Baseball commissioner Bud Selig asked players to agree to a 50-game suspension for first-time steroid offenders and a lifetime ban for a third violation under what he called a "three strikes and you are out approach" to doping.

In a letter sent this week to union head Donald Fehr, Selig proposed a 100-game ban for a second offense. He also asked the union to ban amphetamines, to have more frequent random tests and to appoint an independent person to administer the major-league drug-testing program.

"I don't know if Bud's trying to get out in front and make us the good guys or the bad guys."

"I happen to be able to believe that our program is a good one and if we leave it alone, it's going to do what we want it to do."

The new proposal would require a mandatory suspension of 50 games (just under one third of a season) for the first offense, 100 games for the second offense and a permanent ban for the third offense. He is also calling for a ban of amphetamines, which are seen by some as a bigger problem than steroids right now. The players union is looking at the proposal and will probably strong arm the players into not agreeing (much like they tried to do with the last proposal). However, it would be in the players' best interests to agree to a proposal like this. It would completely remove people's perceptions that the players are cheating and would only harm the ones that are using these drugs.

Figgins      2B
Finley       CF
Guerrero     RF
Anderson     LF
Rivera       DH
McPherson    3B
Molinas/Paul C
Cabrera      SS
Erstad       1B

"You know we're doing a pilot television series now called Clone Wars," said Lucas. "Well we're going to take that and turn it into a 3-D animated version full series." Lucas described the episodes as being 30 minutes in length.

"We're also working on a spin-off series," he added, "with some characters who have appeared before that will be a live action series. We're probably not going to start that for about a year."

Oakland, 16/1
Kansas City, 18/1
San Diego, 22/1
Denver, 30/1

San Diego, 11
Denver, 10
Kansas City, 9
Oakland, 7

Acknowledging toll of ethics disputes, GOP leaders plan to rescind a controversial rule change that is blocking a new investigation of Tom DeLay.

The filibuster is a reactionary instrument that goes too far in empowering a minority of senators. It's no accident that most filibusters have hindered progressive crusades in Washington, be it on civil rights or campaign finance reform. California's Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, one of those recent converts to the filibuster, embarrassed herself by hailing Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as her inspiration at a pro-filibuster rally. At least Byrd is being consistent in his support - he filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

A showdown is looking increasingly likely, though it isn't clear that all Republicans want this fight. Some of them realize they will again be in the minority someday and that the filibuster is a handy brake on the federal government's activism. If their caution prevails, or if Republicans take on the filibuster only in the narrow context of confirmation battles, we will happily weigh in again in the future, still on the anti-filibuster team.

Of course, the world's most popular sport is not without its problems.

In his first Eindhoven game, a Champions League qualifier against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and Montenegro last August, Beasley, who is African-American, was rudely welcomed to European soccer.

"Whenever I got the ball they would whistle, boo and make monkey noises. That was my first real racism experience," Beasley says. "I tried to block it out of my head and play. You have 65,000 people screaming at you and it's only you. It's crazy."

On the road in the Netherlands, Beasley faces similar treatment at times.

• Is there any doubt what the Raiders were trying to accomplish on day one? Fabian Washington was widely considered to be the fastest man in the draft after his 4.27 40 at the combine. Meanwhile, Stanford Routt is a track star from Houston who has also been clocked at a 4.27 40 (though not at the combine). Washington was one of the best cover corners on the board, and Routt was probably the best physical specimen of the bunch.
  
  Speed alone doesn't make a defense, but sure doesn't hurt.
  
  
• Kirk Morrison as an OLB in the Raiders hybrid 3-4? I don't know about that...
  
  
• I'm not sure how Maurice Clarett (or Ron Dayne, for that matter) fit into Mike Shanahan's running game. I've always thought that the quick, shifty backs best compliment the Bronco's dirty o-line. A back has got to find and hit that hole quick once it has been opened by one of those (spectacularly illegal) crack-back blocks, on which the Broncos make a living. Does Mo Clarett (he of the 4.8 40) have the speed to make that happen? Seems like a HUGE reach in the third round, especially for the Broncos.
  
