The two-time American League MVP who made 434 home runs in the major league denied that he took anabolic steroids even if he was included in the Mitchell report and was previously questioned in an airport for carrying in his luggage banned substances. During an interview with the ESPNDeportes, slugger Juan Gonzales slaps the Mitchell report and Jose Canseco for blowing the rampant steroids use in baseball.

Most baseball analysts feel that Gonzales is just protecting his name because he is now eligible in the next Hall of Fame ballot. He was last seen playing in the majors in 2005. He played most of his 17-year professional career for the Texas Rangers. He also played for Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City. The slugger was able to make 434 home runs, 1,404 RBIs and a .295 batting average. An impressive performance that could land him in the Hall of Fame. But the issue of using steroids could hinder his inclusion just like what happened to Mark McGwire and other baseball icons who can’t even get the minimum votes in the HOF.

Gonzales knows that linking him to steroid use will affect his chances. “It will affect [us],” he said. “The media is going to be driven by this whenever my name and others are mentioned. I never used any of that stuff.”

During the interview, Gonzales vehemently denied that he was involved in the use of performance enhancing drugs. “I never used any of that stuff. I have nothing to hide. Nothing.” His statements were consistent since the steroid probe began in 2005. “It’s not true. . . I never saw needles. I never saw pills. I never saw anything. The only guys who have put needles in my body are doctors,” Gonzales said.

He pinpointed two personalities that should be blamed for the fiasco that happened in the major league. “This dilemma was caused when Canseco opened his mouth, but the commissioner is partly to blame. Why did he throw away millions on that congressman [Mitchell]? What does Mitchell know about baseball? He never played baseball. Canseco is gone. He did it by himself, [not] to [Rafael] Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez or me. [Canseco] never gave us anything. He opened his mouth and wants to hurt the image of a lot of people,” he said.

But how can Juan Gonzales prove his innocence if he was tied to a notorious Dominican trainer who was even banned in all ball parks for his steroids. Angel Presinal who worked with major league players as a trainer recommended the use of anabolic steroids as part of his training program. When Alex Rodriguez admits his steroids use, he said that he got the steroids “Boli” from Presinal.

In 2001, a duffel bag containing steroids, syringes, and clenbuterol was discovered by the Toronto’s international airport customs officials. It was later claimed by Gonzales’ representative but argued that the contents belonged to Angel Presinal. However, when Presinal was questioned by the authorities, he denied it and told them that it belonged to and packed by Juan Gonzales, who at that time playing for the Cleveland Indians as an outfielder.

When asked about his relationship with Presinal, Gonzales said that he is a friend to him but he clarified that Presinal never offered him any substance as part of his training program. “It’s been a while since I saw him. Last time I saw him, it was at the Americas Championships here. I said hello to him and that was it,” said Gonzalez.

Juan Gonzalez is now playing for an amateur team in Vega Baja in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In a very rare opportunity, Barry Bonds gave the media an almost 6-minute interview session when he attended the San Francisco Giants Reunion at the AT & T Park for the 2000 NL West champion team. Bonds was included in the list of 14 Giants from the 2000 club expected for a media session but it was not until it ended when he faced the media. As usual, the media asked Bonds about his possible return to baseball, his friend Mark McGwire and his PED’s use.

But as expected Bonds evaded the questions on his alleged steroids use. The home run king is still fighting in court the perjury case against him for lying in a congressional inquiry about his use of steroids. Bonds has long been denying that he knowingly used performance enhancing drugs. Although many baseball fans would not buy this defense but the prosecution has been scrambling to find evidences to nail Bonds on the case. So its normal for Bonds to avoid answering questions about his steroids use since it will only bolster the federal government’s long-standing case against him.

Can we expect Bonds to do a Mark McGwire confession? The answer is no. It will never happen even if he returns to baseball as a coach. Bonds talked about Phillies slugger Ryan Howard and admitted that he worked with the latter last winter. “I coached him a little bit and he’s doing very, very well and hasn’t said one thing about me yet. But I love him and I’m glad he’s doing well,” said Bonds during the interview.

