Bark in the Park will make its debut at Dodger Stadium and for those of you who have not heard of it, it has nothing to do with the performance of the players on the field.

In conjunction with their sponsor Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. the Los Angeles Dodgers are selling seats for pet owners and their dogs. Canines will gallop through the turnstiles after their owners have plunked down an additional $25.00 for a pet ticket with a portion of the proceeds going to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles branch.

The Dodgers’ Bark in the Park Day on August 21, 2010 is one of three for the month of August in the MLB. The Dodgers are joined by the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants who have theirs scheduled for August 29, 2010. The Cincinnati Reds are closing out the event with the final one of the season scheduled for September 14.

In L.A. there will be a rally where ticket holders will be invited to join in the Pup Parade. All pets and owners will be given the opportunity to stroll along the warning track inside the stadium prior to game time.

Some rules for attendees: All dog owners must bring a copy of a current vaccination documents from a licensed veterinarian. Pet must wear an identification tag to gain entrance to Dodger Stadium. Each dog must be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older. Attendees must bring a signed copy of the Bark in the Park release waiver to gain admittance to the ballpark.

If any of the fans situated in the designated Right Field Pavilion where the animals will sit aren’t happy about sharing the space with dogs and their owners, they will be moved to another section.

Concerned about stepping in a doggie accident?

These stadiums have made plans for that as well. Natural Balance has experience in staging these events and will provide clean-up service.

For more information on the Dodgers’ event, to view a copy of the release waiver and check out details on “Bark in the Park,” check out the Dodgers website, here.

Fans of the Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, NY Mets and Oakland A’s will have to wait for next season since those event dates have passed but details for the other remaining dates throughout the league can be found below.

Atlanta Braves – Bark in the Park: August 29 vs. Florida

San Francisco Giants – Dog Days of Summer: August 29 vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Cincinnati Reds – Bark in the Park: September 14 vs. the Diamondbacks

Used with permission of the author.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Jay McGwire and brother Mark haven’t spoken much since 2002 and with brother Jay’s book “Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball’s Worst-Kept Secret,” scheduled to hit the bookstores Monday, don’t expect these two to exchange Christmas gifts any time soon.

In the book, Jay, an avid body-builder and heavy steroid user shares information with the world that up to this point, Mark has managed to keep away from the media, league and fans.

Jay told ESPN he reveals the details and types of performance-enhancing drugs he says Big Mac used during a three-year stretch beginning in 1994. He also suggests that Big Mac is dodging the truth since admitting his drug use days before Spring Training opened.

“Mark knows that he was getting stronger and bigger, come on,” Jay told ESPN. “He is coming across that it is only for health reasons, but he put on 30 pounds of lean muscle mass. That is why a lot of people don’t understand why he is not really coming out clean like that. Why not just admit it all? It is OK, everyone knows how powerful these drugs are.”

Back when it all started, Jay said he drove up to Sacramento with Mark and talked about the options and types of drugs available. “Mark asked a lot of questions. He was more concerned about something that is going to help him [get] healthy. At that time he had lot of foot problems, lower back problems. So we thought about getting him on HGH and Deca-Durabolin.”

As time went on, Jay said Mark’s drug menu expanded to include Dianabol, Clenbuterol, Primobolan and Winstrol.
“I just look at steroids as a shortcut,” said Jay. “It prolonged his career. He got some big contracts out of it”.

That he did as Big Mac extended his career and earned approximately $60 million between 1995 and 2001.
Jay compliments how his brother helped put Major League Baseball back on the map.

“He turned the game around. Come on, he got people in the stands. Remember when they’d go out and hit batting practice there would be 25,000 people for batting practice. That is neat. That is what baseball needed, but the steroid thing got way out of hand and Major League Baseball didn’t do anything and it got into the government.”

“I think he was freaky for a baseball player,” said Jay. “His forearms are 17½ inches. His biceps were 19-plus. That is pretty freak. His leg power is huge. If you see the before and after pictures, look back and look at them in ’98 compared to ’88. It is a huge difference. But I want to make it very clear it wasn’t just the drugs. People under estimate the training behind it. Mark busted his butt.”

During the interview with ESPN, Jay said Mark worked “ridiculously hard” sometimes as many as 6 times a week and that the changes were not just brought on by the drugs.

