While Mark McGwire was lying to Bob Costas on MLB Network about taking steroids to recover from injuries, ESPN was trotting out random people to comment on the subject. They had Tony LaRussa on earlier in the day, and then brought out the foremost expert on the topic of PEDs. Wait, it was Bobby Knight? And he compared steroids to Gatorade? Naturally.

Lost within all of this, is the fact that Bob Knight is a close personal friend of Tony LaRussa and was possibly just on to defend Mark McGwire's former manager (and current boss). I mean, by the true definition of "performance enhancing" I guess Gatorade would fall into that category, but that's just a tad bit of a stretch there Bobby.

Bob Knight compares steroids to Gatorade on ESPN (Chicago Sun Times)

By now you've heard that Mark McGwire has copped to using steroids during his career, but more specifically when he broke Roger Maris' HR record in 1998. Shocking, I know. McGwire issued this admission to the Associated Press, but it will be MLB Network and Bob Costas that gets the first interview this evening....

MLB Network’s Bob Costas will have an exclusive in-depth television interview with Mark McGwire tonight on MLB Network live at 7:00 p.m. ET about McGwire’s admission of using performance enhancing drugs during his career. This is the first television interview granted by McGwire since he admitted using PEDs in a statement earlier today.

Following the exclusive interview, MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian, Mitch Williams, Joe Magrane, Tom Verducci and Ken Rosenthal will discuss their reactions to the conversation. Costas will provide reaction from location in California and MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds and Peter Gammons will also provide commentary.

I'm one of the many people that followed McGwire's every at-bat during that season, and while I don't necessarily blame him for using steroids, this is something that should have come out years ago. Hiding that fact just makes me think he's a scumbag. I'm hoping that Bob Costas conducts a better interview than Peter Gammons' sitdown with A-Rod last year, but I doubt much of what McGwire says is going to make me change my views on him.

I didn't think anything that Bob Costas did would ever make Page six, but apparently I was wrong. The NY Post spotted Costas and his wife at dinner recently, with some interesting guests....

ALEX Rodriguez and Kate Hudson are going strong. The couple joined Bob Costas and wife Jill Sutton after Sunday's Yankees win over the Blue Jays for dinner at Scalinatella on East 61st Street. "A-Rod and Kate were holding hands and whispering in each other's ears the whole time," says our spy. "They definitely looked every bit together." Two nights before, the lovebirds were in a party of 11 at Serendipity 3.

Well that's an interesting pairing now, isn't it? It definitely seems strange, especially when you consider Costas was one of the first people to interview and defend Selena Roberts, but you've gotta do what you gotta do to get that in, I guess.

A-ROD, KATE HUDSON GOING STRONG (NY Post)

I'm not entirely sure why Jay Mariotti decided to wait a whole two weeks to chime in on the Raul Ibanez/Blog thing, but I'm more interested in the premise of his article. Mariotti is now about the 30th mainstream media member to comment that "steroid guessing is bad journalism", but forgetting what he has written about the subject in the past. Before we get into all of Mariotti's accusations about members of the Cubs, let's look at what he wrote late last night....

Yes, given the staggering bulk of guilty names and relentless flurry of new information, we all wonder to ourselves if every major leaguer who has played since 1995 used steroids. But that doesn't mean anyone has the right, legally or ethically, to start speculating for public consumption just because he has a functioning computer, a miniscule niche in cyberspace or a column in the dying newspaper industry. The methods of dissemination may have changed, but journalistic standards suddenly shouldn't go to hell.

If you know an athlete who uses steroids, convince us that it's true with corroborated material.

If not, please keep it to yourself.

Okay then. That's certainly an opinion someone can get behind, and if people want to follow that journalism tenet, I obviously have no problem with it. What I do have a problem with, is when it comes from someone who wrote the following:

The joke isn't funny anymore. Every time I ask Sammy Sosa about ster-oids, he uses a four-year-old punchline about his favorite vitamins. "I take my Flintstones once a day," he says, smiling as always.

