Canseco blew the whistle, but never saw it when it came to Clemens

Best-selling author Jose Canseco who blew the whistle on steroids in baseball through his tell-all “Juiced,” never saw Roger Clemens use steroids according to his grand jury testimony.


Interesting how the guy credited with producing real reform in a troubled sport has now been characterized as a shady soul only looking out for his financial interests. Rumors had circulated earlier that Clemens made a financial payment to Canseco to keep his name out of the book. Whether true or not, Canseco has maintained his story stating that he only talked about steroids with Clemens. While this could just appear to be semantics, it is an important distinction.

By saying that they talked about steroids provides some doubt to the grand jury. If Canseco, the kingpin of roids, did not supply or inject the Rocket with rocket fuel who did? That answer is easy enough: Brian McNamee who admitted to administering several steroid injections.

When was the last time you discussed any topic with multiple people to help make up your mind? Did you purchase that product or make that decision with everyone you discussed it with present? No, and is probably the same situation with this courtroom battle.

Canseco does have some credibility issues. While praised for turning the tide of drugs in baseball, he has been short of fully truthful. He held back additional names in order to write a sequel, “Vindicated.” While that was a money grab, he was correct in naming Alex Rodriguez.

It would have been shocking if Canseco admitted to providing Clemens with PEDs. His roundabout way of answering questions was just an attempt to muddy the waters for the grand jury. Hopefully, they can see they through the muck.

Heyman's Vote on Roiders

Jon Heyman, Hall of Fame (HOF) voter and columnist for SI.com, recently wrote how he would vote for the HOF for several current and former MLB'ers suspected of roiding up and cheating the game.

In his article, he stresses how difficult voting for the HOF is. Do voters simply go by the statistics of a player or by the impact that player had on the team? If one was to go by statistics alone, how does one judge the current crop of players who played during the steroid era? Heyman writes, "These calls won't only be about numbers. There are value judgments to be made about cheating, and possibly about how much the cheating helped particular players."

Heyman admits that some voters will simply eliminate all the cheaters from their ballots while others will take it on a case by case basis. He is the first writer that I have encountered to admit his own culpability in being slow to uncover the widespread use of PED's in baseball. A majority of writers need to own this. It's part of the inherent conflict of interest in being a sportswriter. You need to be "friendly" and close to the players and organizations and do not violate that trust by exposing the sport you cover or writing about it in a negative light. Heyman hypothesizes that some writers might feel tempted to block a majority of these players from the HOF since the writers were slow to cover the truth about their PED use. Voting them into the HOF would be continuing the trend of looking the other way, wink-wink, and implicitly endorsing cheating by using these substances.

Now to analyze Heyman's ballot:

• Mark McGwire: Didn't vote for him because of suspected PED use led to HOF numbers.
• Barry Bonds: Yes, he believes he was a HOF'er before he took any PED's.
• Roger Clemens: Yes, like Bonds, he was a HOF'er before he roided up.
• Sammy Sosa: No, productivity and expanded size suggest PED use.
• Rafael Palmeiro: No, failed drug test (Stanozolol) after protesting innocence before Congress.
• Gary Sheffield: No, ties to BALCO and admitting to intentionally throwing balls away hurt.
• Mike Piazza: Yes, numbers wise he's there, but increasing suspicions raise some doubts, but Heyman needs more proof.
• Ivan Rodriguez: Yes, never been caught even though he shrunk dramatically.
• A-Rod: Yes, Heyman needs more proof of add'l doping even though admitted to PED use.
• Manny Ramirez: Yes, he was great since the start and never got "big"

Interesting takes on these players by Heyman. In some instances he needs more proof (Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez and A-Rod) while others his visual proof was enough (Sammy Sosa). Yet, visual proof of a shrinking Ivan Rodriguez was not enough for him to pass on voting him in the HOF. Of the three players (Palmerio, Ramirez and A-Rod) that failed a drug test in MLB testing, he has two going to the Hall of Fame (any coincidence that both are current players, possibly his reasoning is self-motivated by generating goodwill down the road when he needs a story).

