December 13, 2007: The Mitchell Report Is Released

December 13, 2007: The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball is released the public. Since the leader of the investigation was George J. Mitchell, the document becomes popularly known as The Mitchell Report.

Mitchell had a distinguished career in politics. He was a U.S. Attorney in his native Maine, and a Judge of the U.S. District Court. When his mentor, Senator Ed Muskie, resigned in 1980 to become U.S. Secretary of State, Mitchell ran for his seat, and won it, being elected to a full term in 1982 and re-elected in 1988. At that point, his Democratic colleagues elected him to be the Senate Majority Leader, a post he held for the rest of his term. He did not run again in 1994.

Instead, being of Irish descent, he accepted a post as U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, and was among the negotiators of the Good Friday Accord that ended "The Troubles" in 1998. His ancestral homeland was grateful, and he was appointed the Chancellor of the Queen's University in the Northern Irish capital of Belfast. Officially, he held this post for nearly 10 years, from 1999 to 2009, even as he served as Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission in November and December of 2002.

In 2006, in the wake of Congressional hearings the year before that tainted the reputations of several current and former players, Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. "Bud" Selig asked Mitchell to lead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by players.

After 20 months of investigations, Mitchell released a report running 409 pages, and including the names of 89 former and (then) current players, claiming evidence of use of steroids or other substances prohibited by MLB. Among them were former Yankees Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and David Justice; and some stars from other teams, including Barry Bonds, who already held the records for most home runs in a season and most home runs in a career.

This was just a few weeks after the Boston Red Sox had won their 2nd World Series in 4 seasons. And it did not escape the notice of some people in the media that Mitchell was a member of the board of directors of the Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Red Sox. But the report mostly let the Red Sox off the hook. It was as if Mitchell was trying to say, "The Red Sox are clean, and their recent victories were won fairly. But the Yankees, the team that Red Sox fans hate the most, won their recent Pennants and World Series unfairly."

It was a dark moment for Yankee Fans. Just 3 years and change earlier, they could legitimately say that their last title was in 2000, and Boston's last was in 1918. Now, it was generally accepted by baseball people, official and unofficial alike that the Red Sox had won 2 of the last 4 World Championships, while the Yankees hadn't "really" won one since 1978.

On July 30, 2009, The New York Times reported that 104 players had failed steroid tests in 2003, and that 2 of them were David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, the 2 biggest hitters on those Boston title teams. Just like that, the Sox' 2004 and 2007 titles were exposed as frauds.

What's more, The Mitchell Report was also exposed as a fraud, because it said nothing about Ortiz and Ramirez. Mitchell, already a behind-the-scenes political operative when Richard Nixon was digging himself a deeper hole in the Watergate scandal, should have known: It's not the crime that really gets you, it's the cover-up. He had accused, with evidence that held up better with some players than with others, but had covered up the "crimes" of players for his own team.

It is a tremendous stain on the career of a great public servant. And it destroyed The Mitchell Report's credibility completely.

*

December 13, 2007 was a Thursday. And, wouldn't you know it, New England beat New York that night. The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets, 20-10 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. Speaking of cheating: This was the year that the Patriots had been exposed in the "Spygate" scandal.

I have to give Bill Belichick credit for one thing: He didn't lie about it. Whereas the Red Sox and their fans still insist that everything they've won since 2004 is legit, Belichick basically said, "Yeah, I cheated. What the hell ya gonna do about it, huh?"

There were 2 games played in the NBA that night. The Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat, 104-91 at the American Airlines Arena (now named the Kaseya Center) in Miami. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 102-97 at the Staples Center (now named the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 10 games played in the NHL that night:

* Here's one where the New York Tri-State Area beat New England: The New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at what's now named the TD Garden in Boston. The Scarlet & Black got a goal from Brian Gionta, and 2 from Jamie Langenbrunner.

* The New York Islanders beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New York Rangers were not scheduled.)

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-1 at the Wachovia Center (now named the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh (then known as the Mellon Arena, before reverting to its original name).

* The Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 9-6 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at the Sommet Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Edmonton Oilers bear the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 in a shootout at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Florida Panthers beat the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 at the ScotTrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 at the HP Pavilion (now the SAP Center) in San Jose, California. 

October 22, 2012: Lance Armstrong Is Busted

October 22, 2012: Lance Armstrong is busted. The biggest hero his sport had ever known was exposed as a cheater.

Born in 1971 in the suburbs of Dallas, he competed in triathlons: Long-distance swimming, long-distance bike riding, and then a marathon run of 26.2 miles. Never mind "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result": Even trying that, one time, fits my definition of "insanity."

In 1992, he began his career as a professional cyclist, with the Motorola team, competing in the Tour de France in 1993, 1994 and 1995. In 1996, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal testicular cancer. After recovering, Armstrong founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation to assist other cancer survivors.

