New York Times. She reportedly spends over $100,000 a year on a bevy of coaches (head, sprint and strength) and receives additional support from two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny.

It turns out, this performance is possible in part (and what NBC and the rest of mainstream media fails to inform the public) by performance enhancing drugs. Torres' has a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for Symbicort (active ingredient formoterol) and Proventil (active ingredient albuterol) to treat asthma which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2008 Prohibited List under Beta - 2 Agonists. Unusual in Torres' case, her asthmatic condition was diagnosed only 18 months ago.

Amy Van Dyken, a former gold medalist swimmer, suffers from asthma. In a 1999 CNN online chat, Van Dyken admitted to using a "Ventilin (active ingredient albuterol) inhaler every day as needed. I'm on a Flovent (active ingredient fluticasone) inhaler twice a day; I'm on Serevent (active ingredient salmeterol) inhaler twice a day and a bunch of other stuff." She went on to win two Gold Medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Two of the medications mentioned are beta 2 agonists, but these drugs were not banned until September 2001. Van Dyken was also forced to testify to the BALCO grand jury in 2003. Gary Hall Jr., a former teammate of Van Dyken, recently questioned the validity of her accomplishments by comparing her to Marion Jones. Hall also doubts that the sport is clean. He is aware that the dopers will always be in front of the testers. Hall said, "This sport has become entertainment and it has taken on the morals of the entertainment industry where you can cut corners - and cheaters do prosper." Van Dyken has never tested positive for any PED.

Asthma and sports is a topic that no one wants to address. Why do more Olympic athletes suffer from asthma than the general population? Among athletes surveyed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 10% took asthma medications yet only 1% of the general population suffers from asthma. The number of Australian Olympians calling themselves asthmatic jumped from 10% to 21% in 12 years. In the Winter Olympics the number of people using asthmatic drugs is much greater. According to the late International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical chief Alexander de Merode, 70 to 80 percent of the athletes are using asthmatic drugs. The question is why this abnormality when it comes to Olympic athletes and the logical answer is that the substances used to treat asthma improves performance.

Changes to the asthma assessment regarding the use of beta - 2 agonists were made in 2001 by the IOC after some disturbing trends were discovered at the 2000 Sydney Games. There was a large increase in the number of athletes notifying the panel of the need to inhale a beta-2-agonist at the 2000 Sydney Games and ironically enough the notifications were predominantly requested in endurance sports. It was at this time that TUE's would be granted for beta - 2 agonists.

Per the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) website, the criteria for granting a TUE include an athlete experiencing significant health problems without taking the prohibited substance and the use of the substance would not produce significant enhancement of performance. In Torres case, was she really experiencing "significant health problems without taking the prohibited substance" 18 months ago? What about two, five, ten and twenty years ago? Given her unlimited financial resources, one would think that a proper diagnosis of asthma would have been detected years ago. It would appear that the use of the substance did factor into her Olympic Trials performance. Now it is up to WADA to determine if the substance was a "significant enhancement of performance."

I raised both these issues with an official at WADA, but never received a response. In addition, I inquired whether WADA periodically reviews TUE's and has the ability to revoke a TUE during the year.

Everyone wants to believe in the unbelievable - that's entertainment. However, we are discussing international athletic competition, not entertainment. The public is under the impression that what it witnesses is pure and genuine. Lately, the public's trust in the pure and genuine of sport has crumbled with the fall from grace of Marion Jones, Barry Bonds and Floyd Landis. Before we get sucked into NBC and mainstream media's hype machine, let's analyze the facts: Torres admits to using banned substances, but has in essence a "doctor's note" by having a TUE saying that she needs the medication. In order to qualify for a TUE, one needs to demonstrate that significant health problems would occur without it and that her use of it is not performance enhancing. This condition developed 18 months ago despite having the financial resources to see the best doctors and receive the best treatment throughout her life.

If that's all she's using then legally she's clean, but morally is another story.

Latest Ensared by BALCO: Greg Anderson's Wife

It's on.

Federal prosecutors have targeted former Barry Bonds' trainer, Greg Anderson's wife, Nicole S. Gestas in an effort to make Anderson testify. Anderson was imprisoned for approximately a year and half for failing to answer prosecutors' questions relating to Bonds' use of PED's. Anderson was released last November once Bonds was indicted on five felony charges - four for perjury and one for obstruction of justice - for testifying in front of a federal grand jury in 2003 that he had never used PED's.

