Joyce Kilmer Park was spelled incorrectly, “Klimer” on a destination map that fans hardly notice. But Bill Shannon noticed things like this, the name of a famous American journalist and poet spelled incorrectly at Yankee Stadium.  It was one of the many great memories that this writer had with Shannon who tragically passed away Tuesday morning.

A three-alarm fire at his small home in West Caldwell, NJ became news to all of us who were blessed to know Shannon as a colleague and friend. The 69-year old journalist, historian, and master when it came to the game of baseball could not get rescued from a second floor bathroom window that he tried to shatter.

Shannon had a 93-year old mother, who he tended to daily. She was able to get out of the house safely and was taken to a nearby hospital. Her only son, Bill would leave to attend to his duties as an official scorer for Mets and Yankee games at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, and also assisted the Associated Press with clubhouse reporting.

So we, those in the media that were his friends and colleagues are feeling the loss. Hours after word came about the tragic news, there were the many tributes and a feeling of loss as to how the press box won’t be the same when we converge again at the ballparks in April.

Howie  Karpin of the Bronx, a radio reporter,  became a successful official scorer and will miss his mentor Bill Shannon.  It was always the concept of an official scorer to come from the ranks of print media and not from radio and television reporters.

“I had been covering Mets and Yankees games since 1980 and got to know Bill from being at the ballpark,” says Karpin who writes a daily baseball blog, ’3Balls-2 Strikes.’  “I was always fascinated by the official scorer’s role and like anyone who sits in the press box I would add my two cents to any of the scoring decisions that were being made.”

It was the beginning of what Karpin describes as he and Bill Shannon “being on the same page.”  The crazy idea of becoming a scorer came to fruition. “Bill Shannon went on the limb in the late 1990’s and convinced Phyllis Merhige, who was in charge of the official scorers through out Major League Baseball to give me a chance to be a scorer.”

“The rest is history,” as Karpin says.  Since that first game at the old Yankee Stadium in September of 1998, Bill Shannon was always there as a mentor and friend.  And it was that way with yours truly, to all members of the media who made a habit of greeting Bill when he arrived for the first pitch and took his perch in the official scorer’s seat that determines a hit or an error.

There was the detailed explanations about the rule book, and stories about the game he covered so well when writing for the Associated Press and other publications. When we had a question, Bill Shannon was the one who had the answer.

But you had to be prepared for an extensive explanation.  You asked one question and there was more to come. Enough to write a book, some he wrote so well including “The Ballparks” about the history of Major League ballparks. Versatile also in other sports, he assisted with statistics at New York Jets football home games, at his alma mater, Columbia University, and editing “The Official Encyclopedia of Tennis” for the United States Tennis Association.

Recall when this reporter was a rookie in that same year of 1980 with Howie Karpin. One of the first to say hello in the press rooms at Yankee and Shea Stadiums was Bill Shannon. “Welcome,” he would say with that voice of authority and sincerity.

And he would always be the first to say hello when passing through a crowded press box with a Pepsi cup in his hand. He knew the rules when it came to a potential postponement of a game, and was good for conversation to pass time until they took the tarp off and resumed play. Always receptive to explain a rule after a controversial play and loved being around his extended family of friends who cover the game of baseball from April until late October.

In essence, Shannon was as an official scorer for Major League Baseball and an ambassador to all of us in the press box.

That unique style of reading the pitching line that could be imitated but never duplicated. He gave the pitching line numbers and the unique pause, “and…twooo strikeouts” at the end of the line. You heard that the first time and wanted to hear it again for the other starting pitcher, and those who came out of the pen.

Karpin will always have his mentor looking down on him, and surly the Yankees and Mets will pay tribute to Shannon who was truly the dean of official scorers in New York.

There would always be the conversation. “Bill, you will die at the ballpark,” because he missed very few games during the course of a New York baseball season.  We never expected to hear that it would end the way it did on Tuesday at his home in New Jersey.

And something says on next opening day in the Bronx, when the pitching lines are read and when the final lines are read, someone will try and duplicate what Shannon always did.

It will be a deserving tribute as we try and comprehend why Bill Shannon is no longer scoring games in the press box. And one thing is certain. He left the scoring seat in good hands with guys like Karpin and a few others.

