According to a report on Sports Illustrated's web site, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003, his last season with the Texas Rangers before joining the Yankees.
Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources independently told Sports Illustrated.
A-Rod won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player in 2003.
The web site reported Rodriguez's name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's survey testing in 2003.
Rambling thoughts of a "Nutball" about Sports, and other STUFF Too by Editor, and Head Writer "The Expert" My fan-dom is like Wide World of Sports (The Thrill of Victory-"Yankees" and the Agony of Defeat Hockey Disappearing)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
8 Men Out--The Sequel
So with the Steroid scandal there appears to be a backlash against the alleged users.
Well listening to MLB Live on XM this afternoon I heard the Host Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton and he talked about what may prove to be the "NEW" (8 Men Out) --of the "Hall of Fame".
This is also discussed in todays New York Daily News..The News examines the Hall of Fame chances for MLB's new 'Eight Men Out by Anthony Mccarron
They 8 would be...
1)Roger Clemens
2)Mark McGuire,
3)Sammy Sosa,
4)Barry Bonds,
5)Alex Rodriguez
6)Pudge Rodriguez,
7)Rafael Palmiero,
8)Gary Sheffield.
So will this be a Movie 20 years from now?
What do you think?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Will Derek Jeter Leave the Yankees?
Look at this Back Page!!!
To me it looks like Derek Jeter is getting Fed Up with the circus that has been going on with the Yankees.
When Derek Jeter's contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.
there are those who have said that maybe the Yankees should consider not going all out to sign him because of his age and what some say is his "diminishing skills"!
Some say he is not that good of a Shortstop anymore and in fact he may be hurting the Yankees by staying there. Also some say his bat is not nearly effective as it once was. There are even some who say he is and has always been overrated,
Myself, I say he is not overrated and never has been, I always would have taken Jeter over Nomar or the "Baseball player formally known as A-Rod".
I do say he will need to switch defensive positions very soon, maybe by 2010.
However he does appear that he becoming disgusted and tired of the distractions,
So I have to wonder, Will he decide that he has had enough and go play some place else afer the 2010 season.
I think it is very possible. I would say it is 50/50 that he decides to stay.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thoughts about A-**** and Other Thoughts
>'ROID-RIGUEZ IN HALL OF SHAME.
>ANOTHER SYRINGE STUCK IN BASEBALL.
>Yankees stuck with A-Fraud.
>A-Rod a total bust when it comes to Baseball Hall of Fame chances.
>This is just some of the Story and Blog Headlines from this weekend.>I am writing this saying that if these reports of Alex Rodriguez testing positive for Steroid Use are true and he did use them.
>My thoughts are ,Disappointment and a small amount of shock. I always thought it was possible that A-Rod had used PEDs, But I was hoping that he was doing it right.
>Now let me come clean, I have been very hard on Alex Rodriguez since 2005.
It is well known by long time readers that I have referenced A-Rod as A-Dog. because I thought he was proving to be a total bust in Big Game Situations.
>Also I am a Yankee fan going back to the Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and even Jim Bouton days.
>When he decided to announce his Opt-Out of his contract during the middle of a game in the 2007 World Series I advocated to let him go. I was upset that the Yankees decided to bring him back, But when he was signed I said I hope he will come through and become a good pressure player, teammate, But he did not have a Great year in 2008, (Compared to Other A-**** Years)
I was hoping that A-**** was going to have his usual odd year type of season.
>Now this information comes out that he tested positive during the 2003 testing.
We can say that this information should never have come out, and I do agree that the Union and MLB should have destroyed this information, but since it did come out we have to live with it.
>The worst part is that A-**** told Katie Couric in an interview he never used and never was tempted to use. So he does appear to be a liar.
>So what do I think overall. As far as I am concerned the Yankees should just cut A-**** and Pay off his entire contract and allow him to sign anywhere including Boston.
>It will be 5 years on Feb 14th that the Yankees traded for A-**** and they seem to be cursed since then. It is almost becoming embarrassing to be a Yankee fan these days, They are becoming a joke, I did say last year I was thrilled with the rise of the Tampa Bay Rays, and I really hope they can contend again this year.