Returning to cycling in 1998, Armstrong was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team between 1998 and 2005, when he won his record 7 Tour de France titles. In 2002, Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Year. He had dominated the event like few athletes had ever dominated a sporting event before. It was... something like how Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and then Barry Bonds broke home run records over the same stretch. It was a bit suspicious, and as early as 1999, the accusation of steroid use, or "doping" as it's known in international sports, started flying. But he insisted he was clean.

He retired from racing at the end of the 2005 Tour de France, but returned to competitive cycling with the Astana team in January 2009, finishing 3rd in the 2009 Tour de France. He retired for a 2nd time in 2011.

In 2012, it was revealed that Lance Armstrong truly was a champion -- when it came to cheating. A United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation concluded that he had used performance-enhancing drugs over the course of his career, and named him as the ringleader of "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

He received a lifetime ban from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. The International Cycling Union (UCI) upheld the USADA's decision, stripped him of all his wins, and decided that these wins would not be allocated to other riders. In January 2013, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong publicly admitted his involvement in doping. Shortly thereafter, the Lance Armstrong Foundation changed its name to the Livestrong Foundation.

In a 2013 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Armstrong, while "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist played Babe Ruth.

*

October 22, 2012 was a Monday. Although the National League Championship Series went to Game 7, the last one is no contest. Brandon Belt lives up to his name, and belts a home run off Kyle Lohse. Matt Cain pitches a 7-hit shutout, and the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. It is the 22nd Pennant for the Giants -- the 5th, if you only count those won in San Francisco. The American League Championship Series had already been decided: The Detroit Tigers swept the New York Yankees in 4 straight.

The NBA season started 8 days later. The NHL players were locked out by the team owners, and the season did not start until January 19, 2013. On ESPN Monday Night Football, the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions, 13-7 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

October 5, 2001: Barry Bonds Hits His 71st Home Run

October 5, 2001: At what was then known as Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park), Barry Bonds hits his 71st and 72nd home runs of the season, to set a new major league single-season record… which we now know is bogus. The 1st-inning homer, his 71st, is off Dodger pitcher Chan Ho Park.

But the Dodgers win the game, 11-10, and, to make matters worse, the Dodgers' win both clinches the National League Western Division and eliminates the Giants, still their arch-rivals, from Playoff eligibility.

Bonds will raise his total to 73*. With teammate Rich Aurilia's 37 (as far as I know, his were legit), they set a (tainted) NL record for homers by teammates, 110. The major league record remains 115, by Mickey Mantle (54) and Roger Maris (still the legit record of 61) in 1961.

Ned Williamson, who played for the team now known as the Chicago Cubs, hit 27 home runs in 1884, thanks to a short left-field fence at the team's home ballpark. That remained a record through Major League Baseball's "Dead Ball Era," until 1919, when Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox hit 29.

For the 1920 season, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, and blew past his own record to hit 54. He raised the record to 59 in 1921, and 60 in 1927. That record stood until Maris hit 61 in '61. That record stood until Mark McGwire cheated his way to 70 in 1998. Bonds raised it to 73 in 2001.

*

October 5, 2001 was a Friday. These MLB games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-4 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bernie Williams hit 2 home runs, but it wasn't enough: Roger Clemens started the season 20-1, but fell to 20-3.

* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 8-6 at Shea Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore. The Sox won the opener, 5-0. Frank Castillo (7 innings) and Willie Banks combined on a 3-hit shoutout. The Sox won the nightcap, 7-5. Trot Nixon hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 20-3 at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Marlins scored 3 runs in the top of the 1st. The Braves scored 10 in the bottom of the 1st, and it was downhill from there.

* The Toronto Blue Jays swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians at the SkyDome in Toronto. (It's now named the Rogers Centre.) The Jays won the 1st game, 5-0. Roy Halladay pitched a 2-hit shutout. The Jays won the 2nd game, 4-3. Alex Gonzalez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th. (That's the Alex Gonzalez whose error helped sink the 2003 Cubs, not the one whose home run off Jeff Bleeping Weaver helped sink the 2003 Yankees. Both of them helped lift up the 2003 Marlins.)

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. (The stadium was renamed American Family Field this year.) Albie Lopez pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 4-0 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Jason Jennings allowed 4 hits but no runs over 6 innings, and the Rockie bullpen didn't allow a hit.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels, 6-2 at Edison International Field in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California. In 2004, the ballpark was renamed Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and the team was renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The "of Anaheim" was dropped in 2016.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Safeco Field in Seattle. (The ballpark has been renamed T-Mobile Park.) Jamie Moyer won his 20th game against 6 losses, and the M's won their 115th game of the season, a new American League record. They would tie the major league record of 116, set by the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Neither of those teams won the World Series.

* A game was supposed to be played at Comerica Park in Detroit, but were rained out. It was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Kansas City Royals won the opener, 8-3. The Detroit Tigers won the nightcap, 2-1. Randall Simon won the game in the 11th with a sacrifice fly.

* Another rainout happened at Riverfront Stadium (then known as Cinergy Field) in Cincinnati, setting up a doubleheader the next day. The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Cincinnati Reds, winning the 1st game 2-1, and the 2nd game 5-1.