God Bless You always my friend!

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com-

Scrap World Series Home Field Advantage

A result of quite possibly the absolute dumbest rule change in the history of sports, awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league in the all-star game was purely a reactionary rule change rather than something born out of necessity. We, of course, wouldn’t have to endure such a ridiculous thing if Commissioner Bud Selig wasn’t so clueless and unprepared at the end of the 2002 all-star game in Milwaukee, which ended in a 7-7 tie, after being halted by Selig in the bottom of the 11th inning.

I never quite understood all of the public outrage over that conclusion. Sure, a tie was unsatisfying, but it’s an EXHIBITION game! It’s SUPPOSED to just end when it ends, win, lose, OR DRAW. Manufacturing artificial meaning to the game was never even remotely a good idea. Whatever happened to player pride and professionalism and trying to win simply in the spirit of competition? Why do players need the incentive of home field advantage in the World Series to try to win an all-star game?

By the same twisted logic, why doesn’t MLB just award the World Series advantage to the league which had the better interleague mark in spring training, since you know, those are exhibition games, too?

Obviously, that too, would be a terrible idea. But, it would make as much sense as not simply awarding the World Series home field advantage to the World Series participant with the best regular season record. Unbalanced schedules or not, that’s the way it should be done.

Even if MLB had balanced schedules, there’s no guarantee that everything would be even anyway, due to injuries, trades, call-ups, playing at the same opponents when they’re hot or when they’re cold, and many other reasons. There are just too many factors and different variables to argue that giving the World Series home field advantage to the World Series team with the best record is not the best thing to do.

Awarding the home field advantage to the World Series participant based on that team’s own body of work over 162 games of REAL baseball makes MUCH more sense than basing that designation on a single exhibition game involving other players from that team’s league, in a game that could often be decided by players who may never even sniff the playoffs.

Plus, picture these three scenarios:

1) You thought there was outrage in 2002? Well, this season, we’ve already seen a bad call cost a pitcher a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning. Imagine the backlash if during a similar scenario at the end of a game, a bad call awarded the wrong league home field advantage.

2) Suppose a player hits a walk-off homer run in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings to take a victory away from one league and give it to his own. And, let’s say that same player then gets traded to the opposite league and ends up making the World Series. That player would have just cost himself and his new team home field advantage in the World Series by doing something positive in the all-star game. There is absolutely no logic to that.

3) We’ve already seen the 2008 all-star game go scoreless for 6½ innings before it was decided in the bottom of the 15th. Although the rosters have since been expanded with extra pitchers and rule changes have been made for very limited re-entry with catchers and for other players only in the case of injury, it’s quite possible teams could still run out of pitchers if the all-star game goes long enough. Now, honestly, how much sense would it make if the New York Yankees, who are on pace to win 103 games, end up as the only team to post triple digit wins and DON’T have home field advantage if they make the World Series simply because current Yankee outfielder and first baseman Nick Swisher (who’s pitched in a blowout before) might be forced to pitch in a tie game, and he gives up a game-winning hit in the top of the 18th? You think there might be just a few complaints over that one, which might rival the 2002 tie? And, if it’s a 100+ win team facing an 82-win wild-card team in the World Series, there’s absolutely nothing that should happen in the MLB all-star game that should occur, which should award that wild-card team home field advantage in the World Series. If that did happen, why should there not be more outrage over that than an all-star game tie? You just have to wonder what people are thinking sometimes!

The bottom line is quite simply this. The NBA finals were so close this past season, that home court was probably the difference. If Game 7 were in Boston, chances are, the Celtics would have won the NBA title. As it was, it was the Lakers won it all hosting Game 7 in Los Angeles. And yet, the Celtics and Lakers played very different regular season schedules. But, it doesn’t matter, the NBA still does it right, giving home court to the teams with the best records, regardless of who won or lost the NBA all-star game. MLB needs to follow suit and realize that as an exhibition, the mid-summer classic should have nothing to do with the fall classic.

Player Selection Changes

I’m a little torn on the next two points I’m about to make. Here I am discussing the all-star game for the pure exhibition that it is, and yet, I’m about to argue for taking the fan vote out of the equation. On one hand, I remember how much fun it used to be going to the park and filling out the ballot, or seeing my own guys, my New York Mets, represented in the all-star game.

