Sports Blog of the Day

It was only a matter of time before the sports world were exposed to the laundry list of MLB players who have gone to the syringe using steroids.

With Alex Rodriquez admitting cheating while with the Texas Rangers during the 2001 through 2003 seasons and Miguel Tejada getting hit with charges for lying during a Congressional investigation on steroids the list will only continue to grow.

Getting most of the attention lately has been Barry Bonds who’s trial starts the beginning of March and Roger Clemens who is under intense investigation for perjury. Bonds has already entered a not-guilty plea last week.

The sorriest part of the A-Rod situation is that MLB knew he had failed tests for performance-enhancing drugs during his American League MVP season. That raises a very interesting question.

Although it is too late for the Rangers to take back their $250 million contract that the injecting player has received and possibly spent, should A-Rod be stripped of that MVP trophy and any records associated with it?

People were screaming for Bonds to have an asterisk next to his name and the ball that he hit over the fence breaking Hank Aaron’s home-run record.

Fair is fair, if Bonds has an asterisk, A-Rod certainly deserves one.

If Clemens is found to have used juice during his record-setting career and dozens of other star players who have admitted use, lets just call in a crew from HGTV to redecorate Cooperstown with an array of asterisks.

Base-stealing wizard Rickey Henderson is expected to cruise into the Baseball Hall of Fame after Monday’s vote. The last left fielder elected was Boston Red Sox great Carl Yastrzemski and the year was 1989.

Although Henderson is a heavy favorite to make it in, several other players appear to be on the fence and will have to sweat it out until the votes are tallied. One of those players is another Red Sox star Jim Rice who is on the ballot for the 15th and final year.

That’s what is wrong with the HOF voting. How can a guy like Rice not be inducted after all those years of voting. Rice had 2,452 hits, 382 HRs and 1,451 RBIs in 16 seasons.

The question surrounding the baseball HOF voting is “What does a guy have to do to get in”!

There’s no specific answer but stealing a ML record 1,406 stolen bases, scoring a league-record 2,295 runs and compiling 3,055 hits over a long 25 year career like Henderson did should do it.

Others on the ballot are Andre Dawson and pitchers Tommy John and Bert Blyleven.

While the bidding wars are reaching the $160 million mark for first baseman Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez has not found a home, some of the other high-profile players have.

Leading this year’s free agent blitz were C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett who were both signed with the Yankees.

Other notable free agents have also moved forward inking deals like the oldest of the group, 46-year-old Jamie Moyer who signed a two-year guaranteed deal with the Phillies after posting a 16-7 record with a 3.71 ERA. The starting pitcher is an iron man, starting at least 32 times in each of the past eight seasons and it appears he has a lot of life left in his arm.

The Yankees are pursuing Ramirez. The New York Post reported the team offered him a contract in the neighborhood of $22 to $25 million per year for three years.

Judge Susan Illston dropped three of the charges against ex-San Francisco Giants slugger, Barry Bonds, lightening the load of perjury charges he will be facing in his upcoming March trial.

You have to wonder if Bonds may walk completely from any charges like his fellow MLB players who all found a way to avoid any major legal ramifications.

In 2005, Texas Ranger player, Rafael Palmeiro said to Congress, “I have never used steroids. Period!” In a blood test that followed, the steroid stanozolol was detected in his system.

There was never a charge or follow-up by the Congressional committee. The scenario was quickly brushed under the rug.

When Roger Clemens was questioned under oath by a Congressional committee about steroid use, he pretty much dug a deep hole for himself he is still trying to climb out of.

The overwhelming consensus is that Clemens lied under oath and as the world waits to see what will happen, Bonds stands alone, taking a beating from the fans, media and federal prosecutors.

Hard not to wonder what the hold-up is on pressing charges on either of these other two players and others who have appeared in front of Congress and had questionable interviews.

Don’t be surprised if Bonds ends up walking from all of this with only a blemish on his MLB career but no jail time or conviction.

The more questions that are asked, the more info people offer, the deeper the hole gets for 7-time Cy Young winner, Roger Clemens to crawl out of. 

Accusations of steroid use from Jose Canseco and trainer Brian McNamee started the Clemens implosion. Then there were the photos that emerged placing Clemens at a Canseco party that Clemens, while under oath, outright denied being at.

In a recent interview between Mindy McCready and the show, Inside Edition, Clemens who may have to find a better rebuttal than, “I know ex-president Bush and went hunting with him”.

The debate on whether Clemens lied under oath has grown very lopsided over the months since he testified before Congress pertaining to that steroid Mitchell Report and are not in the player’s favor.

That latest chatter from McCready, who Clemens denied having an affair with, will be more than just a headache for Roger.

According to CBS.com, McCready told Inside Edition she “met Clemens when she was 16, not 15,” and their relationship turned sexual several years later. 

McCready also was quoted by the Daily News: “He (Clemens) should have just told Debbie (his wife) and been honest with her. If he didn’t want to be with her and wanted to be with me, he should have told her.”

Expect to see Clemens in more headlines as they continue to investigate his perjury charges.