>Other thoughts--I wonder when other big names from "Other" teams will come out. No one can convince me that just the Yankees along with (The other already suspected names) have had steroid users.--This is very damaging to the game. One just has to hope that there are never any reports of Steroid use by names like Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Greg Maddux or any other very well respected players by all fans.
>Also as one of the Headlines says. A-**** will never get into the Hall Of Fame now, We will never see #13 as a retired number in Yankee Stadium. And the Booing will never be louder in Yankee Stadium when he comes up to bat, A**** will be vilified in Yankee stadium even more than Any Red Sox (Keven Millar, Jason Veretek, or Bill Lee) player or Randy Johnson during the 2005 ALDS Game 3 Playoffs.
>One has to wonder what is the damage to the game. Add this to the bad economy and as in the Yankees and Mets case goes Very High Ticket Prices one would have to believe that Attendance will drop off. It more than likely not happen in 2009, but keep an eye out for the 2010 season, I think many fans will say enough, Revenues will drop and many teams will lose lots of money and may not be able to continue to operate. Also when the Labor Agreement expires you would have to expect a very tough negotiations and I would not be surprised to see a Strike/Lock Out that could last one season or even longer, (You can expect this in every sport including the NFL)
Corporations will not continue to pour Cash into Sports Franchises, So the bottom line is unless the Economy rebounds and is stronger than it ever was and by all reports they say no matter what is passed it will take anywhere from 2 to 5 years till the economy even begins to improve that we can see a large amount of Sports franchises to cease operations.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Breaking News on A-Rod
- From Newsday and Ken Davidoff
- 11:32 AM EST, February 7, 2009
BY KEN DAVIDOFF |ken.davidoff@newsday.com
A report claims Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids while playing for the Texas Rangers in 2003. (Newsday / Paul J. Bereswill)
Rodriguez told an SI reporter, "You'll have to talk to the union," and, "I'm not saying anything."
Players' union head Donald Fehr did not comment in the report.
Results of the 2003 steroid tests were meant to be kept a secret, but that changed when federal agents raided a drug testing lab as part of their investigation into the BALCO scandal, SI reported.
Sources familiar with the seized evidence told SI that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and an anabolic steroid known by the brand name Primobolan.
Primobolan is known by the chemical name methenolone enanthate. It is taken orally or through injection and is considered "safe" because it has relatively few side effects. It is also considered one of the most expensive steroids. It improves strength and maintains lean muscle without developing excess bulk.
Side effects include oily skin, acne, increased facial/body hair growth or an aggravation of male pattern baldness.
(My Question) What does this do to his reputation,
1-With Baseball fans around the country?
2--With Yankee fans (many who hate him anyway)?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How good would Babe Ruth be in 2009?
Now saying that I have to wonder How good would Babe Ruth would be in today's game.
You have to remember that he totally dominated the game, Very much like how Wilt Chamberlain dominated the NBA in the early 60s or Wayne Gretzky dominated the NHL in the 80s.
I look at Ruth and figure the way the game has changed, he would not be quite as good as he was in the 20s..
As a matter of fact, I say that his stats would be...
Avg.....297..
HR.......31..
RBIs--98..
Now I know what you are saying...."Hey Nutball you are an idiot..How can you say that he would hit like that...Surly he would be as good if not better and more dominate than he was in the 1920s."
But all I could say is. I really doubt it..All you people are forgetting one little thing...
He is going to be 114 Years Old (Born Feb 6 1895)..You cannot expect him to be that good.
Happy Birthday Babe.
Monday, February 2, 2009
TV Ratings
Jerry Greene and his "Virtual Cheap Seats" Blog
We (Orlando Fl.) were watching along with most everyone else. Orlando's overnight rating for Super Bowl XLIII was 46.4 (by my shaky math, representing about 650,000 households) with a 66 percent share of the sets in use at the time -- which would seem to imply that one out of three of us was watching something else.