But, that’s wrong. The fans simply can’t be trusted any longer to get it right. They’ve made it a popularity contest and have rewarded too many players who don’t deserve to make the team (don’t feel so bad, baseball fans, the same thing happens annually with the NBA all-star game).

Ideally, the voting should be left to the experts who know the teams the most, and it should be done based on each league, in the fairest way possible. Select two radio broadcasters, two television broadcasters, a select number of beat reporters for each team in each league, and the manager of each team. Let them all vote only for the league which they cover or manage in, and allow them to collectively select the entire roster for that league, starters first, followed by all reserves. That way, there’s a greater chance that only the most deserving players would be voted in correctly as starters and reserves, and that only the undeserving players would get snubbed.

To keep the fans engaged with voting, let fans instead vote in players to compete in skills competitions (which I’ll get to in a moment), whether that group of players would consist of those who would make the all-star rosters, or if they might be additional players to compete in skills competitions.

Next, get rid of the current rule that a player from each team must be chosen. Sorry, but it’s not kindergarten, where everyone gets a gold star for something. It’s Major League Baseball. You’re either an all-star level player or you’re not. Take only the best in the players league, irrespective of their teams.

Other than Yankee fans, no one wants to see a dozen or more Yankees in the all-star game. But, if they happen to have that many players who deserve to be selected over players from awful bottom feeders like Baltimore, Cleveland, or Seattle, they should go to the all-star game and simply marginally good players on terrible teams should enjoy the three days away from baseball.

Another consideration is that player’s contracts, in the form of bonuses and incentives, are tied to all-star games, so it’s important to get the selections right and choose only the players who deserve being selected, the most. Taking the fan vote away and taking only the best players regardless of the teams they play for, would accomplish that.

Count The Home Run Derby Fairly

Sorry again, but when you hit by far the most home runs, you should be the home run champion. What a disgrace it was that Josh Hamilton was easily the star of the show two years ago, and finished second. It made as much sense as the all-star game deciding World Series home field advantage.

During the 2008 home run derby at Yankee Stadium, Hamilton hammered 28 first-round homers, TWENTY more than anyone else in that round. After two rounds, he reached the finals with a very sizable 32-17 total margin over Justin Morneau, who outhomered Hamilton 5-3 in the finals to (in my opinion) very wrongly and unfairly take home the home run derby crown despite being considerably outhomered 35-22 by Hamilton, overall.

And, here’s another change that makes sense… With 10 outs per player, per round, it drags on for hours. When players sometimes wait around too long, and can’t get into any kind of rhythm, what’s the point? A perfect example was this year’s home run derby on Monday night. Milwaukee’s Corey Hart led all contestants with 13 first-round homers, as the only player in double figures during the opening round, including each of his final five blasts all going at least 450 feet. But, he was eliminated with no homers in round two after sitting around for 91 minutes between first-round and second-round swings.

Cut it in half, to five outs per player, per round, and use the extra time to…

Add Other Skills Competitions

Just a few ideas… Fielding and throwing to first base or to second base, for third basemen, shortstops, and second basemen; testing first basemen’s ability to pick balls in the dirt or to turn a 3-6-3 double play; testing the best outfield arms, such as the longest outfield throws and the most accurate throws to second base, third base, or home plate; see who the fastest runners are going from home to first, home to second, home to third, or first to third; or perhaps, test catchers crouching behind home plate with their accuracy for throwing out potential base stealers at second or third base.

The best baseball players are recognized as five-tool players, yet we only see one on display -– home run power -– during the all-star break. Hold a five-tool competition with each of those tools tested, making up 20 percent of a total score.

I’m not sure what could be done for pitchers. We don’t want to see them throwing out their arms trying to top each other on the radar gun, but perhaps technology could be used to test who has the best command and who can most consistently paint the corners of the plate.

At any rate, if fans had a vote for these types of activities, they might even be more interested to see such competitions rather than the all-star game itself (which often falls well short of the pre-game hype by the fifth inning) .

MLB, Hear Me Out And Improve The All-Star Break And World Series!

