Mike Francesa is a disgrace along with Jon Heyman, Chris Russo, David Cone, Bob Nightengale, & Charley Steiner

INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITIES LIKE JON HEYMAN AREN'T QUITE IN THE POSITION TO BE MORAL ARBITERS, TO JUDGE TRUTH OR FALSEHOOD. YET WFAN LISTENERS PERMIT THIS TO BE THE CASE.

• Bob Nightengale said Andy Pettitte was a liar on XM and Charley Steiner didn't object earlier this week. Nightengale doesn't say what he thinks Andy "lied" about--but XM lets him and others defame Yankee players without explanation or consequence.

• Jon Heyman sees how well this works and throws it out on WFAN Thursday afternoon, ie Andy Pettitte "did lie" to the LA Times. Mike Francesa says nothing, lets this stand.

• Also this week, Chris Russo on WFAN lied and said Andy Pettitte had taken steroids and David Cone didn't correct him, allowing the slander to stand.

Heyman of all things bringing up the LA Times which recently lamely apologized itself for lying about Andy Pettitte among others, having said his name was one of those on Grimsley's list that had been blacked out.

• This lie by the LA Times went on for a year and was used to defame Andy Pettitte, printed and repeated countless times around the world, and the whole time it was a lie:Posted on this blog 12/27/08:

"Funny how timing works--if the false claims in the LA Times' front page story had been revealed only a few days earlier, they would have weakened the so-called Mitchell Report. Mitchell happily creates a link between the (fake) LA Times story and the court of public opinion as another reason for Andy Pettitte to lose his career.

• (By the way, once again Paul Byrd's name is miraculously out of the limelight. How nice for him).

Fascinating--the LA Times had continually requested the affadavit revealing the truth to be unsealed, but "spokespersons" declined to elaborate on the hold-up, waiting until after Mitchell had triumphantly left the stage. Judge Voss, presiding over the unsealing, himself adamantly refused to let the truth come out until AFTER George Mitchell took the stage. Disingenuous of him to sputter about it now, later in this post.

• The so-called front page correction loses the casual reader with a confusing jumbled opening quietly getting to a correction--its purpose--in the third paragraph:

LA Times:"Former major league pitcher Jason Grimsley accused baseball players Jose Canseco, Lenny Dykstra, Glenallen Hill and Geronimo Berroa of using steroids, according to a federal affidavit that was unsealed Thursday, 18 months after the document was first released with players' names blacked out.

• Grimsley, a reliever who last pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, also named Chuck Knoblauch as a human growth hormone user, and accused former teammates David Segui and Allen Watson of using performance-enhancing drugs.
• The unsealed affidavit contradicts a story The Times published Oct. 1, 2006. Citing anonymous sources, including a Grimsley confidant and an individual "with authorized access to [the] unredacted affidavit," The Times' story said Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Brian Roberts, Jay Gibbons, Miguel Tejada and Segui and strength coach Brian McNamee were named in the document. In fact, Clemens, Pettitte, Gibbons and Roberts were not named.
• Also, The Times' report said Grimsley alleged that Tejada used anabolic steroids. The only mention of Tejada in the affidavit was a conversation he had with teammates about baseball's ban on amphetamines."

• NAME OR NAMES OF THE PERSON WHO REPORTED THIS FALSEHOOD AND HIS BOSS WHO APPROVED IT. NEED THOSE. (sm)

LA Times correction article: "The day after the story ran, Kevin Ryan, then the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, said it contained "significant inaccuracies." LATimes: "The Times made repeated attempts, including earlier this week, to have the government clarify what the inaccuracies were, but spokespersons for the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco declined to elaborate."

• ON GEORGE MITCHELL'S USE of the FALSE STORY TO BACK UP HIS CLAIMS:

• Judge Voss who presided over the unsealing NOTED THIS:
• LA TIMES: "The [Times] article trumpets the success . . . in ending the 'months of speculation' surrounding which major league ballplayers Jason Grimsley named. . . . A review . . . proves that The Times never saw the unredacted affidavit. . . . At best, the article is an example of irresponsible reporting. At worst, the 'facts' reported were simply manufactured." Voss added:
• "Unfortunately, The Times' article still has legs," a reference to its mention in last week's 409-page report by former Sen. George Mitchell on performance-enhancing drug use in Major League Baseball."

From the LA Times "Baseball Affadavit is UnSealed," by Lance Pugmire, 12/21/07

• THANKS A BUNCH JON HEYMAN FOR YOUR 'CONTROVERSIAL' SO-CALLED REPORTING. PERHAPS YOU'LL GET THE BIG JOB AT ESPN NOW. YOU TOO FRANCESA, RUSSO, CONE, NIGHTENGALE AND STEINER. (sm)

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