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1 Views
19:39:00 01/25/12
Van Halen Assless Chaps; NFL Expands - NTN #103
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 19:39:00 01/25/12
Nearly The News #103
BUTT-LESS CHAPS: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!!
The reunion tour of iconic rock band Van Halen has led to a spike in assless chap sales, according to Cap News and representatives from the assless chaps industry.
"Sales are up more than 300 percent in the first quarter of this year," said a well-ventilated spokesperson. “It's been more of a specialty item the last few decades, so we couldn't be happier."
Assless chaps were first popularized by Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth in the 1980s, who wore them during concerts, music videos and while relaxing around the house
http://crystalair.com/story.php?id=201201004
NFL SEASON: BIGGER, LONGER, AND WAY HARDER (GIGGLE)
In an announcement sending shockwaves through the sporting world, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has laid out plans to increase the league's regular season from a 16 to an 82-game schedule.
"There's been talk of adding games to the season for some time," Goodell explained to Cap News. "We just added more than most people expected, because frankly, we want to make even more money."
The new format will also see a change to the post season, with playoffs being a best of seven series, and the championship game played over a live volcano.
http://www.crystalair.com/story.php?id=201201005
And finally…
IT’S A MINI-DIVA SENSATION!
Beyonce and Jay-Z’s newborn daughter Blue Ivy has released the first single from her upcoming album, as well as a very healthy stool sample.
“The single is called “Whhaaaa, bitches!” and features vocal support from Lil’ Wayne and Eminem. “For a new artist, she has a feel for music beyond her years,” the happy after-birth covered father told reporters. “And her BM, it’s firm, the right color, there’s not another artist out there who’s pooping at this level.”
0 Views
21:05:51 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 – A Faerie at the Heart of Camelot
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:05:51 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 is available 1/17 on DVD at http://bit.ly/A759kY! The legendary sorcerer returns with even more magic, adventure and romance. In the exciting third season, Merlin (Colin Morgan, Parked) must work harder than ever to conceal his unique abilities from the king and his war against magic. While battling deadly assassins and mystical monsters, the young wizard struggles to protect Prince Arthur in the perilous world of Camelot. As seen on SyFy.
0 Views
21:04:54 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 – Get Out of My Way
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:04:54 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 is available 1/17 on DVD at http://bit.ly/A759kY! The legendary sorcerer returns with even more magic, adventure and romance. In the exciting third season, Merlin (Colin Morgan, Parked) must work harder than ever to conceal his unique abilities from the king and his war against magic. While battling deadly assassins and mystical monsters, the young wizard struggles to protect Prince Arthur in the perilous world of Camelot. As seen on SyFy.
0 Views
21:03:34 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 – Camelot Has Welcomed Back Its Daughter
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 21:03:34 01/10/12
Merlin Season 3 is available 1/17 on DVD at http://bit.ly/A759kY! The legendary sorcerer returns with even more magic, adventure and romance. In the exciting third season, Merlin (Colin Morgan, Parked) must work harder than ever to conceal his unique abilities from the king and his war against magic. While battling deadly assassins and mystical monsters, the young wizard struggles to protect Prince Arthur in the perilous world of Camelot. As seen on SyFy.
98 Views
15:00:00 10/31/11
The Season Episode 2.14
[LESS INFO] 98 VIEWS | ADDED 15:00:00 10/31/11
"The LIst is this ongoing process in my head," says climber Craig DeMartino. Each season, his mind wanders over past climbs. They bubble to the surface and Craig makes it a point to go out and repeat them, but over the years a funny thing happened. The List became less about looking backward then as a means for looking forward. Craig climbs as hard, if not harder than he did before his accident and amputation, so it would only make sense that he would add new, more challenging routes to The List. For traditional climbers, El Capitan is near the top of every tick list.
4 Views
19:25:56 10/04/11
Factories Hard at Work for Christmas
[LESS INFO] 4 VIEWS | ADDED 19:25:56 10/04/11
Factories Hard at Work for Christmas
For more news and videos visit ☛ english.ntdtv.com Follow us on Twitter ☛ http Add us on Facebook ☛ me.lt It may sound a bit early to talk about Christmas, but for Chinese factory workers, October is crunchtime to make sure all the holiday products are finished, and make it to shelves around the world on time. Although Christmas is still more than two months away, factories in China are working hard to prepare for the holiday season. September and October are the busiest months for manufacturing seasonal goods to meet shipping deadlines. To compensate for slow US and European markets, factory owner He Songping (not pronounced hee, more like huh) explains his methods. [He Songping, Co-owner, China Zhongsheng Crafts Co. Ltd.]: "Right now, because the global economy is not doing very well, our factory had to take steps early on to deal with this problem. We had to talk to our old customers earlier to try to find new business opportunities. Overall, for factories manufacturing Christmas goods, there is not too much of an effect on our sales." He and his brother employ over 200 workers, but recent inflation in China has made workers either harder to find or demanding higher wages. [Fu Chensong, Factory Worker]: "Of course, there is a difference (with inflation). Nowadays, I keep feeling that I don't have enough money to spend. After such a hard day of work I feel I don't have enough to survive. I feel that if the boss is making profits, he should improve the welfare ... From: NTDTV Views: 31 1 ratings Time: 01:41 More in News & Politics
1 Views
19:19:56 12/22/09
Tough Times for Holiday Toy Drives
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 19:19:56 12/22/09
The recession has made it hard for many people to give gifts this holiday season – and even harder to give to charities, including ones that serve children in need.
While NBC's "Today" show reaped a record $30 million in its 16th annual toy drive, donations to the national program Toys for Tots are down. In in New York, one education official is struggling to find toys to brighten the lives of 600 children living in Brooklyn homeless shelters.
1 Views
14:17:12 12/20/09
Jigsaw - Carol.
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 14:17:12 12/20/09
Funny how you spend a week building a new set, blowing off friends and family, so to be able to film an Xmas special that resides firmly in the continuity of the upcoming season, only to have two feet of snow drop on you and change everything. For the better, I think.2009 has been a rough year for pretty much everybody. I like to think there's a lot of good in there with the bad, so that you get an interesting mixture of joy and melancholy as the overall theme of the year. This carol may have been on my mind for just that reason. Celebratory and sad, almost spooky. I couldn't add anything to that, so I just had Lump, Frank & Regibor sing the thing.Snow is hard to film. This is common knowledge. What people don't talk about is how it's even harder to record. Falling snow has this… sound. A sound that apparently doesn't like microphones, at least not the cheap-o ones in the Jigsaw bag of tricks. That was the biggest difficulty with this episode. One I hope I overcame.Happy holidays, everybody. Hope that twenty ten treats you a lot better.
391 Views
14:17:12 12/20/09
Jigsaw - Carol.
[LESS INFO] 391 VIEWS | ADDED 14:17:12 12/20/09
Funny how you spend a week building a new set, blowing off friends and family, so to be able to film an Xmas special that resides firmly in the continuity of the upcoming season, only to have two feet of snow drop on you and change everything. For the better, I think.
2009 has been a rough year for pretty much everybody. I like to think there's a lot of good in there with the bad, so that you get an interesting mixture of joy and melancholy as the overall theme of the year. This carol may have been on my mind for just that reason. Celebratory and sad, almost spooky. I couldn't add anything to that, so I just had Lump, Frank & Regibor sing the thing.
Snow is hard to film. This is common knowledge. What people don't talk about is how it's even harder to record . Falling snow has this… sound. A sound that apparently doesn't like microphones, at least not the cheap-o ones in the Jigsaw bag of tricks. That was the biggest difficulty with this episode. One I hope I overcame.
Happy holidays, everybody. Hope that twenty ten treats you a lot better.
7 Views
04:03:49 12/14/07
The Mitchell Report: Former St. Louis Cardinals Pitcher T.J. Mathews
[LESS INFO] 7 VIEWS | ADDED 04:03:49 12/14/07
By RONALD BLUM and BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writers NEW YORK (AP) -- Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars -- one for every position -- and that still wasn't the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell Report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The Steroids Era. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the all-time list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself and once a lock for the Hall of Fame, Clemens now has another distinction: the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. In all, Thursday's 409-page report identified 86 names to differing degrees, but, while he vehemently denied it through his lawyer, Clemens was the symbol. Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal. "If there are problems, I wanted them revealed," commissioner Bud Selig said. "His report is a call to action, and I will act." Doping was widespread by stars as well as scrubs, the report said, putting a question mark if not an asterisk next to baseball records and threatening the integrity of the game itself. Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players in the report. Some were linked to Human Growth Hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants. "Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball of Hall of Fame," Mitchell wrote. "They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players." No one was hit harder than Clemens, singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on him came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee. At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. The report was unlikely to trigger a wave of discipline. While a few players, such as Bonds, are subjects of ongoing legal proceedings, many of the instances cited by Mitchell were before drug testing began in 2003. Mitchell said punishment was inappropriate in all but the most egregious cases, and Selig said decisions on any action would come "swiftly" on a case-by-case basis. "We have approached these cases by looking at the period of time during which the conduct occurred and what our policy looked like for that point in time," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion. Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around. "Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on." Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable. "The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records." Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced" was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often -- 105 times. Bonds was next at 103. A total of 16 Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways -- some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations. "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement," the report said. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him." McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin." "It is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong." "There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man." Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case. "Former commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance-enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 1919 Black Sox scandal," Mitchell said. Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Wally Joyner and Todd Hundley. Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified. "We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's `steroids era' as set forth in this report." One player mentioned but not expressly accused was McGwire. His use of Androstenedione during his 1998 home run race with Sammy Sosa set off baseball's first concerns about steroids. Testifying before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about his past, and refused as well to cooperate with Mitchell. The report recounts all that without making any accusations. Sosa, who testified with McGwire and denied knowingly using steroids, also was spared by Mitchell. The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement. They had been covered, it said, since management's 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in Vincent's 1991 drug policy. "Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing. Mitchell questioned whether players were tipped off about testing. He said a former player, whom he didn't identify, claimed he had been given two weeks' notice of a drug test by Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, in September 2004. Orza did not respond to a message seeking comment. Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict, especially because none of their prime players were in the report. "Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever." Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, and Frank Thomas were the only current players known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation. "The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said. Union head Donald Fehr made "no apologies" for the way they represented players. "Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever," he said. "Even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been." Certainly a lot of people read the names. The report was downloaded 1.8 million times off MLB.com in the first three hours after it was posted. About two hours after the report was released, two congressmen at the forefront of Capitol Hill's involvement in the steroids issue asked Mitchell, Selig and Fehr to testify at a House committee hearing next Tuesday. California Democrat Henry Waxman and Virginia Republican Tom Davis -- the leaders of the panel that held the March 17, 2005, hearing at which McGwire, Palmeiro and Sosa testified -- want to know "whether the Mitchell Report's recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed," they said. Also, a Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on Jan. 23 relating to steroid use in professional sports. ------ AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen and Bill Konigsberg and AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
3 Views
04:02:05 12/14/07
The Mitchell Report: Cardinals President Mark Lamping And General Manager John Mozeliak
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 04:02:05 12/14/07
By RONALD BLUM and BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writers NEW YORK (AP) -- Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars -- one for every position -- and that still wasn't the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell Report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The Steroids Era. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the all-time list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself and once a lock for the Hall of Fame, Clemens now has another distinction: the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. In all, Thursday's 409-page report identified 86 names to differing degrees, but, while he vehemently denied it through his lawyer, Clemens was the symbol. Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal. "If there are problems, I wanted them revealed," commissioner Bud Selig said. "His report is a call to action, and I will act." Doping was widespread by stars as well as scrubs, the report said, putting a question mark if not an asterisk next to baseball records and threatening the integrity of the game itself. Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players in the report. Some were linked to Human Growth Hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants. "Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball of Hall of Fame," Mitchell wrote. "They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players." No one was hit harder than Clemens, singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on him came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee. At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. The report was unlikely to trigger a wave of discipline. While a few players, such as Bonds, are subjects of ongoing legal proceedings, many of the instances cited by Mitchell were before drug testing began in 2003. Mitchell said punishment was inappropriate in all but the most egregious cases, and Selig said decisions on any action would come "swiftly" on a case-by-case basis. "We have approached these cases by looking at the period of time during which the conduct occurred and what our policy looked like for that point in time," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion. Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around. "Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on." Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable. "The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records." Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced" was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often -- 105 times. Bonds was next at 103. A total of 16 Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways -- some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations. "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement," the report said. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him." McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin." "It is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong." "There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man." Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case. "Former commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance-enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 1919 Black Sox scandal," Mitchell said. Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Wally Joyner and Todd Hundley. Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified. "We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's `steroids era' as set forth in this report." One player mentioned but not expressly accused was McGwire. His use of Androstenedione during his 1998 home run race with Sammy Sosa set off baseball's first concerns about steroids. Testifying before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about his past, and refused as well to cooperate with Mitchell. The report recounts all that without making any accusations. Sosa, who testified with McGwire and denied knowingly using steroids, also was spared by Mitchell. The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement. They had been covered, it said, since management's 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in Vincent's 1991 drug policy. "Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing. Mitchell questioned whether players were tipped off about testing. He said a former player, whom he didn't identify, claimed he had been given two weeks' notice of a drug test by Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, in September 2004. Orza did not respond to a message seeking comment. Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict, especially because none of their prime players were in the report. "Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever." Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, and Frank Thomas were the only current players known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation. "The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said. Union head Donald Fehr made "no apologies" for the way they represented players. "Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever," he said. "Even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been." Certainly a lot of people read the names. The report was downloaded 1.8 million times off MLB.com in the first three hours after it was posted. About two hours after the report was released, two congressmen at the forefront of Capitol Hill's involvement in the steroids issue asked Mitchell, Selig and Fehr to testify at a House committee hearing next Tuesday. California Democrat Henry Waxman and Virginia Republican Tom Davis -- the leaders of the panel that held the March 17, 2005, hearing at which McGwire, Palmeiro and Sosa testified -- want to know "whether the Mitchell Report's recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed," they said. Also, a Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on Jan. 23 relating to steroid use in professional sports. ------ AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen and Bill Konigsberg and AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
1 Views
03:59:11 12/14/07
The Mitchell Report: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 03:59:11 12/14/07
By RONALD BLUM and BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writers NEW YORK (AP) -- Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars -- one for every position -- and that still wasn't the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell Report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The Steroids Era. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the all-time list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself and once a lock for the Hall of Fame, Clemens now has another distinction: the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. In all, Thursday's 409-page report identified 86 names to differing degrees, but, while he vehemently denied it through his lawyer, Clemens was the symbol. Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal. "If there are problems, I wanted them revealed," commissioner Bud Selig said. "His report is a call to action, and I will act." Doping was widespread by stars as well as scrubs, the report said, putting a question mark if not an asterisk next to baseball records and threatening the integrity of the game itself. Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players in the report. Some were linked to Human Growth Hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants. "Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball of Hall of Fame," Mitchell wrote. "They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players." No one was hit harder than Clemens, singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on him came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee. At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. The report was unlikely to trigger a wave of discipline. While a few players, such as Bonds, are subjects of ongoing legal proceedings, many of the instances cited by Mitchell were before drug testing began in 2003. Mitchell said punishment was inappropriate in all but the most egregious cases, and Selig said decisions on any action would come "swiftly" on a case-by-case basis. "We have approached these cases by looking at the period of time during which the conduct occurred and what our policy looked like for that point in time," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion. Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around. "Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on." Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable. "The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records." Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced" was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often -- 105 times. Bonds was next at 103. A total of 16 Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways -- some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations. "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement," the report said. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him." McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin." "It is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong." "There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man." Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case. "Former commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance-enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 1919 Black Sox scandal," Mitchell said. Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Wally Joyner and Todd Hundley. Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified. "We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's `steroids era' as set forth in this report." One player mentioned but not expressly accused was McGwire. His use of Androstenedione during his 1998 home run race with Sammy Sosa set off baseball's first concerns about steroids. Testifying before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about his past, and refused as well to cooperate with Mitchell. The report recounts all that without making any accusations. Sosa, who testified with McGwire and denied knowingly using steroids, also was spared by Mitchell. The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement. They had been covered, it said, since management's 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in Vincent's 1991 drug policy. "Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing. Mitchell questioned whether players were tipped off about testing. He said a former player, whom he didn't identify, claimed he had been given two weeks' notice of a drug test by Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, in September 2004. Orza did not respond to a message seeking comment. Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict, especially because none of their prime players were in the report. "Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever." Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, and Frank Thomas were the only current players known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation. "The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said. Union head Donald Fehr made "no apologies" for the way they represented players. "Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever," he said. "Even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been." Certainly a lot of people read the names. The report was downloaded 1.8 million times off MLB.com in the first three hours after it was posted. About two hours after the report was released, two congressmen at the forefront of Capitol Hill's involvement in the steroids issue asked Mitchell, Selig and Fehr to testify at a House committee hearing next Tuesday. California Democrat Henry Waxman and Virginia Republican Tom Davis -- the leaders of the panel that held the March 17, 2005, hearing at which McGwire, Palmeiro and Sosa testified -- want to know "whether the Mitchell Report's recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed," they said. Also, a Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on Jan. 23 relating to steroid use in professional sports. ------ AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen and Bill Konigsberg and AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
2 Views
03:54:58 12/14/07
The Mitchell Report: Former Sen. George Mitchell
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 03:54:58 12/14/07
By RONALD BLUM and BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writers NEW YORK (AP) -- Seven MVPs and 31 All-Stars -- one for every position -- and that still wasn't the worst of it for the long-awaited Mitchell Report. That infamy belonged to Roger Clemens, the greatest pitcher of his era. The Steroids Era. Seven-time Cy Young Award winner, eighth on the all-time list with 354 victories, an MVP and All-Star himself and once a lock for the Hall of Fame, Clemens now has another distinction: the biggest name linked by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. In all, Thursday's 409-page report identified 86 names to differing degrees, but, while he vehemently denied it through his lawyer, Clemens was the symbol. Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal. "If there are problems, I wanted them revealed," commissioner Bud Selig said. "His report is a call to action, and I will act." Doping was widespread by stars as well as scrubs, the report said, putting a question mark if not an asterisk next to baseball records and threatening the integrity of the game itself. Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players in the report. Some were linked to Human Growth Hormone, others to steroids. Mitchell did not delve into stimulants. "Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball of Hall of Fame," Mitchell wrote. "They include both pitchers and position players, and their backgrounds are as diverse as those of all major league players." No one was hit harder than Clemens, singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on him came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee. At 45, Clemens has not said whether he hopes to pitch next season. The report was unlikely to trigger a wave of discipline. While a few players, such as Bonds, are subjects of ongoing legal proceedings, many of the instances cited by Mitchell were before drug testing began in 2003. Mitchell said punishment was inappropriate in all but the most egregious cases, and Selig said decisions on any action would come "swiftly" on a case-by-case basis. "We have approached these cases by looking at the period of time during which the conduct occurred and what our policy looked like for that point in time," said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion. Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around. "Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on." Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable. "The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records." Jose Canseco, whose book "Juiced" was cited throughout, was mentioned the most often -- 105 times. Bonds was next at 103. A total of 16 Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways -- some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations. "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement," the report said. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him." McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin." "It is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong." "There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man." Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case. "Former commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance-enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 1919 Black Sox scandal," Mitchell said. Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Wally Joyner and Todd Hundley. Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified. "We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's `steroids era' as set forth in this report." One player mentioned but not expressly accused was McGwire. His use of Androstenedione during his 1998 home run race with Sammy Sosa set off baseball's first concerns about steroids. Testifying before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about his past, and refused as well to cooperate with Mitchell. The report recounts all that without making any accusations. Sosa, who testified with McGwire and denied knowingly using steroids, also was spared by Mitchell. The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement. They had been covered, it said, since management's 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in Vincent's 1991 drug policy. "Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing. Mitchell questioned whether players were tipped off about testing. He said a former player, whom he didn't identify, claimed he had been given two weeks' notice of a drug test by Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, in September 2004. Orza did not respond to a message seeking comment. Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict, especially because none of their prime players were in the report. "Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever." Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, and Frank Thomas were the only current players known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation. "The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said. Union head Donald Fehr made "no apologies" for the way they represented players. "Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever," he said. "Even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been." Certainly a lot of people read the names. The report was downloaded 1.8 million times off MLB.com in the first three hours after it was posted. About two hours after the report was released, two congressmen at the forefront of Capitol Hill's involvement in the steroids issue asked Mitchell, Selig and Fehr to testify at a House committee hearing next Tuesday. California Democrat Henry Waxman and Virginia Republican Tom Davis -- the leaders of the panel that held the March 17, 2005, hearing at which McGwire, Palmeiro and Sosa testified -- want to know "whether the Mitchell Report's recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed," they said. Also, a Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on Jan. 23 relating to steroid use in professional sports. ------ AP Sports Writers Rachel Cohen and Bill Konigsberg and AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in Washington contributed to this report. (Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
3 Views
09:10:18 12/03/07
MD016 - Donating to a charity
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 09:10:18 12/03/07
'Tis the season to give to charity, and there are a lot of them out there! This holiday season, you may be considering spending some of your shopping money on a donation to charity. Deciding which charity is harder than ever, so in this video we give you some advice and resources to help you make the most of your charitable spirit.





