Mark McGuire Stands Up To The Congressional Urine Testers

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
March 18, 2005

The Congressional Urine Testers
Baseball's Theater of the Absurd
By DAVE ZIRIN

Congress did not disappoint anyone who wanted to see the Elephants and Donkeys on both sides of the aisle mate and become a litter of Jackasses. Committee chair Tom Davis kicked off the day by stating, "We're not interested in embarrassing anyone or ruining careers or grandstanding..." Then he and his fellow members of congress set about preening like peacocks before the cameras, proving the adage that "modern politics is celebrity for ugly people."

The players' seething hostility toward Canseco was so thick in the halls of congress that he even had to be placed in a separate, guarded waiting room before the hearing. At the witness table, no player hid their contempt of the player whose name is now synonymous with stool pigeonry in every clubhouse. As Schilling said, ``The allegations made in that book, the attempts to smear the names of players both past and present, having been made by one who for years vehemently denied steroid use, should be seen for what they are: an attempt to make money at the expense of others.''

Yet while Canseco sweated under the hot lights, the player being lacerated in the hearing's aftermath is Mark McGwire. McGwire, who has been out of the public eye since retiring in 2002, was the only player who did not deny under oath having used steroids. As sports columnist Larry Biel put it, "McGwire's silence was deafening. In the court of public opinion, McGwire looked very guilty. " Another columnist, the Washington Post's Thomas Boswell, wrote that McGwire "left the hearing room with his reputation in tatters"

But for those of us who consider these hearings a farcical "shamockery", and disturbing exercise in government power, should be proud of Big Mac's performance. He was the only player to actually stand up to the committee saying, ``I will use whatever influence and popularity that I have to discourage young athletes from taking any drug that is not recommended by a doctor. What I will not do, however, is participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates.''

McGwire was also the only person to challenge the entire logic of the proceedings. The argument has been that however comical these hearings may be, if they "save one life" from the harmful effects of steroids then all the grandstanding tomfoolery is worth it." But as McGwire put it, 'Asking me, or any other player, to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve this problem. If a player answers, 'No,' he simply will not be believed. If he answers, 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations.'


http://www.counterpunch.org/zirin03182005.html

[DenverDem]

1. mcgwire is a lying, cheating, asshat loser.

astrisk his record.

[Craig3410]

3. IMO, he only took Andro, and he quit using between the '98-'99 seasons.

Barry Bonds, however, is injecting just about everything but Drano into his body, though.

Asterisk his, not McGwire's,

[DenverDem]

19. You are dreaming.

mcgwire was juiced up to the max.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

54. And you personally know this because.....?

[Johonny]

33. What record?

[DenverDem]

37. You are correct.

His record was broken by another cheating asshat.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

53. You and others slamming McGwire in this thread just proved his point....

...and by the language you used in your post, you just made yourself look even sillier.

When McGwire and Sosa were chasing the homerun record, where were you? Were you cheering like the rest of us, or moaning about Maris' record being broken? McGwire was physically big back then....and nobody gave a darn, did they?

Why all of the sudden interest by a grand-standing Congress eager for publicity after taking a beating on Social Security and Medicare? Why all of the hatred being demonstrated by DUers willing to believe the same rightwing mainstream media that they revile on a daily basis on this board?

Hey, if you want to put an asterisk by ballplayers names, let's put a few by those ballplayers who drank themselves silly after every game and probably did much greater damage by influencing so many young people that drinking alcohol was cool. That's going to be a MUCH longer list, don't you think?

[madrchsod]

2. mcgwire is a lying bag of shit

i agree the "proceedings" are a joke,a big joke.

[Craig3410]

4. See my post above. -nt-

[Itsthetruth]

6. Why Wasn't George Bush Called To Testify?

"It's amazing that a player with a sterling reputation like Raffy Palmeiro could be dragged in front of this committee merely because he is mentioned in Canseco's book. Yet another person Canseco names ñ who made millions off of baseballës 90's boom, has gone unmentioned throughout this entire process; someone who had the opportunity to oversee the day-to-day operations of the team. That someone was the general managing partner of the Rangers. That someone is George W. Bush. Until Bush and his ilk are dragged under the hot lights, this entire congressional exploration will continue to be nothing more than a theater of the absurd."

From the article.