But now that baseball's worst-kept secret finally is out of the medicine closet--vast numbers of players are juiced up on 'roids--it is incumbent upon Sosa and other prominent big-leaguers to start speaking up and taking a responsible stance concerning the sport's latest self-destructive issue. Very simply, he needs to tell the truth. If he hasn't used steroids, tell us. If he has used them occasionally, tell us. If he uses them regularly, tell us.

He really should just grab the cup, piddle in it and send it to the lab. It's the only way Sammy Sosa ends all suspicions, quiets the riffraff, blows away the steroid clouds and lets us resume enjoyment of his immaculate career, currently in an innuendo warp. He is sadly mistaken when he says, "The whole world knows that I am innocent."

For some reason, mainstream media members continually forget the words they wrote, if not days ago, at least a few years ago. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, what is wrong with speculating? Sports as a whole is speculation, and whether it's who used steroids?, or will Albert Pujols win the Triple Crown?....What's the big deal?

Also, what's worse in your mind? Writing out a debate with your friend about a player you have on your fantasy team, and trying to defend his stats? Or telling a player in a national publication to send his pee to a lab? Sure it was Sammy Sosa, and we all know how that turned out, but back then it was complete SPECULATION.

It's also funny to me that someone who has been taken for task about doing zero research by both clubs in Chicago, is calling out people for laziness.

Steroid Guessing Is Bad Journalism (Fanhouse)
Letter To Chicago Sun-Times (White Sox and Cubs)

Buzz Bissinger famously ripped on Sports Blogs (and Will Leitch) over a year ago, and you would think that in the time that elapsed he would have figured them out. Well you'd think wrong. Bissinger went on the Deadcast this week, and somehow came to the conclusion that Harold Reynolds himself, not the website "Hugging Harold Reynolds", added the Raul Ibanez Steroid Story to his site. Take a listen....

Well then. Now that's completely and utterly untrue. I think Buzz Bissinger is one of the best things to ever happen to blogs, but the guy still has a lot to learn about them.

It’s Family Hour With A Kinder, Gentler Buzz Bissinger (Deadspin)

Everyone is adding their two cents when it comes to this whole Raul Ibanez steroid speculation story, and some people seem to be forgetting their own words from a few years ago. One of those people is SI writer, Jon Heyman, who called unfounded PED speculation garbage, but apparently forgot about his own speculation of Sammy Sosa a few years back. Via Rays Index....

Did [Sosa] use steroids when he hit his 66 home runs in the summer of 1998? Is he getting some sort of outside help now that he’s back to being a power hitter for the Texas Rangers? Tough call.

Sure sounds like Heyman is speculating to us. And why is it a “tough call” for Heyman?

Then when Sosa was called upon to speak (before Congress), he struggled to find English words. I know Sosa’s English is better than it seemed that day. But maybe he was nervous. Can I know for sure?

If faking poor English is a sign of steroid use, then half the 2007 Mets roster was juicing. Let’s continue…

No one has ever had the goods on Sosa. No one has ever said he failed a test. Unlike Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield, he never bought from BALCO. I can assume the worst. But I’m not sure that’s fair.

No Jon, it is not fair. And according to your Twitter account, it is “garbage.” Now the big finish…

And unlike McGwire, Sosa has returned to play and thrive after baseball instituted steroid testing. The testing is imperfect, and Sosa is, too. Maybe he’s just as guilty as McGwire. But how am I going to know that for sure? Am I going to be able to count assumption and innuendo against Sosa? Am I going to assume the worst? Tough call.

That certainly does seem like a good bit of speculation there, but that's really what Sports is about. Everything is speculation. Who you think will win the Championship, Who will win MVP, mock drafts and yes....Who used/uses steroids. To turn this into a Blogger vs. MSM is just silly, but that's nothing new in the World of Sports. Ibanez has every right to defend himself, just as every Sports Fan has the right to speculate, and that's exactly what he did.

