On Demand
The Many Lives of A-Rod
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Alex Rodriguez is the highest-paid player in the history of baseball, but his time on the diamond has not been without controversy. We’ll talk to Selena Roberts-- who broke the story in Sports Illustrated that A-Rod had used performance-enhancing drugs in February. Her book is called A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez.
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Over and over I here that most if not every sports writer knows who does steroids in most major league sports in the United States. I also here that sports writers care about the influence steroid taking so called sports “heroes” have on America’s youth. The common excuse for sports writers not rating out the professional steroid taking cowards are that the writers will be black listed from every locker room. That being said for the sheer love of the game and integrity of professional sports clubs, sports writers pretty much all join together when it comes time to vote players into their respective halls of fames. So if the sports writers truly love the sports they cover and care about the integrity of these institutions and the influence they have on young Americans, why don’t they band together and release all at once all the known names in every sport of all the players who are and have taken steroids?
There are many professional athletes that are humble. But there are also many players that have ego’s that must be constantly feed. For this reason there is no way athletes could black list all sports reporters all at the same time. It would be an awkward situation but everyone would be out at the same time and professional sports would once and for all have to deal with steroids abuse without any excuses, whether they like it or not….
Has anyone asked him the straight question:
Did the drugs indeed increase your performance?
Hold on, leonard.
we are talking about a game. who really cares? no one cause nothing changes. vick may play football again. burris may play again. why are we spending, no wasting so much time on a topic that doesn't matter in the end.
now if roberts were a real reporter, than i suggest she use her skills going after the politicians and lawyers who allowed americans to torture prisoners. they are the real criminals in our society and she goes after a man who plays a game and has not hurt anyone with his actions as those responsible for torture have. selena please do something worthwhile.
oh how about the bankers.
why are we wasting our time on this miniiscule stuff when we have such bigger stuff to deal with.
geesch, let's talk about something important.
what a way to make a living ms roberts. it's cheap and easy. try doing something worthwhile and valuable.
leonard please concentrate on worthwhile topics like the torture, the banks, and the criminals who really hurt us. i know that takes guts.
I'm impressed by Ms. Roberts tone of voice. Total absence of bombast, not trying to make the story about herself, just a beat reporter. It lends substance to what I've heard about her, that she is a real pro.
How long has she been in journalism? And has it always been as a sports reporter?
This will probably be the first sports book I buy since "Moneyball."
{[3] ted from nyc May 07, 2009 - 12:09PM Hold on, leonard. we are talking about a game. who really cares?]]
dude, mellow out. lenny is obviously a baseball fan. and this book will sell a ton of copies. tune out for a while and come back later.
Manny - suspended for 50 games LA times reporting for PED use.
Whoa!?! ManRam is out? What a dummy. I don't pay attention to baseball until June or July. And even then, only if the Yankees are in contention.
Why not allow all players to use
steroids, take the risk if they decide
to do so?
I cannot understand Ms. Roberts focus
on Alex Rodriguez?
What is the obessession she has with A Rod?
Leave him alone, let him live his life.
Steroids has been a part of life in the
sports world for decades.
Why target A Rod?
Hey, what about the ego connection between ManRam and A-Rod? It appeared to me that Manny didn't just need money and a contract, he needed a display of "affection" from L.A.
this is just sad and sounds out of place on Lopate's program...
so A rod's not so pretty but neither it this predatory reporter lady...
and neither are we for dwelling on it in this way...
the whole thing is pathetic IMHO
[[8] DAT from Nathan Straus Projects May 07, 2009 - 12:22PM Why not allow all players to use steroids, take the risk if they decide to do so? I cannot understand Ms. Roberts focus on Alex Rodriguez? What is the obessession she has with A Rod?]]
he's the highest paid player on the greatest sports team in history. but it also sounds like she's really dug into the psyche and personality of a superstar player. and she broke the story. so, y'know, she's doing her job.
Ted #3 - This issue is not as important as the organized crime takeover of our financial institutions, but it is still very important for 2 reasons: (1) The over $1 BILLION dollars that NYC taxpayers are on the hook for for building subsidized stadiums to the 2 wealthiest (private profit making companies) teams in the Major Leagues.
(2) The impact on boys and girls who are led to believe that they can do these things and whose lives are endangered as they begin to take drugs to improve their performance. Like the banking crisis, it undermines credibility in these people who our children are supposed to look up to!
Leonard -- ask the author about Manny testing positive!! http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4148907
Thanks!
This accusation of tipping pitches it outrageous. Nobody in the game has confirmed this, despite what Ms. Roberts says, and several have said it's an outright lie. If Arod was tipping pitches, then lets go back to the videos of the game and prove it. If he was doing it, it should be obvious.
