Alex Rodriguez. We all know the name. The player, the celebrity. The man who was to restore the sanctity back to the game when he surpassed Barry Bonds as the home run champion of our National Pastime. Today we are now left with doubt and questions about the legitimacy of his career. In the interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons Rodriguez admits to having used some type of banned substance (in the interview he states he does not know what he took). In the interview he admits to taking a banned substance from 2001-2003. His reasoning was the pervasive culture inside of the Texas Rangers clubhouse. Rodriguez went on to further state that during his time with the Seattle Mariners that he had never been tempted to use any Performance Enhancing Drug.

In researching Alex Rodriguez's past teams and most importantly teammates we have discovered an alarming rate of players mentioned in the Mitchell Report and/or later suspended by Major League Baseball once steroid testing was implemented.

We want to put this information out to you, the Saturday Sports Blog reader so you can determine whether or not you believe that Alex Rodriguez was telling the truth by saying he only used from 2001-2003. The evidence might surprise you.

• Teammate with Josias Manzanillo while with the Seattle Mariners in 1997. Manzanillo later was mentioned in the Mitchell Report as having been injected by Kirk Radomski with steroids. Manzanillo pitched with the Mets in 1994-95 and 1999 while Radomski worked with the club.
• David Segui as teammate in Seattle in 1998 and 1999 was in the Mitchell Report as having numerous discussion with Kirk Radomski in 1994 and 95 over the use of Steroids while with the New York Mets.
• Ryan Franklin, teammate with Mariners in 1999. Franklin, while still with the Mariners, was to be later suspended in 2005 for violating MLB Steroids Policy.
• David Bell, a teammate in 1998 thru 2000 with Mariners. Bell was in the Mitchell Report for having allegedly, while with the Philadelphia Phillies, purchasing HCG a hormone that is generally created during pregnancy. This can also be used to counter-react the effects of steroids effects on the production of testosterone.
• Jose Guillen, Mariners in 2000 was suspended in 2007 while with the Kansas City Royals for violating the MLB Steroid Policy.
• Mike Cameron, Mariners teammate in 2000. Cameron would be later suspended by MLB as a Brewer for violating the Steroid Policy of MLB.

Now lets analyze his time that he willingly admits to using Performance Enhancing Drugs while with the Texas Rangers.

• 20001 teammates all mentioned in the Mitchell Report for ties to Steroid activity: Ivan Rodriguez,Ken Caminiti,Rafael Palmiero,Randy Velarde.
• 2002 teammates again mentioned in the report:John Rocker,Ismael Valdez along with Ivan Rodriguez and Palmeiro.
• Also Tom Hicks the Rangers owner publicly admits to having suspicions about Juan Gonzalez and his rapid physical decline as a possibly being related to Steroids.
• 2003 teammates while still with Rangers: Ismael Valdez, Palmeiro,Gonzalez.
• 2003 also is the first year an interesting names joins the Rangers. C.J. Nitkowski. Nitkowski recently has been interviewed by the FBI. The FBI has interviewed Nitkowski about his relationship with Roger Clemens, Andy Petitte and Brian Mcnamee. Nitkowski held offseason workouts with the three and continued to be a teammate of Alex Rodriguez's until after the 2004. This is Rodriguez's first season while with the New York Yankee's.

Now to this point we have shown that Alex Rodriguez at some point possibly was subjected to Steroids in the clubhouse prior to his admission of first using in 2001. Now lets review his first two seasons as a New York Yankee. The first two seasons of our "clean" Alex Rodriguez.

• Kevin Brown 2004and 2005 Yankee mentioned in the Mitchell Report via a 2003 Dodgers General Manager report as taken Steroids and trying to get Brown to alter his offseason regimen.
• Jason Giambi a 2004 and 2005 Yankee who became the poster boy of Steroids for MLB. Giambi came forward admitting that he injected himself weekly with Steroids in 2001 and 2002.
• Gary Sheffield also a member of the 2004/05 Yankee's. Federal agents raided Greg Anderson condo in relationship to the Balco investigation. Upon reviewing evidence investigators discovered receipts of Gary Sheffields. Sheffield has denied knowingly using Steroids, referring to only knowingly taking vitamins.
• Mike Stanton a member of the 2005 Yankees was included in the Mitchell Report. Stanton purchased HGH from Kirk Radomski in 2003 while with the Mets.
• Another key player in this could quiet possibly be Ruben Sierra. Sierra was a teammate of Alex Rodriguez's in his first season in Texas (2001) all the way into the end of his first season with the Yankee's (2004). Sierra never failed a test by MLB but was teammates of the following players who were mentioned in the Mitchell Report: Mark McGwire,Jason Giambi,Andy Petitte,Phil Hiatt,Hal Morris,Jim Parque,Ken Caminiti,Roger Clemens,Mike Stanton and Rondell White. Sierra is widely have been one of the original Steroid abusers in the early 90's.