  
• Steal of the draft: Adrian McPherson (152 to the Saints). He's lightning quick and has a canon for an arm. Could be a Mike Vick-lite with time. Well, maybe Vick comparisons are a bit much - he can be another Aaron Brooks, which might explain why the Saints were the only team willing to give him a shot.

In a tentative ruling Thursday, a judge found that his order to bar the release of inflammatory information in a corruption case against former Orange County Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo and his sister-in-law had been violated.

The information that was leaked to at least one television station and a newspaper pertained to an alleged sexual relationship between Jaramillo and Erica Hill — information that Superior Court Judge John D. Conley had blacked out in search warrant affidavits he unsealed Wednesday.

1. Natascha McElhone. Wow. If nuns had looked like that at St. Francis Catholic Elementary, I might have put up a fight when my mother insisted I attend public schools.
   
   
2. How freaky was the crucifix shadow? And then the head turned and everyone was crying and celebrating. Meanwhile, I'm thinking "Fuck that - I'm out! Run! Jesus is coming!"

"I voted NO 25 times. The Yes response is over 51% now. Looks like it's being freeped."

Despite the fact that all systems were 'go' during a side session yesterday, Kelvim Escobar will not rejoin the Angels rotation on Tuesday as expected. Instead, he will make another rehab start with AAA Salt Lake in preparation for his first major league start next Sunday.

Halofan says Kendry Morales has at long last secured citizenship in the Dominican Republic, paving the way for his arrival stateside. No link though, so we'll just have to take his word for it.

This is the Angels idea of a lefty in the bullpen? Meanwhile, in AAA, Dusty Bergman continues to dominate with a 1 ER, 6 SO, 0 BB line in 7 IP.

Jose Guillen: .359/.350/.821, 5 HR
Troy Glaus:   .278/.333/.778, 5 HR
Angels:       .253/.309/.417, 7 HR

Morales, the 21-year-old slugger who signed a six-year deal with the Angels on Dec. 1 and has been stuck in the Dominican Republic since defecting last August, needs a Dominican passport to travel to the U.S., and he can't obtain a passport without gaining Dominican citizenship, a process Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman acknowledged "can take up to a year."

It usually takes two to three years to gain Dominican citizenship, but Morales, Major League Baseball officials in the Dominican and the Angels have been trying to expedite the process, asking Dominican President Leonel Fernandez to prepare a decree granting immediate citizenship.

But Fernandez is said to be fond of Cuban President Fidel Castro and might may not be eager to do anything to antagonize him or encourage more Cubans to defect, another possible roadblock to Morales' gaining immediate citizenship.

STOP THE HATE! WE NEED TO SHUT DOWN HATE FILLED FASCIST BLOGS LIKE MALKEN AND LGF. Hate speech is agains the law! The Internet is PUBLIC property! We need to shut down these hatemongers along with Bushco Rovian whores like Instanpundit. WRITE YOUR CONGRESSPERSON OR SENATOR TODAY! FAIR REGULATION OF THE INTERNET!

Escobar, on the disabled list because of a right elbow strain, has been throwing off flat ground and expects to pitch off a mound within a week. "I'm pain-free and feel good right now," Escobar said. "Hopefully, I'll miss one to two starts at the most."

Looking back on Tuesday, who would have guessed that both the Lakers and the Dodgers would be eliminated from playoff contention on the same day?

I'm still going to attend the Dodgers' home opener next Tuesday, but it's going to feel a little awkward knowing the season is already over...

...Now normally I wear a black LA cap in memory of the Dodgers and the way they were, and thinking about it now, I guess it really bugged the Micro Manager. And that probably explains why he thinks we made such a wager. He also says HeeSeop Choi fits nicely into the Dodger lineup in the second spot, so you can see how he fools himself into thinking the strangest things.

This is what I get, of course, for stopping by his office before the second game to tell him I had no doubt the team would win a game this season. The fact that I was right on, and the Dodgers crushed the Giants on Wednesday night, is another example of how supportive I can be of these clowns.