As far as the media goes, just look at this clip from Outside the Lines, and please take note of the different debating techniques from the MSMers on the show. You have the Philly Inquirer's John Gonzalez making a sound, thought out responses to the issue at hand. As well as, FOX's Ken Rosenthal, wildly arguing and acting as an apologist for the players....



And all of that coming from a person who wrote the following on May 14th, 2009:

"At this moment, I would have a difficult time voting for any confirmed or suspected user without an assurance from the Hall that the player's transgressions would be acknowledged.

If the players objected to such mentions, too bad. What would they do, boycott the Hall? Their mere inductions would reflect that they were the best of their tainted era. Many would argue that they do not deserve to be in Cooperstown at all.

I'm caught somewhere in between. And the clock is ticking on my time — and every voter's time — to figure out what is right."

We all are, Ken....but most of us try not to forget what we wrote an f'ing month ago!!! You say that we shouldn't just come out and guess who's using and who's not, but that's exactly what you did in that article. Who cares if it's a current player, or someone trying to get into the HOF?

Jon Heyman Is A Hypocrite When It Comes To PED Speculation (Rays Index)
Hall of Fame: Some tough calls must be made (Fox Sports)

I thought about a title that highlighted the more exciting parts of the Roger Clemens interview today on Mike & Mike, but alas....there was nothing exciting about it. The only exciting part came in the first thirty seconds of the conversation when Roger was interrupted by his kids. Here's that, some audio and some quotes if you care....

"That’s exactly right. He’s never injected me with HGH or steroids. You know guys, let me just add to it. Common sense…our family has a history of heart conditions. My brother had a heart attack in his late 40’s, my step-dad died of a heart attack. I mean it would be suicidal for me to think about even taking any of these dangerous drugs. It goes against what I talk about to kids (when I have a chance to talk to kids) of all ages about it. It’s really disheartening. I don’t want to say I have to put my guard up more around people because I’m not that type of person…I’m an outgoing person.”

"I appreciate the time I have to come on and talk about this book and tell you my feelings about it. I think I’ve taken some criticism by not coming out at times, that’s another reason why it’s great having Gene aboard because I’ve always wanted to talk about it and tell people my feelings and my stance on it.”

I don't know why I thought that was going to be anything exciting. Clemens is the worst interview subject ever, but at least Mike and Mike asked the tough questions, which is something you can't often say about them. Too bad Roger didn't want to answer any of them.

Much Ado About Nothing, Clemens Speaks Without Saying Anything (Sports Radio Interviews)

There are certainly other interviews, I think people would care about seeing more than Roger Clemens at the present time (i.e.- Manny), but having Clemens on for his first talk since January is a pretty big get. The former MLB pitcher will be on Mike & Mike tomorrow morning at approximately 8:25am. Here is the shortest press release in history via ESPN PR....

Former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens is scheduled to join co-hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning tomorrow (Tuesday), May 12, at 8:25 a.m. ET. The interview will be on the show’s simulcast on ESPN2.

I wish they had said what he was promoting, because there's no way he's going on there without an agenda. I'll try to catch it tomorrow, and have video up if anything interesting is said.

The audio and video were a bit off on the MLB Network's simulcast, but you can get the general idea. Nothing that groundbreaking was said, but it still might be worth a viewing. Basically, A-Rod is still sorry, he got the drugs from his cousin and took them two times a month and he plans to work with an organization founded by a father who lost his kid to steroids. Here's the beginning of the press conference, when A-Rod issued his statement. There were a handful of good questions from the reporters on-hand in the next 30 minutes or so, and I'll try to add those in once I go through them all.

Update: Here's a trimmed down version of the questions....

I don't know what new information could come out of an A-Rod press conference, but the admitted steroid user will speak to a horde of media members in Tampa today at 1:30pm. The Yankee will speak to anywhere from 150-300 media members, will be joined by his fellow teammates, and the presser will be aired on YES as well as being simulcast on ESPN and the MLB Network. Here's what the two national networks have planned.