[Johonny]

34. I agree

Trying ot get at the MLB collusion involved in ignoring for 20-30 years the drug abuse problems in baseball by going only at the player side was not very helpful. Although it was interesting to see the commish and the players circle the wagons together.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. I'm not sure about McGwire personally

but I don't get why Congress is involved in this. Just like the whole Terri thing. What's up with all the distraction? Could you imagine what people would be saying if it was a democratic government? Oy! Why don't they get the top judges around the country to hold these hearings in a big enough court room? Why Congress?

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. the carnival of frauds

Both the Dems, Republicans and players. A joke, all of them.

McGwire the biggest of all, followed by Sosa and Bonds - who conveniently has knee surgery and is away from Spring Training for a few months.

Pussies all of them.

And They DID use steriods, don't tell me they didn't.

[Itsthetruth]

10. You Know Who Used Steroids? Wow ! List Them

Since you have knowledge of who did and who didn't use steroids, please list all the major league baseball players who did. That might be 100 or even more players.

Now this ought to be interesting!

You of course have evidence to back up your claims .... right?

And I'd like others who claim to know that Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, etc., used steroids to present some evidence to back up their claims.

OK Go ahead and list all names of ball players who used steroids.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. okay here's evidence

McGwire hit 70 home runs that year.

That's evidence of steriods.

Sosa hit 65 or 66. That's also evidence.

Bonds hit, what, 80?

Their records are the evidence. These are not the greatest home run hitters of all time.

They are frauds who used substances undetectable by drug testing. Why are you defending them. Its so obvious they were juiced. Stop living in a fantasy world.

Giambi already admitted it. Bonds was like 'I didn't know it was performance enhancing," while his hat size almost doubles.

Give me a break.

[SidDithers]

30. I've always wondered about Brady Anderson...

Dude hit 50 dingers in 1996, never hit more than 24 in any other year of his 15 year Major League career.

Sid

[maveric]

38. Luis Gonzalez hit 57 one year. Prior to that his high was 28.

Luis Gonzalez????

[Itsthetruth]

31. Skinny Players Were Hammering The Ball!

That's hardly evidence. Everyone who follows baseball knows that the baseball was wound "tighter" and "juiced" up in the 90's which made hitting a home run easier. So even "skinny guys" where knocking them out of the park! That's what all the baseball pitchers and sport commentators said in the 90's.

I remember pitchers complaining about baseballs being "souped" up.

[Charon]

48. Home Runs

So you think Ruth also used steroids?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

56. Wow! Breaking records is evidence of steroid use!!!....

And all this time I thought records were there just to be broken.

Why aren't you as outraged about the use of alcohol by players? That substance has done far more damage to ballplayers over the decades than steroids will ever cause. On top of that, kids are made to believe that drinking must be cool because ballplayers drink, and it gets sold at major league baseball games.

All you're doing is stating your opinion on this issue. Period.

[grumpy old fart]

14. Oh please....just look at those guys. You don't get that big naturally.

I don't care if they shoot up or not, but let's not pretend we can't see what's right in front of us.

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Something I'm wondering

Does anybody have photos of them before and after steroids and the time frames? I was watching an MTV special once on bodybuilding and there was this one guy who was in his twenties or early thirties who was a professional bodybuilder and he claimed he didn't use any steroids. They showed him working out obsessivley every morning before he started his day and all that. He looked like he could've used steroids because of his muscles but he said he'd been working out like that for several years.

[Neecy]

40. here are some...

http://journals.aol.com/cmottram04/ShowMeYourBlog/entries/178

[AirAmFan]

61. McGwire's own words at an August 1999 press conference

seem to have been ignored or forgotten by millions of fans, and by most sportswriters. McGwire retired in 2001 with the Cardinals still willing and eager to pay him $30 million remaining for the last two years of his contract. What STUNS me is that, at that crucial moment, HARDLY ANYBODY even mentioned McGwire's admitted 6-year use of androstenedione, and how he might have wanted to get out of MLB while the getting was good, even if it involved leaving $30 million on the table. Major League Baseball in 2001 was desperate to cover up its delay (until 2002) in joining the IOC, professional tennis, the NFL, and the NBA in explicitly banning andro.

IMO the lost cause of poor Mark McGwire is built on dishonest journalism that needs to be exposed.

