Drugs in Sports

An 11-year-old fan's photo of Roger Clemens could mean trouble for the scandal-battered pitcher, especially if the congressional committee pursuing the steroids investigation refers the case to the Justice Department, the New York Daily News reports. The image is allegedly of Clemens at a 1988 party given by Jose Canseco, which he and Canseco have both testified he didn't attend. More »

"Last year, I got tested 9 to 10 times," Alex Rodriguez told reporters yesterday. The high number of tests raises questions, according to the New York Times . MLB mandates two tests a year per player, plus 600 random tests, for which "There is no limit on the number of times a player can be tested," according to spokesman Richard Levin. More »

Here’s the list of people human growth hormone is proven to help: the elderly, AIDS and tuberculosis patients, and people with hormone deficiencies. Baseball players aren’t on that list, Newsweek reports, and neither are thousands of ordinary people who believe HGH slows the aging process. “There’s a great deal of hype,” said one endocrinologist, “but there isn’t a great deal of evidence.” More »

Andy Pettitte apologized to fans and teammates today for using human growth hormone, the AP reports. Pettitte said he had not spoken to Roger Clemens, whom he implicated in HGH use in a congressional deposition, in more than a month. “I can't even describe how uncomfortable” the Clemens situation is, said Pettitte. More »

A lawyer for trainer Brian McNamee said today if pitcher Roger Clemens is ever charged with lying to Congress about steroid use, he would be pardoned by President Bush, the AP reports. "Even if he's prosecuted, he will never have to serve jail time or face a trial,” said lawyer Richard Emery, citing Clemens’ friendship with Bush's father and Dubya’s pardoning of Scooter Libby. More »

David Cone said last night he never had a conversation with Roger Clemens' former strength coach Brian McNamee about drug testing in Major League Baseball, reports the New York Times. During testimony before Congress yesterday, McNamee was asked about a conversation he said he had with Cone in 2000 that led him to hold on to syringes he said he used on Clemens. More »

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte will not be called to testify before the congressional committee investigating the Mitchell Report and alleged steroids use by Roger Clemens, ESPN reports. Former Mets trainer Kirk Radomski and ex-player Chuck Knoblauch will also not testify, which leaves Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee. McNamee claims he injected the pitcher with performance enhancers more than a dozen times. More »

Brian McNamee told congressional investigators yesterday that Roger Clemens’ wife, Debbie, took human growth hormone, a source tells the New York Daily News . The pitcher's former trainer said Roger asked him to inject Debbie with HGH as she prepared to be photographed for Sports Illustrated 's 2003 swimsuit issue, the source said. More »

Kirk Radomski was sentenced to five years probation today for selling speed, steroids and HGH to baseball's top tier from 1995 to 2005, the AP reports. The former Mets clubhouse employee avoided a possible 6 months of jail time because of his extensive cooperation with George Mitchell’s report on steroid abuse in Major League Baseball. He will also have to pay a $18,575 fine. More »

Lawyers for Brian McNamee say that the former strength and conditioning coach has turned over evidence that can prove pitcher Roger Clemens took steroids. A source tells the New York Daily News that the materials include vials with traces of steroids, and even syringes and pads that may contain traces of Clemens' DNA. More »

Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte spoke under oath with officials from a House committee for 2.5 hours today on the subject of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Pettitte's testimony has been highly anticipated since accusations in the Mitchell Report that both Pettitte and former teammate Roger Clemens used steroids, writes the Times ; the two stars shared the same trainer, Brian McNamee. More »

Roger Clemens was not in the “twilight” of his career or "washed up" in the late '90s, a statistical report released by his agents today aims to show, to refute allegations that the hurler used performance-enhancing drugs to rebound. The report compares his stats to other major league pitchers and shows Clemens was already an MVP the year his trainer claims to have begun dosing him. More »

Juicing isn't just for humans anymore—or at least that's the new worry on the rodeo circuit, as bulls are now being tested for steroids. To keep suspicion away from the ring, the Professional Bull Riders are beginning tests to "ensure the integrity of the sport," and first up is celebrity bronco Big Bucks, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

Jose Canseco offered Tigers' outfielder Magglio Ordonez an offer he could refuse, say sources within baseball: invest millions in a film project, and be kept clear of allegations of steroid use in Canseco's follow up to tell-all biography, Juiced . MLB referred the case to the FBI, but Ordonez declined to press charges, the New York Times reports. More »

Barry Bonds' attorneys have filed a motion in federal court to have the perjury charges against him dismissed. The charges stem from Bonds allegedly lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs in December 2003. Bonds claims that the indictment was “scattershot” and that questions poised to him by prosecutors were ambiguous and confusing, the AP reports. More »

Roger Clemens, fighting back hard against being named in the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, will continue that strategy on Jan. 26, when he answers questions from Congressional committee staff about the topic under oath, in advance of planned public hearings, reports the New York Times . "Roger looks forward to telling the truth," said his attorney, Rusty Hardin. More »

The steroids probe that brought down Marion Jones has claimed it first NFL player: Three-time Pro Bowler Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty today in federal court to making false statements to a federal agent about performance-enhancing drugs. Prosecutors alleged the former defensive lineman lied in 2003 about taking a previously undetectable steroid called “the clear” and the blood-boosting drug EPO. More »

Since baseball's 2006 ban on amphetamines, the number of players claiming to have Attention Deficit Disorder and obtaining prescriptions for stimulant drugs has nearly quadrupled from 28 to 103, reports the Associated Press. The MLB anti-performance enhancing policy gives the players exemptions on certain drugs, including Ritalin and Adderall, if obtained via a doctor's prescription. The new number represents 8.2% of the players tested. More »

Commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Donald Fehr were back in front of a congressional committee today, joined by ex-senator George Mitchell, to answer questions about Mitchell's report on steroids in the sport. Selig in particular was grilled over his own role. "This scandal happened under your watch. I want that to sink in. It did. Do you accept responsibility for this scandal?" demanded Elijah Cummings. More »

It has been nearly three years since MLB commissioner Bud Selig was taken to task by members of Congress for allowing steroids to permeate the nation’s pastime. But while Selig has toughened the league’s stance on PEDs and commissioned George Mitchell to investigate baseball’s steroids era, the commissioner may still come under fire during today's congressional hearings, reports ESPN. More »