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"I did take a banned substance. For that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

Now I believe Alex Rodriguez used some type of steroid.  I heard him say it several times on ESPN.  The Yankee slugger told ESPN's Peter Gammons exactly that today during a interview.

Rodriguez used the substances, he says he does not know the name of it, from the 2001-2003 seasons when he was with the Texas Rangers.  We'll get a chance to hear the entire interview on ESPN Sportscenter tonight. (Talk about a coup.)

"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," Rodriguez told ESPN's Peter Gammons in an interview in Miami.

"Back then, it [baseball] was a different culture, it was very loose. I was young, I was stupid, I was naïve. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time," said Rodriguez

At that point, Rodriguez had just received a baseball record $252 million dollar contract from the Rangers.

It is exactly the response you'd expect, a response that was warrented.  He had to step up and take responsibility.  He is the first of the 104 players on the list to do that.  Of course, he is the first one to be named off a list that was supposed to be kept anonymous.  Sports Illustrated reported Saturday that Rodriguez had failed a test in 2003.

Now the debate begins, hall of fame or not.  Clearly, he was a first ballot lock before Saturday.  Now I'm not so sure.  Many voters have made it clear, they will not vote for someone who used steroids.

Will there be enough voters who feel otherwise?  Rodriguez's mea culpa today is step one toward making sure there are.  I look forward to hearing the rest of A-Rod's explanation. 

Today is Henry Aaron's birthday.  The hall of famer is 75 years old.  It's also a day where Barry Bonds is once again taking a spot on the front page of newspapers acrossed the country.

One great home run hitter and citizen, one disgrace to baseball, forever tied together by their ability to hit the ball over the fence.

While Aaron continues to exude class and given a heros welcome wherever he goes, is Bonds really relevant any more.  Does, and perhaps more importantly, should, anyone care about what Barry Bonds did or does anymore?

Yesterday, some 200 pages of damning evidence against Barry Bonds were unsealed by  United States District Judge Susan Illston, evidence including four positive tests for steroids and a transcript of a conversation in which the trainer for the former Giants outfielder is quoted saying he injected Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs on several occasions.

That trainer, Greg Anderson, has spent time in jail for refusing to testify in the the case.

Okay, so now there's supposed to be evidence that Barry Bonds used steroids - now what, ban him from baseball, send him to jail?  What does it matter?  If baseball or the feds are using Bonds to fry a bigger fish or get him to name names of other players who have used illegal performance enhancing drugs or those who supplied them, okay, that seems to me to have a point.

But to spend time and money just to stuff Bonds oversized head into a tiny cell seems to be grandstanding at best.

In a 2003 Charles Schwab commercial, Aaron, supposedly a voice from above, implores Bonds to go into retirement.  That was meant as humor during Bonds home run record chase.  Now the idea that Bonds just drift into oblivion seems less like a joke and more like something we all wish would happen.

Those are my thoughts - what are yours?  Please comment here or e-mail me at richbecker@fox23news.com

While there are many reasons why the Patroons season is ending well over a month early, I experienced one of them last night.

I had a free night and decided to take my kids to the game.  Micheal Ray Richardson, who I like, was back in town and I wanted to see his act.  That plus I've always enjoyed the style of Derrick Rowland's Patroons team, which made it an easy decision to go to the game.

Easy...yeah right.

I've had easier times getting to Yankees World Series games than I had last night trying to get into the Washington Avenue Armory.

As I always do, I approached the Armory by coming up Henry Johnson Blvd, taking a left onto Clinton Ave. and a right onto Lark Street.  I was told there was parking behind the Armory, so I was planning on taking a left off of Lark to go behind the Armory.  Whoops, do not enter sign.  So we continued up Lark to take a left onto Washington. Down one block, no left turn, down another block, no left turn 4pm to 6pm.  Since it was 6:30, we made the turn onto Swan and headed around back.

Upon arrival to the back of the Armory, I found 2 lots, neither of them had signage that indicated I could park there for a Patroons game.  In fact, it was the opposite, the signs said parking was only for employees of that particular business or the next door library.  I did not see any parking lot attendants either.

