Never mind what I told you, I'm telling you!

[Frayed Knot]

It seems that tell-all trainer and admitted steroid pusher Brian MacNamee went out of his way to deny that MLB players were taking steroids in an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times which appeared in October 2000.

Specifically he was answering an earlier piece from Jose Canseco's ghost writer, claiming, among other things, that the superiority of today's player; "is not because of steroid use, but because of the advancement in sports-specific science and commitment of the organizations to strength, conditioning and nutrition. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible and disrespectful" .... and that; "the suggestion that steroids are the answer to the increased strength, recovery from injury and the improved performances of today's players is just wrong"

We, of course, now know that during the same year this piece appeared MacNamee has admitted (under threat of prosecution if he wasn't telling the truth) to injecting Roger Clemens with steroids.

Ooops!




* Bonus points for anyone who can name the movie where the subject line comes from and the actors involved.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Wow, what a cheap smokescreen.

Surgical procedures and rehabilitation techniques have undergone a similar transformation. Injuries that would have meant the end of a player's career are now treatable, and the player is back in three to four months. One need look no farther than Tommy John's surgery for rotator cuff injuries.

I'm not a doctor --- or even a trainer --- but I'm pretty sure Tommy John surgery generally refers to a repair of the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow, and the rotator cuff is part of the shoulder apparatus.

The Times clearly felt obliged to run a rebuttal, but they shouldn't have let that sort of thing get past fact-checking.

I hope his clients appreciated his bullshit on their behalf at the time.

[Vic Sage]

* Jimmy Cagney said it, as the Queeg-like Captain, to Henry Fonda, in MR. ROBERTS

what do i win?

[Frayed Knot]

My everlasting love and admiration.

[Vic Sage]

yeah, yeah... that and $2 gets me on the bus.