Rodriguez says a cousin, whom he would not identify, first introduced him to a substance he referred to as “Boli” that could be purchased in the Dominican Republic and brought to the United States.

“It was his understanding it would give me a dramatic energy boost and was otherwise harmless,” Rodriguez said in a prepared statement before the question and answer portion of his press conference. “My cousin and I, one more ignorant than the other, decided it was a good idea to start taking it. We consulted no one and it was pretty evident that we didn’t know what we were doing. We did everything we could to keep it between us. I stopped taking it in 2003 and haven’t taken it since. I stopped taking it for several reasons. In 2003 I had a serious neck injury and it scared me half to death. I was scared for my career and my life after baseball. Second after players voted for a mandatory drug policy, I realized how serious this all was and I decided to stop then.”

Well, I hate discussing sports because I find it so trivial, but I just can’t let this pass. We live in a culture today where idiots like this think it’s fine to NOT take responsibility for their actions. We’ve had a President like that for 8 years. I’m REALLY hoping we enter a period where personal responsibility and a certain embarrassment in saying something obviously false is part of our culture again.

We’ve got a President today who tells us, if the economy doesn’t turn around from his actions, you’ll have a new President in four years. Hopefully, he’ll stick to that discipline. I ACTUALLY think he will.

A-Rod should be thrown into the athletic trash-heap with people like Pete Rose. It’s not so much the steroids I have issue with (even though I do), it’s the lies and the excuses. Pathetic.

Lifestyle, Sports A-Rod, A-Rod cousin, Alex Rodriguez, Boli drug, steroids

From CNN:

During the interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Rodriguez said, “When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure, felt all the weight of the world on top of me to perform and perform at a high level every day. It was a different culture. I was young, I was stupid and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time and I did take a banned substance. For that, I’m very sorry and deeply regretful, although it was the culture back then in major league baseball overall, it was very … I just feel that … I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time, I’m sorry to the fans I’m sorry to the fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to anyone that I don’t need any of that.”

What do I think about this story? Who gives a shit. It’s sports. Why do people make such a big deal about sports? I enjoy a good baseball game, have been a Mets fan for many heartbreaking decades and do remember how exciting Game 6 was, but in the end it doesn’t affect my life at all. Not to sound like a stick-in-the-mud, but:

• People are fighting for their lives in places like Congo, Afghanistan and North Korea.

• Lives are being lost to deadly diseases we may be an inch away from curing.

• Innocents are rotting away in jail for crimes they did not commit.

Sports is entertainment. I care as much about whether A-Rod used steroids, how it effects the stats of the game and who is disappointed in him as I do about whether Steve Guttenberg makes a comeback. In fact, about the ONLY thing I care about is the human toll it might have taken him and if he’s healthy. That’s just general human concern.

Otherwise, it’s a distraction from a media that needs to fill up airtime. Fun to watch, but why live vicariously through it - or act like it really means something. I’d rather play catch with my son.

Lifestyle A-Rod, Alex Rodriquez, baseball, sports fans, steroid use, steroids