ESPN: ESPN’s daily SportsCenter will present live coverage of the Alex Rodriguez press conference tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:30 p.m. ET from Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

ESPNEWS will present the entire press conference, beginning its coverage at 1 p.m. with highlights of last Monday’s Peter Gammons-Rodriguez interview. It will re-air the press conference during the 4 p.m. and 7 p .m. hours. Hannah Storm and Bob Holtzman will report live from Tampa. ESPN Radio will also cover the press conference within its Tirico & Van Pelt show (1-3 p.m. M-F) with co-hosts Mike Tirico and Scott Van Pelt.

MLB Network: MLB Network today will air live coverage of the Alex Rodriguez press conference at the Yankees’ Spring Training facility in Tampa, beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s coverage will be anchored by Greg Amsinger along with Harold Reynolds, Barry Larkin and Billy Ripken, and will include reports and reaction from Jon Heyman and Joe Magrane, who are both in Tampa.

Wait....Billy Ripken? I didn't even know that he was a part of the MLB Network. I guess you learn something new everyday. As far as the press conference goes, I'll try to have video up later in the day for those of you who want to see it, but I'm certainly not looking forward to it.

This could very well be LeAnne Schriber's last column with the "Leader", but at least she had a lot to talk about. The Ombudsman tackled all things A-Rod, and more importantly, the Peter Gammons-Larry King talk....

My own assessment is that Gammons asked the hard questions -- Did you take steroids? For how long? Where did you get them? Did you lie to Katie Couric? -- but that after getting Rodriguez' opening admission of guilt, he did not press hard enough when Rodriguez gave evasive or self-serving answers to the what/where/when/why questions. I also think Gammons' lack of follow-up was attributable, in large part, to his genuine sympathetic engagement in the human drama of what the viewer somewhat cynically called "Rodriguez's first step toward personal redemption."

Gammons told me, as well as other interviewers, that he was stunned by Rodriguez' admission that he had taken banned substances for three years.

"When I talked informally with Alex the night before," Gammons said, "I got the impression he was going to say whatever he tested positive for in 2003 was related to prescription drugs he had taken for a back injury in spring training."

When Gammons returned the next day for the interview -- which Rodriguez had first rescheduled from Sunday night to Monday morning, and then postponed again to early that afternoon -- he was prepared, with input from several ESPN producers and reporters, to do a more prosecutorial interview than the one that transpired. But Rodriguez offered his unexpected admission of guilt after the first question, and, Gammons says, "Obviously, there was a shift in direction."

"I realized right away that this was the first surefire, by his performance, Hall-of-Famer to admit this," Gammons said, "and therefore I thought keeping him talking, and getting as much as I could out there, was very important. I really felt my first duty was to get his words onto my employer's network."

Interesting. I still think Gammons did a fine job, but this certainly sheds some light on his mindset during the sitdown. It's always hard to conduct something like this under so much scrutiny and pressure, and you usually get a sense of revisionist history after the fact, but people criticizing Gammons should just give it a rest.

Gammons/A-Rod was no Frost/Nixon (ESPN)

Sunday Times reporter, Paul Kimmage, conducted a radio interview after Lance Armstrong announced his return to Cycling in which Kimmage called Armstrong the Sport's "Cancer". Well last night, during a press-conference for the Amgen Tour of California, Armstrong got his chance to address the reporter and absolutely owned him. Here's the video via Velo News....

Man. I almost feel bad for the guy. Well besides the fact that he's an ass for using "Cancer" as the butt of his commentary. I too have questioned Lance Armstrong's use of PEDs before, but I've always believed that someone was innocent until proven guilty.

I personally thought Peter Gammons did a great job in his interview with Alex Rodriguez, but some people are not agreeing today, namely Sports Illustrated. SI writer Jeff Pearlman has criticized the ESPNer for not sticking up for Pearlman's co-worker, Serena Roberts, and Gammons is now apologizing for not doing so. Via an email to Deadspin....

