by Gilson Penny

Created on: December 14, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Results from the independent investigation into illegal blood doping, initiated by former US Senator George Mitchell in March 2006, hit major league baseball squarely in the face. Over 80 of the league's current and past stars are scrambling to answer to the allegations. Team owners and the Players' Association were both lambasted for their ineffective policies and obstructive actions.

Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen, Paul Lo Duca, David Justice, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Eric Gagne, are only a handful of the big names implicated. The 2003-2004 BALCO drug investigation named 24 players, and sparked the congressional investigation that has Barry Bonds currently facing charges of obstruction of justice. If convicted, Bonds could face years in prison.

ESPN has noted that the breakdown of current players implicated by teams listed is Yankees 22, Orioles 18, Angels 16, Mets 15, Dodgers 15, Rangers 15.

Personal trainer Brian McNamee named Clemens as a long-time user, sparking a swift rebuttal by the 7-time Cy Young award winner. Clemens immediately issued a statement denying the allegations, calling the report slanderous. Clemen's attorney, Rusty Hardin, stated that "Roger has been repeatedly tested for these substances and he has never tested positive. There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today."

Regarding Bonds, the report stated, "Harvey Shields was Bonds's personal trainer between 2000 and 2004 and continued to provide training services to Bonds as a Giants employee from 2004 through 2006. He said in an interview that Greg Anderson provided Bonds with a cream to use on his elbow, which Shields said he believed was an over-the-counter "arthritis cream." Shields also said that Anderson provided Bonds with a clear liquid that Bonds ingested by placing drops under his tongue. Shields did not know where Anderson obtained the clear liquid."

Former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski provided a significant amount of the report's evidence. The attendant was arrested in April 2007 for distributing steroids, and gave the damning testimony in a plea deal with federal officials.

The report states "For more than a decade there has been widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball, in violation of federal law and baseball policy. Club officials routinely have

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