We skipped that lot and took a left on Lark heading back to Washington.  We took another lap, coming up another side street to see what was available...nothing.  Now heading west on Washington Avenue, we crossed over Lark to see if there was anything available west of the Armory.  Nothing there, so we pulled a u-turn and decided to try again.

It gets better.  At the corner of Lark and Washington, a woman was laying in the middle of the road.  She was surrounded by a few people.  As we got to the corner we asked if they needed us to call 911.  They did, so we made the call.  The woman had apparently been hit by a car while crossing the street.  There were several people assisting the woman and we had cars honking behind us, so we went forward.  Checking back when we did arrive at the Armory, the paramedics were there helping the woman.  I hope she will be okay.

Back to the journey.. we went down Washington and took a right on Dove, maybe there was something there.  How silly of me!  Down toward the Capital building, with a left on Swan, we were heading behind the Armory, rolling the dice and parking in the library lot.

Once there, we tried to figure the safest way inside the building.  We decided to cut through the library.  We did that and found our way to the front of the Armory.

There, I found Bill O'Brien, who is one of the nicest and most accomodating people I have ever met.  He is the director of security for the Armory.  He was outside checking on the woman who got hit.  Bill is a very caring person.  I told him of our parking ordeal and how I felt there needed to be signage.  He said he the parking information was on the web site. I checked and sure enough, there was detailed information just as Bill said.  The only issue is it's not on the Patroons web site (www.albanypats.com), it's on the Armory web site, (http://www.washingtonavenuearmory.com/parking.html).

I was also told by two regular attendees of Patroon games that, after parking behind the building, they had to walk in the street to get  up to the front of the building.  They indicated that the sidewalks were not clear.  I did not see that for myself though.

The leaders of the CBA will meet on Saturday to decide on the future of the league.  One of the things that I am sure will be discussed is how they can get more fans to come to the games.  Parking has been an issue since the renovation of the Armory.  I credit Bill, and the Armory staff for trying to figure out a solution to that problem.  That solution needs to be better spelled out for people with signage around the building directing people to the appropriate lots. 

The Patroons can be fun to watch...getting there.. well, that's obviously another story.

It really should not come as a shock giving some of the silly decisions the State of New York makes and then tries to rationalize.

But even though they have "New York State" in their title, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association is not a state government department.  They're just acting like one.

The associations decision to cut games to save on school budgets just doesn't make sense.  Section II football chairmen Gary Vanderzee did the math on this one. I like and respect Gary and feel he's not a person to go off half-cocked.  He is a person I feel doesn't spout off without backing his decisions.

He maintains that based on a projected Ravena budget of $40,000,000, the cost savings by eliminating games will be about .025%, or one-quarter of one percent. In  raw dollars, based on Gary's numbers, that's about $9,000.  He also shared information about a larger Section II district(Class AA) whose athletic director estimated they'd save about $20,000 out of a $140 million plus budget, less than one-tenth of one percent.  Is that really worth taking games away.  It hardly backs up the released statement made by NYSPHSAA executive director Nina VanErk

"The representatives serving on the Executive Committee are very concerned with the fiscal challenges schools are facing.  The Executive Committee has taken action to assist schools, leagues, conferences, sections and NYSPHSAA to reduce costs related to the interscholastic athletic program."

No where in the release, or any other published report was there any raw data, any specifics as to how that money would be saved, something especially frustrating to Vanderzee, who in two letters, asked for such data.

The association did say Vanderzee's correspondance should have gone to the Section II representitives on the state executive committee, all 4 of whom are well-respected and thoughful members of the sporting scene.  They were Section II voice at the meetings.  I hope they said what we are all thinking.  Why is the state getting involved in this?  Why not let the leagues and schools take care of this themselves, perhaps with guidance from the state.

No one is disputing the need to do something to curtail costs given the current economic climate and projections going forward.  I just don't think the kids should be the ones who have to pay.  After all, isn't that why we have interscholastic sports.  Which brings me to another thought - is this the start of the elimination of high school sports altogether.

