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WASHINGTON Nov 10, 2005 — Baseball star Rafael Palmeiro will not be prosecuted on perjury charges after lawmakers said Thursday there isn't enough evidence to prove he lied when he told a congressional panel under oath that he had "never used steroids" six weeks before failing a steroid test. The investigation did not conclude whether Palmeiro had actually ever used performance-enhancing substances. "We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said in releasing a 44-page report. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we...

Sep 23, 2005 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rafael Palmeiro's season came to an abrupt end on Friday, when the Baltimore Orioles slugger was told by the American League team to stay at home for the remainder of the campaign. Palmeiro was scheduled to return from injury for the final homestand of the season, but was informed by the club on the eve of his 41st birthday that he would not be required for the balance of the regular schedule, ending on October 2. The Cuban-born player picked up a 10-day suspension earlier this season for a drugs violation and...

The congressional hearings on steroids have the potential to be one of the most important events in baseball's long history. More important than any lockout or union strike. More important than the 1980s' epidemic of cokehead players. You might have to go all the way back to the Black Sox scandal to find an event of equal meaning. The reason is simple: The use of steroids, like the fixing of the 1919 World Series, goes directly to the integrity of baseball. Any time there is doubt about the final results, about wins and losses, batting averages and home runs, every...