Update to this post above.

The Mitchell Report has fallen into the hands of library catalogers:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/183713296

There's probably nothing to worry about: by Monday night we'll be talking about Juan Pierre just like the old days.

My initial guess is:
They hate all the candidates.

No this is in the Rocky Mountain News (Tracy Ringolsby)

Overheard

* Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda canceled a scheduled visit to the United States because he decided to sign with the Dodgers. He also was being pursued by Seattle, Arizona and Kansas City. Dodgers closer Takashi Saito is believed to have helped sway Kuroda to Los Angeles.

I hate Bill Plaschke. Sour history? Are you freaking kidding me?

As I was reading off some of the names, a number of people in my office who had overheard me immediately gathered around my desk. In less than 60 seconds, more than a dozen people were standing nearby, excitedly chattering about the names on my computer. There was a warning on the WNBC site that said MLB sources were disputing some of the names on the list, and to my credit, I mentioned that. But nobody was really paying attention to that part. So, thanks to me, a lot of the people in my office, as well as the friend who called me, went most of the day thinking that Albert Pujols (among others) was officially a steroids cheat.

I'm a little bit embarrassed and upset about this. I spread defamatory lies about people simply because, well, I'm a gossip, and because WNBC gave me completely fabricated and uncorroborated information. I'm angry at myself, and I'm angry at WNBC.

WNBC has a one paragraph retraction and apology up on their website, but that's not good enough. Journalists only have an obligation to protect their sources so long as their sources are telling the truth. That list was given to WNBC either by a complete charlatan, or somebody with an axe to grind. Either way, that person is not deserving of WNBC's protection, and should be revealed as a public service, under the auspice of exposing purveyors of misinformation. This would give WNBC a chance to at least fix their lousy work with some good journalism. I'm not gonna hold my breath, though.

Hot stove rumors can be fun and engaging. Rumors like this, on the other hand, are damaging and hurtful. The rush to be first was more important than the obligation to be right. I'm just as guilty as WNBC in this regard, but then again, I don't hold the public trust of a news gathering organization.

This whole episode has left me feeling pretty lousy today. I'm going to turn this post into a letter and send it to WNBC. Hopefully that will make me feel better, but I doubt it.

Mostly its still hopeful since KD is gone.

I still suspect him. That's just me. You guys can rightly condemn me for speculating without solid evidence...

As for Lo Duca, I recall wondering about him, when he suddenly had that power surge...but I didn't think the transformation was quite as dramatic as Gagne's. Plus, I wanted to believe the feel-good story...

Are you trying to say that we're trading Matt Kemp to Iraq now?

Baseball needs to retain some measure of innocence for me to love this game. The next time someone like Gange comes along and does something extraordinary, we are less likely to be amazed and more likely to be wondering what he's taking.

I think our outrage would be better served on our fallen heroes rather than some internet rumors. I know it still took talent and drive to accomplish what they did, but I can't say I will ever think of Gagne or La Duca in the same way.

"The National Championship contest will be the fifth in program history for the Nittany Lions, as they also advanced in 1993, 1997, 1998 and 1999, clinching the title in 1999. Penn State improves to 53-25 in the NCAA Tournament and is one of two teams - with the other being the Cardinal[s] - to appear in every postseason event since its inception in 1981."

You're out of luck. Players do illegal stuff, a lot of them are jerks, and many/most play primarily for the money.

That's just the way it is. If you want saints and angels, look elsewhere.

It is obvious that you are probably right.

I hear there's a presidential race on right now.

But yet no offense alnyden (certainly not singling you out) I am nowhere close to being depressed to no end and I am huge fan of baseball. I have my Game Over shirt etc...

Actually, it looks to me like this is the POPULAR view. Once Clemens and Pettitte showed up, ESPN has been falling all over themselves to slam the report, its process, and the naming of names.

If there had been no Yankee stars, I imagine ESPN would be much less skeptical.

I'm not saying it's wrong to be skeptical. Just that it seems to be the popular way to go.

