Same song for Mark McGwire

The baseball writers have spoken. Once again, Mark McGwire was not deemed worthy of enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

McGwire finished with 23.7% of the vote. A player needs 75% to enter the hall. Apparently, the writers are either waiting for McGwire, the recently appointed hitting coach for the Cardinals, to address the issue of his PED usage to change their minds or they are content with excluding him. The writers and I are still waiting for McGwire to address the elephant in the room.

What's interesting to note at looking at the official results, David Segui received one vote. Segui was a main character in the Mitchell Report since he was a client of Kirk Radomski and spread the "good word" of PEDs throughout baseball since he was on several squads. Segui did not hide his usage. He was direct and honest with investigators. That behavior, while wrong to cheat, he is at least trying to make amends. Apparently, only one voter thought that was commendable.

The Next Radomski?

Late last month, a central Florida man was arrested with thousands of steroid pills and other PED's in his home. Upon his arrest, he was eager to speak to the police.

Richard Thomas said he sold PED's to professional football, hockey and baseball players before he was arrested last month. He specifically mentioned the teams Washington Capitals of the NHL and the Washington Nationals of MLB. Authorities do not have any information to verify these claims.

Thomas said, "You name the sport, and I've sold steroids to athletes who play it."

What's interesting about these allegations involving the Capitals is that the team passed three rounds of drug tests during the past two seasons. Either the drug dealer Thomas is lying or the drug testing program in the NHL needs a major overhaul. Should be interesting to see how this development plays out.

Just when one thinks the issue of PED's in professional sports hits a lull, a major story breaks alleging teams from multiple professional leagues. Now, it's a matter of time to see who is lying: arrested drug dealer or members of the alleged teams.

Radomski Suspected Piazza Roided

Kirk Radomski does not like Mike Piazza. 

That said, according to his book, Bases Loaded, Radomski was asked by Mitchell investigators what he knew about Piazza.  Radomski has no first hand information whether Piazza used roids, HGH or other PED's.  Radomski writes that "Piazza is one guy I would have been happy to give up."

Radomski's opinion in analyzing Piazza's body visually was that he looked like someone who was roiding.  Again, he has no firsthand knoeledge, just stating his opinion.  After the fallout from Piazza's return to New York to open Citi Field and relectuance to address the media, Radomski's opinion could very well be spot on.

The Roid Question Not Asked

In Kirk Radomski's book, Bases Loaded, Radomski breaks down the typical list of questions that potential customers would ask regarding roids and HGH such as:

• How frequently should I be taking this stuff?
• Is there anything I can do that would help more?
• How much weight am I going to put on?
• When I come off am I going to lose everything?

The question that no one asked Radomiski during his time supplying PED's to athletes was, "Is it safe?" None of these athletes cared about their health, they just wanted results and PED's to help them either get to the show or get that one last contract that would set them up for life...long term health be damned.

When you've spent your entire life playing ball, you only know one thing...that's playing ball. For some players, they did whatever it took to make the show or stay on the field. Whether it was right or wrong, is something only they can answer.

The NBA & PED's

One sport that is under the radar regarding PED's is pro basketball. Most of the NBA drug issues relate to marijuana and are shrugged off by most of the media. The most serious and recent drug offense occurred several years ago and involved a player who is currently playing in the postseason. The charismatic Chris "Birdman" Andersen of the Denver Nuggets served a two-year ban for violating the league's anti-drug policy, using a "drug of abuse." Marijuana does not fall under this category.

In Kirk Radomski's book about how he became the central figure in the Mitchell Report, Bases Loaded, he writes that he supplied PED's to a NBA player for several years. The player told Radomski that other players were using as well. Specifically, he provided anabolic steroids. He does not name the player.

I'm surprised Radomski supplied anabolic steroids rather than HGH. After learning about all the benefits of HGH, I'm shocked more NBA players aren't using it to recover from injuries. After all, that was the MLB player's association repeated line when all the names came regarding the Mitchell Report: "I only used HGH and it was only to help my teammates. I used it to recover from an injury and get back on the field quicker." It's a great line, sounds noble, but if it was a legit form of recovery, it wouldn't be banned by the World Anti-Doping Authority. It's still looking to get an edge that other competitors don't have.

Since there's no test, who is to say that everyone or most injured NBA players aren't using HGH? In baseball, it's safe to assume that players are still using and will continue to use HGH until there is a test or a stiffer penalties, but that will be the day.