Unfortunately, the rules for election to the HOF do not specify "character" attributes. Aren't you supposed to be rewarded for doing the right thing and not cheating? Is that the proper message you want displayed in Cooperstown?

It's up to the baseball writers to decide.

Joe Torre: Baseball Man Until the End

Joe Torre is in the middle of another steroid blowup. This time involving his star player in Los Angeles, Manny Ramirez, who was suspended for 50 games last week. Steroids and a Torre press conference aren't new, since he was by Jason Giambi's side during Giambi's New York PED "apology." As before, Torre knows nothing of roids in baseball. Odd, he seems to be the only one who thinks that way. The incredible and truly unbelievable coincidence is that Torre never suspected that anyone was using roids on any of his teams, even though 8 members of his 2000 World Series Yankee team were named in the Mitchell Report.

In numerous appearances promoting his book that he "co-wrote" with Tom Verducci, The Yankee Years, Torre claimed he didn't know that any of his Yankee players were roiding out of their minds. However, David Cone, in Torre's book said that most players knew that some players were using PED's, especially the ones working with trainer Brian McNamee. That's an odd discrepancy and one a reader would like addressed, but it never happened.

Further making Torre's naiveté on this issue the more puzzling is the fact that he was a former player. He earned the MVP award at the age of 30 and then saw his statistics take a sharp decline. How could some of the players he manged get better as they aged (Ramirez and Roger Clemens) while he did not? His career stats are below:

In his latest roid episode, in a Sports Illustrated article Torre said, "There's a human being (Ramirez) there I'm concerned about." Are you kidding me? Torre concerned about a human being? Where was the concern for his players who were roiding out of their minds back in the day? How about taking a stand and telling his players to stop using? Reminding his players that PED's are harmful to your bodies long term.

The reason Torre never asked questions or took a stand looking out for the "human beings" in his clubhouse is because he likes baseball. He likes managing. He wants to continue making millions of dollars (reportedly his deal with the Dodgers was $13 million for three years). If he were to question his players, make them stop using PED's, his team would lose games, potentially costing Joe Torre his job and millions of dollars.

A baseball man through and through...a roll model for the kids, that's a different question.

Clemens Comes Out Throwing Heat in Response to Book

Another Roger Clemens book hits the shelves today, American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime, by The New York Daily News investigative team of Teri Thompson, Michael O'Keeffe, Nathaniel Vinton and Christian Red and Clemens was ready for it.


He made his first public comments since his interview on “60 Minutes” today on the “Mike and Mike” ESPN radio show. He decided to speak out since he “and Deb” were heading out of the country later this week and wanted to address these latest allegations rather than appear that he fled the country. During the interview, Clemens maintained his position that he never took PED’s, that friend Andy Pettite “misremembered” their conversation and he does not know why Brian McNamme would tell the truth about Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch, but lie about him.

Clemens is a pro’s pro, referring to each host by their nickname: Greenie and Golie (rather than Golic). When asked about DNA evidence, Clemens said he had provided a sample to investigators but the McNamee syringes would not link him to PED’s. Clemens said, "It's impossible because he's never given me any."

He maintained his innocence and said that he has been outspoken in his crusade against PED’s when he speaks to kids and other players. Clemens was working with new advisers on how to get his message out to the public. The flaw of this appearance came when he said it would be "suicidal" for him to use PED's because of the family history of heart conditions, specifically mentioning his brother and step father. How his step father's genetic makeup would impact him is tragically laughable. Yet, this appearance went over better than his appearance on Capitol Hill, but what Mike & Mike failed to ask him was how did his performance increase, specifically gain mph in his fastball as he aged? This does not happen and is not natural. Once testing was put in place, the days of the productive aging slugger and pitcher seem to be fading fast.

A-Rod Visual Evidence: Man Boobs

According to The New York Daily News, the visual evidence that led Yankee teammates to suspect A-Rod was still using PED's were his large breasts, aka "man boobs". Males develop large breasts as a result of steroid use when the body increases production of female hormones to offset the increase in testosterone. This medical condition is called gynecomastia.

