Jim Rice, who will be one of the elite inductees to the Hall of Fame with Rickey Henderson on July 26, spoke on Friday against use of steroids and the bad vibes created by steroid using players and steroids in baseball. He was of the view that steroid-using baseball players namely Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, among others, just do not deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

In a conference call that was arranged by the Hall of Fame, Rice said that baseball players who used steroids to deliver dramatic performance on the field and hampered the spirit of the game do not deserve any place in the hall of fame.

From Sfgate.com:

“You can almost look at the same thing as Pete Rose,” Rice said on a conference call arranged by the Hall of Fame. “I think if they did something wrong to enhance the game of baseball or go against the game of baseball, they shouldn’t be in. That’s just me.”

Regarding steroids, Rice said of the players already enshrined, “You didn’t find anything that they did wrong. They’re in the Hall of Fame. All of a sudden, you pick someone who did something wrong, and they say, ‘Well, we’re going to overlook that because he was a Hall of Famer before that.’ Nah. Uh-uh. I don’t believe in that. If you’re going to be that way, you’ve got to be straight with everyone.”

Both Bonds, a seven-time MVP, and Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, elevated their games in their late 30s and early 40s and are targets of federal investigations into whether they lied about using steroids. Both were considered Hall of Fame worthy before their first link to performance-enhancing drugs.

“If they used steroids, it’s up to the writers to make the decision. As Hall of Famers, we have no vote,” Rice said. “You go back and ask, ‘Was he a Hall of Famer before they caught him using steroids?’ So you’re telling your kids, ‘Hey, you can use steroids now, don’t get caught.’ “

It is believed that many of the several players who have been included in the hall of fame expressed their disapproval of players who used steroids during their playing days, including Rich Gossage who was one of the inductees last year, who motivated young players to fess up with steroids.

On recent updates on the upcoming trial of Barry Bonds this coming Monday, US District Judge Susan Illston had announced last week that the information on the data of the jury will be kept hidden from the public. Bonds is facing perjury charges and is being accused that he had lied under oath when he said that he didn’t know he was using steroids. There had been some issues regarding getting testimonials against him and problems with then-possible evidences. As of now, the court has provided would-be jury members with a 60-question form with their juror name, personal information and information on their beliefs. The main problem is that several media companies are trying to convince Illston to allow the public to see these documents for various reasons.

From The Associated Press:

The Associated Press, ESPN, Hearst Corp., The New York Times Co., ABC-subsidiary KGO, KNTV Television Inc., NBC subsidiary KNBC-TV, The Los Angeles Times, the Medianews Group and Sports Illustrated publisher Time Inc. filed court papers seeking public access to the forms.

Media company lawyers argued that the questionnaires should be considered part of the jury-selection process, which is required to be done in open court. The lawyers noted that neither Bonds’ lawyers nor federal prosecutors have asked the judge to seal the documents.

Twelve jurors will be chosen plus an additional 2 for alternates. The media claims that there is no reason to keep the information the jurors a secret. The prospective and trial jurors have followed the events on Bonds’ steroid scandal. They will be facing lawyers of both sides and Illston next week to answer questions on their response in the forms.

It seems like it’s not only Alex Rodriguez who will be put to public judgment. You might think that the 104 athletes that tested positive among more than 600 samples should be the only ones scared now that the list has been found. It doesn’t seem that way though since even those who tested negative could be subject to some re-testing. Apparently, the trend started by Barry Bonds seems to be getting carried over other athletes. As we can recall, Bonds tested positive back in 2003 but when the prosecution tested his samples again, it came back with traces of a then-undetectable steroid.

From Daily News:

Even those who tested negative could be subject to re-testing as a result of the Players’ Association’s failure to destroy the spreadsheet with the names of those who tested positive.

There are believed to be 525 negative urine samples in the hands of the government in addition to the 104 positive samples.

After the testing process was completed in 2003, union officials had the right to destroy the documents that connected names to actual urine samples. Sources close to the union defend its inaction, saying it would have been improper to destroy urine samples and test documents because they were potential evidence in the ongoing BALCO probe.

The protocol is that the laboratory should destroy negative samples after 30 days and positive samples after a year. Unfortunately, the lab didn’t destroy the negative samples and that leaves the government with about 525 urine sample to analyze once again, and 525 baseball players who are at risk of becoming the next target for public critique. It is even possible that a sample of Roger Clemens urine still exists. And like Bonds, that sample could be analyzed and, if it yields positive results, be used against them.

Marshall Gadd of Manchester was suspended from the rugby union after testing positive for stanozolol.

It follows a random drugs test after the National Division One match between Coventry and Manchester on 25 October.

Gadd’s suspension is for two years, which runs until November 18, 2010, according to the report of BBC Sport. The ban excludes Gadd from playing, training or being a member of a club, coaching or acting in any official capacity within the sport.

Gadd has two weeks to appeal against the ruling.

Stanozolol, commonly sold under the trade name Winstrol, is one of the most abused anabolic steroids by athletes for them to gain a winning edge.

