RockRaines Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Man I love this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayitaintso Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 This thread brings back some memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Spataro was right SI. ALL HAIL SOXTALK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) "Anatomy of a Rumor Fanned by the airwaves, web words spread like wildfire In the span of three days last August, commissioner Bud Selig's office fielded more than 50 calls from reporters checking the rumor that two of baseball's biggest stars -- Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon -- had tested positive for steroids and that an announcement from MLB's office was imminent. Radio talk shows around the country were speculating about the speculation, and several newspapers published stories that said Clemens and Damon were under suspicion. The rumor -- which was false -- began with an anonymous contributor to a Chicago White Sox fan website. Here's how an Internet post triggered a mass-media frenzy. • On Aug. 17 spataro51 posted on soxtalk.com: "... I am just repeating what was told through my source that I have through MLB that works with MLB's press releases. SO IF I AM NOT CORRECT ABOUT THIS DON"T KILL THE MESSENGER! I am hearing that 2 of baseballs biggest names will be announced friday [Aug. 19] after they tested positive for steroids, i guess they appealed just like [Rafael] palmeiro did and that is why it took so long for this to come out. I must also tell you that my source told me about palmeiro testing positive 2 days before they announced it, so i have a reason to believe he is also right this time. A starting pitcher (old) from the astros and a center fielder from the red sox have tested positive and they will be announced and suspended come friday." • Many posters on Soxtalk immediately guessed that the "old" pitcher was Clemens and the centerfielder was Damon, and several sports blogs began extensive threads discussing the rumor, with direct links from fan websites to the soxtalk.com post. On NYYfans.com, a Yankees site, Mezmerize wrote, "Supposedly, there will be an announcement tomorrow stating Clemens and Johnny Damon (not by name via link, but deducable) have tested positive and will be suspended. Still a rumor at this point, but its coming from different places." TarHeelDAF, on the Cincinnati Reds' blog redreporter.com, added that the Clemens rumor "has apparently been confirmed by multiple sources inside MLB who say he is in the process of appealing." • The buzz about Clemens and Damon grew much louder once mainstream journalists picked up the rumor. Hours after the initial Soxtalk.com posting, the ESPN radio affiliate in Chicago referred to the rumor and indicated that an announcement from MLB was forthcoming. • On Aug. 19 the Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle and Los Angeles Times were among a dozen newspapers that published stories mentioning the rumor and naming Clemens and Damon. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein was widely quoted, vehemently denying the rumors. "The reporting of this steroid issue," Epstein said, "has taken on witch-hunt proportions, and I think it's wrong. I'd like to think some actual reporting is going on." In the Chronicle, Selig said, "This isn't journalism's finest hour. Some people ought to be ashamed." • Not only did Aug. 19 pass without an announcement from Selig, but major league officials said the rumors were "100 percent not true." With the hysteria subsiding, the Soxtalk moderator, YASNY, responded as follows to a suggestion from a poster that the site had libeled Clemens and Damon: "How about you stop worrying about Soxtalk's potential legal problems? It would also be appreciated if you would lay off people who try and contribute information to Soxtalk that may not be out there in the main stream media. Sometimes, this type of info is correct and sometimes it's not. That's the nature of the beast."" Edited December 13, 2007 by knightni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linnwood Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 QUOTE(knightni @ Dec 13, 2007 -> 12:52 PM) Spataro was right SI. ALL HAIL SOXTALK! Way to dig this up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daa84 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 QUOTE(knightni @ Dec 13, 2007 -> 12:52 PM) Spataro was right SI. ALL HAIL SOXTALK! well, he wasnt really right...he said they tested positive...which still has never been true... could there be consipiracy theories that baseball hid those positive results because they were "fan favorite" type guys...possibly but id like to think major league baseball and the players union were better than that...but in all seriousness it wouldnt shock me if we found out at some point in the future that they did protect guys like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 damn, I was just about to bump this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 So was Damon officially on the list as well? I'm so writing a letter to SI for them to say....2 years later...they were RIGHT!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 (edited) Damon wasn't on the official list. Not to say he never used anything, he was just never caught. Also, the Damon comment was speculatory anyway. Edited December 13, 2007 by knightni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 QUOTE(BlackBetsy @ Aug 20, 2005 -> 04:17 PM) <!--QuoteBegin-spataro51+Aug 20, 2005 -> 06:47 PM-->QUOTE(spataro51 @ Aug 20, 2005 -> 06:47 PM) <!--QuoteEBegin-->perfectly said rex! my god some people just jump on others for the littlest things like they are so much better then others. people need to learn to relax. Sorry, spataro, but what you did was repeat a rumor that two very prominent players would be suspended for steroid use, and you named names. That post you made was spread throughout the Internet (I've seen the links to Soxtalk) and may very well have been the source for further reports on radio, etc. Roger Clemens is one of the three greatest pitchers in the history of the Major Leagues. If you were a journalist making that report, you'd be subject to a libel claim - that's not the "littlest thing." I just want to point out where there is smoke their is fire. I never had any knowledge of the press conference but I certainly had some knowledge as to the rumblings that Clemens was a roider. I know others with inside info did as well. I guess now people finally get to see that there was no big smoke screen, rather it just took a lot longer than anyone anticipated to come out. One thing about Soxtalk is that there are some members with some pretty interesting connections and it is awesome that some of those people from time to time get information that isn't widely known and are willing to share it. It is our job to do our best to try and filter what is true and what isn't (we typically verify stuff to make sure as best we can the member has legitimate knowledge/connections and go about things that way) and as long as it fits our little sniff test than it is out there for people to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Guess what SI, it wasnt a rumor. I would like a retraction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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