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Pete Rose wonders why there are people praising Alex Rodriguez for admitting he used steroids, and why his text-messaging buddy ever stopped taking them. "I was amazed all the guys at ESPN were patting him on his back for coming forward and getting this gorilla off his back," Rose told Howard Eskin on WIP in Philadelphia. "Would he have come forward if the lady hadn't written the article?" Rose was talking about Selena Roberts, the Sports Illustrated writer who reported that Rodriguez tested positive for two steroids in 2003.

NEW YORK (AP) - ESPN reports that Alex Rodriguez admits using performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-03.

If Alex Rodriguez could handpick the team he plays for, Boston might well be No. 1 on his list. According to a source who has talked to Rodriguez recently, he'd love to play for the Sox because he thinks they can win multiple championships. Meanwhile, agent Scott Boras has been pleasantly surprised with the early interest in Rodriguez. "Several teams have expressed an interest and there have been a couple of surprise teams I never expected to hear from," he said. Boras would not reveal any names (one of the surprise teams is thought to be the Marlins). Asked whether...

Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player to reach the 500-home run plateau, belting a three- run home run in the first inning of Saturday's game against Kansas City. Rodriguez, who turned 32 on July 27, surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500 career home runs. Rodriguez smacked the first pitch he saw from Kyle Davies over the left field wall for his 36th home run of the season and became the 22nd player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run mark....

The saga continues in the Bronx this week. The Sox send out Beckett, Wakefield and Schilling. The Yankees counter with Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Shawn Chacon. The New York Post ran a back cover story questioning why anyone has not dared to throw at David Ortiz.. (maybe because he is 6' 4" and weighs 250 lbs) Sox offseason pickup Josh Beckett returns to Yankee Stadium for the first time since Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. Series returns to NY after an abbreviated series last week in Boston where Boston fans expressed their true feelings about Johnny Damon.

Who here is a Yankee fan? Yankees have gotten off to somewhat of a rocky start but the starting pitching has been generally fantastic and once the offense stops coming in spurs, they will do some solid damage. This is the year that they finally break through and win the World Series.