So they checked all of Sammy's bats and none of them were corked. Whether or not this proves his innocence in the whole matter is up in the air; I suppose that's something that the fan decided for him or herself.

Jose Canseco, however, is convinced of guilt. No, not Sosa's guilt, but the media's. After all, says Canseco, this is all about race.

"I definitely am very disappointed in the media, the way they're attacking Sammy Sosa," Canseco said. "The way they're portraying him because he's a Latin, black athlete is completely wrong. I guarantee you if this were Mark McGwire or Cal Ripken Jr., a so-called 'protected athlete', an 'All-American' name, this would have never happen because I've seen things that some players have done, and they are white players and they're completely covered up ... if he were a white superstar player, this would never, never happen."

I guess Canseco forgot all about McGwire being hounded by the press about steroids. Wait a minute, let me check something.....yep, McGwire is white.

Pete Rose was run out of baseball after he was accused of gambling on the game. Hang on while a check something out.....yep, Rose is white.

Gaylord Perry, George Brett, Joe Niekro...just some other players who have been taken to task by the media for suspected cheating. All white.

And while we are on the subject of the media taking people to task, let's talk about John Rocker. I do believe it was the media who came out against Rocker for being a dimwitted racist.

I don't think Roger Clemens has too many friends in the media and last time I checked, he was white too. Yep, he's white.

Says Canseco: "...this is an attack on his character. This is an attack on minorities in general, and I'm really disgusted with it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I know that the media is a part of this."

I am failing to understand how he draws the conclusion that this is an attack on minorities in general.

I looked through all the major papers from yesterday, but I can't seem to find anything that says "Sammy Sosa corked his bat, which means all Latin and black players cork their bats also," or "Sammy Sosa corked his bat because he is black."

If it were say, Andy Pettite throwing a spitball instead of Sosa and his cork, would anyone step up and claim that the media is biased against white players because they were all over Pettite? Don't think so.

Perhaps Canseco just wants a shot at stardom again and this is all just so much bluster in prepartion for his campaign to make people think that he slid into baseball oblivion because he is a minority. Nevermind the arrests, the speeding tickets, the fights, the decline in stats.

"The media is what's destroying the game," Canseco said.

The media only reports the idiocy going on in baseball. From a crappy commissioner to bloated egos and salaries, corking a bat is the least of baseball's problems. And making headlines out of a player's suspected cheating just because he is black is a non-existent problem.

Then again, Canseco never had much of a relationship with reality anyhow.