Seeing the payoff, Jay believes Mark’s enhanced physical stature and increased success at the plate convinced other MLB stars to get involved in steroid use.

“I think these other athletes, A-Rod, Manny, Sosa, they saw Mark way back in the mid-’80s. They saw him grow and grow and grow. He’s not the one telling everyone, ‘Hey, I’m doing steroids.’ But I think people assumed that he was doing something, so I think that he motivated a lot of people . . . the temptation is overwhelming.”

Jay also finds it odd that investigators never contacted him while exploring steroid use for MLB commish Bud Selig, even after the contents of his book leaked out last year.

“It’s funny, huh?” said Jay. “You’d think that you’d want to go to the core of the story. And no one has really suspected me. I’ve been the person all along.”

According to ESPN, Mark did not return phone requests left with his spokesman, Ari Fleischer or the St. Louis Cardinals. Mark is currently the hitting coach for his former team.

When Jay was asked about brother Mark not remembering what type of steroids or enhancers he used, Jay believes that to be untrue. “Yeah, he knows,” Jay said. “I just think he is coached. He didn’t want to talk about it.”

Copyright 2010 Sports Climax™

Mark McGwire decided to come clean and finally admitted using steroids throughout his career, including the year he broke the single-season home run record.

McGwire had basically fallen off the map since dodging the steroid question in front of a congressional committee in March 2005. Now that the former Major League Baseball player is preparing to coach this season for the St. Louis Cardinals he must have thought it was best to address the issue prior to the season to avoid a media circus when spring training starts (Google Alex Rodriguez).

During an interview with the Associated Press, McGwire apologized. “The toughest thing is my wife, my parents, close friends have had no idea that I hid it from them all this time,” said McGwire. “I knew this day was going to come. I didn’t know when.”

McGwire went on to admit using steroids and HGH throughout a decade and during the time he broke Roger Maris’ home run record in 1998.

“I wish I had never touched steroids,” McGwire said. “It was foolish and it was a mistake.”

According to the AP, McGuire called Commissioner Bud Selig, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and Maris’ widow, Pat to personally break the news then called the AP for the interview.

“It was a wrong thing what I did. I totally regret it. I just wish I was never in that era,” he said.

McGwire finished his career with 583 home runs, tied for eighth on the all-time list. His record of 70 home runs in 1998 only held up for three years then it was surpassed by Barry Bonds’ 73 homers in 2001. In addition, his resume includes 1987 AL Rookie of the Year and 12 trips to the All-Star Game.

Ironically this admission comes just days after the latest Hall Of Fame vote that saw McGwire get a mere 23 percent vote, well below the 75 percent necessary to make it to Cooperstown.

“This has nothing to do with the Hall of Fame,” he said. “This has to do with me coming clean, getting it off my chest, and five years that I’ve held this in. There’s no way a pill or an injection will give you hand-eye coordination or the ability or the great mind that I’ve had as a baseball player,” he said. “I was always the last one to leave. I was always hitting by myself. I took care of myself.”

He said he first used steroids between the 1989 and 1990 seasons, after helping the Oakland Athletics to a World Series sweep when he and Jose Canseco formed the Bash Brothers.

“When you work out at gyms, people talk about things like that. It was readily available,” he said. “I tried it for a couple of weeks. I really didn’t think much of it.”

He said he returned to steroids after the 1993 season after being told steroids might speed his recovery.

“I did this for health purposes. There’s no way I did this for any type of strength purposes,” he said.

McGwire’s 70 homers in 1998 was part of a head-to-head battle with Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa who finished with 66. Sosa, like McGuire, has brushed off and denied using steroids thus far and was reprimanded when he was caught using an illegal bat around that same time.

Selig praised McGwire, saying, “This statement of contrition, I believe, will make Mark’s re-entry into the game much smoother and easier.” If anyone knows about damage control it’s Selig. The commissioner has had his hands full over the years with the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez admitting using steroids, Bonds facing criminal charges accused of lying when questioned about steroids and Roger Clemens currently being investigated for possibly lying to Congress concerning his involvement in steroid use.

Rafael Palmeiro is another player who denied using steroids but then tested positive for one later that year.

“I’m sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids,” McGwire said. “I had good years when I didn’t take any, and I had bad years when I didn’t take any. I had good years when I took steroids, and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn’t have done it and for that I’m truly sorry.”

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