The United States attorney's office in the Northern District of California sent a "target letter" to Anderson's wife in November after the indictment advising her that she could be charged with conspiring to commit a crime against the government. A federal conspiracy charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This letter advised her to contact the public defender's office if she could not afford a lawyer while it conveniently failed to specify the crime the authorities believe she had conspired to commit. While not specifically stating that it was intending to apply pressure on Anderson the message was clear since it was signed by Matthew Parrella, an assistant US attorney who is lead prosecutor in the BALCO investigation.

Bonds' legal team filed a motion in January to have the original 5 count indictment against him dismissed and a judge ruled in February that the authorities had to narrow the indictment or bring new charges to proceed. The government filed a new indictment in May.

It was Malone from The Untouchables who said, "When they send one of your guys to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue." This is, metaphorically speaking, the government trying to send Anderson, not to the morgue, but to the stand and testify against his former client. Now if Anderson continues his stance and refuses to testify, his wife could be going to jail with him.

Anderson's refusal to testify has made him spend the most time in prison than any other defendant in the six year BALCO investigation. He served a three month term in 2005 after pleading guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering. Anderson could still face more jail time since prosecutors could still charge him with criminal contempt or obstruction of justice if he continues his stance.

Greg: after spending a year and a half in jail and your wife of a little more than two years possibly going to the hole for up to five years and having to pay a $250K fine, why do you still refuse to testify? You could go back to the hole along with your wife! I guess that's what true love is, but to whom: your wife or Barry?

This stance does not make any sense, which is why the only logical conclusion is Mr. Bonds has determined to take care of you financially for not testifying against him. As the cards are laid out on the table, it looks like from your time served and the possibility of fines and time served by your wife, we're looking at approximately $750K to $2.5MM. This assumption does not include legal fees and would drop substantially if Ms. Gestas opts for the public defender.

Jury Convicts Graham on 1 Count

Federal prosecutors went 1 for 3 in their efforts to convict Trevor Graham for lying to federal agents. This is the second conviction that went to trial relating to the BALCO investigation. Next up: Barry Bonds.

The jury convicted Graham for lying to federal agents regarding having only one phone conversation with Angel Guillermo Heredia, a key witness for the prosecution. They were deadlocked for the other two charges lying about setting up athletes with drugs and about meeting Heredia.

The jury was concerned with Heredia's credibility. The jury foreman, Frank Stapleton, 59, was one of the holdouts on the two counts. Stapleton, speaking for himself said, "The government was bound and determined to make an example of the defendant. To achieve their goal, they felt it necessary to do a deal with a true devil, an untruthful drug dealer and illegal immigrant who is walking the streets of America, free and presumably still plying his trade with impunity. I hope this verdict satisfies the Justice Department’s lust for blood in this matter and that there will be no retrial.”

TG, you dodged a major bullet having a true American such as Mr. Stapleton on the jury. The jury somehow ignored the photo of you and Heredia together and Heredia's testimony being corroborated by other athletes. As for Stapleton, save the drama and your political commentary for the coffee shop or the next cocktail party. It would have been interesting to be in the jury room and see how Stapleton argued that TG never met Heredia despite photographic evidence stating otherwise. Now that would be a story for a cocktail party.

Track & Field Trial Ready to Commence; Expect More Names

Trevor Graham trained a dozen athletes that made it to the Olympics in 2000, when his Sprint Capitol USA training camp in Raleigh, N.C., dominated track and field. The most famous client, Marion Jones, won five medals. In the following years, two of Graham’s most successful athletes, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin, went on to become the World's Fastest Man by setting world records in the 100 meters.

All of those sprinters mentioned and at least seven other Graham clients admitted to using PED's.

Those glory days are long gone as Graham now faces possible jail time on three felony counts of lying to a federal agent. His trial was scheduled to begin today in United States District Court in San Francisco. Several elite athletes are expected to testify against him. It was Graham who also sent the syringe of the Clear to the anti-doping authorities that blew the whistle on BALCO and started this federal investigation.

The charges allege Graham lied about his connections with a confessed drug adviser and distributor, who will be the star witness for the prosecution. I'm sure Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery are looking forward to getting a temporary release from prison in order to testify in this case.