Alright, now that I’ve said my peace, I’ll step down and let Bud return as acting commissioner. But, Mr. Selig, for the good of the game, please make the above changes –- I’ll settle for the first two –- and we’ll all enjoy a much better All-Star break and World Series each year.

But no, much like the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, the perfectos just don’t stop in 2010 and here today, Armando Galarraga was mowing down the Triple-A Cleveland Indians – no runs, no hits, and no errors.

And on out No. 27, a sharp ground ball in the hole by Jason Donald scooped up by Miguel Cabrera who tossed it over to the man of the hour covering and there you have …

But wait, first base umpire Jim Joyce called him safe at first, even though replays showed Donald out by a step and a half.

“I just cost that kid a perfect game,” Joyce would tell reporters in Detroit. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.

“It was the biggest call of my career.”

No matter how much outrage comes out of Detroit and how many calls for instant replay come from columnists, reporters, and even bloggers, Major League Baseball must resist the urge to either change the call or institute any rule changes due to this call.

Baseball is a human game. Played by humans and arbitrated by imperfect men. It’s the reason why they count errors in the game. It’s the reason why it’s the National Pastime.

Historically, baseball has been filled with bad calls – just ask the Cardinals what they thought of Don Denkinger’s call in the 1985 World Series or the Orioles with Jeffrey Maier’s interference catch in the 1996 American League Championship Series with the Yankees.

Those plays are part of baseball lore now, as will Galarraga’s imperfect game of 28 outs. Sure, the Tiger fans will make their calls for play to be overturned and the Detroit Free Press columnists will burn Joyce in effigy, yet that doesn’t change the fact that the Indians had one hit in the game coming on out No. 27.

Right now, baseball has a very good instant replay rule. Umpires should be allowed to review the outfield calls, because these days with so many ads odd colored signs out there, it’s tough to make a home run call from 200 feet away.

But with calls at first base, MLB should think twice. Joyce was all of two feet away from the play and should have made the right call. And even when he didn’t the call didn’t change the outcome, as the Tigers won 3-0. The human factor needs to be there. It’s what makes this game great.

Years from now, Dallas Braden will still be remembered as the pitcher who stood up for A-Rod and Roy Halladay just added to his Hall of Fame resume. But Galarraga will be forever remembered as the man who pitched the one that got away. Not perfect game No. 21, but imperfect game No. 1.

It’s part of baseball lore and will forever be in this great game’s history.

There is no right or wrong here because on one hand there is an influx of illegal immigrants in the greater Phoenix metro area. And then there are those who are rightfully American citizens of Latino descent who earn wages and strive for a continued and better life.

And those who are taxpayers, and good citizens with values, will be subjected to being stopped and questioned by local law enforcement authorities because of their ethnicity. That, on the other hand leaves to question as to how constitutional this Arizona immigration law is.

As an observer it has been seen in the desert. Hard workers of Latino descent they are, employed in restaurants, schools, assisting in building of new homes and businesses in the valley.  They are what America stands for when it comes to equality and opportunity.

So when the world of sports reacts, this has to be a major issue that has gone beyond expectations.  In the last week there has been a call from a Major League Baseball manager for ballplayers of Latino descent to boycott the All-Star game in Phoenix next July.

There has been reaction from organizers of the Fiesta Bowl, a major college football game that is played in the town of Glendale, for the United States Government to reconsider the law. The Arizona Cardinals football team of the NFL expressed negativity to the law as did the NBA basketball Phoenix Suns.

Of course when it comes to sports, and issues of concern to our nation, we tend to always believe that this is our diversion from the troubles of a bad economy or unrest around the world. We all recall how the events of September 11, 2001 were briefly tamed with the resumption of a Major League Baseball game.

But last week prior to his Chicago White Sox meeting the Yankees in New York, Sox manager Ozzie Guillen made a public statement referring to the Arizona immigration law as racial profiling. Furthermore, Guillen reiterated, as is fact, a majority of MLB rosters are dominated by players of Latino descent.

Ballplayers, as Guillen says are people also, who would be subjected to being stopped and searched. Well highly unlikely, as baseball does have a well reputed security detail around their teams. Players usually travel together and have proper identification with them.  They are reminded to have their passports available for an upcoming road trip to Toronto Canada and that has been seen on billboards in clubhouses of teams in the American League.

