ST. LOUIS – President Obama started the MLB All Star evening out with the first pitch and the American League  finished it off with another victory over their rival National League All Stars.The 4-3 victory is the 13th in a row for the AL, a record streak that again earned them home field advantage in the World Series.

In the 7th inning Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford perfectly timed a line drive off the bat of Colorado Rockies’ Brad Hawpe, tracking the ball down to the fence, leaping and robbing him of a home run. The highlight of the game earned Crawford the Ted Williams All Star MVP award. Crawford also went 1-for-3 at the plate.

“It’s got to be the top play of my career,” said Crawford. “I don’t think I’ve ever robbed a home run before, so I picked a good time to do it tonight. It’s definitely the best catch I’ve ever made.”

After AL starting pitcher Roy Halladay gave up 4 hits and three runs over the first two innings, the next seven AL hurlers that took the mound held the NL scoreless, allowing just one more hit over the final seven innings.

The game was played in front of 46,760 fans at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Other All Star Notes: Milwaukee Brewers Prince Fielder won the 2009 State Farm home run derby over All Star break. Fielder, who along with his father Cecil Fielder is a member of the Sports Climax “Fat Bastards” gallery, showed how to throw his weight around, knocking 23 over the fence.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – While Barry Bonds prepares for his trial and Roger Clemens awaits word on perjury charges, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig remains on the hot seat following New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez’ press conference yesterday in Tampa.While the media spends their time over-analyzing how much truth A-Rod’s statements contained, many people still question whether Selig has spent the past decade ignoring his league’s steroid abuse problem.

Selig is quick to deflect the blame.

During a Newsday interview, Selig continued defending his reputation, “I don’t want to hear the commissioner turned a blind eye to this or he didn’t care about it,” said Selig. “That annoys the you-know-what out of me. You bet I’m sensitive to the criticism.”

“A lot of people say we should have done this or that, and I understand that. They ask me, ‘How could you not know? When I look back at where we were in ’98 and where we are today, I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.”

“Starting in 1995, I tried to institute a steroid policy,” Selig continued. “Needless to say, it was met with strong resistance. We were fought by the union every step of the way.”

Many of us close to baseball assumed there was enhancement help of some kind during the 1998 home run race between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. Why would it suddenly be possible for not only one, but two players to breeze past Maris’ HR record the same year with one guy nailing 70 out of the park.

I remember driving down the interstate in Chicago during that summer of ’98 with my wife and most every day that week the numbers on the banner keeping tabs on Sosa’s race were increasing by the day, reaching far past Roger Maris’ record of 61. Sosa ended up with 66 that year, four behind McGuire’s record-setting 70.

When asked about that home run race, Selig continues to defend himself and the league. In diminutive defense of Selig, the MLBPA union and the owners did not implement a joint drug program until 2002 with that agreement allowing punishment starting in 2004 so his argument is that his hands were somewhat tied.

“It is important to remember that these recent revelations relate to pre-program activity,” Selig told Newsday. “Under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished. Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50games.”

While receiving a little bit of help from icons like Hank Aaron, Selig remains in a difficult position, being asked to throw his players and league under the bus and may be forced to remain in the damage-control mode for many months to come.

The Commish could always consider deflecting some of the recent attention of the ’98 home run race by blaming Sosa’s corked bats.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

TAMPA – Alex Rodriguez, following in the past footsteps of teammates Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte, kick-started the New York Yankees training camp with a press conference regarding steroid use.Last season, Pettitte stepped up to the mics and said, “I never did it (injections) to get an edge on anyone. I did it to get off the DL”.

This year, in a highly-publicized media session, A-Rod stepped up to the plate against a standing room only crowd of 150-200 media members who were hoping to get an opportunity to pitch a few questions at one of MLB’s biggest stars.

A-Rod started the session reading a written statement before taking questions. “Like everyone else, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life”, said Rodriguez. “The only way I can learn to handle them is to learn from them and move forward”.

After referring to the substance he had injected as an “energy booster”, the 2003 MVP went on to say, “My cousin would inject it in me. We consulted no one it was pretty evident we didn’t know what we were doing. I stopped taking it in 2003 and haven’t taken it since”.

It seemed like a lot of work, setting up additional satellite trucks and sophisticated equipment at Steinbrenner Field just to watch a guy read a statement then avoid a few reporter’s brush-back deliveries and foul off a few of the curveball questions.

Many people will want to elaborate on some of the vague responses he gave throughout the session and how his statements are changing over time. During his interview with Peter Gammons last week, A-Rod said he did not remember being injected but in today’s statement he mentions taking the syringe.

Today, Rodriguez said when he used the substance from 2001-03, he did not believe it was anything illegal and he thought it was an energy booster.

Many of the media and fans believe the player’s recent admissions are only occurring because he was out-ed and A-Rod fielded that exact question, “If your name was never revealed in the SI report, would you have come out on your own?” one reporter asked.