At the age of 45, Barry Bonds is not yet on the verge of retiring. He may not play in the field but his skills can be used by the team to develop new prospects and bring them more home runs just like what he did. But of course, this time without the help of any steroids or performance enhancers. It is evident that Bonds will be coming back soon in baseball. A member of the press asked him about retirement but replied that it is not necessary. “Retirement isn’t that important,” Bonds said.

Another interesting answer of Barry Bonds was his comment on the confession of Mark McGwire. The home run record breaker confessed two months ago that he used anabolic steroids to heal his injuries. However, the confession did not helped him clear his name as more people insisted that he used steroids to enhance his performance in baseball. Statements from McGwire’s estranged brother Jay McGwire and his former steroid supplier all claimed that the slugger really used steroids which helped him broke the home run record. But whether the allegations were true or not, Mark McGwire was able to comeback in baseball as a hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bonds reply on McGwire’s return and confession on his steroid use resulted in different interpretations. “I have a really good friendship with Mark McGwire and I’m proud of him,” said Bonds. The phrase “I’m proud of him” could mean many things. It can be construed as a support for Mark McGwire’s confession that he used steroids to enhance performance or McGwire’s courage to accept whatever consequences he may face as a result of his public admission.

Shane Mosley is now fighting two opponents, Floyd Mayweather on May 1 and another one outside of the ring against his former anabolic steroid supplier, Victor Conte. The fight between Mosley and Conte is still unsettled for years. It all started when Victor Conte made a press statement that Mosley really knew that what he took were illegal anabolic steroids before the fight against Oscar dela Hoya in 2003. Mosley in return filed a $12 million defamation suit against the founder of BALCO who was already sentenced for selling steroids to prominent athletes. The case was originally filed in California in 2008 but was later drop by his lawyer and re-filed the case in New York.

Both parties were not able to settle anything in this weeks’ courtroom battle. It only turned into a heated argument as both sides air their case. Mosley’s lawyer described the hearing as hostile while Conte, on the otherhand, told the press after the hearing that they just want to muzzle him.

But the court battle did not end that day as Victor Conte allegedly decided to upload on YouTube portions of the deposition of Mosley in October 2009 where the boxer admitted that he knowingly used EPO. Conte told the NY Daily News that Mosley knew what he was taking and the dangers of taking it. “Mosley admits under oath he took EPO. He admits I explained how dangerous it was. He admits it would help for performance-enhancing purposes. And he admits that he took it before anyone could have checked with the boxing commission. Shane Mosley knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs,” said Conte.

Judd Burstein, Mosley’s lawyer, said that Conte has been inconsistent in his own testimony over the year s and they are firm to prove that. “Half of me is disappointed that I can’t just put all this behind for Shane. But on the other hand, destroying Mr. Conte in a courtroom is something I would almost pay to do,” said Burnstein. “I can hardly think of an activity that would be more fun to do, and easy. He’d be slinking off the witness stand trying to see if he can wear Groucho Marx glasses to disguise his identity,” he added.

The lawyer criticized Conte for uploading the video and said that it was already taken out of context. It could be used to create a false impression on his client. Burnstein explained that Mosley did not deny using EPO but he was misled by Conte about the legality of the product.

The YouTube video was an edited deposition of Mosley in 2009. It was composed of various clips from the questions asked by Conte’s lawyer to the boxer. He was asked on how his former trainer, Daryll Hudson brought him to BALCO where he was given with designer steroids and how Conte taught him on injecting the steroids EPO. Mosley admitted that he knew that it was EPO when asked by Conte’s lawyer. He was also asked if he knew that he was taking EPO before his testimony in the grand jury in December 2003. Mosley answered in the affirmative.

Burnstein told the media that the said video is not the complete deposition of Mosley and other important facts were omitted. They will also release to the public the entire deposition to counter the allegation of Conte.