What do you think?  Let me know by posting here or emailing me at: richbecker@fox23news.com

There's no way Joe Torre needs the money, but really what other motivation could there be for a, by all accounts classy guy, to participate in writing a book that rips former his former players and ballclub.

The book, co-authored by the well-respected Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci specifically hits on Alex Rodriguez (A-Fraud he was called by fellow players and clubhouse personnel, according to the book), and portrays a decaying relationship with general manager Brian Cashman.

Many of the written words released so far in the publication titled "The Yankee Years" are words written by Verducci, but come with the tacit aproval of Torre when he put his name on the cover. (The Yankee Years by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci)

Verducci went on radio recently to defend the book and Torre saying on the "Dan Patrick Show" "Joe Torre certainly wasn't name-calling, certainly didn't use the phrase 'A-Fraud' or 'Single White Female.' That's why it's important to know it is a third-person narrative."

Yet the information had to come from somewhere and this is the genesis of my issue with the book.  There is a rule, sometimes written, sometimes not, that what gets said and done in the clubhouse, stays in the clubhouse. Kind of like being in Vegas.  Torre has violated this rule, and I might add done it hypocritcally.

Torre was the among the first to jump on David Wells when he wrote about what went on in the Yankee Clubhouse in his book.   Wells got fined 100K for his musings.  Torre no longer works for the Yankees, so all he gets is a sullied reputation... which now that I think about it, is a lot worse than the fine.

Say it ain't so Joe...Actually, it might be too late for that now.

It's the latest reality show playing out now in downtown Albany.

Survivor:Times Union Center

Siena nearly got voted off the undefeated island last night.  Iona found its touch at about the same time the Saints lost their focus.  The combination allowed the Gaels to turn a 14 point defecit into a 1 point lead, their only lead of the entire game coming with 8 seconds left.

When Ronald Moore struggled to get the ball down the court, the night and undefeated season looked lost.  That is until the Saints were granted immunity in the form of a time out.  Whether Moore had the ball or not, I couldn't tell.  But the referees were right on top of the play and had a perfect vantage point from which to make the call.

In the huddle, Kenny Hasbrouck said the team was calm and composed, which you'd expect from a team that has been together for a while.  Hasbrouck wanted the ball for the final shot, actually from his post game comments and look on his face when the question was asked, seemed surprised the ball wasn't going to him.  But instead of option #1, Hasboruck became decoy number #1, coming off a screen, making a fake that he felt Iona bit on, if only a little bit. 

But that opened Edwin Ublies on the baseline.  The junior forward said he felt his spin was the opposite way the defender was expecting, getting him off balance and giving Ubilies the shot he wanted.

"That's a horse shot," said Alex Franklin, alluding to the basketball shooting game.

"He makes that shot 10 out of 10 times," said Ryan Rossiter.  "He actually practices that shot.  It when you're goofing around at the end of practice, but he works on it."

The behind the backboard mid-range shot found the bottom of the net, which Ubiles knew as soon as he let it go.

Stealing from baseball, we'll add a stat to the basketball book - the save.  Credit one to Ubiles.  And thanks to that save, the Saints get at least a few more days on the island.

I honestly don't know where to start I am so infuriated by what the Mets did to Willie Randolph last night (this morning).

It was pretty obvious that, barring a huge surge, the Mets were going to fire Willie.  While I think he's one of the classiest baseball people I have ever met, I can't disagree with New York for wanting to make a change.

But, unless something happened behind closed doors to expedite his departure, the way the Mets handled it is a joke of epic proportions.

First off.. they made him travel to Anaheim, all the way acrossed the country.  Talk about taking the long road to your own execution. 

Then they made the decision to fire Willie, but hide behind the clock.  They know the newspaper deadline in NY. It's not 3:15am either.  Putting out a statement at that time is nothing short of cowardly.  Be men, Mets front office.  Yes Omar Minaya (who by the way shares a lot of responsibilty for the Mets failure), I mean you.  Did you think by waiting to announce this at 3:15am, we'd all forget by the morning?  That the NY papers, and those acrossed the country for that matter, would not write about it today?  If you did, then your lack of media savvy is matched only by your disrespectful treatment of a classy individual.