The witness, Angel Guillermo Heredia, 33, has been assisting in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative investigation since 2005, but has no formal cooperation agreement with federal prosecutors and faces the possibility of being charged later.

“When you tell the truth, there’s not anything to be worried about,” Heredia said in a telephone interview Friday. “We’ll see what’s going to happen."

The counts stem from a 2004 interview where Graham was lying. The lies include: denying meeting Heredia in person, talking to him on the telephone after 1997, or distributing drugs and referring athletes to Heredia for drugs. Graham was only charged for lying to a federal agent; there were no drug related offenses.

As part of the evidence, prosecutors have a photograph of Graham and Heredia together, phone records and seven elite athletes who are expected to testify that Graham gave them drugs or sent them to Heredia for drugs.

Graham told The Washington Post last month that his trial would “embarrass the United States, and it’s going to embarrass these athletes” on the eve of another Olympics.

Heredia has already said his drugs helped Maurice Greene and two female sprinters win medals at the 2004 Olympics. He previously showed The New York Times a $10,000 bank transaction from Greene, who has denied the charges and remains an ambassador for track’s international governing body. The other two sprinters have not been publicly identified.

This does not look good for Trevor Graham. It's ironic that the man who brought down BALCO, and in the process started cleaning up sports (to a certain extent) has a good chance of doing time. Photo shop is not a viable defense to combat the picture, but at least the public will find out more track stars were really cheaters as the trial gets under way.

Bonds Hits a Triple

Barry Bonds is back and he just crushed a triple! Unfortunately for Mr. Bonds, the triple did not occur on a baseball field, but rather on a federal indictment. His indictment tripled in counts from 5 to 15 on Tuesday. 14 counts of making false statements to a grand jury during the Balco investigation and 1 count of obstruction of justice. The good news for Barry about the new indictment: no new lies were alleged.

The indictment had to be rewritten because the original indictment lumped multiple alleged lies into single charges. This case still revolves around the fact whether Bonds lied to the grand jury that his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, never supplied him with PED's (roids or HGH). It has been alleged that Bonds was on a roiding program that consisted of the designer steroids the cream and clear, clomid, Mexican beans and beef roids.

Greg Anderson is the type of buddy everyone should have. This guy went to jail twice rather than testify to the grand jury relating to these issues. If any of you have a secret and don't want anyone to know about it, tell Greg Anderson. I'm not sure what he's charging for this service.

Bonds is currently in the on-deck circle awaiting his next court appearance scheduled for June 6th.

World's Fastest Man - Code For...

With the Olympics approaching, I'm going to let the novice and casual track fan in on a secret. The title, World's Fastest Man, is code for roid head. Do not take the bait and think for one second that you are seeing a natural performer becoming the fastest human. He's hopped up on PED's.

According to this past Sunday's NYT, Maurice Green, a former WFM, wired $10K to a relative of Angel Guillermo Heredia, the lead cooperating witness against Trevor Graham. Mr. Heredia also had two sets of blood test lab reports with Greene's name on it. It's ironic that Mr. Graham was the one who blew the doors off Balco by sending a syringe with a designer steroid to the feds now finds himself facing jail time for lying to federal officers.

Maurice, this does not look good. Neither does the fact that you are a goodwill ambassador for the sport of track and field. Do us all a favor and step down immediately. Until we acknowledge that the WFM really represents who is working with the best scientist, then I'm not going to pay any attention to these shenanigans.

Which country has the best chemist, who created the better, undetectable PED's leads to the World's Fastest Man, nothing else.

First Balco Conviction Ends in Fiasco

“Look me in the eye and tell me you meant what you did,” is what the cyclist, Tammy Thomas, said to the members of the jury once they were dismissed after being found guilty of making false statements under oath to a federal grand jury about using performance-enhancing drugs this past Friday.

Tammy, they meant it. You lied, you need to now do the time. The jury will also look you in the eye provided your face isn't covered in shaving cream. It got out that you allegedly opened the door with half your face full of shaving cream, one of the nasty side effects of 'roiding up for women.

Tammy, stop ‘roiding up; stop lying and put the shaving cream and razor down. Marion Jones wants to let you know that she has dibs on the bottom bunk.