Conte, on the other hand, compared the case to the suit filed against him by sprinter Marion Jones, who later admitted that she used anabolic steroids. She was sentenced 6 months for perjury. “The Mosley case is simply the Marion Jones case with boxing gloves. It didn’t turn out too well for Marion Jones either,” said Conte. The BALCO founder is confident that he will win the case. “The thing that we have that they don’t is the power of the truth.”

A link to the video can be found here

He may not have a leading role in the movie “The Wrestler” but his character as a steroid dealer for Mickey Rourke may not be too difficult to act as he may just be accustomed in doing it in real life. Scott Siegel of New Rochelle was sentenced this week for possession and dealing anabolic steroids. This is aside from the other charges against him for assaulting police officers when he was apprehended.

U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas sentenced Seigel with 5 years prison term. The defense lawyer asked for a 2 year sentence but the judge cited the nature of the offense, the violence that happened during the arrest, and the previous drug convictions of the accused. Seigel pleaded guilty late last year to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and two counts of assaulting, impeding and interfering with officers in the performance of their official duties. He could have faced a maximum 20 years in prison if he did not plead guilty for the charges according to his lawyer.

It was in February 18, 2009 when Seigel was arrested. But arresting him was not easy for the DEA agents and other police officers when he fled using his Cadillac Escalade that led to a 30-minute wild chase. He was only apprehended when he smashed his truck into a police vehicle.

Authorities found several anabolic steroids from Seigel’s home which included more than 1,450 bottles of liquid steroids. There were also approximately 28,000 tablets of oral steroids. Cash which was believed to be coming from the proceeds of his illegal activities were also recovered from him in the amount of $100,000. Police officers also found ledgers which were used to record his sales of steroids.

Seigel’s lawyer confirmed that his client uses steroids and suffers from other health conditions. “He has a history of anxiety and depression. Between that and the self-medication of steroids, he had what you might call a “‘roid rage,” said the defendant’s lawyer Barry Levin. Seigel pleaded guilty to start a new life after the incident. “He accepted responsibility for his actions. He’d like to start his life fresh and turn his life around,” said Levin.

However, the 5-year term for Seigel may be too long for him inside the jail. According to his lawyer, the actor is now suffering from hormonal imbalance due to his long steroid abuse.”As a result of abusing steroids since his teenage years, he has developed a serious mood disorder with both manic and depressive aspects,” Levin told the court.

The controversy that rocked Canadian University football is now becoming clearer as the investigation continues. A few days ago, police and the university named the players involved in the alleged distribution of steroids and HGH and other charges. The player’s name was withheld to the public pending the investigation of the authorities. However, the University of Waterloo made an immediate action on the matter to avoid the possible notion that there are a lot of football players involved in the use of steroids. They required all their players to be tested for steroids by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports.

Defensive back Nathan Zettler, a 23-year-old football player of University of Waterloo was charged Friday for illegal possession and intent to traffic several anabolic steroids which according to authorities include nandrolone, stanozolol and testosterone. It was also reported that the player will be facing additional charges for breaking and entering, possession of stolen property, use of a stolen credit card and breaching a probation order.

The university already banned Zettler from entering the campus and suspended from the team even before the charges were laid. Another teammate of Zettler, Matthew Valeriote was also included in the suspension. He was charged with using a stolen credit card. A former teammate, Eric Legare was also charged with breaking and entering and possession of stolen property, obstructing police and breaching a probation order.

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport through the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports conducted random steroid testing on other universities to know the extent of steroid use in football. They are also alarmed on the possible involvement of players on drug trafficking. “That someone in a CIS locker room is being investigated for the trafficking of steroids gives us great cause for concern,” said CIS head Marg McGregor when asked by The Record. “Our hope is this is an isolated incident. If it’s not isolated, that would trigger a different (response),” said McGregor. The CIS will wait for the result of the random testing at the different universities before making new decisions to address the problem.