From http://www.canoe.ca/SlamBaseballBatboyArchive99/batboy_aug5.html :

"Thursday, August 5, 1999

McGwire should have spoken up sooner By JON COOK -- SLAM! Sports

Now that St. Louis Cardinals big bopper Mark McGwire has ended his six-year association with the over-the-counter muscle-building supplement androstenedione, I just have one question to ask baseball's biggest star: 'Why did you wait so long to tell us?'

After slugging his 42nd home run yesterday ..., McGwire used the stage to tell the world that he has been andro-free this season. When queried as to why he didn't mention this fact when the season began, the Mountain of Muscle said he chose not to reveal he had stopped using it until he was asked about it. Big Mac said he stopped taking the substance, banned by the NFL, NCAA, International Olympic Committee and the men's and women's tennis tours, because he didn't want kids taking it just because he used it. McGwire would prefer youngsters to be able to make up their own minds on the matter of whether to use andro or not and not do it simply because he does.

"I'm not saying there is anything wrong with (the use of it from a health standpoint)," McGwire told The L.A. Times. "The studies baseball has done and the studies anyone has done are inconclusive, but I didn't want to create the perception that I was saying it was OK for a high school kid to follow in my footsteps just because I'm a professional athlete. If they want to make that decision when they're older, that's different."

But if Big Mac was truly concerned for the children, then why didn't he speak up sooner, before millions more kids saw him launch another 42 dingers thinking he was still using the potentially performance-enhancing supplement? In that light, McGwire's sudden concern rings more than a little hollow. And his 'Not-that-there's-anything-wrong-with-it' excuse still acts as a green light to kids everywhere who dream of slamming monster home runs in the majors."

[Johonny]

36. Convenient surgery

Ok is there such a thing as convenient knee surgery. Particularly if you have to have follow surgery too.

[aeolian]

7. he should have

pissed all over the committee members, then asked them if they detected any steroid residues. That would have made a great clip!



Sorry, but I'm sick of the whole issue.

[donsu]

8. if congress can get adults from pushing steroids on kids then more

power to them.

[aeolian]

11. Pushing steroids on kids?

You don't think parental pressure or even *gasp* the kid's own ambition has anything to do with it?

Nah!

[donsu]

23. parents are presumably adults

nt

[Kikosexy2]

9. I give ...

more props to Conseco than I ever will to McGwire or Bonds or anyone who denies taking steroids. McGwire refusing to directly answer any questions shows how much he's guilty. His reputation is bunked now. So how about them Angels of Anaheim from L.A. or L.AAAAAAAAA&A.?

[Itsthetruth]

12. Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been

And those who were called before the old House Committee on Un-American activities and refused to indicate if they were members or supporters of the Communist Party were guilty? Good for them!

"Are you now or have you ever been a communist or drug user"?

Fu*k them! Don't answer. Don't lend a bit of legitimacy to their hearings.

[Liberty Belle]

16. There's a big difference in the 2 situations.

It's not illegal to be a member of the communist party, only unpopular.

But it IS illegal to use steroids without a prescription.

Baseball players are role models for young athletes, who often feel pressured to juice up in order to be competitive.

If McGwire didn't use steroids, he should say so.

That said, while I do think baseball ought to ban steroids, I don't think Congress should be wasting time on these hearings when there are far more pressing matters they should be attending to that affect ordinary Americans.

[FreedomAngel82]

24. I also think

that it's not so much the baseball players. I know kids idolize them who are baseball fans and players but the kids who take the drugs have probably been told a few times in class taking drugs is wrong etc. Maybe they have pressure to be the best in the game from their principle, coach, class mates, parents. Maybe they have a scholarship riding on their sports career. I wouldn't blame the players. Sure maybe they can get the idea from the players but it's the kid themselves that makes the decision to take the drug. Sometimes they even have a friend or two who help with the final decision. Every situation is different. You can't just blame Sammy Sosa or Mike McGwire even though that'd be the easiest thing to do.

[Liberty Belle]

28. True, coaches and parents who pressure kids are to blame, too.

Plus players over 18 certainly should be responsible enough to make intelligent decisions on their own.

[Itsthetruth]

27. Not Exactly True

During the witch-hunt it was essentially illegal to be a member of certain "subversive" organizations like the Communist Party. Congress had passed various laws such as the "Smith Act" and a Communist registration act which were later declared unconstitional by the Supreme Court.

But during the witch-hunt it was in fact virtually illegal to be a Marxist!

