Sammy Sosa Tested Positive in 2003

[Sports Gatherings]

http://www.sportsgatherings.com/2009...stive-in-2003/

The New York Times reports that Sammy Sosa tested postive for a banned substance in 2003. Living in Chicago, this has been all over the radio and every fan should realize that Sosa was an idol in Chicago. Not anymore. Sosa can also kiss his chances at the Hall of Fame goodbye.

Realistically, Chicago fans were always skeptical of Sosa as he clearly bulked up from his 1989 debut with the Texas Rangers. However, they refused to accept the now-known fact that Sosa was indeed using. Instead, Chicago fans wanted to believe it was through hard work during the offseason. There was no proof of using performance enhancing drugs so why would Chicago fans want to taint the image of a sports icon in Chicago? You can now bet that Chicago fans all over are embarrassed for defending Sosa. Sosa will never again be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan, Banks, Payton, Butkus, Sayers, Mikita among many others as Chicago’s greatest athletes.

All the memories that I’ve had of 1998, when McGwire and Sosa were both involved in the pursuit of the single season home run record, have now been tainted permanently with this report. All the trading cards that commemorated the 1998 home run chase and all the newspapers that I saved of this historic pursuit are now worthless in my eyes.

What I’d like to know is this:

Imagine if Chicago had won the World Series in 2003 with a steroided-up Sosa, how would Chicago fans and sports journalist react then?

[XxHoodlumxX]

sad but true... but more names will come out...

[wrekinrak25]

sammy sosa no habla ingles

[XxHoodlumxX]

I wonder if he is going to go to jail.... someone should for liein to congress... about time someone goes to jail to let others know there serious... cause if they get away with it... why cant a avg. joe.... I really thought Tejada would have been the guy first...

[XxHoodlumxX]

here is a clip I read.... I believe if you vote these guys in Pete Rose should be in before these Jabroni's


White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik says why should anyone be surprised these days when a player of the steroid era is linked to drug use?

"I'm really surprised by how people are so shocked when some other one's name pops up," Podsednik told reporters. "It's not surprising. It's not that shocking. It is what it is. That was part of those times."

Major League Baseball now has the most stringent drug testing program in sports, but what do you do about the past? Do we ignore it? Do we punish them by not voting them into the Hall of Fame? Do we penalize everyone who played in that era, whether guilty or not?

My take? I'm voting them into the Hall of Fame. I'm voting for Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro and three others who I believe were steroid users, but whose names have yet to publicly surface in links to steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.

It was the steroid era, and like it or not, these men were still the best in the game. The sluggers who were juicing were hitting homers off the pitchers who were juicing. And the pitchers who cheated were facing hitters who cheated.

It was an even playing field, all except those who refused to cheat.

This is why I'll be voting for Fred McGriff on this year's Hall of Fame ballot. For a man who hit 493 home runs, including 10 seasons of 30 or more homers, he deserves to be in. Why should the players who never cheated the game be punished, too?

"I know I can look in the mirror," McGriff says.

Hopefully, he'll be looking at a mirror, too, the morning he is inducted into Cooperstown in five years.

It's just that his induction may include others who can't share the same sentiment.

[Sports Gatherings]

Originally Posted by XxHoodlumxX

It was an even playing field, all except those who refused to cheat.

Whoever wrote the above statement was contradicting themselves. I have no idea whether I would vote any of the guys in. Who knows if guys in the 60s, 70s, 80s were clean or juiced up? They didn't have any testing back then so what is to say that every single person in the HOF is absolutely clean? Either way, I'm glad another superstar got caught and is now a tainted figure in the sports world. One of these superstars need to go to jail though.

[XxHoodlumxX]

Originally Posted by Sports Gatherings

Whoever wrote the above statement was contradicting themselves. I have no idea whether I would vote any of the guys in. Who knows if guys in the 60s, 70s, 80s were clean or juiced up? They didn't have any testing back then so what is to say that every single person in the HOF is absolutely clean? Either way, I'm glad another superstar got caught and is now a tainted figure in the sports world. One of these superstars need to go to jail though.

x2

[Sports Gatherings]

Looks like the congressional committee will be taking a more in depth look at Sosa's testimony. That's quicker than when I thought it would happen

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4267582