The national overnight was 42.1 and a 65 percent share, only down 5.8 percent from last year's 44.6/66 for the Giants-Patriots game -- a relative victory for NBC considering the lack of national appeal by the Arizona Cardinals.
Pittsburgh, unsurprisingly, led the nation -- but it was Norfolk second and Jacksonville third! Phoenix was actually ninth although it's 47.5 number did represent 80 percent of the sets in use there. Apparently, much of Phoenix simply went to bed or was out bowling.
In the state, after Jacksonville in third, Tampa (where the game took place) was sixth and Fort Myers seventh before Orlando in 14th. Miami was not in the top 25. Maybe they were sulking because the Fish didn't get there.
TOP 25 MARKETS FOR SUPER BOWL XLIII:
1. Pittsburgh 53.6/79
2. Norfolk 52.6/72
3. Jacksonville 50.6/71
4. Buffalo 50.4/68
5. Richmond 49.3/67
6. Tampa 49.2/70
7. Ft. Myers 48.1/68
8. Cleveland 47.7/69
9. Phoenix 47.5/80
10. Indianapolis 47.4/65
11. Nashville 47.2/66
12. Washington D.C. 46.7/70
13. Columbus 46.5/67
14. Orlando 46.4/66
15. Memphis 46.3/63
16. Philadelphia 46.2/65
17. New Orleans 45.7/63
18. Knoxville 45.2/58
19. Baltimore 45.0/63
T20. Denver 44.7/76
T20. Las Vegas 44.7/68
T20. Greensboro 44.7/63
T23. Charlotte 44.6/63
T23. Greenville 44.6/60
25. St. Louis 44.5/69
My comment is...Pittsburgh loves its Steelers,
Does this mean that so called "Football Cities" like New York, Dallas,Miami and Boston only care about their cities teams and could not care if the NFL exists if their teams are not there, (Maybe they are sore losers) and also a city like Los Angeles who they say "wants" a team. (Rumored to wanting to put 2 teams in a new stadium) {Maybe the Jacksonville Jaguars and reaquiring the Rams} really does not care for Football at all..
This seems to show that more people in Norfolk Va., every city in Florida exept Miami (Dolphins), Tallahassee (Seminoles) and Gainsville (Gators) than those so-called big league cities.
And what the heck does that show about Phoenix that finished 9th behind a bunch of non-NFL Cities and some with them too.
I guess you cannot go by TV Ratings to determine where an NFL Team goes..Other wise you would have the following teams
Norfolk (Va) Giants, Richmond (Va) Jets, Ft Myers (Fl) Dolphins, Columbus (Oh) Bengals, and the Orlando (Fl) Patriots. (Has a nice ring to it! Doesn't it)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Some thoughts of the Super Bowl and Other stuff
Well It was a great game. I did say that Fitzgerald would make one huge play and he did, and it looked like a Game Winner.
I also said that Ben Roethlisberger does not put up big numbers but makes big plays and he did
And that is what a Champion does and he is one,
I did think that Tomlin deciding to go for a Field goal in the 1st Quarter was a big mistake, and it looked like that was going to be the difference. But in the end if the Steelers did not have those 3 points than all the Cards would have needed was a Field Goal to win.
As far as the game itself, looking at it as a fan of Football this was as good of a game as last year and some of the other games the past several years.
Lost today was the Great Final in the Australian Open with Nadal defeating Federer in the Finals, Nadal has now become the dominate player in Tennis and the rivalry between Nadal/Federer is as good as the John McEnroe/Jimmy Conners/Bjorn Borg Rivalry, But Tennis no longer has much of a following here in the USA.
I am also baffled by why Joe Torre has written a book about his time with the Yankees and bringing up all the dirty laundry. I happen to think Torre is correct on most of his thoughts, but I cannot understand why he would comment on stuff inside the Clubhouse, That is sacred territory in my opinion, Not only will the Yankees never retire his #6, with his name on the wall. I also think he will lose the trust of the Dodger players and he will either be fired or will quit during this season. Also this just might cost Torre any chance of going to the Hall of Fame if he has to depend on former players and Managers to vote him him.