[Itsthetruth]

21. Will Congress Go After Hollywood "Liberals" Next?

Maybe. The right-wing has their foot in the door. Do you think the "investigation" of drug use should stop with baseball players? I don't think it should have even begun with baseball stars. Baseball stars today. Music, movie and TV stars tomorrow.

U.S. Government Goes After Major League Baseball
By Drog (Canada)
The World Forum
March 16, 2005

Congressman Davis confirmed the possibility that the investigation may not end with baseball. Davis was asked by an interviewer, "What authority does your commitee have? Could you look into drugs in Hollywood, drugs in the music business? How widespread do you feel can go?" He replied, "Rule 10 clause 4C2 gives us the ability to hold a hearing on any matter at any time."

Well that's a little scary. Remember the Hollywood Ten? Don't get me wrong, I certainly do not advocate steroid use by athletes. But shouldn't Major League Baseball be solving that problem on their own? Shouldn't the Committee on Government Reform be investigating the U.S. government, not a privately-run sports league?

Jon Stewart, of The Daily Show, offered this reaction to Davis' statement: "Any matter at any time?!! Enron, Halliburton, no WMD's, Abu Ghraib and you went with... baseball. Way to go."

http://www.theworldforum.org/story/2005/3/16/74310/2798

[lachattefolle]

32. Jon Stewart is, as always, right on the money. Why investigate

Haliburton's bilking of the government when you can have a nice circle jerk about steroids in baseball or the fate of one woman in Florida? With all due respect to those parents of the kids who committed suicide due to steroid use, and to the parents of Terry Schiavo, there are many, many more grieving parents of dead and wounded soldiers, 9/11 victims, and innocent Iraqi civilians who deserve the spotlight of a REAL Congressional inquiry into the failures of leadership in this administration. They might as well wish for the moon.

[izzybeans]

22. I second that...what a big bag of who gives a sh$t that was.

Why the moralism on this subject? No one whines when players take pain killers to work through injuries. Ruth was half drunk when he hit those homeruns. Was this not juicing? Uhmmmm...really...don't...care. Let them balloon up until they implode like Violet and her gum. Uumpa Duumpa doopity doo.

Where was the hearings on the extraordinary rendition (and/or) of Jeff Gannon? What about the 'secret' plans for Iraqi oil that we all knew existed in the first place? Anything on who killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister? My guess: not Derick Zoolander. Thank you Jose Conseco for giving us our newest version of Wag the Dog! Not.

[grumpy old fart]

15. Taking the Fifth was the only smart option. Sosa denying it just opens...

himself up to perjury charges if he ever gets dragged into the Balco or other investigations.

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. ...while society falls for yet another Rovian ploy to keep us from looking

at what's really important. :(

[FreedomAngel82]

26. Yep

You got that right and Jon Stewart nailed it on the head.

[Edgewater_Joe]

25. Can Dave Zirin Be A Bigger Bonehead?

Or is he simply trying to expand on Counterpunch's reputation as being an ultra-left-wing nest of loons and goofballs?

Whatever you think about the testimony yesterday -- and I've been on the record here as saying that I thought it was both necessary and useful to liberals if framed properly -- this dipwad is the only guy I've seen who has suggested that Mark McGwrire actually did a GOOD job.

No, Mr. Zirin, Mark McGwire took his reputation as being one of baseball's heroes and flushed it down the toilet along with the leftover andro that was in his locker room yesterday. He didn't even have the brains to take the fifth or the stones to lie (as I am fairly sure Sammy Sosa did yesterday) - he evaded personal responsibility, and did it with crocodile tears. Kind of like a few neocons that I can think of, but I digress.

You are typical of a certain type of liberal who will bend over backwards to find anything -- ANYTHING -- to rail against because of your utter inability (or stubborn resistance) to say anything that can be even vaguely constructive, because you want to be right rather than to be heard. You would rather be pure than to contribute anything, and you'll go so far as to watch someone like Mark McGwire, watch him cross-eyed through the prism of a fun house mirror, and see something nobody else on earth saw. And I am a proud liberal who is fed up with liberals like you who are proudly out of touch from the rest of the culture and try to wear your ignorance like a badge of honor. News flash: that's not a badge, it's a wilted corsage.