Regardless of what Guillen says, or what other professional college or sports organizations believe, remember, sports has always been that diversion. A way to keep our minds and beliefs for the moment away from turmoil as this immigration law will become.

Let this work itself out. And for those who feel they are being discriminated and profiled incorrectly, you are justified to warrant your cause for justice. Sports and politics were never meant to meet on the same playing field and by the time that All-Star game gets to Phoenix surly there will be a compromise for all.

Because that is what America is supposed to be all about.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles, is the conspicuous facility because of its size. Even in the offseason, the ballpark across the parking lot is noticeable because of a bright red sign and a message board proclaiming its home inhabitant as Major League Baseball champions. Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004, is the home of Phillies while the Eagles’ home field is one year older.  Rounding out the last of the newer stadiums is the home of the Flyers and 76ers, which opened way back in 1996.

But amid the new palaces for this city’s sports teams sits a haunt for generations of Philadelphia entertainment fans. Like the aforementioned venues, the Spectrum’s formal name is preceded by a corporate sponsor. But while the arena doesn’t host big league events anymore, many sports fan have been making the trek to see a historic site that is scheduled to be razed this spring.

The Spectrum has been like an old friend to a sports-crazed city since it opened in 1967. There are many similarities between the old barn and Nassau Coliseum, which is undergoing a major public relations campaign by the Islanders to renovate what is considered by many fans to be an outdated facility.

Yet the Spectrum is undeniably one of the most storied places in North American sports. It has hosted two NBA All-Star Games and four Finals series, six Stanly Cup Finals series (one more than the Coliseum) and two All-Star contests, two Finals Fours and crossed over into the entertainment world, with banners still hanging that chronicled the Grateful Dead tours. From the cinema world, the Spectrum was in the script of the famous “Rocky” fight against Apollo Creed and the actual building at one time was the location of the famous statue to honor the fictional Rocky Balboa (sorry, Philly fans, he is just a character and not a real champion).

Some fans like Will Janson said some non-sports events will make the demolition of the Spectrum a sad day and could prompt him to take home some memorabilia before the doors close for good.

“I actually had the prettiest girl in the world sitting on my shoulders during a David Bowie concert in ’76″ Janson said. “She actually still lives in the neighborhood. I’ll try and grab a section of the wall and I’m going to try and grab my seats.”

The Spectrum serves as the home to the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers’ farm team. Though long since outdated for the modern NHL, the capacity of 17,380 for hockey allows fans to sit close to the ice, making it easy to envision the heyday of one of the most intimidating places to play for visiting teams when the Flyers were racking up consistent playoff appearances decades ago.

“I like the comradery here,” Brett Marino said during an intermission of a Phantoms game. “Everybody’s always glad to be here and glad to see a good game. It’s a shame. I’ll hate to see it go.”

Purple stanchions on the glass give the place a unique look and portraits of past Flyers and 76ers great players and coaches are painted on the walls of the narrow corridors that stretch around the arena.  Instead of an eagle-eye view of the action from the press box on the luxury box level, the press sits between the two-tiers of seats, sitting within ear-shot of the crowd. A small staircase actually located inside the media area allows access to the dressing room by descending two flights of stairs into the rickety underbelly that has served as the dressing room for Hall of Famers and A-list celebrities.

Passageways directly next to the benches lead from the dressing room to the ice, making the players who enter and exit the playing surface are level with the first rows of seats. Players are literally within touching distance of the fans. It’s easy to imagine fans of the  Broad Street Bullies taunting future Islanders Hall of Famers during the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Islanders were able to hold off a Philadelphia team that went undefeated for 35 games during the regular season to win the first of its four straight titles.

“The building is outdated ,but you can’t beat the seating here,” said Chris Poole, who has been coming to the Spectrum for the past three decades. “I saw my first concert here [to watch] Kiss.”

Almost 140,000 fans have passed through the Spectrum’s gates this season. Overall, the Phantoms average nearly 7,000 per game. Claude Giroux, the Flyers 2006 first-round pick who started the year in the AHL before getting called up, said it meant extra playing in the Spectrum.