It was midweek for football. The NBA season hadn't started yet. The NHL season had, and 3 games were played:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Carolina Panthers, 3-1 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena (now the PNC Arena).

* The New York Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2 at the Ice Palace (now the Amalie Arena) in Tampa. The Isles trailed 2-1 in the 3rd period, but Mark Parrish scored twice to tie it and win it.

* And the Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators, 4-1 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. 

September 27, 1988: Ben Johnson Is Stripped of His Gold Medal

September 27, 1988: Ben Johnson is stripped of the Gold Medal he won in the 100 meters at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea 3 days earlier.

Born in Jamaica in 1961, and living in Canada since age 14, he was able to compete for the latter since he hadn't competed for the former. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he won Bronze Medals in the 100 meters, and as part of the Canadian 4-by-100-meter relay team team. He won the Gold Medal in the 60 meters at the 1985 World Indoor Championships in Paris.

In 1986, he won Gold in the 100 meters at the Goodwill Games in Moscow, and the 100 and the 4-by-100 in the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. And in 1987, he won the 100 at the outdoor World Championships in Rome and the 60 at the indoor World Championships in Indianapolis. So, along with the defending Gold Medalist, American Carl Lewis, he was one of the favorites to win Gold at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

On September 24, Johnson not only beat Lewis, but broke his own world record of 9.83, with a time of 9.79. He was the 1st Canadian to win Gold in the event since Percy Williams in Amsterdam in 1928.

Three days later, the Olympic Doping Control Center announced that Johnson's urine sample contained stanozolol, a banned steroid. He was disqualified, and stripped of both the Gold Medal and his world record. Lewis was awarded the Gold Medal.

Charlie Francis, Johnson's coach, didn't help matters: He said that Johnson couldn't have tested positive for stanozolol, because it made his body "feel tight," and he preferred another steroid, furazabol. When your alibi for robbing a bank is that you were robbing a jewelry store, that's not good.

Johnson was suspended for 3 years, and, upon his return, never won another major race. Meanwhile, Lewis won 2 more Gold Medals in Barcelona in 1992 and another in Atlanta in 1996, although he did not compete in the 100 meters either time.

*

September 27, 1988 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. It was the 170th victory of Ron Guidry's career. It turned out to be the last. The losing pitcher was Curt Schilling. Don Mattingly took Schilling deep twice. Schilling has hated the Yankees ever since. Dave Winfield went 0-for-4. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Tommy Barrett singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. Mike Schmidt did not play. Mark Carreon hit a home run. Juan Samuel hit one for the Phillies, 2 years before the Mets would trade Len Dykstra for him. The Phillies got the best out of that trade.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-9 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ernie Whitt hit 2 home runs, and had 6 RBIs. Wade Boggs went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Alex Trevino singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Tom Candiotti threw his knuckleball for a 4-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Allan Anderson pitched a 3-hit shutout. Mark McGwire went 0-for-4.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-3.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3.

August 30, 1904: 25 Miles of Insanity

Thomas Hicks

August 30, 1904: Perhaps the craziest sporting event ever held on American soil takes place. No movie studio would buy a script containing this story. But it all happened.

The 1st modern Olympic Games, in Athens, Greece in 1896, were a smashing success. Not least because its signature event, the marathon race, was won by a Greek, Spyridon Louis, who became, and perhaps remains, his nation's greatest sporting hero.

The founder of the International Olympic Committee, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, wanted them held every 4 years, just like they were in ancient Greece. Understandable. And he wanted the next one to be in his hometown: Paris, France. Also understandable, given his role in their establishment, given France's status as one of the world's leading countries, and given Paris' status as one of the world's most beloved cities.

But the 1900 Olympics were practically a sideshow to the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair. It was so haphazard that some competitors, upon receiving their medals, were unaware that the events they had just won were part of the Olympic Games. About the only thing that can be said in favor of the Games of the IInd Olympiad is that they were the 1st to include women.

Things got worse in 1904. America wanted to be the next host. But the city with the winning bid was St. Louis, Missouri. Not being a coastal city, and not being as large a city as Athens or Paris, it was hard to get to. Throw in various worldwide tensions, including the Russo-Japanese War, and only 62 out of the 651 athletes who competed were from outside North America. Only 15 countries sent athletes.

And, again, they were attached to a World's Fair: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the launch of the Lewis & Clark expedition. This Fair would popularize several foods we now take for granted, though none were actually invented there: The hamburger, the hot dog, peanut butter, iced tea, cotton candy, the waffle-style ice cream cone, and Dr. Pepper soda. The Fair would be the setting of the 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis, starring Judy Garland and directed by Vincente Minnelli, who married shortly thereafter.

The 1904 Olympics were the 1st to feature boxing, freestyle wrestling, and the decathlon. Most events took place on the campus of Washington University, including on their Francis Field, which is still in use, although the current stadium on the site dates to 1984.