Do us a favor: shut up and keep your whining to the Nader-in-2008 Meet-up in the back of the organic food shop where you and your three friends can feel superior about the rest of us. We have work to do, and ninnies like you don't help.

[Itsthetruth]

29. So You're A Progressive?

I'm surprised that some (five) self-proclaimed "progressives" support a right-wing inspired witch-hunt of baseball players and their union.

Do you think Congress should expand its investigation of drugs by going after those "Hollywood liberals"? You know what right-wingers say about those "role models". Music, TV and movie stars are a bunch of drug addicts hurting the youth of this country. That's what they claim.

So ya think we outta go after those "rich Hollywood liberal types"?
Why stop with baseball players? Perhaps you can give us a good reason to go after them. I can't.

Now try to stay on subject and stay away from personal attacks. Let the right-wingers engage in that sort of thing. OK?

[Neecy]

35. that's a good point

What yesterday will end up doing is completely defanging the player's union, which is a strong, powerful union - one the Republicans absolutely hate. You could see 'em stew whenever Fehr used the words "collective bargaining".

That being said, I think McGwire was a complete ass yesterday. He says that he wants to be a spokesman for anti-steriods use, but won't offer an opinion as to whether or not usage of same constitutes cheating. Gee, that'll be really credible to young kids.

He 'looked to the past' as recently as about 10 days ago when he issued a press statement in response to Canseco's book vehemently claiming that he was never a steriods user; but yesterday, when he's under oath, he wants to 'look ahead'. Uh-huh.

And finally, here's a guy, a young guy, a very wealthy guy, who because of juicing (and if you ever saw what he looked like as a rookie, you'd know instantly that he was) became a superstar, broke records, made millions of dollars, and now retires to 'live a quiet life' and count his money. Gee, that's a real meaningful message if you want to be a 'spokesman'. Where's the deterrent? How in the world could he say that high school athletes shouldn't jump on the same gravy train?

Sorry, but I just don't like cheaters.

[Edgewater_Joe]

41. Damn Right I'm A Progressive - And On This Issue, Especially

And as a Progressive, I am 100% behind the idea that one reason the Government exists is to regulate industries, in part because industries more often than not don't want to regulate themselves and won't do it unless a Governmental organization is there to kick them in the ass and do it for them.

Do I think Government should regulate speech and Hollywood liberals? Of course not, because as progressives you and I both know that regulating speech does not equate to regulating a workplace in any way, shape, or form. (And this is a workplace issue, make no mistake about it.) Steroids in baseball, on the other hand, absolutely DO fit into that purview -- steroids are dangerous, they are illegal, they make the workplace of the ball field more dangerous, they ripple through the culture, they have caused a medical crisis outside of the industry (500,000 high schoolers using is a problem) and MLB is looking the other way by not trying to regulate the workplace. Under those circumstances, where there is a clear danger and those that should regulate the industry can't and won't do it, it is up to the Government to do it for them -- and to expose the problem, which I contend yesterday's hearings did brilliantly, starting with the demise of McGwire (you reading, Mr. Zirlin?).

And before you tar that committee as being a bunch of right-wingers, keep in mind that Progressive hero Henry Waxman has been working on this issue for over 30 years. And furthermore, such hardcore "right-wingers" as Bernie Sanders, Dennis Kucinich, and Alcee Hastings (I think) serve on that committee and asked questions to this industry. If they see this as an issue that Progressives can address without shame and solve, then I am proud to stand with them on this issue.

Having said all of this, truth, let me say that while we disagree on this issue (and I get worked up about it, as you can see by my venom towards Mr. Zirlin), you have an argument that has much more merit than Zirlin's. I disagree with you, but unlike Zirlin I respect your arguments and can see how underhanded goofs like Bush and the Neocons could use this to their favor.

That, ultimately, is another reason why I'm so vehement about defending the hearings: this is an issue that we should not let the Right use -- and one way to counter it, quite frankly, is to discuss the issue Progressively.

[Itsthetruth]

42. Please ... Don't Duck And Dodge!

You somehow managed to ignore and sidestep the one question I asked you. Let me try again.

Do you think Congress should expand its investigation of drug use by going after music, TV and movie stars who might be using drugs? They are role models as much as any baseball players.

So please explain your support, or non-support, to such Congressional hearings investigating those "liberal Hollywood drug users".