A-Rod was not the only Yankee great who suffered from the condition. Roger Clemens did also. The Daily News investigative team writing a book on Clemens, American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America's Pastime, write that Clemens must have been embarrassed by his condition based on his grooming patterns.

Roger Clemens had man boobs, and he must have been embarrassed because he was often the first Yankee out of the shower and the first to get dressed after the game.

The article points to A-Rod's visual evidence when he went to the park as the shirtless park tanner that the general public picked up on.  If this condition is prevalent in the locker room than perhaps George Costanza's father was on to something when he was designing the "bro" and the "manissiere".

Houston: Gateway to Easy Roids?

Another interesting tidbit in Jeff Pearlman’s Roger Clemens book, “The Rocket That Fell To Earth” is the notion that playing in Houston allowed members of the Astros easy access to PED’s.

Per Pearlman:

The Astros were known throughout the league to have lots of players benefiting from performance enhancers. “It was a joke,” says one opponent. “All you had to do was look at them. It was beyond obvious.” From the ballplayer’s standpoint, the beauty of Houston was the close proximity to Mexico, where most of the steroids originated. With its border only 353 miles from Houston, Mexico served as a 24-hour CVS where $50 was accepted in lieu of a prescription.

Pearlman goes on to question the plausibility of a 42 year old man (Clemens) being able to throw 96 mph while working out four to five hours a day. Other media members had commented on grooming patterns of players as a tip off to whether a person used PED's. One potential side effect of taking PED’s is altering the facial structure and as a result some players felt the need to grow beards and goatees.

Previously, other media members had speculated on Astro Jeff Bagwell. Looking at his historical statistics, Bagwell averaged a home run for every 17.4 at bats. At his peak in the 1994 season, Bagwell hit a home run every 10.3 at bats during the 110 games played. What’s odd about that stat is that two years prior, when he played in 162 games, Bagwell hit a home run every 32.6 at bats. His last season was 2005, two years after drug testing was put in place by MLB. After survey testing occurred in 2003 without any punishment or threat of being identified, he had his last productive season playing in 160 games and hitting 39 home runs (an average of one HR per 15.5 AB). In 2004, his numbers fell off dramatically, playing in 156 games and hitting 27 home runs (an average of one HR per 21.2 AB). This rate was one Bagwell had not seen since his third year in the majors when he averaged a HR for every 26.8 AB.

Houston, we have lift off.  Can this production be explained by Pearlman’s explanation? It’s for the reader to decide.

Rocket Fuel in the Summer '01

Jeff Pearlman's book on Roger Clemens, "The Rocket That Fell To Earth," earning his sixth Cy Young award with a 20-3 record while topping out at 98 mph at the age of 38 wasn't that spectacular when put in its proper context.

Per Pearlman, the Rocket was fueled by anabolic steroids. He was alternating between Sustanon 250 and Deca-Durabolin. In '01, the Rocket received these types of boosts a dozen or so times that helped reverse time and add extra mph to his fastball. All of these injections in '01 took place inside the Rocket's apartment with the exception of one at Yankee Stadium before the final game of a July home stand. Unfortunately, the Rocket developed a blood stain that had oozed through his slacks after he changed into street clothes. A teammate, Mike Stanton, noticed.

Per Pearlman:

Clemens felt compelled to answer when Stanton quietly asked whether he had
turned to drugs.
"Hey, man," Clemens replied, " whatever I can do to get
an edge."

If that really occurred as reported, that is pretty remarkable, but not surprising. After all, "whatever I can do to get an edge" was the mindset that many of the guys had back then to compete at the highest level or just to get to the big leagues. I suspect that mindset is still prevalent today, but with drug testing in place, players will be a little more careful in how they go about obtaining that edge.

Good vs. Bad Guys in the Roid Court of Public Opinion

In the roid court of public opinion there are good guys and bad guys. Some guys seem to get a free pass while others can't seem to talk about anything but roids. Why the discrepancy?

The bad guys include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Floyd Landis. The good guys include Jason Giambi, Lance Armstrong and now apparently Mike Piazza.