“Every game, they cheer a lot,” Giroux said after a December win against Hartford. “It’s a big motivation every time we play here. We’re lucky to have those fans.”

New arenas seat closer to 20,000 people and offer amenities like more leg room, cup holders and wider lobbies, though there is usually a tradeoff with fans sitting further from ice level. The Devils’ new home in Newark exemplifies the dichotomy between modern perks and things like great sight lines for which old barns like the Spectrum were noted. Some fans like the close-quarter feelings a 42-year-old arena provides.

“It just has a nice feel,” Michelle Penkrot said. “It’s nice that it’s a little smaller.”

A patch that that espouses the arena as “America’s Showplace” is being worn on Phantoms jerseys this season. It is influenced by the original logo, replete with 1960s-era color scheme. The Phantoms could move to Allentown, Pa. next season after Comcast Spectator, the Spectrum’s owner, sold the team to Brooks Group of Pittsburgh. While those plans have not been finalized, there will certainly be a literal and figurative vacancy at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex.

“It’s very intimate,” Jansen said. “You’re close to [the action]. It’s old style now, well, it wasn’t back then. But it’s just perfect.”

The 20-month investigation by the former United States Senator ordered by Commissioner Bud Selig following the steroids fallout came to a head in Manhattan today, and there was plenty of blame to go around.

“Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades – commissioners, club officials, the players’ association and players – shares to some extent the responsibility for the steroids era,” Mitchell told the hordes of reporters. “There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and deal with it early on.”

Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski supplied the majority of the information, and was interviewed by the investigators on four separate occasions. He identified players that he sold steroids and Human Growth Hormone to, and a paper trail backed up much of his claims, including checks, money orders, mailing receipts and shipments. Radomski also had his telephone records seized.

Former Yankees strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee also was interviewed and stated that he personally injected Clemens with Winstrol, an anabolic steroid, in 1998, and testosterone in 2000. McNamee further stated that in 2002, he obtained HGH from Radomski and injected it into Andy Pettitte upon the pitcher’s request during a period when he was on the disabled list because of elbow tendonitis.

“The use of steroids in sports is a serious problem, it is wrong and should be stopped,” Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin released in a statement. “However, I am extremely upset that Roger’s name was in this report based on the allegations of a troubled and unreliable witness who came up with names after being threatened with possible prison time.”

Some of the names on the list were not exactly a surprise, which Pettitte was. Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield had already been named in the book that blew the cover off the entire situation, “Game of Shadows.” Former Mets Lenny Dykstra and Todd Hundley are also two players that no one should have to read twice.

A few other names that came out were Mo Vaughn, Chuck Knobloch, David Justice, Paul Lo Duca, Kevin Brown, Eric Gagne, John Rocker, Matt Williams, and Jose Canseco, who penned “Juiced” and was ridiculed because of his allegations. After all that has occurred, the former Athletics slugger looks to be the most sincere out of all the players.

Rick Ankiel, last summer’s feel-good story of being the former pitcher turned slugging outfielder, appeared, as did Miguel Tejada, who was recently traded from Baltimore to Houston.

Some of the players were not the obvious, such as Jim Paruqe, a lefthanded starter who pitched for the White Sox and Devil Rays from 1998 to 2003. He had one good season in 2000, when he went 13-6. Josias Manzanillo had an 11-year career as a journeyman reliever with less than impressive career numbers, 13-15 with a 4.39 ERA. Perusing the report, a few of the names will not even be recognizable unless the reader is an avid baseball fan.

Selig held his own press conference a few hours later and vowed to take action on the active players named in the report on a case-by-case basis. Mitchell had made recommendations in his report that Selig is contemplating, some of which involve collective bargaining and have to be worked out with the players’ union.

Selig also said at the conference that Mitchell informed him that the “present steroid testing program is effective” and that steroid use “appears to have declined.”

So what did the report actually tell us? From all the preliminary reports, everyone was aware that the problem was widespread and all different types of players were using performance-enhancing drugs, not just clean-up hitting sluggers. The diversity of the names was not surprising, but perhaps some of the names that did not come up were. With a near two-year investigation culminated, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s names were no where to be found. Another name that perhaps some were expecting and did not see was Alex Rodriguez, who finalized his $275 million deal with the Yankees on the same day.