The A-Rod Apology

Give A-Rod credit, yesterday, Alex Rodriguez did the right thing and admitted to using PED's from 2001 - 2003 in an interview with ESPN. However, he did not go far enough and all his admission did was lead to more questions.

In admitting his use, he framed it this way:

"When I arrived at 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 naïve. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance, and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”

First and foremost, per SI, he tested positive for two banned substances (primobolan and testosterone) not one raising doubts on this confession. He also took a page straight from the juciers manual stating he didn't know what the substance was (one of the PED's was primobolan aka methenolone, a more expensive steroid that was able to leave your system faster than the more commonly used roids of the preceding years). The highest paid player in baseball not knowing what he's putting in his body? Doesn't quite pass the sniff test. What also doesn't pass that test is if he thought the pressure in Arlington, Texas was intense, what about New York freaking City? He felt less pressure moving to the Big Apple playing alongside Derek Jeter, switching positions and ultimately getting even a bigger contract? Tough pill to swallow A-Rod.

A-Rod decided to stop using PED's in 2003 after suffering a neck injury in spring training , he explained:

“I realized, ‘What am I doing? Not only am I going to hurt my baseball career, I’m going to hurt my post-career.’ It was time to grow up, stop being selfish, stop being stupid and take control of whatever you’re ingesting. And for that I couldn't feel more regret and feel more sorry, because I have so much respect for this game and the people that follow us. And I have millions of fans out there who won’t ever look at me the same.”

Crisis of confidence occurs when MLB institutes drug testing, yet allegedly you were tipped off by the union of an upcoming test in 2004? Why would the union need to tip you off if you weren't using? Too much respect for the game and the fans...then why roid up in the first place? I, for one, am not buying.

As for lying on "60 Minutes": "And in my mind, as I did my interview with CBS last year, I felt I haven’t failed a test, I haven’t done a steroid. And that was my belief. Whether I wanted to convince myself of that, that’s just where my mind was.”

That response was well crafted, but again, he doesn't fully admit to his mistake. He lied on national television: admit to it and move on. Earlier he says he used a banned substance and then later goes with the dopers credo of "since I didn't fail a test, I haven't doped". Are you kidding? You can't have it both ways, my man. Marion Jones thinks that line of reasoning is played.

Finally where the admission fails is in the timeline: it's as if there is a small chapter in his life that has been examined and his professionals have crunched the numbers, saw the spikes and said this is the period that we want you to address and only this period. No need to address Jose Canseco's allegations or when you were first exposed to PED's. Being evasive of how he was introduced to roids and how he obtained the PED's in the interview did not bolster his credibility or the strength of his apology. Come spring training, when reporters have additional questions, he'll fall back on this interview as being the only time he'll address this subject.

Total transparency is always the best policy, just ask Marion.

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.

Olympics: Another Arguement for Roided Athletes

It seems every 4 years at the Summer Olympics, someone will come out and support athletes having the freedom to roid out of their minds. If that ever does happen, bad news for the maker of the Whizzinator.

This year that argument comes from the New York Times' John Tierney. In his article, "Let the Games Be Doped", he describes the evolution of the Olympic athlete from the amateur to natural athletes, "untainted by technology". The amateur myth died and the natural myth "is becoming so far-fetched — and potentially dangerous — that some scientists and ethicists would like to abandon it, too". He also points out that anti doping authorities have created a culture of suspicion and claims that some tests, specifically for synthetic testosterone, are unreliable. He also warns that if athletes have moved from normal doping to gene doping, the authorities will have more problems catching these types of cheaters.

What would happen if athletes were allowed to do anything to excel? If athletes were allowed to shoot beef roids into their eyeballs, professional sport leagues and the Olympics would turn into pure entertainment. The athletes would look like professional wrestlers. Instead of being amazed by Michael Phelps's 12,000 caloric intake days, the media would be following his roid regime.

Would athletes even honestly discuss what they were taking and where they obtained their drugs? Doubtful, why level the playing field - that's one of the reasons athletes roid up, to get an advantage over the competition. Now the real race occurs off the field - who has the best roid connection. Imagine if Bob Costas chose to interview Dara Torres' chemist rather than her. The scientists and chemists would love to see this happen, because then they, not the athletes, would get all the attention. Rather than MLB's slogan back in the day, "Chicks Dig the Long Ball", the new slogan will be: "Chicks Dig the Chemists".

Floyd Landis Becomes 1st Cyclist to have Tour Title Stripped for Doping

Floyd Landis lost his appeal today and becomes the 1st cyclist to have his Tour de France title stripped due to doping. The ruling also upholds Landis' two-year ban from cycling which expires January 29, 2009.

A three person panel from the the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a previous panel's decision validating a positive drug test back in 2006 after Landis staged an improbable comeback in Stage 17 that was aided by synthetic testosterone.

In the 58-page decision, the CAS panel said that the lab performing the analysis did not have impeccable quality control, but did not involve any fraud or cover-ups as Landis alleged. The panel continued its criticisms of Landis by stating that he tried to muddle the evidence while blaming the lab and continued with that line of reasoning even when the evidence contradicted him.

The decision said, "Appelant's experts crossed the line, acting for the most part as advocates for the Appelant's cause, and not as scientists objectively assisting the panel in the search for the truth."

The case reached sports' highest court after his first arbitration case last May ended with the arbitrators disappointed in USADA and determining that the testing labs practices were less than ideal.

Most accused cyclists do not defend themselves the way Landis has. Athletes lack the funds to properly defend themselves in this type of case. Landis overcame this issue by creating a fundraising campaign in addition to several private sources contributing to his defense. His defense is estimated to have cost more than $2MM.

This case didn't lack in drama either. Greg Lemond testified that Landis admitted to him that he doped, but the panel couldn't use that testimony as an admission. However, before Lemond testified, Landis' manager called him the night before and threatened to disclose to the world "LeMond's secret" if he showed up the next day. LeMond showed up, and disclosed that he was sexually abused as a child and telling the panel that he told Landis this information...and then receiving a phone call from a member of Landis' camp the night before.

Do us all a favor and admit that you cheated. From the litany of explanations (drinking alcohol, naturally high testosterone, dehydration, thyroid medication, and a conspiracy against him), it just doesn't add up for a sane person - you might get the conspiracy theorists to jump on board, but that's about it.

That is the first step on the road to recovery for Landis. If you don't get past stage 1, there is no stage 2. Unlike Lance Armstrong, there is a smoking gun for you, the positive test so to "deny, deny, deny" is not going to get you anywhere. Your credibility is greatly enhanced if your current explanation is the same as your original explanation for the positive test. Look on the bright side, 7 months until the 2 year ban expires.