So with this information can it be so certain that Alex Rodrigez is now finally telling the truth? After having lied to Katie Couric in a 60 minutes interview in 2007 and now only coming clean after the fact it had been leaked?

Could the reality be that Alex Rodriguez abused Steroids from 1998 thru 2005?

Wow blog fans! Its been almost a week since we last brought you a new blog. Seems like forever. Alot has gone on in the sports world in the past several days. Lets get you caught up on some key moments.

• Steelers holding on to win Super Bowl XLIII. Amazing comeback by the Cardinals and Kurt Warner. Only to have an amazing catch by Santonio Holmes rip the hearts out of Arizona.
• On this past Wednesday thousands of highschool football players took the next step to fulfilling there young dreams of playing in the NFL by signing letters of intent to play college ball. This is really the silly season in which grown men stake so much into whether or not a 18 year old will be the next messiah to lead there respective program to a National Title.
• And finally Michael Phelps, caught in a photograph water bonging it up at USC (East) back in November. Not only does it shoe immaturity on his part causing him millions of dollars in lot sponsorship dollars, but now he has a publicity seeking sheriff looking into whether or not criminal charges will be filed. Amazing!
• Manny Ramirez, yes Manny being Manny turning down a 1 year 25 million dollar contract to play baseball for the L.A. Dodgers. Looking to sign a contract somewhere in the 3yr 70 million dollar range with a fourth year option, Manny has found the market dry with a failing economy and owners leery of his lackadaisical play at times.

It looks now to be a long seven months if you are a football fan. Colleges will have Spring games beginning in April, while the NFL draft is set for the third weekend in April. Free Agency is set to begin at the end of Febuary. Those are the dates to look forward to until August!

Baseball is just now getting ready to kick off. As I type the Caribbean World series is underway. Major League has set the date of Febuary 14th for Pitchers and Catchers to report and on March 5th the World Baseball Classic kicks off. Then we get to wait for football.

Blog update- Next Blog we are going to get tuned up for NASCAR. We hear at The Saturday Evening Sports Blog are breaking it down and will have predictions on the Daytona 500 winner as well as your Chase for the Cup field. Concluding will be the Nextel Cup Champion pick.

Dangerous we know, but we are 1-0 for 2009 so we are feeling a little frisky. Well the tea's brewed and Momma is a calling. From our blog to your computer! Have a great weekend.

Alright bloggers let's down to the fun stuff,tailgating. No matter the outcome of Super Bowl XLIII Americans look forward to good commercials and even better food. What we have collected is a simple wing recipe for you to WOW your friends and family and a stuffed burger recipe that will make you reach for a napkin simply after reading the recipe.

So break out the grill and your favorite adult beverage and enjoy grilling the burgers and the smell of the kitchen while the wings bake away!

Ranch Drummettes

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup hot pepper sauce

3 tablespoons vinegar

24 chicken wing drummettes

1 pack of Ranch seasoning and salad dressing mix

1/3 teaspoon paprika

Melt butter and whisk together with pepper sauce and vinegar in a small bowl. Dip drummettes in butter mixture; arrange in a single layer in a large baking pan. Sprinkle with seasoning and salad dressing mix. Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes or until juice runs clear and chicken is browned. Sprinkle with paprika. Served with additional prepared seasoning and salad dressing mix and celery sticks if desired.

This is for a serving of 6-8.

Feta-Stuffed Burgers

1lb. lean ground beef

1/4 cut Athenos traditional crumpled feta cheese

4 kaiser rolls

PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Shape meat into 8 thin patties. Cover each of 4 of the patties with 1 Tbsp. feta cheese; top with second patty. Pinch edges of patties together to seal.
PLACE on grill. Grill 7 to 9 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
FILL rolls with patties.

So there we have it! The perfect grilling burger and a wings to snack on during the six hour pregame. Also watch for the Pedigree dog food commercial. It has been posted on Youtube and is very funny. I am not going to link it as it may ruin the surprise, but it is very funny.