George Eyser, born in Germany, but a naturalized American citizen living in St. Louis, had lost a leg in a railroad accident. Nevertheless, he competed in gymnastics, and won 3 Gold Medals, 2 Silvers and a Bronze. As he had 4 years earlier, Ray Ewry won all 3 standing jumps: High, long and triple. Only 2 athletes representing Great Britain won medals, and both were, rather inconveniently, from Ireland.

And then there was the marathon. The race had not yet been standardized at 26.2 miles. This one was 24.85 miles, in 90-degree heat, on unpaved roads that tended to kick up dust. It should never have been approved as the marathon course. The race began with 32 competitors from 6 countries: America, Canada, France, Greece, South Africa and Cuba.

The Canadian was Billy Sherring, of Hamilton, Ontario. He did not finish the race. Two years later, in the so-called Intercalated Games in Athens, he won the marathon, competing in a singlet with a large shamrock on it. It is said that this inspired the Athens-based soccer team Panathinaikos to adopt the shamrock as their logo, even though they have nothing to do with Ireland.

The South Africans were Len Taunyane and Jan Mashiani, the 1st 2 black Africans to compete in the Olympics. Aside from his participation in this race, little is known of Taunyane. It is not known when he was born. He participated in the Boer War, and was part of an exhibit on that war at the Fair. Having been a dispatch runner in the war, he decided he could run in the marathon. Despite the strict segregation of the State of Missouri, he was allowed to try.

But the organizers couldn't understand his thick accent, which made it hard for them to understand him even as he spelled his name. So he went into the books as "Len Tau," competing for the Zulu nation, because, as yet, there was no nation of South Africa. And he wasn't a member of the Zulu tribe: He was a Tswana. He ran barefoot, and at one point was chased off course by dogs. He still managed to finish 9th. He returned to his homeland, and, from there, history lost track of him: We don't know what he did after 1904, or when he died.

Even less is known of Mashiani, who finished 12th. Taunyane's part of the story would be distinctive enough. But it was far from the craziest part.

The Cuban was Félix de la Caridad Carvajal y Soto, known as Andarín Carvajal. He was a mailman, used to walking long distances. Once, he ran the entire length of the island on which Cuba lies. When he learned of the Olympics coming to America, he decided to run in the marathon.

He took a boat ride from Havana to New Orleans, and then lost all of his remaining money gambling. He had to walk and hitchhike the 683 miles up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. He showed up just in time to register, wearing street clothes, including long pants. A sympathetic official cut the pants so that they would feel more like shorts, and give him more ventilation.

Along the race course, he stopped several times to talk with spectators. He saw a car with a basket full of peaches, and swiped a few of them, to keep himself hydrated in the brutal St. Louis heat. The course included an apple tree, and he grabbed some apples. They turned out to be rotten, and he threw up. He stopped to take a nap. He got up, and resumed. So, what, it took him a week to finish the race? No: He finished 4th, in under 4 hours.

In 1907, he famously defeated American runner Henry W. Shelton in a 6-hour race. In 1909, a 6-laps-per-mile track was installed for a race around the Polo Grounds in New York, but he finished last. He lived until 1949.

You might think Carvajal's role was the craziest part of the event. But you would be thinking wrong.

Frederick Lorz was a 20-year-old bricklayer in New York. He competed in a long-distance race at Celtic Park in what's now Sunnyside, Queens, that was a precursor to the New York City Marathon. The 8 top finishers would be admitted to the Olympic marathon in St. Louis, all expenses paid. He was 1 of the 8, competing for the Mohawk Athletic Club.

He entered the race, but dropped out after 9 miles. His manager pulled up to him in a car -- still a novelty at that point -- and drove him 11 miles. Then he got back onto the course, ran into Francis Field, and broke the tape, purporting to be the winner. His time was 3 hours, 13 minutes even.

He was called out: No one had seen him at the halfway mark. He admitted his deception, and the Amateur Athletic Union banned him for life from all competitions they oversaw. After 1 year, the ban was lifted, and he won the 1905 Boston Marathon. He died in 1914, of pneumonia in those pre-antibiotic days, only 29 years old.

So that's the strangest part of this story, right? No, it's not.

Only 14 of the 32 runners who started finished. One who did not was William Garcia, a 27-year-old runner from Oakland, California. He got to the 19-mile mark before the St. Louis heat did him in. He fell, and coughed up blood. A bystander saw this, and got him medical attention. Garcia nearly became the 1st person to die as a result of competing in the Olympic Games.

(Aside from the Israeli athletes murdered by terrorists in Munich in 1972, only 1 athlete ever has: Nodar Kumaritashvili, a luger from the Republic of Georgia, who was killed in a practice run in Vancouver in 2010.)

Finally, we come to the strangest part. Thomas John Hicks was born in England in 1876. By August 30, 1904, he was a 28-year-old brass worker living outside Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1904, he finished 2nd at the Boston Marathon. Four months later, he was ready to compete in the Olympic Marathon. Or so he thought.