...and just now Manny Ramirez suspended for drug violation!
this lady isn't a predator..
a-rod is an interesting subject because he's the highest paid player in baseball. he's the top of the top. that allows for the extra scrutiny. this reporting is just deconstructing him, and how he got there.
no books about scrubs. this kind of thing only comes out after you've made it. congrats a-rod, you've made it big. :)
great interview lady reporter/leonard!
did we have time for this gossip?
ted from nyc.. Relax!!! The sports pitch became racially intergrated before the rest of America caught on, Jesse Owens @ the Munich games, roberto Clemente etc etc, you cannot deny the importance of the games and your point is simply baseless!! Wnyc is a place to discuss life, and life as you and I know is multi dimensional
I had to turn the program off out of annoyance.
This reporter seems to me to be back stabbing, self aggrandizing, and mean spirited. She seems so pleased with herself, I'm sure, over the media hype that has ensued after her "groundbreaking story" about A-Rod.
Honestly, I've found the hype and interest over this story kind of mind-boggling. And yes, I would agree, pretty non important compared to what else is going on in the world.
But worst of all is the sound of gloating coming from this two faced and smug journalist. I assume one day, she will reap the rewards from her behavior when someone pries into her life and exposes some mistake or personal trial and tribulation.
She seems beneath this program.
The baseball owners, the powers that be,
certainly benefited from Alex Rodriguez's
steroid use.
They did nothing about it.
Steroid use in sports is as American
as apple pie and no one said anything about
it for decades.
Why blame him?
His personal life is his business.
GUYS!!!. Wake up!!. We are subsidizing the grand lifestyles and steroid consumption of these infantile overgrown jocs!. I don't have a problem with people doing whatever they want with their lives. It does matter and I do have a problem when as a taxpayer we don't have a billion dollars to fund public transit but we have a billion dollars to subsidize stadiums for these overpaid children and they get tons of tax breaks.
How much does want to bet that there are probably not more than 5 yankee players who claim NYC residency for taxes? - I bet you that most of them 'reside' in Florida where there are no local or state income taxes
I could really care less about baseball and most professional sports. But I care about steroids for 2 reasons. First, these drugs are obtained illegally so this is just one of many contraband products that has been added to the black market. This does not help anybody. 2nd reason is that kid’s look up to these cowards that have to take performance enhancing drugs to keep competitive. Personally, if a 14 year old boy wants to take these drugs that will cause him to grow breasts and shrink his testicles, the more power to him. The problem at the end of the day though is that this kid will have drastic health problems in the not to distant future that are just going to add to the cost of everybody’s health care. Think about it, if heroin made baseball players play better, there would be a huge out cry as thousands of American youth’s follow their hero’s and become junkies overnight because we all know the effects of heroin. Nobody cares about steroids because on the surface they seem to help. But in reality they can do significant damage to the human body both mentally and physically.
i'm a huge baseball game and have tix in grandstand for friday package with my son. not a fan of steroids and all of this as a father and fan. i'm a fan of baseball being named after ted williams and living in nyc.
yes, sports are important as it relates to race and breaking barriers.
we cant let our passion for sports and the law let us go after the wrong crooks in our society like the politicians who have lied and cheated about iraq and has caused the death of more than 4000 americans and the huge expense that may be responsible for our current economic condition and thus affecting the lives of millions of people.
arod and his offense is nothing compared to the above named. who has died? yes, the price of tix have gone up, but that is my problem and not the rest of america's problem. roberts is a predator reporter. selena go after the real crooks with this tenacity of yours.
we are talking about an entertainer and not a policy maker. there is ahuge difference and is a distraction to what we should be paying attention to.
let's put this is perspective to our other problems.
cheers,
ted
forgot to address the idea of cheating. egregious no doubt, but what about the tax cheaters in this country?
i've seen roberts on my favorite show sports reporters sunday am and when she is on i pretty much tune her out, always have and now with this predatory book, she is really on my no read,listen to list. i think she is a detriment to her profession, but that is me. i aint no fan of hers and not just because of this book and her work on arod, who i'm not a fan of either.
as for manny, i think i'd like to hear more about this and wouldn't be surprised if he isnt being railroaded. not a fan of manny either.
ted
I don't understand why anyone gives a rodent's rear end what professional athletes do to themselves. They are just out to make money, it's all a show, and ultimately their lives will be unimportant. Do we object that actors and models get facelifts and implants to enhance their livelihoods?
I was wondering how long it would take her to compare Derek to Alex, about 2 seconds.Nobody loves Derek more than I do for the tough, team oriented leader, gamer, and great role model for my young sons that he is and I would take one Derek over 5 ARods regardless of Alex's talent. That said, Jeter had a stable upbringing with caring parents who still attend his games while Alex was abandoned by his Dad and if he has self-esteem issues, it's understandable. Give him credit for busting it down the line after every at bat. That is the proper way to judge a player. This lady needs to do something more worthwhile with her time. Perhaps she can become a writer for a daytime soap opera? Yes, that's it,that would suit her well. Please, people, don't buy her book and encourage this continuing, parasitic tendency of her and her ilk.
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