Radar

School for Scandal
Alex Rodriguez: Steroid User, Failed Wife-Stealer?

jcardo_fresh.jpg
SLUGGER? I NEVER EVEN MET 'ER! A-Rod, Jose (inset) (Photo: Getty Images)
Former MLB slugger Jose Canseco is a lot of things—admitted steroid user, wife beater (twice), nightclub patron assaulter—but to the man's credit, most of the accusations he levied against his former comrades in his 2005 best-selling tell-all Juiced turned out to be true. Which is why Detroit Tiger outfielder Magglio Ordonez, one-time Hall of Fame shoe-in Roger Clemens, and stripper-loving reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez should at least be slightly worried about their inclusion in Canseco's forthcoming Juiced sequel, Vindication—in book stores opening day!

While Clemens' use of performance-enhancing drugs has been well-documented, neither Ordonez nor Rodriguez have ever been linked to the use of illegal substances before Canseco. Important caveat: Almost everything Canseco does and says these days is motivated by the desire to self-promote or grind an axe, and he certainly has motive to do the latter against both Ordonez and Rodriguez.

Back in January, Canseco allegedly attempted to blackmail Ordonez by offering to omit his name from Vindicated if he would kindly invest $5 million in the film adaptation of Juiced. (The case was referred to the FBI, but Ordonez declined to pursue an investigation.)

A-Rod's inclusion is even juicier (heh). According to someone who has read the book, Canseco has feuded with A-Rod ever since the Yankees third baseman repeatedly tried to sleep with Canseco's wife. Canseco claims A-Rod even kept calling her after he went out of his way to refer Alex to a reputable steroids dealer. The nerve! Just how much does Canseco hate him? The last sentence of the chapter: "So A-Rod, if you're reading this book, and if I'm not getting through to you, let's get clear on one thing: I hate your fucking guts."

For what it's worth, Canseco even details an off-camera conversation he had with Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes, in which the 89-year-old correspondent grills Canseco for an hour over whether taking steroids will help him age better. "When Wallace was done interrogating me, I could see I had piqued his interest," Canseco writes. "Whether I'd made a convert of him, I can't say. Still, I know, I was pretty convincing."

You know, we always figured the juiced 60 Minutes journo was Andy Rooney.

By Neel Shah   03/25/08 2:37 PM
Related: Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, Magglio Ordonez, Mike Wallace, Roger Clemens
Send to a friend