Midway through the race, he was well behind the leaders. His assistants gave him 1/60th of a grain -- about 1 milligram -- of strychnine, and some brandy. Historically, small doses of strychnine were given to people to strengthen muscle contractions, to stimulate the heart, and to aid in bowel movements. In doses larger than that, it had been used as poison, as a murder weapon. It had also been used as a pesticide.

The 1st dose didn't help Hicks much. So he was given another dose. That did the trick: With Lorz having already been disqualified, Hicks crossed the finish line officially 1st, in 3 hours, 28 minutes and 53 seconds -- nearly 16 minutes after Lorz. Albert Corey of France finished 2nd, at 3:34:52. Arthur Newton of the U.S. was 3rd, and, as I said, Carvajal finished 4th, oddly, but legitimately.

The strychnine was, literally, a "performance-enhancing drug." At the time, though, it was legal. Eventually, it was banned. A good thing, too: Hicks collapsed at the finish line, and it is believed that a 3rd dose would have killed him. Instead, he moved to Canada, joined his brothers working in a mine near Winnipeg, and lived until 1952.

Thomas Hicks had won a race that can legitimately be called 25 miles of insanity.

*

August 30, 1904 was a Tuesday. A full slate of games, and then some, was played in what would later be called Major League Baseball:

* The New York Highlanders beat the Cleveland Naps, 1-0 at Hilltop Park in Manhattan. Al Orth, known as "The Curveless Wonder," outpitched future Hall-of-Famer Addie Joss, known as "The Human Hairpin" because of his pitching motion. Jimmy Williams singled home Norman "Kid" Elberfeld to win the game in the bottom of the 9th.

In 1913, the Highlanders renamed themselves the Yankees. Cleveland's 2nd baseman, manager and namesake was Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, who went 0-for-4 in this game. After he left in 1914, the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. In 2022, they renamed themselves again, the Cleveland Guardians.

* The New York Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at the Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Crosley Field was built on the site in 1912. Christy Mathewson got the win over Frank "Noodles" Hahn, advancing to 28-9 on the season.

* The Brooklyn Superbas beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-4 at West Side Park in Chicago. The Superbas became the Dodgers in 1911.

* The Boston Americans beat the Detroit Tigers, 13-0 at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. Cy Young not only pitched a 6-hit shutout, but went 3-for-5, including a 2-RBI triple.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0 at Columbia Park in Philadelphia. Roy Patterson pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* A doubleheader was split at League Park in Washington. The St. Louis Browns won the opener, 3-2. The Washington Senators won the nightcap, 4-1.

* The Boston Beaneaters beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh. Honus Wagner went 1-for-2 with a walk in a losing cause.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-2 at Robison Field in St. Louis. 

July 30, 2009: The Boston Red Sox Are Exposed As Cheaters

July 30, 2009: The New York Times and Sports Illustrated publish reports that reveal that David Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance during survey testing in 2003.

"Big Papi," the biggest reason why the Boston Red Sox won the 2004 and 2007 World Series, cheated.

It was also revealed that Manny Ramirez, another big bat behind those titles, had failed the same test. But this was not new: He had been exposed as using performance-enhancing drugs earlier in the year, after having been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was "nice" of the Times and SI to reveal it 6 years after the fact, 5 years after the Red Sox finally ended "the Curse of the Bambino," and 2 years after they won a 2nd World Series as well.

Still, those World Series wins are hereby invalidated.

Let's be blunt, shall we? Let's be brutally honest.

The linchpin to saying that the Yankees "cheated" their way to winning the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 World Series is Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.

For Pettitte, we have an admission of PED use to come back from an injury in 2002, a season in which the Yankees did not win a Pennant, much less a World Series.

For Clemens, we have the word of Brian McNamee. Translation: Even if Clemens is a louse (and we have many reasons to say that he is), McNamee isn't exactly trustworthy, either. He submitted evidence that has not been revealed to the public. The 2000 WS, and the '01 and '03 Pennants, can be attributed in part to Clemens' use, if in fact McNamee is being completely honest. But 1999? Clemens wasn't all that hot that year. Either he wasn't using, or it wasn't working.

Alex Rodriguez? At this point, he had never played on a Pennant winner, and, besides, all we had on him is an admission of an accusation that he used before becoming a Yankee. He would become the most-tested player ever, and did not test positive in 2009, when he finally helped the Yankees win a World Series. Even afterward, when evidence as to his guilt came again, and he got a lengthy suspension, he still didn't test positive.

Gary Sheffield? He never helped the Yankees win a Pennant, either, and all we have on him is an admission of something that happened before becoming a Yankee.

Jason Giambi? He helped the Yankees win the '03 Pennant – against those same cheating Red Sox – but in '04, it was obvious that steroids weren't helping him.