“I haven’t thought about it”, said A-Rod. “But I’m her to share my story and put it out there and hopefully I can put this behind me and my teammates don’t have to carry the burden of answering all the questions for me”.

Chances are, after fouling off a bunch of the questions and leaving the media wanting more, A-Rod and his Yankees should expect to field a lot more questions on the topic.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – As the Barry Bonds’ March 2 trial grows closer and pieces of the prosecutors’ case against MLB’s home run record- holder continue to go public, if there was any doubt whether Hank Aaron supports Bonds as home run king, those questions may have been answered.

In an interview Aaron this week with the Atlanta-Journal-Constitution, the retired player made his opinion clear saying the HR record belongs to Bonds and should not be taken away.

“In all fairness to everybody, I just don’t see how you really can do a thing like that and just say somebody isn’t the record holder anymore, and let’s go back to the way that it was,” Aaron told the AJC.

“If you did that, you’d have to go back and change all kinds of records. It (the home run record) is probably the most hallowed record out there, as far as I’m concerned, but it’s now in the hands of somebody else. It belongs to Barry.”

“Really, it’s sort of a tricky call when you start going down that road of who is legitimate,” Aaron added in the interview.

These are strong points made by one of baseball’s greatest players of all time. If Bonds is stripped of the record, does that force MLB to strip A-Rod of his MVP award he won in 2003 and Roger Clemens, if convicted, of his laundry-list of strikeout records and seven Cy Young awards.

The list would go on and on. Major League Baseball would have to rewrite their record books and Cooperstown would have to apply asterisks to or garage sale many of their memorabilia displays.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

As expected, MLB’s home run king Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to perjury charges related to his testimony in the much-publicized steroid investigation.The slugger faces 10 counts of lying under oath to a grand jury as well as one charge for obstruction of justice.

The case is finally going to trial on March 2, 2009 after prosecutors had to twice revise the charges because of “legal technicalities”. In fact, this is the third time Bonds has entered a plea in the case.

Yesterday the judge presiding in the case released hundreds of documents related to the case including documentation of conversations involving the left-handed slugger Bonds discussing injections and other docs confirming failed drug test.

Those failed tests in question relate to evidence prosecutors say was collected in a September 2003 raid of BALCO. The defense questions the validity of those tests and are asking they be removed.

Some feel Bonds is being singled out but the bottom line is, if Bonds lied under oath, after hitting 762 over the fence he may be spending two years behind one; a taller one decorated in barbed wire.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

NASHVILLE – Roger Clemen’s ex-lover country singer Mindy McCready is recovering in a hospital after she was admitted due to another suicide attempt. 

McCready, who recently admitted to having an affair with the Cy Young winning fast-baller attempted suicide on Wednesday night.

According to police reports released to the media, Timothy McCready, brother of the singer discovered his sister had sliced her wrists and taken several pills after a night of binging.

McCready is said to be in stable condition and her attorney Lee Ofman said he had no details on the situation.

Clemens is still being investigated for possible perjury for his testimony in front of Congress in the MLB steroid scandal.

Clemens also had denied having an affair with McCready but the country star confirmed that they had indeed done the deed on several occasions years after they met when she was 16-years-old.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Full story here

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.That’s a decent start but it’s time to drop the remaining 10 charges as well, unless the government charges everyone else who has outright lied in front of Congressional committees.

Bonds has been singled out, period!

In March 2005, Rafael Palmeiro pointed his finger at a Congressional committee to emphasis his statement and said these words, “I have never used steroids. Period!”

In a blood test that followed later that season, the potent anabolic steroid, stanozolol, was detected.

Doesn’t that indicate Palmeiro’s statement to the committee may have been a lie?

Questions followed and Palmiero was quick to use the name-dropping defense. Political contribution records show that on July 23, 2003 and August 17, 2004, the ex-Texas Ranger slugger donated $2,000 each time to the Bush/Cheney campaign.

Battling the media’s direct hammering of questions about the statements he made in front of Congress, Palmeiro said he was “a personal friend of President George Bush”.

Shortly after, the Palmeiro scenario was quickly brushed under the rug.

Roger Clemens had a similar response as Palmeiro. When Clemens was questioned under oath by a Congressional committee about steroid use, he responded, “I know the ex-President Bush and he was able to find me when I was hunting so . . . ”

What is with the name-dropping! It has no relevance whatsoever to whether or not these guys took a needle full of illegal substances in the glutes from a trainer.

Mindy McCready recently was interviewed about her affair with Clemens. Her statements as well as photos of a party at Jose Canseco’s home all contradict Clemens’ testimony.

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

It’s time to charge all of these players or drop all the charges against Bonds.

Full Story Here

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

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, unless of course that hole gets so deep he ends up buried in it.

The hole started out small with accusations of steroid use coming from a few “I’ll-do-anything-for-a-buck” guys, Jose Canseco and injector-trainer Brian McNamee.

That hole increased in size when photos emerged placing Clemens at a Canseco party that Clemens, while under oath, outright denied being at.