Did Willie make mistakes in shooting his mouth off about SNY and the way he was being treated, at one point bringing race into the picture? Yes.  The comments coming in an interview with reporter Ian O'Connor and later reported in this excerpt from the New York Times were damaging.

In those remarks, Randolph questioned the way he was portrayed during broadcasts on the Mets’ television network and wondered whether he was held to a different standard than some of his white counterparts.

Although Randolph did not say anything particularly inflammatory in O’Connor’s column and did not suggest that the Mets’ organization was not supporting him, the fact that he brought up the issue of race and challenged the Mets’ TV outlet created a new distraction for a club that has had a bunch of them lately. Randolph is the first African-American major league manager in New York, and he was a popular one until the Mets’ sudden collapse last September left them out of the postseason.

“Is it racial?” Randolph asked in reference to the criticism he and his players are hearing it from fans as the Mets have combined good games with bad ones. “Huh? It smells a little bit.”

“I don’t know how to put my finger on it, but I think there’s something there,” Randolph added, citing the former Jets coach Herman Edwards as an example of a fairly successful black coach who did not last long when things soured. He also mentioned Isiah Thomas, who was recently dismissed as the Knicks’ general manager and coach. “Isiah didn’t do a great job, but they beat up Isiah pretty good,” Randolph said, adding, “There’s something weird about it.”

Asked about those comments Tuesday before the first game of a day-night doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves, Randolph tried to tone things down.

“It’s been a lot of negative stuff going on around here and I’ve been feeling some of that and I was just expressing how I felt at the time, but it wasn’t anything to do with race,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to bring race into it. I probably should have thought more about what I was going to say.”

“I don’t think it’s about race,” he added. “It’s about winning ball games and getting back to the way we are capable of playing.” He also said any discussions of race, and of possible dissension in his clubhouse, would disappear if the Mets found a groove. - New York Times article May 20, 2008

 Even Willie would admit some of the things he said were off base.  But he apologized and seemed to move away from those comments.  Apparently, the Mets did not.

So Willie gets a one way ticket back acrossed the country, returning home without a job.  And the Mets are left to clean-up a public relations disaster created by their front office.  Mets PR man Jay Horwitz is known through out the game as one of the best there is.  You feel for him and his staff as you've gotta believe he advised against handling the situation the way the Mets have.

At 5pm ET today, Minaya and Manuel will speak to reporters in Anaheim. Lets just say, they've got some 'splainin' to do for the mess they've created.

What do you think???  I'd like to know. Leave your comments here or start a new threat on the site comments section of our web site.

Just waiting to fire up the FOX23 Times Union High School Sports Show, Sunday edition... what a weekend it was... 36 high school basketball games, hockey and wrestling we covered this weekend.  So much drama and fun watching the players celebrate after a win, but it's hard to watch the players who leave it all out there see their seasons end. I saw Gerard O'Shea of Averill Park in near tears as we walked off the court at Hudson Valley.  What a player he is... hate to see guys like that, and there are many of them, have their season end.

Want to take this space to acknowledge what a great part of this sports department Brent Martineau has been.  If you haven't heard, Brent is heading to Jacksonville, FL to continue his career with our ClearChannel sister station.  Not only has Brent been a great friend to me, but also to so many players, coaches, fans around Section II.  He has delivered so many great stories and done it with humor, respect, clarity. A few that come to mind.. Mike Bennett's return to Columbia's basketball team after the shooting at that school.. Justin Perry, an athlete at Shaker High School who contracted meningitis..and a Giants story with Amani Toomer where the veteran wide receiver doused Brent with water.. There are so many others.  We have been fortunate to have Brent here with us and I thank him.

His email is brentm@fox23news.com if you'd like to drop him a note.

He'll be doing his last FOX23 Times Union High School sports show tonight and wrapping up a very successful stay with FOX23 on Wednesday.  I can't wish him, Stefanie and the kids enough good luck in J-ville.

RB