Hey everyone...

Long time no Canseco updates, huh? There hasn't been any news out
there. Many of you have written in asking what the latest is regarding
Jose's book, and I haven't really had anything to tell you. Below is a
recent article from Dan Patrick, who interviewed Jose last week. It
focuses on the book, and it sounds like Jose is planning on going forward
with it.

Baseball just hasn't been the same this year without Jose, huh? Oh
well.... all things come to an end eventually, I guess.

Take it easy,
Mark

==========
From ESPN.com:
Canseco not going gently
By Dan Patrick
9/20/02

They say time heals all wounds. But four months removed from a bitter,
unwanted retirement, Jose Canseco is still angry. A recent radio guest of
mine, Canseco seems to be more adamant than he was back in May that his
tell-all book be published. Time has not softened his stance. If anything,
Canseco is digging in at the plate and continuing to take swings at those
he feels wronged him.

When we last checked in with Canseco, he had begrudgingly announced his
retirement from baseball just 38 home runs shy of the majestic 500 mark.

At the time, Canseco was toiling in the minor and independent leagues. But
no major-league team was willing to take a chance on the then-37-year-old
slugger, for reasons he claims are clearly unjust.

An agitated Canseco also claimed he was being blackballed by Major League
Baseball. And, like a lover scorned, Canseco lashed back at those he felt
turned on him.

He threatened to write a spicy tell-all book about the game and its
players, citing steroid use, infidelities and various indiscretions he
witnessed during his playing days.

At the time, as a member of the media, I was criticized for publicly
advising Canseco against writing the book. I stand by that advice. Often a
source of amusement for me and radio co-host Rob Dibble, baseball's
unwritten rules and code of ethics would make this book a nuclear can of
worms for its author. I also have definite opinions regarding selling out
your friends -- former or otherwise. It has been my experience that nothing
good comes from tattling.

The road to the bookstore has been a rough one for Canseco, who has come
across various obstacles in reaching his goal (none of which is his
conscience). One major red flag should be that Canseco can't find a
publisher to back his book -- or, rather, his potential lawsuit waiting to
happen. Surprisingly, that hasn't deterred Canseco from his goal. He plans
to absorb the repercussions and legal ramifications on his own.

A risky move, despite the fact that Canseco is protected by the First
Amendment. He's within his rights to make claims as he knows them to be
true. It will be up to the individuals named to prove their innocence. In
essence, they're guilty until proven innocent. It might not seem fair, but
it isn't up to Canseco to prove they did, it's up to them to prove they
didn't.

What's incredibly sad to me is that this book is not about protecting the
innocent or ridding baseball of its impurities. It's a book about one man's
quest to reach baseball immortality. It's about one man, lashing out
because he's 38 home runs shy of 500. True, he was denied that opportunity,
but by writing this book, I'm not sure he's lashing out at the right
people. And was he truly an innocent victim in all of this?

Sources close to me and close to the Expos organization didn't feel Canseco
was blackballed from the game. I'm told he had his chance at a starting job
but he wasn't taking the responsibility seriously enough. It was his job to
lose and he lost it.

Regardless, Canseco wants the world to know his life story. In this book
we'll learn all about the injustices and discriminations he has faced. And
we'll read the "indisputable proof" that he was being blackballed. In doing
so, perhaps we'll gain some insight as to why Canseco feels so hurt and
betrayed, why he can't let this go.

Canseco will also reveal whether he used performance-enhancing drugs during
his major-league career plus various other aspects of his life in the fast
lane. Unfortunately, what will be of real interest is what Canseco plans to
reveal about other players. No one should reap the benefits of that --
financially or otherwise.

At the conclusion of our interview, Canseco sensed our concern and said not
to cry for him. But in writing this book, Canseco has become his own worst
enemy. If this is how he'd like to be remembered, as a player and as a
human being, that's his prerogative. As Dibble pointed out, we're not the
ones who'll have to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives.