Posted on 03/17/2005 12:17:34 PM PST by Cagey
WASHINGTON (AP) - Retired slugger Mark McGwire Thursday told a congressional panel investigating drugs in baseball that he would not "participate in naming names" of players who used steroids. McGwire did not say in his opening statement to the House Government Reform Committee whether he used steroids.
Two current players, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro, said they never used steroids. That duo and McGwire were accused of using performance-enhancing drugs by Jose Canseco in a best-selling book that helped prompt the hearing.
In a tense scene, Canseco sat at the same table as the other players as he told the lawmakers that he could not fully answer their questions because of concerns his testimony could be used against him.
Choking back tears, his voice cracking, McGwire said he knows that steroid use can be dangerous and will do whatever he can to discourage young athletes from using them.
"What I will not do, however, is participate in naming names and implicating my friends and teammates," said McGwire, who ranks sixth in major league history with 583 homers.
Are you kidding....all?? That kind of thinking could really be considered ignorance.
Wy didn't Bonds have to be there? I was really turned off by McGuire's sniveling! Here's this hulk of a guy crying! Made him look like a jerk! I thought they would all be united against Canseco and make him look like the ass he is. Shilling was the only one (well Palmaro too) who sounded articulate and not stammering around like an idiot~ A real waste of taxpayers $ and while I didn't hear parents talk about their kids who died from steroid use I think like all drugs it is the parents responsibility NOT sports figures-sure they're role models but they can't be held responsible for what kids are doing-parents need to be the parent and know everything their kid is doing. I don't agree it's the players fault! They're just looking to blame someone else.
"Yeah, and this is far more important than baseball."
I agree. This is congressional grandstanding at it's best. A theatre of the absurd. I canot fathom a reason in the world the US Congrees needs to stick it's nose into baseball.
When Congressmen volunteer for drug testing themselves, then maybe they can talk. Let's have hearings on Congressional drinking, I subpoena Ted Kennedy.
"Rethink that. Canseco admitted to using steroids and said McGwire used steroids. OTOH, McGwire refused to say anything. So you believe "nothing"?"
McGwire doesn`t have to say anything. If you were called before a monkey court, would you bow down to them? I think all these players who were drug before these clowns should have shown up and gave them all the finger. I applaud Mark for not given these government officials the freak show they so much wanted.
I am willing to bet even if Mark said he never used steroids you still wouldn`t have believed him. Heck, you are taking Canseco`s word over alot of other guys who I find much more credible. That says alot about you.
Also, Canseco estimated 80% of the players he knew used steroids. If you believe that, you need to rethink your views on Jose. Because that statement is completely untrue.
Canseco also wanted immunity at these hearings !!! Who is he trying to protect? Why would he need immunity for something he has already publicly admitted. Something isn`t right there.
Sorry, I simply don`t trust a man who smears his so called friends in a book that he is making money on. Canseco has had many problems over the years. I still think he has issues to hash through , because some of his claims are absolutely unbelievable.
Sorry, I am not taking Canseco`s side on this until some credible evidence is shown to back up his claims. Yeah, evidence... What evidence does Canseco have ????? I would be interested in hearing from you on this evidence.
"Let's have hearings on Congressional drinking, I subpoena Ted Kennedy."
ROTFLMAO!
cleaning off my monitor......
There may be the odd few that havent used but it is the vast majority that use. I know from personal experience and everyone who knows athletes thinks this is a joke because so many use.
McGwire NEVER USED ANDRO....RMFE.
McGwire Used the Andro as a Plausible excuse to DEFLECT FROM THE STEROID RUMORS.....
Yes, Found with a Bottle if something, so inefficient, that the only way it would put 30 Lbs on you would be to have a BOX full of it placed on your shoulders.
At the time, the state of the art in Andro was such, that it was for all intents and purposes,useless.
Pseudo-Republican John Sweeney testifyng before Congress..
I had the opportunity, and on occasion, worked out with my then 15, 16 year old son, who is an avid sports fan, who was an avid athlete in baseball, football, all the sports you would expect an average American kid to be involved in. And he mentioned to me that a number of his friends in the gym were talking about and/or using an anabolic precursor that goes by the tag line Andro. And he asked me what I thought about that and he asked me if I thought it would make him perform better, make him faster and stronger; what I thought about the use of that.
I said to him, John, as a natural response, I think anything you ingest in your body, you better check out first before you really do some damage that you don't intend. He said, dad, how bad can this be? They are selling it over the counter at GNC and selling it over the counter at Wal-Mart. The Government has had to check this out. You folks have had to check this out. This has to be good for you. That started me on a journey through the U.S. Olympic facilities in Lake Placid, which is in my district, and through a variety of other sports entities in this Nation researching the facts and what was really involved in the steroid precursor phenomenon.
And what I found was sales quadrupled after Mark Maguire hit 70 home runs and took Roger Maris off the record books and acknowledged the use of Andro as a means to develop fitness and strength.
So then Congress outlawed them.
where did you get these facts?
" However, you, otoh don't seem to have an open mind on the subject."
What makes you say that? Because I don`t just take Canseco at his word ?
Some of the allegations Canseco made in his book have already been "proven" as false (through game records and stats kept by MLB ).
So what am I to make of someone who has been proven to not tell the truth ( or simply mis-state facts ). Canseco made these allegations, he should at least provide some evidence to back the allegations up. That is not too much to ask. And I don`t see a line of people behind him backing his allegations up.
I am interested on why you are so easy to accept Canseco`s allegations?
"I'm coming from the perspective that no publishing company would publish a book containing these allegations if there were not some corroboration to Canseco's story"
Huh, you read some of the stuff published about our President lately ????
Rolling MY F***ng Eyes...
Simply put, ANYONE, that knows ANYTHING about Andro, would be able to tell you that.
You either have to believe that McGwire was actually DUMB enough to just inadvertently leave the Bottle in his locker,
AND
That he had access to some magic form of Andro that the people who make Andro pretty much abandoned in favor of more advanced formulas, because the original andro didnt work.
or McGwire was telling the truth, and took the Fifth yesterday for Kicks....
Andro is garbage. They came out with something within the last year or two called methyl 1-test that works well but then it quickly became illegal. For real gains i prefer to use the real deal as do just about all athletes.
Exactly. Until 4Androstenediol was developed, (around 2000?) Andro was more than useless...
5Androstenedione, which is what McGwire claimed gave him that physique, was in fact garbage. (and if he was using any real amount would have caused Gyno)
Excellent point, so he was a liar long before yesterday. However, McGwire [with voice cracking, choking back tears] as part of his opening statement asserted that he never judged anyone because of their sexual preference. So I think we should give him a free pass on this one.
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