I think in retrospect, I should have interrupted the Arod rant. My first question asked if Selena's story were true, he essentially admitted it was, and I believed she was therefore vindicated. I usually don't get into grudges, and felt he was promoting her book, which will be her response. I was trying to get Alex in his own words, but Jeff's criticism has merit that I accept.

Pearlman called Gammons the "Larry King of sports", and while I think that's a little harsh, I can sort of see how some would feel that way. The only problem is that both MLB (who has a new deal with ESPN), and Scott Boras, probably were all over the questions that were asked, and ESPN obviously wanted to be delicate with the piece. That's obviously not an excuse to avoid getting to the bottom of things, but it might explain the tone a bit more.

Oh and one more thing. I know it's slow now that Football is over, ESPN, but good lord! I've seen this damn interview about 40 times now!!! There was some Basketball played yesterday right? Hockey perhaps??? I know what will get us to forget about all this A-Rod nonsense. PETTTTTERRRRRR GAMMMMMMONNNNSSSS!

Ah...that's better.

Peter Gammons is the Larry King of sports television (Jeff Pearlman)
Peter Gammons Regrets Not Sticking Up For Roberts (Deadspin)

ESPN just aired a brief clip of the Peter Gammons interview with Alex Rodriguez, and while it's not the full one that will be on Sports Center tonight, it seems to be the most important part of the discussion. Here is the video in case you missed it....

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."- Alex Rodriguez (Via ESPN)

"I did take a banned substance. For that, I'm very sorry and deeply regretful."

So what we now know is that he is admitting to using PEDs during a three-year period with the Texas Rangers, and that he's apparently extremely sorry for doing so. It's still not surprising, but what is surprising is that he actually came clean and admitted to doing so. I don't think many people are willing to forgive right away, especially when you take into account he lied during his 60 Minutes interview, but this was definitely a step he needed to take.

A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs (ESPN)

As many times as you've seen the Katie Couric interview these past few days, you knew A-Rod's first interview wasn't going to CBS. Instead, the "Leader" will get Rodriguez's first comments following SI's report on Saturday that stated the slugger tested positive for steroids back in 2003. Via Watchdog....

Alex Rodriguez apparently will not wait long to respond publicly to the revelation over the weekend that he tested positive in 2003 for a performance advancing substance.

ESPN is "finalizing" plans for an interview with Alex Rodriguez, a network spokesman said early Monday afternoon.

It is not clear when that interview would take place - likely sometime later this afternoon - or with whom, but a person familiar with the discussions who declined to be identified said the most likely interviewer would be veteran baseball journalist Peter Gammons, who has a history of being relatively sympathetic to Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was in The Bahamas when the news broke Saturday but he since then is believed to have huddled with his agent, Scott Boras, about how to handle the public relations fallout.

It's now clear when that interview will take place, and with whom, as A-Rod will be sitting down with Peter Gammons within the 2 o'clock hour this afternoon, and the interview will air at 6pm tonight during Sports Center. Scott Boras has obviously been trying to find an avenue to start the PR campaign, and the first step will be taking place on ESPN. I'll be sure to get the video for you as soon as the interview is over.

Update: According to ESPN, via Gammons, A-Rod admits to using PEDs.

ESPN working on 'finalizing' first interview with A-Rod (Watchdog)

There is rarely anything that shocks me in this world anymore, and on a scale of 1-10, A-Rod taking steroids comes in at a .25. Jose Canseco called the Yankee slugger a user in his book "Vindicated", but Rodriguez vehemently denied the allegation. Well today (weird that this broke on a Saturday), SI is saying that he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Primobolan and testosterone back in 2003....

In 2003, when he won the American League home run title and the AL Most Valuable Player award as a shortstop for the Texas Rangers, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids, four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated.

Rodriguez's name appears on a list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball's '03 survey testing, SI's sources say. As part of a joint agreement with the MLB Players Association, the testing was conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004.