Most athletic directors of universities subjected to random testing welcomed the action of CIS. Tom Kendall, the athletic director at the University of Guelph said that it is an unfortunate incident. But he did not expect that the result would show many athletes positive for steroids. “The CCES came and tested six of our athletes. We’ve not had the results for that but I don’t anticipate any of our athletes would be into steroids. That would be a shock to me,” he said. Athletic director Jeff Giles of McMaster said that the test is not a problem for their athletes. “Our athletes are subject to random tests 12 months a year wherever they are. So they all took this very much in stride,’ he said in email to the Globe and Mail.

University of Waterloo athletic director Bob Copeland defended why they sent the entire team to a steroid test. “Given the gravity of the charges, I think it explains why we tested the entire team,” he said. “You can imagine that this is quite shocking to the team. Right now, we want to ensure that every member of the team has the appropriate support,” he added.

Based on the investigation of the Waterloo police, the football players allegedly involved in the theft of lawn furniture and breaking into University of Waterloo School of Optometry. The value of the stolen goods was valued at $7,500. The incident happened between Feb. 1 and March 24. Aside from the different types of steroids which were identified as nandrolone, trenbolone, stanozolol and testosterone by the authorities, they found another drug which is used to treat breast cancer. Several tamoxifen drug were confiscated. This drug is sometimes used in conjunction with steroids to help prevent water retention.

Zettler will appear in court on Wednesday and is expected to post bail.

Are we expecting that more baseball players will admit to steroids use by following the example set by Alex Rodriguez and Marc McGwire? This weeks’ baseball headline features another baseball icon who admitted taking steroids while bringing his team to the 2002 World Series. In an interview by several news organizations, former San Francisco Giants outfielder Marvin Benard said that the reason why he took steroids is to recuperate from his surgically repaired knee injury.

Benard attended the reunion of the Giants’ 2000 NL West champion team. He reiterated that he don’t want to receive the same attention given by media to slugger Mark McGwire and others who made public confession for using performance enhancing drugs. His family could be one of the reasons why he made the admission. Although, in the congressional inquiry in 2007, Benard’s name already appeared in the Mitchell report. In one section of the report, Benard allegedly received “the clear” and “the cream” from trainer Greg Anderson. Based on the report, he also admitted to Giant’s manager Dusty Baker that he used steroid but already stopped when he was confronted by the latter.

Benard told the San Francisco Chronicle that telling his son about his steroids use is the hardest part especially when the Mitchell report came out. He has to explain why he took that thing. “The hardest part for me was to sit my son down and explain to him what I did. The run we were making in 2002, I saw something special in the team and I wanted to be part of it. You sit there and you go, ‘How do you go about that?’” said Benard. “Telling my son was the toughest part, the toughest thing for me to realize I did something that wasn’t right. Again, it is what it is and you learn from your mistakes. It was great because I get to use that as an example to my son. ‘Hey, here I was thinking it was going to be a boost, a shortcut.’ I can look back and I can almost say it almost cost me playing a little longer,” he added.

The former Giants outfielder also admitted to AP about his steroid use and regrets why he used it. “Yes, I did. It was what it was. I did some stupid things. I should have never done them. At the time you think you’re doing the right thing for the right reason, then you realize you made a mistake and it’s too late and you can’t take it back.” But making those mistakes should not stop him in moving forward. “You’ve got to move on. It’s not going to change anything. There’s nothing that can change it, make it better or make it worse than what happened,” he said.

Benard retired in 2003 after the World Series. He only played 65 games because of his injuries. Before going pro, Benard played for the NAIA power Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He was a 50th-round draft pick by the Giants in 1992 but made an impressive stats also with .271 hitter with 54 homers and 105 stolen bases. His best performance was in 1999 where he made 16 home runs and 27 stolen bases with .290 averages.

He believed that a lot people who used steroids already realized the consequences of depending on it. “A lot of people got caught up into it. I guarantee if you could go back and ask people if they would change it, they would. It’s easy to say, ‘Well, you’d change it because you got caught.’ It is what it is,” Benard said.

At 40, Benard has still plans of finishing a degree in kinesiology. He lives with his second wife and 3 children in Kennewick, Wash.

Another controversial player was also present in the Giants reunion. Barry Bonds, who is currently fighting his steroid perjury case in court, also attended the gathering.