Marion Jones flatly denied drug use, until her recent mea culpa. Athletes like Clemens will continue to deny, knowing that they'll be able to hide behind the fact that they'll never be prosecuted and convicted.

Bob can educate you on the Tipster.

Maybe I should take a mini-vacation from DT until this blows over...

Now what exactly do they consider baseball's highest ideals?

1. Bored college kid makes a list based on what's already out there and sprinkles in some big names - notably Pujols but NOT A-Rod (remember, we're in NYC here).

2. Bored college kid calls up WNBC the morning of the release, claims to be a low-level employee of the Yankees/Mets and that he found a copy of the report.

3. WNBC, in a rush to beat everybody else to the punch, and only having 2-3 hours before the official release, jumps on the "insider info" without having an opportunity to verify anything.

Now, if that's the way it went, and you're WNBC, are you going to burn your source? No. Saying "Sorry, this is a huge story and we published libelious and flat out wrong information on the basis of a source that was previously unknown to us and turned out to be a complete and total fraud, but, hey, we're still a paragon of journalistic excellence!" is far far worse than just keeping mum and letting people think you were burned by a trustworthy source with an agenda, or even better, just having people forget it ever happened.

I could be wrong - maybe WNBC did have a truly trusted source that had given them good info in the past - but if it's anything like my speculation there will be no source-burning.

One name on the list that brought back old suspicions was Brady Anderson. What a flukey year he had in 96.

I think medicine is good. I think that drugs used to produce better than natural results are problematic, but that drugs used to preserve or restore natural ability are peachy.

Though throwing Darryl Kile on the list pretty much ensures his place in hell.

What event was it being referenced in 38 ? There was no link

Also, what is the due process argument? This is not a trial or investigation conducted by the government, this is a private enterprise hiring private individuals to conduct an investigation.

I don't think the players (on orders from the union) refused to participate because of due process concerns. If that was the sole concern, they could have negotiated something to deal with these due process concerns. They did not because they were trying to protect themselves.

I've moved on to the acceptance stage. I am not happy about all this, but am at least now willing to figure out where we go from here.

The key to the changeup is the difference from the speed of the fastball, with the same arm action. If HGH made Gagne's fastball faster, that would increase the difference between that and his changeup, making the changeup more devastating.

Is this going to be on TV? I want to watch!

What is "nittany" I wonder? A "nittany" lion sounds like a mother lion of some sort. I'll be back in a moment.

Cortisone - I have a special problem with as well: You're body is trying to tell you something by swelling up and refusing to move. Just perhaps you should listen to it.

Ok, I'm back.

Let's hear it for Penn State with the answers:

"...the word comes from a Native American term meaning, 'single mountain.'"

http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittany.html

And the state of American journalism sinks even lower.

What the fake list writer did was include every player who had already been implicated, plus added a few big names on his own. But the inclusion of the obscure guys like Crawford made it look more realistic.

Also allows for quicker recovery time from outings and injuries.

I agree. I find it very hard to discern what exactly is "wrong", "cheating" and so on in using one substance rather than another before such a substance is declared either illegal or against the rules. Once it's against the rules - whether the rules are really rational or not - OK, it's wrong to use the substance. But all these players being condemned for using HGH before it was declared out of bounds - I find that a bit hard to take.

What if it turns out that large amounts of Vitamin E aid athletic performance? Is it then wrong to take Vitamin E by injection (if that is possible, for the sake of argument)? How about eating large amounts of natural foods that contain Vitamin E? Would it be cheating to do either of these before MLB declared it improper? So where would you draw the line between that and a good diet? Where do you draw the line between taking HGH before it was declared off-limits and taking lots of vitamins? How about taking prescribed drugs helping recovery from Tommy John surgery?

Not that it will be any fun, since by that time the goverment would require that I wear a bubble suit so that I can't hurt myself and cause pain to those bystanders who get upset if my brain spills onto their boots.