You failed to mention, or notice, that the leader of the Congressional investigation is a right-wing Republican who has Senatorial ambitions. And you also failed to mention, or notice, George Bush's glowing endorsement of the hearing.

I find it interesting that not a single present or former major league baseball owner, including George W. Bush, were called upon to testify yesterday! Just baseball players and their union representative. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out!

I think we have seen far to many Democratic members of Congress join Republicans in accepting Bush's nominations and legislation. Perhaps that doesn't disturb or concern you. Look at the latest House vote on Iraq war funding. Only about 40 Democrats voted against! And I'm sure you followed the betrayal of 18 Democratic Senators who voted for Bush's bankruptcy bill.

Perhaps that doesn't disturb you. I don't like it at all. And that's why I don't think it's either good or wise for Democratic members of Congress, especially liberals, to join Republicans in a clear attack on baseball players and their union. I don't believe in giving Republicans and George Bush a baseball bat to hammer us with. You may think that's "smart politics". I don't.

Now if you believe that Democrats searching for "common ground" and "bi-partisan unity" with Republicans is a really good thing, I just have to disagree. Targeting baseball players and their union is just something progressives and supporters of organized labor should not support. I'm surprised you don't understand that.

[Edgewater_Joe]

47. Duck and Dodge? Try Asked and Answered, Ms. Duck-and-Dodge Yourself

Do I think Congress should expand its investigation of drug use by going after TV, and movie stars who might be using drugs?

NO.

Why?

Let me repeat: because DRUG USE BY TV AND MOVIE STARS IS NOT A WORKPLACE SAFETY ISSUE. Steroid use in baseball IS. I can't make it any clearer than that, and if you ignore that, you're the one who is ducking and dodging, not me.

But then (and look out, because I'm getting worked up again) YOU continue to hammer the Senatorial ambitions of Rep. Davis while simultaneously refusing to admit that Henry Waxman -- as liberal a Democrat as you are likely to find -- has been working on issues surrounding BOTH steroid use and baseball's misuse of its antitrust exemption for OVER THIRTY YEARS, as Rep. Waxman noted during the hearings himself yesterday. So are you going to strip Rep. Waxman of his liberal star of honor because you think he should denounce work he's spent a fair amount of his career over?

As for your comment about the players' union, Mr. Fehr's comments about progressive rehabilitation make a lot of sense, but here's another little bit of heresy: sometimes unions can be just as bad to the workers they represent as employers. If you don't believe me I can introduce you to dozens of members of the Chicago Teachers Union who are equally pissed off at the Chicago Public School district AND the union for being too cozy with CPS. The fact is, the players' union has turned away from enforcement just as much as the owners have. One more time, that's a WORKPLACE issue.

It's a shame I couldn't convince you that if the Democrats were smart they could have (and may still be able to) frame this issue in terms that would be both favorable to Democrats and symbolic of what Democrats stand for. Unfortunately, you take the same stance as the author who so misbegottenly praised the unworthy-of-praise Mark McGwire. In the process, YOU ignore facts pertinent to this case and demand a more-liberal-than-thou litmus test, which I gather I failed. And I'm not going to lose any sleep over that.

Enjoy your granola. I'm out.

[maveric]

39. Ken Caminiti also admitted to Steroid use. He estimated that 50%

of major leaguers were juiced.

[Itsthetruth]

43. The Problem Is Solved

Last year over 1,000 random drug tests of ballplayers were conducted. Only 12 came back positive. Under the tougher standards enacted this year I'd be surprised if any turn out positive. And if any player from this day forward uses steroids they will be found out and their isolation from other players and the fans will end their careers.

We don't need the government prying into the personal lives of ballplayers and others. Do people who consider themselves liberals or progressives really want tougher laws and law enforcement against pot, steroids, etc.,

What's important now is the fact that the players union and owners have agreed to a testing program that solves the problem. So what needs to be investigated?

All I saw on TV was what the writer of the article saw. Political grandstanding.

[confludemocrat]

44. Only talking about this 'cause a black man close to breaking Ruth's rec

According to Bartcop

McGwire Remains Evasive
Why can't he give simple, straight answers? 

http://www.bartcop.com/

[Itsthetruth]

45. Huh?

A black man holds Babe Ruth's all time home run record. The great Hank Aaron!