Compare also the Yankees' postseason opponents:

The 1995, 2000 and '01 Seattle Mariners: Jay Buhner (probably), Edgar Martinez (possibly), and, for the latter two, Alex Rodriguez (using then? who knows). They almost certainly used steroids, but the Yankees still beat them 2 times out of 3.

The '96, '98 and '99 Texas Rangers: Rafael Palmeiro (caught), Juan Gonzalez and Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (almost certain). Still, the Yankees beat them 3 times, going 9-1 in games in the process (though those 1st two, in '96, were awfully dicey).

The '96 and '97 Baltimore Orioles: Palmeiro (caught) and Brady Anderson (not official, but, come on). The Yankees beat them in the '96 ALCS, but lost the '97 Division Title to them. Still, in those two years combined, they won a grand total of 1 home game in ALCS play, so I don't want to hear about how the Yankees "cheated" -- either with steroids or a kid in right field.

The '96 and '99 Atlanta Braves: On the second occasion, John Rocker, even though he did nothing against us. Besides, the Yankees beat them.

The '97 and '98 Cleveland Indians: Manny Ramirez (caught), Matt Williams (mentioned in the Mitchell Report) and Jim Thome (suspected). Split 2 series.

The '98 San Diego Padres: Ken Caminiti (admitted). Swept in the World Series, so it didn't matter.

The '99 Red Sox: Hard to tell. Manny wasn't there yet, nor Papi, nor Curt Schilling, nor Mark Bellhorn, nor Kevin Millar. But Pedro Martinez? So skinny, but now you have to wonder. Jason Varitek was there. So was Trot Nixon. And Nomar Garciaparra: He's fallen apart since, so was Nomahhhh using? In this case, it didn't matter, because the Yankees beat them in the ALCS.

The 2000 and '01 Oakland Athletics: The aforementioned Jason, and also Jeremy, Giambi, and that's just the ones I know of. It didn't matter, because the Yankees beat them both times.

The '01 Arizona Diamondbacks: Matt Williams, and the heavily suspected Schilling and Luis Gonzalez.

The '02 Anaheim and '05 Los Angeles Angels: As far as I know, they were clean.

The '03 and '04 Minnesota Twins. As far as I know, they were clean, and it didn't matter because the Yankees beat them both times anyway. In fact, after those two ALDS, the Yankees now have a better postseason record in the Metrodome than the Twins do.

The '03 Florida Marlins: Pudge Rodriguez again.

The '03 and '04 Red Sox: Papi and Manny, and rumors abound about Schilling, Millahhhh, Bellhorn, Trot and Tek.

The '06 Detroit Tigers: Pudge again.

The ’07 Indians: As far as I know, they were clean.

And, of course, the 2000 New York Mets: Mike Piazza. It didn't matter, because the Yankees beat them anyway.

Put it all together, and not only have the Yankees been helped less by steroid use than any of those teams (if they were helped by it at all), but the Yankees have been hurt by steroid use more than any other team!

*

But as big a story, and as underreported a story, as that is, the biggest story right now is that the Red Sox cheated. They couldn't win honestly, so they cheated.

The Yankees didn't cheat: They had no control over how to use the Curse, and then again, as one of the River Avenue T-shirts says, maybe there never was a Curse, the Sox just, uh, underachieved for 86 years! (As long as we're being honest, I checked once, and they were within range of the postseason in September in 43 of those 86 years, exactly half. They didn't "suck for 86 years.")

But the Red Sox cheated. Sox fans can throw away those "Got rings lately?" T-shirts -- if not in the trash, then I can suggest other places to stick them -- and Yankee fans could bring back the "1918" T-shirts, just add an asterisk. (Not sure if Roger Maris would approve, but I'll bet the Babe would laugh at it!)

All their smack talk these last five years, and it was all a big fat lie. Red Sox fans on July 30, 2009 are roughly in the same position as Richard Nixon fans were on July 30, 1974: They know now, their guy is a crook!

In 1967, during the Sox' "Impossible Dream" season, the young Bee Gees, not yet the hideous avatars of disco, sang a lovely song called "Massachusetts." They sang "The lights all went out in Massachusetts." I'm sure a few Yankee Fans have sung that one over the years.

On this historic day, the lies all came out in Massachusetts.

Of course, when the 2022 election for the Baseball Hall of Fame took place, David Ortiz, eligible for the 1st time, was elected. Alex Rodriguez, also eligible for the 1st time, was not.

It's been said that the greater offense of Pete Rose isn't that he bet on baseball, but that he lied about it for 15 years after getting caught, before coming clean.

For his steroid use, both times he was accused, A-Rod came clean quickly.

Big Papi has lied about it for 13 years -- almost as long as Rose has lied about what he did.

Ortiz is in the Hall of Fame. A-Rod and Rose are not.

I'm not saying that A-Rod and Rose should be in the Hall. I am saying that Ortiz should not be in it. 

*

July 30, 1999 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Nick Swisher hit a home run, and Derek Jeter went 1-for-4. But Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-4, and Phil Hughes blew it in relief of Andy Pettitte.