I have fallen victim to my own bias. Whether or not I liked a guy rather than looking at the facts clouded my judgement in the past. A prime example was Mike Piazza after the allegations raised in Jeff Pearlman's book on Roger Clemens, "The Rocket That Fell To Earth.".

Piazza is beloved in New York. He was a part of closing down Shea Stadium and opening Citi Field. More importantly, he was a part of the post 9/11 healing process. In New York's first game after the tragedy, Piazza hit a monster home run starting a Mets rally. I don't recall if the Mets won the game, but I remember the significance of that game and the HR and how it made me feel. Could one man and a home run lift the spirits of a grieving city...hell yeah. It was an unreal moment for a baseball fan in New York and one that earned Piazza tremendous goodwill in the community...even amongst Yankee fans.

Awhile back, someone raised doubts about whether Piazza played clean. Back then, I was flabbergasted. I had Piazza's back. At the time, I was telling people the overwhelming evidence is out there against Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi. This was during the height of "Game of Shadows." There was nothing at the time to raise any doubts over Piazza. Yet, there were whispers.

Now one can openly ask questions and look at the actual data. How does an unheralded prospect get drafted in the 62nd round as a favor by a family friend, Tommy Lasorda, and then go on to be the greatest hitting catcher in major league history. Could everyone have missed the boat on this talent?

When one looks at the numbers, it's even more striking. After his first 470 minor league at bats (AB) over two seasons, Piazza had 14 home runs (HR), an average of one HR per every 33.6 AB. When he moved on to Bakersfield, CA he reduced that number in half to 15.5 AB. Throughout his minor league career, he had 1,390 AB's and 66 HR's for an average of a HR every 21.1 AB.

Once he made the leap to the majors and faced better pitching, he averaged a HR every 14.7 AB from 1992 - 2002. When MLB instituted the first form of steroid testing with survey testing in 2003, Piazza's average HR per AB plummeted for the remainder of his career to a HR every 22.4 AB. Coincidence, old age, injuries and / or wear and tear from catching all these years...you be the judge.

Mike Piazza: Allegedly Roided Up

When it rains, it pours. Recently, there have been articles raising doubts about whether Mike Piazza used PED’s during his playing days. In Jeff Pearlman’s book on Roger Clemens’, The Rocket That Fell to Earth, two players said Piazza was on the juice. Reggie Jefferson and an anonymous player told Pearlman that they believed Piazza was roiding back in the day.

Jefferson said, "He's a guy who did it, and everybody knows it. It's amazing how all these names, like Roger Clemens, are brought up, yet Mike Piazza goes untouched."

Over the past two months two longtime baseball writers raised doubts about Piazza. Murray Chass, formerly with The New York Times, writes on his blog that he wanted to write an article describing his back-ne, but that two or three editors of the NYT would have nothing to do with the piece stating Piazza was never accused of roiding up. Joel Sherman of The New York Post interviewed Piazza in late Feburary regarding this issue, but failed to inquire about the back-ne. When Sherman asked whether Piazza was a clean player, Piazza responds with an “absolutely.” When asked whether his name is on the list of 104 players who tested positive in 2004 that ensnared A-Rod earlier this year, he said, “No, not that I know.”

No one gets the benefit of the doubt these days including “good guys” like Albert Pujols. Sports fans have been lied to repeatedly and burned one too many times to believe that everyone is "clean" when they claim that they are. Unfortunately for Piazza, his denial about the 2004 sample testing is not as forceful as his plea that he was "absolutely" a clean player.  "Not that I know" I'm on that list doesn’t leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling that he has nothing to hide.  If he was clean throughout his career, he would be absolute in knowing he was not on that list - he couldn't possibly be on it because he wasn't doing anything illegal.  Also remarkable is that he was drafted in the 62nd round as a favor by Tommy Lasorda for his godson and then this player drafted 1,390th overall in 1988 went on to lead the majors in home runs by a catcher…pushes the envelope on believability.

Clemens Allegedly Injected at Yankee Stadium

In the latest episode of the Roger Clemens - Brian McNamee saga, McNamee was quoted in detail to the Web site sportsimproper.com explaining how he injected Clemens and where.