[Rex]

46. Meanwhile our soon to be new Leader (Ahhhhnold)

leads steroid laden California. His mentor, Coke-head Bush ruins the very gummit Congress-critters live off of. They lose nothing by attacking sports heroes, but everything if they bite the hand that feeds em. I don't give a shit what they use in major league sports. They pay for it one way or another. Mere toys for our viewing pleasure.

[Gin]

49. Out of deference to the athletes who set record without drugs....

McGuire's record should be stripped. So should all other records broken under the influence of steroids.

If they want to shrink their testicles and grow breasts...ruin their livers...and kill themselves....have at it fellas..but don't try to break a record made the right way by cheating. (IMHO)

[jmowreader]

60. How can you "strip" a record that was already broken?

What's worrisome here is the incredible two-facedness of the Republican Party.

They won't interfere in the workings of Enron because that's a private company.

They won't interfere in the workings of Halliburton or KBR for the same reason.

But last I checked, baseball teams are private companies organized under two private companies--the National League and the American League--which themselves are organized under a private company called Major League Baseball. Guess what.

The activities of Major League Baseball don't affect me. I watch baseball sometimes, and I follow the sports scores, but if Major League Baseball suddenly came in and decided that they're gonna level the playing field by requiring all players to juice from here on in, it won't change my life one bit. If Halliburton decides to double its rates and Bush takes it out of the federal highway budget, that's a different story.

If Congress imposes federal legislation on baseball, it's high time they go after Halliburton.

[Jesus Saves]

50. Right on McGwire

This is a witch hunt and nothing more.

The congress is corrupt to the core - who investigates them?

[Hippo_Tron]

51. I DONT GIVE A SHIT IF BASEBALL PLAYERS USE STEROIDS

Okay now that I got that off of my chest, can anybody give me a good reason why I should?

As far as I'm concerned McGwire rocks for telling these guys to fuck themselves.

[damkraut]

52. You gotta stay off the juice.

And I don't mean the wife killer...

[AirAmFan]

55. Just GOOGLE "mcgwire androstenedione" to see why he COULDN'T

COULDN'T deny using steroids. Don't you remember the cloud his homers always have been under?

In 1998, he admitted using what other organized professional sports and the Olympics at the time classified as an illegal steroid.

From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050319/STEROIDS19/TPSports/Baseball :

"STEROID FALLOUT: Pound doubts McGwire

Anti-Doping chief says sworn refusal to disclose was actually a confession

Saturday, March 19, 2005 Page S5 Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Canadian Dick Pound, the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said Mark McGwire's refusal to tell a congressional panel whether he used steroids amounts to an admission. "What I saw and heard was a confession," the Montreal lawyer said yesterday.

McGwire admitted in 1998, when he hit a then-record 70 homers, that he used the steroid precursor androstenedione, which was legal and not banned in baseball at the time but prohibited for Olympic athletes. Pound said when he raised concerns to Major League Baseball, he was told to mind his own business. Baseball banned steroids in September, 2002 and began testing for them with penalties in 2004. "Steroid use is a lot like alcoholism," Pound said. "Unless you acknowledge a problem, it's hard to move on to a cure.

See also http://www.google.com/search?btnG=Search+News&hl=en&ned=us&q=mcgwire+androstenedione for more than 11,000 web hits.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

57. Yes...let's use the rightwing mainstream media as...

...a paragon of truthfulness on this or any other issue.

Great idea.

Right.

[Itsthetruth]

58. Don't Have To Be A Rocket Scientist

With George Bush and the right-wing hammering baseball players and their union I just have to take the side of ball players.

It's interesting that present and former major league baseball owners, like George W. Bush, were not called to testify before Congess. Just ball players and their union representatives.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why.

[AirAmFan]

59. I guess you don't remember--or you're still in denial

I remember the flurry of publicity surrounding McGwire's admission he used androstenedione in 1998. I cited the thousands and thousands of webpages on this mainly to back up what I remember hearing at the time with my own ears. It's not just a few far-right sources that reported this, either. The reich wing generally does not publish sports pages.

For the life of me, I did not understand and still do not understand the adulation McGwire still received afterwards. The Journal of the American Medical Association quoted the Office of National Drug Control Reporting that sales of androstenedione rose five-fold during the year after that 1998 admission by McGwire. McGwire's 1998 statement was just like a product endorsement for a form of steroids organized baseball alone did not explicitly prohibit. IMO he SHOULD cry and apologize about that.