* A doubleheader was split at Citi Field. The New York Mets won the opener, 7-0. Johan Santana pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished the shutout. The Colorado Rockies won the nightcap, 4-2.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-5 at Fenway Park. David Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a 3-run homer. I guess he was still juicing.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 6-3 at Land Shark Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Brian McCann won it with a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 12-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Yes, both Chicago teams were not only at home on the same day, but both won.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Washington Nationals, 7-3 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Matt Kemp singled Andre Ethier home with the winning run in the top of the 10th.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-1 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the following teams were not scheduled to play that day: The Arizona Diamondbacks, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Angels, the Minnesota Twins, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays.

March 17, 2005: Congress vs. Baseball's Steroid Cheats

Rafael Palmeiro: Slugger, Cheater, Perjurer

March 17, 2005: The Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives holds a hearing on the topic of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.

A few weeks earlier, former Oakland Athletics slugger Jose Canseco published a book titled Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. In addition to details about his career and his personal life, he named names, revealing that some of the biggest stars in the game -- some already having been suspected as having done so, some not yet widely suspected -- used steroids.

He also gave the opinions that steroid use is not in and of itself a bad thing, as long as the person is being monitored by a physician and the dosages are small; that steroids cannot only improve the game of baseball but also improve and lengthen lives; and that more research needs to be done on the topic.

Canseco himself testified before the Committee, and asserted that his opinions on steroids were sincere, and that the facts he had given in the book were true. Among the other players who were called to testify were 3 players that Canseco named in the book as having used PEDs: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro.

McGwire had been Canseco's teammate on the Oakland Athletics' American League Pennant winners of 1988, 1989 and 1990. Palmeiro had been his teammate with the Texas Rangers in 1992 and 1993. He was never a teammate of Sosa.

In the 1998 season, McGwire and Sosa both surpassed Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 home runs, with McGwire finishing with 70 and Sosa with 66. In 1999, they both surpassed Maris again, with McGwire hitting 65 and Sosa 63.

Palmeiro, like Canseco born in Cuba and taken to Miami by his family as a boy, had twice hit 47 in a season, hardly an outrageous total, and never topped that. But, entering the 2005 season, he had 551 career home runs, while Sosa had 574, and McGwire had retired after the 2001 season with 583. Even with the advantage of steroids, Canseco last played in 2001, and had "only" 462 homers, hitting 46 in that homer-happy season of 1998.

In his testimony, Sosa, a native of the Dominican Republic, played dumb, pretending that his ability to speak proper English had declined. His attorney read a statement: "To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs. I have never injected myself, or had anyone inject me, with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States, or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004, and I am clean."

McGwire avoided the question as best he could: "My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, and myself. I will say, however, that it remains a fact in this country that a man, any man, should be regarded as innocent unless proven guilty." He added, "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."

Except the Committee was there to talk about the past.

Palmeiro did not avoid the question the way McGwire and Sosa did. He pointed his finger at the Committee members, and said, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."

Not called to testify at that time was Barry Bonds, who had already broken McGwire's record by hitting 73 home runs in 2001, and was on his way to surpassing Hank Aaron's career record, finishing with 762 after the 2007 season.

On July 15, 2005, playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Palmeiro collected his 3,000th career hit. At the time, the only players to have previously achieved that milestone and 500 home runs were Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray.

But on August 1, it was revealed that Palmeiro had tested positive for steroids, and he was suspended for 10 games. Upon his return, he was heavily booed by the Baltimore fans, and was held out of the lineup after August 30, and was released after the season. He was just short of turning 41, and was still a productive player. But he was now unhireable, and never played in the major leagues again. He was never charged with perjury for lying to Congress under oath.

In 2009, by then retired with 609 home runs, Sosa was exposed as having failed a steroid test in 2003. He was not prosecuted for perjury, either.

In 2010, offered a coaching position, McGwire knew he had to finally come clean, and talk about the past: "I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish, and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the Steroid Era."

Major League Baseball cracked down on steroids more heavily after 2005. Nevertheless, some exposed steroid cheats were allowed to continue to play. In 2022, David Ortiz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield -- like Ortiz, all members of the 500 Home Run Club who were caught using performance-enhancing drugs -- have not been.

Jose Canseco is a cheater and a domestic abuser. That said, he did expose the cheating. He is baseball's answer to Joseph Valachi and John Dean.

*

March 17, 2005 was a Thursday. Baseball was in Spring Training, with Ortiz and the rest of the cheating Boston Red Sox as defending World Champions. Football was out of season, with the cheating New England Patriots as defending Super Bowl Champions. And the NHL team owners had locked out their players, resulting in the cancellation of the entire season. So this was a dark time in North American sports.

There were, however, 3 games played in the NBA that night:

* The Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-89 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 98-94 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Sacramento Kings, 100-97 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland). Jason Richardson led all scorers on the night with 40 points.

February 16, 2004: The A-Rod Trade

February 16, 2004: The biggest trade in baseball history -- in terms of money and hype, if not in terms of number of players -- is announced.