McNamee was quoted in an item posted Wednesday, "One of the needles I gave the government was used to inject Clemens with steroids in either July or August of 2001. The place was his high-rise apartment, which is located off the corner of 90th Street and First Avenue in Manhattan. ... "

"That day, he laid out the drugs, dropped his trousers and I did as he asked, that is, inject him with steroids. Afterwards, he told me to get rid of the needle. I went into the kitchen and found an empty Miller Lite can in a wastebasket under the sink. I put the used needle into the can because it was actually hazardous material at that point and I didn't want anyone to get hurt by sticking themselves. He told me to throw it away but I kept it instead."

In addition, he told the Web site: "Sometimes it was in the Jacuzzi at Yankee Stadium."

During the Mitchell investigation, McNamee described injecting Clemens at the pitcher's apartment. The new details to emerge this week are that some injections took place at the stadium and that the Rocket drinks Miller Lite.

Brian McNamee, by laying out more details of the case to less well known media outlet, has put more of his chips in the center of the table. The Rocket and his legal team have matched his call by going with the "duh" blast when it was reported that PED's were found on the materials McNamee provided.

Again, Brian McNamee has no motive to lie. It's been understood that all of his previous information provided to investigators has been truthful. Why lie now? Taint evidence and keep needles for 8 years? This theory makes absolutely no sense. The Rocket on the other hand might be tempted to portray his accomplishments and legacy as one that was done the "proper" way and that he didn't "cheat to win, a similar tact A-Rod took until he was called out.

It will be interesting to see how this drama plays out in the upcoming months.

Nailed: PED's Found on Mac's Materials Linked to Rocket

The New York Times reported today that the drug paraphernalia Brian McNamee submitted to federal authorities and was found to have Roger Clemens DNA on it has now been confirmed to have PED's on them as well. Not good news for the Rocket.

Last month, federal prosecutors had linked Clemens’s DNA to blood residue in at least one of the syringes that McNamee handed over to authorities. Upon this latest discovery, the Rocket's attorney, Rusty Hardin, fired off this response. “Duh. Do you really think McNamee was going to fabricate this stuff and not make sure there were substances on there? The fact is Roger never used steroids or H.G.H.”

Going with "duh" is an epic response Rusty! Was "liar, liar pants on fire" overused? Again, these two men are buried deep in their respective foxholes, but the question remains: why would Mac tell the truth about Andy Pettitte, but lie when it comes to Clemens? It makes no sense. Mac had no incentive to lie to the Mitchell investigators, and every incentive to tell the truth or face prosecution.

Also interesting to note in the article is the reemergence of Dr. Don Catlin. He was going to oversee Lance Armstrong's drug testing during his return to cycling, but both parties mutually separated ways and Catlin never tested one sample.

Catlin is conducting the tests on these materials. Since 2002, Catlin has been the lead drug-tester for federal prosecutors which is one reason Armstrong possibly wanted to associate with him. Last month, federal prosecutors said that Catlin had found PED's in a 2003 urine sample from Barry Bonds. The feds are hoping to use this retest in the Bonds' perjury trial which has been delayed until the summer.

Too bad we'll never know what Catlin would have found if he worked with Armstrong.

2 Weeks of Baseball Roid Issues

I've been away for a couple of weeks and was passing through San Francisco on Tuesday looking forward to get the latest blow by blow details of the Barry Bonds trial, but when I picked up my copy of the San Francisco Chronicle, not one mention of the trial; an appeal delayed the start of the trial until the summer.

In other roid related developments during my break, the A-Rod alibi unraveled further. Memo to all: tell the truth the first around. You'll feel much better and not come off as such a dimwit.

His cousin, Yuri Sucart, who allegedly supplied the banned substances was identified. The explanation did not hold water since A-Rod said the substances were purchased over the counter in the Dominican Republic, yet during that time period, 2001 - 2003, one could not obtain the substances he reportedly tested positive for over the counter in the DR back then. It was also revealed that A-Rod was associated with the trainer Angel Presinal. If one wants to be associated with roids, work out and hang out with Presinal. He has been accused of distributing steroids to major league players and has been barred from major league clubhouses since 2001. He was also mentioned in the Mitchell Report. That checkered past didn't appear to bother A-Rod since he trained with him as recently as 2007.

