As the Super Bowl nears two New Jersey congressmen took action and introduced several timely bills designed to allow legal sports betting in the state. Republican U.S. Representative Frank LoBiondo introduced a bill that would give all states until 2016 to legalize sports betting. A previous window was opened and closed in 1992 and when… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Baseball
Subscribe to Baseball RSS FeedBankruptcy Court clears the way for Dodgers sale
Posted in BaseballA bankruptcy judge in Delaware approved a settlement today between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports. That action by the Court clears the way for the sale of the team. The settlement appears to end litigation between the Dodgers and Fox Sports. “The agreement with Fox clears the path for the Dodgers to sell… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds appeals conviction
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsBarry Bonds has appealed his conviction for obstruction of justice. Bloomberg reports that the former San Francisco Giants outfielder filed a notice of appeal Dec. 21 in federal court in San Francisco. He was sentenced to probation instead of prison time on Dec. 16 and was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to… Continue Reading
Dr. Anthony Galea Sentenced in Federal Court for HGH related offense
Posted in Baseball, Football, Performance Enhancing DrugsOn the same day that Barry Bonds was sentenced to a month of house arrest and two years probation for his part in obstructing the investigation into BALCO (Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative) and the Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED) it peddled, a well respected but largely unknown Canadian doctor was sentenced three-thousand miles away in Federal Court… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds given 2 years probation
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs, SentencingToday Barry Bonds received a suspended sentence in federal court of two years probation with, a month of home confinement, 250 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine. This was for his role in giving evasive testimony before the grand jury investigating BALCO (Bay Area Labratory Cooperative). US District Judge Susan Illston stayed the… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds sentencing today in Federal Court
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing Drugs, Punishment, SentencingBarry Bonds will appear before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston today to learn his fate for his obstruction of justice conviction. Bonds’ sentencing range under the federal sentencing guidelines is 15-21 months. The government has filed papers with the court asking that he receive the bottom of the guideline range, 15 months, but that the sentence be… Continue Reading
MLB to test for Human Growth Hormone under new contract
Posted in BaseballGregg Clifton Reports in Collegiate and Professional Sports Blog that “Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players’ union have executed a new five year collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that will run through the 2016 season. The highlights of the new CBA include blood testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and a rise in the minimum… Continue Reading
Shame in College Sports, an indictment of the NCAA
Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Track & FieldTaylor Branch, civil rights author and historian, has written a powerful indictment of the NCAA and collegiate sports. Reading this is an education on the exploitation of athletes in major college sports. Read the full article here in the Atlantic. Below is a section from the article that describes the myth of the student athlete. We… Continue Reading
A Retrial of Roger Clemens
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsJudge Reggie Walton did what judges are supposed to do when he ordered a retrial of Roger Clemens today–he followed the law. Clearly frustrated with prosecutor Steven Durham, Judge Walton said, he didn’t want to believe that experienced prosecutors willfully violated his pretrial orders when they played the tainted video evidence on day two of trial in… Continue Reading
Barry Bonds Obstruction of Justice. US Attorney Dismisses Perjury.
Posted in BaseballThe US Attorney’s office in San Francisco dropped three perjuy charges against Barry Bonds steming from allegations that he lied to a grand jury in 2003 about his own steroid use. He will not be retried on these charges. A jury in April deadlocked on whether Bonds lied about his use of Performance Enhancing Drugs–steroids… Continue Reading
Government Files Opposition to Clemens Case Dismissal
Posted in BaseballThe Government has filed documents in opposition to Roger Clemens’ Motion to Dismiss his case after Judge Walton declared a mistrial earlier this summer. The substance of the Government’s arguments is that where Clemens received a mistrial–that he asked for–the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution is no bar to retrial. The Government acknowledges that… Continue Reading
Hearing Set in Roger Clemens Case
Posted in BaseballHearing on Roger Clemens Motion to Dismiss indictment set. Hearings as to WILLIAM R. CLEMENS: Motion Hearing originally set for 1:30 pm was reset for 9/2/2011 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 16 before Judge Reggie B. Walton. The Government’s response will be filed any day and will be covered here.
Roger Clemens Attorneys File Motion to Dismiss Indictment
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsAttorneys for Roger Clemens filed a much expected Motion to Dismiss criminal charges after the mistrial declared by Judge Walton last month. Rusty Hardin’s motion states: On July 14, 2011, the sixth day of trial in this matter and the second day of testimony, the Government triggered double jeopardy by deliberately defying a pretrial order… Continue Reading
Lenny Dykstra to stand trial
Posted in BaseballLenny Dykstra has been ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles for car theft charges related to his driving off with three luxury cars in California. Dykstra, his 27 year old accountant, and another apparently left with the vehicles after filing fraudulent lease documents. Then after this behavior established probable cause that a crime had occured, police… Continue Reading
Can Clemens be tried again after a mistrial?
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsJudge Walton declared a mistrial on Thursday after the government’s glaring mistake in showing a tape of Clemens’ testimony before congress that had inadmissible hearsay contained on the video. What is a mistrial? And, more to the point can Clemens be tried again? Yes Clemens can and probably will be tried again. His retrial will only be… Continue Reading
If the beer can don’t fit, must you acquit?
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsLester Munson with ESPN reports that opening statements in the Roger Clemens perjury trial are underway. Assistant United States Attorney, Steven Durham, showed the jury in his opening statement “yellowing cotton balls, needles and vials” which had been turned over to the Government from Brian McNamee, Clemens’ long time trainer. Durham told the jury that… Continue Reading
What jurors will be selected in the trial of Roger Clemens?
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsIf you were a high profile starting pitcher charged with perjury before Congress, or if you were an Assistant United States Attorney trying to convict a hall-of-fame pitcher with 7 Cy Young awards, what type of juror would you want to sit and hear your side of the case? As a prosecutor you certainly would have… Continue Reading
Reluctant government witness: Andy Pettitte
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsPotential jurors were screened Thursday before Judge Reggie Walton with questions from lawyers like: “is it a crime to lie to congress?” It will be after days of voir dire questions that will eventually yield a jury to hear the Roger Clemens case. Jury selection is expected to go into next week with a jury… Continue Reading
A Jury To Decide Roger Clemens’ Legal Fate
Posted in Baseball, Performance Enhancing DrugsRoger Clemens and lawyer Rusty Hardin will be out of Texas and in Washington, DC, this week to begin the Rocket’s trial. A jury will decide Clemens’ fate legally and probably for Cooperstown as well. The first significant thing to happen is when the jurors will be read the indictment (PDF). Initial impressions are especially important in trials,… Continue Reading
Derek Lowe: Cop giving an athlete a hard time? Or just bad behavior?
Posted in Baseball, DUIOn April 28, 2011, a Georgia State Trooper patrolling on Peachtree Street in Metro Atlanta stops Derek Lowe, the Atlanta Braves’ ace pitcher who is in his 3rd year of a $60 million contract. According to the Trooper, Lowe was racing another car down Peachtree. When he stopped Lowe, Lowe smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage. Lowe… Continue Reading