The Texas Rangers got Alfonso Soriano, age 28, one of the most exciting talents in baseball, who had mainly been a 2nd baseman, but could also play shortstop and 3rd base; and a player to be named later, who, on April 23, turned out to be Joaquin Arias, 19, a minor-league infielder who ended up playing 474 games in the major leagues, including winning 2 World Series rings as a backup with the 2012 and 2014 San Francisco Giants.

The New York Yankees got Alex Rodriguez, a shortstop, soon to be 29, accepted by some as the best player in baseball, and the last 7 years of the biggest contract ever signed in professional sports to that point: $252 million.

I had to explain about Arias. But we know what happened to the 2 big names. Soriano bounced around, including back to the Yankees at the end, finishing with 412 home runs and 289 stolen bases, including (as far as we know, he was clean) the only honest season in MLB history with at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, with the 2006 Washington Nationals. (UPDATE: In 2023, Ronald Acuña Jr. did it with the Atlanta Braves, cleanly as far as we know.)

And yet, he got traded again, not because the Nats no longer wanted to deal with him, but because the Chicago Cubs were going for broke, and he did help them reach the postseason in 2007 and 2008.

These are all the players, through the 2021 season, who have exceeded Soriano's totals in both home runs and stolen bases, in chronological order: Willie Mays (660 HRs and 338 SBs), Andre Dawson (438 and 314), Barry Bonds (762 and 514, the only man to have 400 of each, let alone 500), Carlos Beltrán (435 and 312)... and Alex Rodriguez.

(So, really, only Mays and Dawson.)

As for A-Rod: The Yankees were able to make the trade because their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, had already tried and failed to trade their All-Star shortstop, Nomar Garciaparra, to the Rangers for him. On July 31, 2004, as part of a 4-team deal, the Sox sent Nomar to the Chicago Cubs, getting Doug Mientkiewicz from the Minnesota Twins and Orlando Cabrera from the Montreal Expos.

The Yankees made the trade because he was right up there with their own All-Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, as one of the biggest stars in baseball; and team owner George Steinbrenner was in one of his "I want it now!" phases that many people thought had stopped after his 1990 suspension, but really hadn't.

A-Rod moved to 3rd base, because Jeter had earned the right to keep playing at shortstop for the Yankees. A-Rod ended up helping the Yankees reach the postseason 7 times, but won only 1 Pennant, in 2009, also winning the World Series. His regular seasons were solid, sometimes spectacular. His postseasons, 2009 excepted, were horrendous.

He seemed to be personally responsible for the Yankees' failures to "show up" in the 2005 American League Division Series, the 2006 ALDS, the 2007 ALDS, the 2010 AL Championship Series, the 2011 ALDS, the 2012 ALCS, and the 2015 AL Wild Card Game. And it all seemed to start with his stupid "Slap Play" in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.

He finished his career with 14 All-Star berths, 3,115 hits, 696 home runs, 2,086 RBIs, 329 stolen bases, a batting title (before he was a Yankee), 2 Gold Gloves (both before he was a Yankee), 3 AL Most Valuable Player awards (2 as a Yankee)... and 1 World Championship, the category that Yankee Fans should care about.

And he frequently embarrassed the Yankees, both on and off the field. If it was just little things, like the various manifestations of his huge ego, I could have lived with it. After all, my favorite player of all time is Reggie Jackson, and I lived with his similar issues, although none were as weird as that painting of A-Rod as a centaur.

But Reggie never cheated, as far as we know. A-Rod got caught cheating with performance-enhancing drugs. Twice. And that was on top of his many postseason failures, and his single postseason success.

No player in the history of baseball has ever polarized fans more. If that's incorrect, then, certainly, none has ever done so within the fandom of his own team.

He retired on August 12, 2016. The Yankees did not give uniform Number 13 back out until 2021, to Joey Gallo, who, at the least, was only an embarrassment in terms of his performance. They probably won't officially retire it for A-Rod, and he may never get a Plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.

And, while he is now eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, don't count on him being elected. Ever. Meanwhile, David Ortiz, who cheated, lied about it, got caught, and still lies about it, became eligible at the same time, and, oh-so-predictably, got in on his first chance.

So, who won the trade of Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano to the Rangers? The Boston Red Sox, of course.

*

February 16, 2004 was a Monday -- the Presidents Day holiday. Baseball and football were out of season. You would think that a national holiday would be a good day for the NBA to have a nationally-televised matinee of league powers, or a great historic rivalry, or both. But they didn't: The day before was their All-Star Game, at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. The West beat the East, 132-126. Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, playing on his home court, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

There were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders played the Los Angeles Kings to a tie, 1-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New Jersey Devils were not scheduled.)

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Florida Panthers, 3-1 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 7-2 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Arena) in Buffalo.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-4 at the Consol Energy Center (now the PPG Paints Arena) in Pittsburgh.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Nashville Predators, 4-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 1-0 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center).