Derek Jeter stepped up to the plate and came to the defense of his teammate while at the same time professing his innocence at the beginning of spring training. Jeter said, “One thing that’s irritating and really upsets me a lot is when you hear people say that everybody did it. Everybody wasn’t doing it.”

Unfortunately for DJ, his calls of "playing the right way" are falling on deaf ears. Why? Because his teammates have said similar things in the past such as A-Rod, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi only to have their assertions either be false or seriously questioned. DJ can tell me all about how not everyone was cheating and that your father was a drug counselor, but all the lies from your teammates who have uttered the same exact thing have made all players guilty until proven innocent.

Lastly, it was being reported that many players are reporting to spring training much smaller. George Vecsey labeled this phenomenon, The Incredible Shrinking Baseball Player, reporting that players are now turning to yoga, athletic video games, nutritionists, getting more sleep and giving up beer and or soda to be more nimble and athletic. Sceptics would say it's the polar opposite of five years ago when players were showing up bulked up claiming that they were cranking the weights.

Don't be shocked when home run totals dip this year at least the players will be more nimble and athletic stretching singles into doubles.

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.

Curlin Off Roids...Looking for 4th Win Roid Free

Today Curlin will look to win it's 4th race in a row, roid free.

After being named the 2007 Horse of the Year, it turns out, Curlin might have been aided during his impressive run by Big Brown's roid of choice, Winstrol. His owner Jess Jackson, has acknowledged Curlin's past roid usage and now wants to prove that Curlin is a roid-free champion.

In January, Jackson "discovered" that Curlin was roiding up from trainer Steve Asmussen and advised him to stop its use. Since cycling off the juice Curlin is undefeated, and crushed the field in a seven-and-three-quarter-length victory over an impressive field at the $6 million Dubai World Cup in March. Dubai has the some of the world's toughest testing standards in horse racing.

In today's Grade I $500,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park, Curlin will try to keep the roid free winning streak alive. This race is important for Curlin and Jackson because their sights are set on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 5 at Longchamp Race Course in Paris. If Curlin can win today and in October, Jackson hopes that he can bring back some much needed credibility to the sport of horse horsing.

“I’m trying to prove that Curlin is a real champion, and that we can race horses into their 4-year-old years and beyond,” said Jackson, 78, the founder and owner of Kendall-Jackson Winery. “I want to show the industry that we can breed horses with stamina and durability, and race them clean.”

Last month, Jackson put all his trainers on notice (he has more than 60 racehorses) that he would take the step to independently drug test his horses after each race. The owners of Big Brown, IEAH, have also said they will do this starting in October. Unlike most professional sports, Jackson has instituted a one strike and you're out policy: the trainer would be fired for any positive test.

Ironically enough, Texas racing officials said that a horse trained by Asmussen tested positive for the anesthetic lidocaine, the same drug that Roger Clemens said Brian McNamee injected him with and not the PED's that McNamme alleges.

What is it with baseball players and horses taking the same drugs? Isn't there something inherently wrong if the same drugs that Barry Bonds allegedly used to fuel his assault on the home run record is being used to fuel Big Brown's assault on the Triple Crown? If anything, this disturbing development leads credence to the claim that pets should be able to take psychotic drugs that humans take - apparently animals and humans are reaping the same benefits.

In this specific instance, Asmussen took a page from the "tested positive athlete" playbook and has denied wrongdoing, claiming that the test was "faulty" and that he was not allowed to send the samples to a lab of his choosing. Isn't the purpose of having independent testing so that the possible cheat doesn't have the option to send it to a "friendly" lab? Lucky for Asmussen, Jackson is buying his story! Jackson will take a wait and see approach before any discipline. I'm sure today's race had nothing to do with altering his stance on the one and done strict discipline policy.