Well the tea has brewed and the glass is chilled. That is my signal to get on out of here. From the Saturday Evening Blog have a fabulous Super Bowl weekend!

Alright Saturday Evening Blog fans we have a little more than two days until Super Bowl XLIII kickoff. It is now time to break the game down for you. The Arizona Cardinals are coming into this game certainly on a unexpected run, while the Pittsburgh Steelers weathered a brutal regular season schedule to get to Tampa. So lets get to breaking the offenses,defense,special teams and coaching staffs down for each team and find out just who might have the advantage in raising that Lombardi trophy come Sunday night.

Offense

Arizona comes to Tampa having a new found running game. While statistically it is not eye popping, the Cardinals have used it effectively throughout the postseason. Enough has been made about Larry Fitzgerald and the postseason he has had. This should allow more balls to Anquan Boldin provided Kurt Warner has enough time to through the ball.

Pittsburgh comes to Tampa riding the arm of Ben Roethlisberger and the legs of a healthy Willie Parker. Early in the season much was made of the Steelers offensive line undergoing a major overhaul, but in the playoffs it looks that this could now be a strength. The biggest question facing the Steelers is the health of a past Super Bowl MVP, Hines Ward. Ward who suffered a knee injury against the Baltimore Ravens will try to play at less than 100%. This will not only affect Big Ben in the passing game but also the running game as Ward is a premiere perimeter blocker at wide receiver. Look for Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller to have to contribute much more in the passing game if Ward cannot push out of his routes well.

Advantage: Steelers. Willie Parker running the ball with Roethlisberger at the helm. What not to like. The Steelers collectively have the right mix of running and passing to be successful enough offensively to control the lines of scrimmage.

Defense

Arizona comes into this game riding a defense that is generating turnovers that makes the Ray Lewis led Ravens jealous. The defense has made enough plays at opportune times to put the offense in great filed position allowing the Cardinals to play out front in every playoff game. Can they do it Sunday? That is the question.

Pittsburgh really what needs said. Statistically the best in the NFL all year and led by the NFL defensive player of the year in James Harrison and essentially another defensive player of the year in Troy Polamalu the Steelers have a play maker at every level on defense. Mixing in variable blitzes with the 3-4 scheme the Steelers are without a doubht the best defense in the Super Bowl since that Ray Lewis led Ravens squad won Super Bowl XXXV.

Advantage

This is the key matchup of the game.Can Arizona put the ball in the endzone against this defense? Arizona will move the ball from 20 to 20, but once they get inside the Red Zone will a combination of Hightower and James be able to run the ball? This is why the Steelers again get the nod.

Special Teams

Arizona along with Pittsburgh is very pedestrian when it comes to special teams. This will come down to not making the mistakes and staying in your lanes when covering kicks. Look for an big emphasis in the punting game to directional kick away from Santonio Holmes when he is back returning.

Steelers Santonio Holmes makes the difference here. Both kickers are very solid and with both teams in the Super Bowl you would expect solid special teams play.

Advantage

This seems like a bit of a push, but with a difference maker like Holmes a slight advantage to the Steelers.

Coaching

Arizona If Whisenhunt can continue to rally the troops and maintain the energy after a two week layoff the Cardinals might have a chance. Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm his assistant where both former Steeler coaches so they have a very good understanding of what the Steelers will game plan for.

Pittsburgh Mike Tomlin has a locker room full of veterans and a coaching staff anchored by one in Dick Lebeau. Lebeau will be co-ordinating the stealer defense with Tomlin presiding over it like a CEO.

Advantage

Arizona. This staff of ex-Steelers and Todd Haley calling the plays is a great collective mix. Now the real question will be to find out if they have enough talent on the offensive side of the ball to make it happen.

End Result

We like the Cardinals to keep it close for three quarters, but in the end it will be the inability of the offense to score Touchdowns that will be there downfall. Pittsburgh will run the ball, run the ball and run the ball softening up the Cardinals aggressive play making secondary for a long pass play. Don not discount Palomalu having a great game also.

Pittsburgh -27

Arizona - 16

Hopefully it will be a great game and funny commercials!

Come back later for great Superbowl tailgating recipes!!!!!

Well news out of Athens is not good. Richard Samuel freshman tailback has undergone wrist surgery putting him out of Spring drills. This is being reported by Tim Tucker of the AJC.