When approached by an SI reporter on Thursday at a gym in Miami, Rodriguez declined to discuss his 2003 test results. "You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."

While this isn't surprising, it's not all that damaging to Rodriguez. Steroid use wasn't yet banned in Baseball back in 2003, and the samples tested were supposed to be kept anonymous. Obviously, as we've seen with Bonds, Giambi, etc., that hasn't held true. But as we've seen with Giambi, Pettitte, etc., a little time just makes everyone forget.

It will still taint A-Rod's legacy as a hitter, but I don't think it will hurt him as much as Bonds or McGwire.

Sources tell SI Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003 (Sports Illustrated)

I'd been looking for this clip all morning, and thanks to reader AS, it has been found! Last night during a Sports Center Right Now segment, John Saunders brought up the Barry Bonds documents that were released yesterday. Well Saunders threw it back to Mike Patrick, who was calling the Duke-Clemson game, and being one who's not shy about expressing his opinion (see: Spears, Britney), Patrick decided to chime in.

Wow. He's not playing around, is he? Just send that f'er right to jail! My favorite part though are the reactions from the rest of his team. Jay Bilas doesn't even know what to say, and then Heather Cox says she "doesn't know how to follow that." You know you've said something crazy if you render your entire crew silent.

Too funny.

I think this might be a first! Sports Center has certainly credited blogs before, including this one, but I don't think Deadspin has ever been mentioned on the flagship show for ESPN. This morning Josh Elliott credited Deadspin with a quote from Jay McGwire, Mark McGwire's younger brother, who says in his new book that he was the one who supplied the slugger with steroids. Here's the clip....

Congrats to my former employer (*tear*), AJ and the rest of the crew over there, and good on ESPN for recognizing who found the item first. The best part about this, is that it's ESPN's lead story on Sports Center, so they're going to be mentioning the website all day. Just another small step towards acceptance!

Mark McGwire's One-Eyed Baby Brother Reveals The Not-So-Startling Truth (Deadspin)

ESPN's Bob Ley sat down with John McCain on Sunday during a NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and here is the full interview that aired on Sports Center this morning....

It seemed to go a lot longer than the Obama-Scott interview, but pretty much the same line of questioning. Softballs all-around and a few Sports questions thrown in. Again, I'm against Politics being involved in Sports, and I'm not quite sure why ESPN finally decided to go forward with them, but in the end....no harm, no foul.

Oh and tricky move by ESPN to release that the interview was going to be on the 9am Sports Center and actually airing it at the very end of the three-hour block.

John McCain Gets His Turn On ESPN (Awful Announcing)
Video: Obama's Sit-Down With Stuart Scott (Awful Announcing)

I got wind of this ahead of time but I figured that Leitch wanted it to be a surprise. In case you missed Bob Costas' Town Hall Meeting on Baseball last night, he had Will and Buzz Bissinger in the crowd and introduced them before the event began....

So sweet....they look like old friends and there's even some background on the idea....

Whose idea was this?
Costas'. He called me late last week and asked if I'd be down with it. I said sure, why not. This came 30 seconds before Bob crowed about how much he had helped my career, a claim I found specious, and said so. I'm not sure he listened. Anyway. Bob just said, "You should sit next to Buzz during the show, and drink beer together, and I'll make a joke about how baseball can bring anyone together." I happen to agree with this sentiment 100 percent, and, whatever, free beer.

The odd thing about all of this isn't that the two of them showed up together but that it was Costas' idea. The host spent most of yesterday giving interviews trying convince people not to watch if they wanted a recreation like the Leitch-Bissinger event, but hey...whatever works right?

The show itself wasn't anything special but it was somewhat entertaining. The group really only briefly touched on steroids and ticket prices and really seemed to serve as a forum to praise the players and Hall of Famers in the crowd. There's nothing wrong with that approach, and the stories are amazing, but that's not what I was expecting coming in. It's good to see everyone is getting along though. See that wasn't so hard was it?

Buzz And Me: An FAQ (Deadspin)