This banned compound figured prominently in the case of sluggers Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Allegations abound regarding these two famed sluggers’ use of stanozolol and other performance-enhancing compounds.

Brian McNamee, Clemens’ former trainer, had testified that he had injected the pitcher with stanozolol during the 1988 baseball season.

Then there was Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter who was stripped of his gold medal in the 100-meter final at Seoul Olympics for testing positive for this anabolic steroid.

Stanozolol has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for both veterinary and human use. It is prescribed to treat anemia and hereditary angioedema in humans. In animals, it is used to facilitate muscle growth, red blood cell production, and to improve bone density.

Several doping cases dominated the headlines this year.

The doping case of Marion Jones would probably take first place in the most controversial doping case of 2008. The once proud and impressive star of the track tearfully confessed on Oprah her doping sins. She served her jail term in connection with her use of steroids and her involvement in a check fraud case in March this year. She was released September 5 but remains on probation.

The guts of the Russian track and field athletes to manipulate urine samples also grabbed international attention. Seven women athletes attempted, but failed, to pass detection by swapping urine samples. The International Association of Athletics Federation smelled something pissy, er, fishy when said athletes provided untroubled access during unannounced random testing. The Russians were punctual, ready and happy to comply with the testing. When IAAF officials carried out further investigation they found out that the athletes’ DNA did not match those in the stored urine samples.

The Greek athletes systematic doping also shocked many including their countrymen, prompting Greek authorities to implement tougher penalties for wayward athletes.

In March, eleven of the 14 members of the Greek weightlifting team tested positive for the steroid methyltrienolone in out-of-competition testing in Athens. Swimmers Yiannis Drymonakos and Maria Demertzi, rower Yiannis Tsamis and an unnamed boxer were also disqualified from joining the Beijing Olympics due to failed dope tests.

Fani Halkia, 2004 gold medalist in 400-meter hurdles, sprinter Dimitris Regas, and Anastasios Gousis also got banned for testing positive also for methyltrienolone. The spate of failed dope tests allegedly prompted IOC president Jacques Rogge of saying “Greece had won the gold medal in doping”.

The sport of cycling, considered to be the most doped sport by many, also got its share of newspaper columns.  Four riders in the Tour de France, including the Tour’s best climber and third finisher Bernhard Kohl, were suspended for testing positive for the blood booster CERA.

In the NFL, the several athletes tested positive for the loop diuretic bumetanide. Pat Williams and Kevin Williams of the Vikings were among the players who tested positive for the banned compound which is considered to be a masking agent for anabolic steroids.

The repercussions of the Mitchell Report of last year and the BALCO scandal of eons ago are still huge this year and possibly up to 2009. The cases of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds warranted ample media coverage and the frenzy could double once Bonds’ doping trial starts March 2009

Boxer Shane Mosley told a grand jury in 2003 that he injected himself with EPO in preparation for his fight against Oscar De La Hoya, according to New York Daily News based on its review of court transcripts and doping calendars seized during the BALCO raid.

The transcript of Mosley’s testimony was formerly under protective order before U.S District Judge Susal Illston granted permission last Wednesday that they’d be released so that prosecutors could share them with Barry Bonds’ lawyers. The transcript was part of the voluminous BALCO file.

The boxer, who defeated Dela Hoya in that match, has admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs but he said he didn’t know they were illegal or banned when he took them. BALCO’s big boss, Victor Conte, maintained, however, that the boxer knew all along they were banned compounds.

Conte is being sued by Mosley in a defamation case.

“Specifically, I explained to Mr. Mosley and Mr. Hudson (Mosley’s trainer at the time) that ‘The Clear’ was an undetectable anabolic steroid and that ‘The Cream’ contained testosterone and epitestosterone,” Conte wrote in a sworn statement filed in the defamation case. “I explained that ‘The Cream’ was primarily to be used as a masking agent. I also explained that EPO increases the production of red blood cells, and therefore Mr. Mosley should take additional dietary supplements that aid in the manufacture of red blood cells, such as iron, vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, and vitamin B12. … There is no question that I informed Mr. Mosley that he was taking the three banned performance enhancing drugs.”

More from the Daily News:

While on the stand in the same San Francisco courthouse where Barry Bonds is due to stand trial next March on charges that he lied to federal agents investigating BALCO, Mosley admitted taking the EPO and steroids purchased from the BALCO lab for $1,850, including $500 in cash.

After advising Mosley to use the drug to boost his endurance, BALCO founder Victor Conte moved the boxer into a “maintenance phase” of less frequent injections so that Mosley didn’t fail a drug test or have a heart attack – a fate that has befallen athletes who use EPO.

Mosley was on a doping binge that summer, taking a potent mix of steroids and EPO to build his strength and stamina right up until his successful fight against Oscar De La Hoya that Sept. 13. Mosley has admitted publicly and in court documents that he took EPO and the designer steroids “the cream” and “the clear”, but says he did not know they were either illegal or banned.