Samuel the 17 year from Cartersville emerged as the primary backup to Knowshon Moreno during this past season. Samuel displayed in practice and in games a better understanding of pass protection than another freshman,Caleb King while spelling Moreno. He also developed into the kick returner on special teams, most memorable however was the key mistakes in returns during the Georgia Tech disaster.

Samuel is expected to make a full recovery for the opening season and this will allow Caleb King to further develop his pass blocking skills.

Also on the roster is Dontavious Jackson who as a Junior at Heard County ran for over 2600 yards and scored 29 touchdowns. Jackson missed his Senior year after breaking his wrist. Carlton Thomas is another back to watch. Thomas standing only at 5'7 will emerge as a type of Thomas Browning type player for Coach Bobo's offense. Remember Browning and his 93 yard catch and run in Baton Rouge.

So while the cupboard is thin with Moreno departing early and the Samuel injury. It is hardly bare in Athens. This year the coaching staff will have there work cut out for them, but with top 10 recruiting classes over the past years and another one expected this year (highlighted by highlight real running back Washaun Ealey from ECI) Coach Richt and company will get the most out of them.

Any further updates The Saturday Evening Blog will keep you informed.

Bruce Springsteen Super Bowl XLIII halftime entertainment announced yesterday his impending world tour (http://www.brucespringsteen.net/). So it would appear that we will be free of a wardrobe malfunction, unless you are intending on watching the Lingerie Bowl. This made me think just a little on just what individual or group I've got to see before I die- or they die!

So we got to have a group/soloist that we haven't seen before and would be a all-time great and they must be alive. That is the criteria we've set forth. Also I want your top 10 list also!

So without further adieu here you go.

10) The Rolling Stones- not a fan, but you have to give credit where credit is due. The #1'S and longevity has to make this a must see.

9) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- Ok,when Tom Cruise starts belting out Free Falling in Jerry Maguire who hasn't joined him?

8) U2- Again another band I am not particularly fond of,but Bono and mates have produced hit after hit while growing as a group. Never afraid to change things up. For that along with the humanitarian work, they are a must see.

7) R.E.M- Automatic for the people! Imagine the scene in Athens back in the day getting in on the ground floor of this iconic band. Also, Chris Farley in Tommyboy symbolizes 80% of us when he attempts to get through the chorus of Its the end of the world. Classic!

6) George Strait- We have to insert a country artist in this group and no one is more fitting than the class of country. When you can release a CD entitled 50, then you must be pretty dang good.

5) Tina Turner- No one works harder for there money than this 60 something year old woman. Not to mention those magnificent legs! She could be my Private Dancer any day!

4) The Eagles- Just put in a Cd and let it play. Great songs and great music. Give me Lying eyes as the best of the best.

3) Led Zeppelin- Where is the online petition to get this group back together and touring! We need some Rockin Roll! Listening to Zeppelin on vinyl is a near religious experiment. Please, Please come back!

2) Bruce Springsteen- The river, tunnel of love, brilliant disguise, glory days and so many more. This man has a set list so long that every song played will be one that you recognize. This is a must see event.

1) Pink Floyd- Ain't happening, but we can still dream right? For the fortunate who saw them on the Division Bell Tour you were fortunate. From the music to the visual performance Pink Floyd takes the cake!


So folks there you have it! The Saturday Evening Sports Blogs Top 10 list of concerts to go see! Hope you have enjoyed it and if you think I got it wrong, drop a note and let me know.

Well the tea has brewed and a nice glass is a calling. So until next time we meet, always enjoy those Saturday evenings!

Well lady's and gentlemen welcome to the first edition of "The Saturday Evening Sports Blog". Just who knew how much fun it would be to bring a Saturday evening to you so early in a week? So, please do not let the title mislead you we will be a blog of free flowing thoughts and ideas not held back by dates and time.



I look forward to a journey of discussion of current sporting events covering the major three (NFL,MLB, and College Football-what you thought NBA?) sports along with any other current national events that may intrigue myself or you the reader. Along the way I will sprinkle in some Nascar news and my favorite fantasy sports tidbits.



We hope to bring you an informative place to come for all of your sporting needs. Along the way we hope this southern style of writing and humor reaches through the monitor to you. You may laugh, scratch your head or curse the day you clicked on the link, but always know like a true southerner you are always welcome back.



So fill free to actively participate with questions or comments. Heck even suggest a topic, we might write about it. Grab that glass of ice sweet tea and come and join us next time on The Saturday Evening Sports Blog.