In an interview with Mindy McCready, done by Inside Edition, that hole may end up deeper and bury 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 lied, I mean, testified before Congress pertaining to that steroid Mitchell Report.

That latest chatter from ex-jailbird 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,” as reported by the Daily News last April. She told the news magazine, they met in a karaoke bar, that her relationship with the pitcher didn’t turn sexual until several years later and the relationship lasted for a decade.

McCready went on to say, “We went on vacations together. We went to Palm Springs. We went to Las Vegas, New York City.”

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 that hole to be 6-feet deep when this fiasco is over.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax

Los Angeles – Manny Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras has made it clear that the Dodgers’ offer (he still won’t confirm the details) wasn’t sufficient. The length of the proposed contract is too short for Boras’ taste. To buttress his negotiating position that age shouldn’t matter in the case of a hitter like Manny, Boras offered this:

“There is evidence of major league teams giving a player that’s older a contract for five years.”

Of course, that refers to the contract Barry Bonds signed when he was 37. And look how well that worked out for the San Francisco Giants, right? They got the revenue from his chase for the record books as he passed Hank Aaron on the career home run record and were able to dump him immediately thereafter when his the contract expired.

Ned Colletti, the Dodgers GM, was quoted yesterday as warning Boras that the Dodgers offer, whatever it is, would not be on the table forever. I’m sure Scott is shaking in his boots. Do you think he wears boots?

In Southern California, sports talk radio has been ablaze with talk about the Dodgers offer to Manny Ramirez and if it will fly with his agent Scott Boras.

Boras threw out the fishing line at season’s end with the announcement that the bidding would start at $25,000,000 for a multi-year deal of four years or more. The Dodgers have a short and exclusive period to see if they want to bite on what Boras is dangling on that line and Wednesday afternoon the team released a cryptic statement about an offer.

It was described by the Dodgers as “the highest average annual value in the history of the franchise and the second-highest average annual value in baseball”.

In other words, the offer was less than what A Rod makes and more than Johan Santana’s annual haul. Neither Dodgers’ GM Ned Colletti nor Scott Boras was willing to be specific about the dollar amount or the length of the deal on the table.

Notice the use of the words, “annual average”. Obviously this is a multi-tiered compensation package that either front-loads or back-loads some of the money and might include various bonuses. As I wrote yesterday, the looming new tax bite on the top income earners has agents trying to get clubs to shell out bonus money prior to year’s end.

The Dodgers are being very tight lipped about it as is Boras. No one else can intervene with an official offer until fifteen days after the final game of the World Series was played. But you have to presume that Boras was mixing and mingling with club officials and owners during the meeting held this week here in So Cal and knowing winks and nods were presumably exchanged. Whether they turn into definitive offers remains to be seen.

What is certain is that Dodger fans are saying their prayers that their team lands the biggest fish they’ve had in their pond for a couple of decades.

Hollywood may be involved in imploding some sports arenas scheduled for demolition. This was done years ago in downtown Orlando when special effect coordinators for a Lethal Weapon sequel dropped the city hall for the opening scene in one of their films.

It makes perfect sense. A film production company pays for use of the building, arranges and pays for the implosion and insurance then leaves the city with only the clean-up.  Some cities are currently trying to make such an arrangement.

With so many stadiums and arenas scheduled for demolition to make room for state-of-the-art facilities, one career that seems to be thriving in this upside down economy is that of a “wrecking ball driver”.

The biggest hype of the year was the Yankees taking the  field for the final time at Yankee Stadium last week. Like their neighbor Super Bowl Giants, the guys in pinstripes will  be playing in a new stadium.

Yankee stadium is scheduled to be dismantled in March 2009 removing the seats and other collectibles to sell to collectors. After the valuables are removed, the stadium will be flattened and only the memories will remain.

A close second on the hype-meter is this possibility of Hollywood getting involved.

Besides Tiger Stadium, many other venues around the country will soon be greeted by the wrecking ball including the Wachovia Spectrum, Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the Dallas Star’s Reunion Arena.

The Dallas Film Commission is searching for a film crew who needs the blast for a scene in one of their movies to have the honor of leveling Reunion Arena. 

Some of the current demolitions are not going smoothly as historians are getting involved.

The razing of historic Tiger Stadium has created protests from organized fundraising groups who are fighting to salvage at least part of the park. Those groups from Detroit, with the help of Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, have been trying to convince the city to transform a part of the structure into a baseball museum. This has been an uphill battle as the city is considering plans for a retail and residential neighborhood.

The Dallas Cowboys will be vacating Texas Stadium after this season after entertaining fans there since 1971. The tab for Tony and Jessica’s new structure is expected to top $1 billion. (see picture)

For several years, Joe Louis Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings and the Orlando Magic’s Arena have also been discussed and may soon join this list of functionally obsolete razed facilities.

Bad news for historians but good news for ‘wrecking ball operators’ and maybe Hollywood.

Copyright © 2008 – Sports Climax