13% of Sports Coverage Roid Related

Today, May 22, 2008, the NYT devoted 13% of their Sports articles to steroid related topics.

Most professional sports leagues always state that there is not a problem in their league; the cheaters are in the other sports. Today, two leagues, the NFL and MLB were linked with some of their athletes allegedly using PED's while track & field was further being disgraced by new developments in the Trevor Graham trial.

When will roids in sports be taken seriously? Does half the articles in the Sports section need to be about PED's before the general public even raises an eyebrow? Do we need articles implicating every sport: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, PGA. The reason why PED's are so rampant is because they work; athlete's wouldn't use them otherwise.

The NFL article referenced a steroid dealer, David Jacobs, who provided documentary evidence to NFL officials that implicated several players with the use of PED's. Jacobs has said he provided two players with roids and HGH and that these players would then supply others. Previously, the NYT reported that prosecutors reliing on information provided by Jacobs, investigated Matt Lehr, a lineman for the New Orleans Saints, and suspectied that he was distributing PED's.

MLB's coverage was an update on the Roger Clemens perjury investigation. Federal agents interviewed Kelly Blair, the owner of 1-on-1 Elite Personal Fitness in Pasadena, TX. The agents inquired whether Blair ever provided PED's to Clemens and his relationship with other players. Blair said he has never met Clemens. The feds have been focusing their investigation in the Houston area looking to link Clemens with PED's after 2001.

The Trevor Graham case is unfolding like a hot new HBO drama; you can't wait to get to the next episode. I'll recap the events at court from Wednesday through the end of the week later, but Wednesday's teaser had Trevor Graham, the coach accused of lying to federal agents speaking his mind. On a recorded conversations after December 2005: referring to the investigators: "I told them nothing, nothing." Another conversation has Graham tell the confessed drug dealer turned cooperating witness, Angel Guillermo Heredia, "it would be stupid, stupid" for Heredia to talk about their activity.

Trevor, in the future, you might want to avoid repeating the most incriminating word of the audiotapes. Telling the authorities "nothing" implies you were hiding something; saying it would be "stupid" to talk about their activity implies that you were involved in illegal activity which you could not discuss freely. This does not look good for you, TG.

Today is epic: three articles, three different sports which if the public is paying attention illustrates how pervasive PED's are in all sports. Instead most readers probably skipped these articles and went straight to the Yankee box score to see who hit a HGH aided HR. This message is not being skipped by the youth.

FBI Question "Male" Associate of Clemens

Most of the media has been concerned with who Roger Clemens has been cavorting with, but an interesting story was reported in today's NYT. The article stated that an owner of a weight-loss facility in Houston was interviewed by federal agents investigating the Rocket for perjury.

Shaun Kelley, the owner of Shaun Kelley Weight Loss in Houston, was given a polygraph by the FBI. “They asked me if I’ve ever given him human growth hormone or performance-enhancing drugs and I said no,” Kelley said. “I passed it, Bro, trust me.”

In March, the NYT reported that federal investigators were questioning former employees of the facility regarding Kelley.

Shaun Kelley for your sake, I hope you passed it too...bro.

Clemens v. McNamee

The defamation case Roger Clemens is bringing up against former trainer Brian McNamee is starting to heat up. Before it can begin, McNamee's attorney, Richard Emery, is pursuing a motion that Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, be disqualified from acting on behalf of Clemens in the case.

The reason given: Hardin represented Andy Pettitte before the release of the Mitchell Report last December. Per the NYT, Emery argued in his motion that Hardin had an ethical commitment to Pettitte as his former lawyer and thus could not cross-examine him on Clemens’s behalf. Emery went on to say Hardin has already violated his lawyer-client compact with Pettitte by “vilifying Pettitte in the press.”

Memo to Rusty Hardin: stay down. Let's not begin to comment on legal strategy in this matter. Rusty, you threatened a federal agent and were admonished by Congress when you said your client would have the agent's lunch if he attended the Congressional hearing in February. Do you, your client and everybody else a favor, drop the tough Texan act and button it...at least for a couple weeks.