Hi Canseco fans...

You, you read right... after spending a month in jail (ouch), Jose was
sentenced to two years of house arrest. It sounds like he will be able to
leave the house for "certain events" (whatever that means) and will be
allowed to travel if he gets permission ahead of time. Should he violate
his house arrest, he will be sentenced to 15 years in jail. Ouch.

Personally, I think this really sucks for Jose. At least he's out of jail,
but he's still going to have to give up a lot of his freedom... something
we probably all take for granted until it's taken from us. Hopefully he
will be able to handle it for the first year, at which time they might
convert the second year back to regular probation.

Remember as a kid when you played stickball and could call a
"do-over?" I'll bet Jose wishes he could have one of those right now. Let
this be a lesson to all of us...

All the latest news is below, including an editorial by Jim DeFede that
will probably annoy most of you. But you know me, I sent everything out -
the good and the bad. It's just a shame most of it's been bad for the past
couple of years...

-Mark

==========
From the AP:
Canseco leaves jail, will serve 2 years' house arrest

MIAMI -- Jose Canseco was released from jail Monday and resentenced to two
years of house arrest for his part in a 2001 nightclub brawl.

The former major league star, wearing a jail-issue red jumpsuit, apologized
to the court for failing to complete all his probation terms. His twin
brother, Ozzie, was in the courtroom, as was his father and a priest.

"This has been embarrassing to my family and to my friends. ... I now
understand the seriousness of probation and I'm truly sorry,'' Canseco told
the judge.

Canseco -- who was the 1988 American League MVP and helped lead the Oakland
Athletics to three straight World Series appearances from 1988-90 -- also
received three years' probation. If he completes his first year of house
arrest without problems, Canseco could be freed with the second year
converted into an additional year of probation.

Prosecutors said they believed Canseco was genuinely contrite, saying he
was teary during a private conference.

"I saw it in his face,'' prosecutor Jonathan Granoff said. "Jail was a
wake-up call and it served its purpose.''

Canseco had spent the last 30 days in jail for violating his probation when
he pleaded guilty to battery charges stemming from the Oct. 31, 2001, fight.

The 38-year-old Canseco was released on the probation violation charge, but
Judge Leonard Glick warned him that any future violation would result in a
15-year prison sentence.

Canseco originally was sentenced to probation in November after pleading
guilty to felony aggravated battery and two counts of misdemeanor battery
related to the Halloween night fight inside a Miami Beach nightclub.

Glick ordered that the house arrest be served in Florida. He denied a
motion by defense attorney Gustavo Lage that Canseco be allowed to serve
the house arrest in California where he could continue pursuing custody of
his 6-year-old daughter.

Glick had issued a warrant for Canseco's arrest on Feb. 14, after a
probation officer reported that the six-time All-Star had violated several
terms of his probation. Canseco had failed to attend anger management
classes, had not worked his community service, had been outside of Florida
for longer than 30 days and still owed a small fine -- all probation
violations.

Canseco appeared before Glick on Feb. 18 and said he had been in Los
Angeles because of a custody battle for his young daughter. The judge
denied Canseco bond and ordered him held until Monday's sentencing hearing.

Canseco said last month that he unsuccessfully tried to arrange the anger
management classes, misunderstood the timeframe during which his community
service was supposed to begin, and spent several weeks in Los Angeles.

Canseco and his twin fought with two men at the nightclub. Ozzie Canseco
also pleaded guilty to battery charges and received probation. He has
complied with his sentence.

One of the men allegedly involved in that fight, Christian Presley, filed a
lawsuit in January seeking at least $1 million in damages.

Canseco hit 462 home runs, the 26th-best total in baseball history. He
retired in May after 1,887 games with seven teams, finishing his career
with a .266 average, 1,407 RBI and 200 stolen bases.

==========
From the Miami Herald:
Judge sentences apologetic Canseco to 2 years on house arrest
BY LISA ARTHUR
larthur@...

After spending a month in jail, a contrite Jose Canseco apologized to a
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge and prosecutors on Monday for treating the justice
system with a cavalier attitude and violating probation on assault charges.

Despite his remorse, Canseco, a former Major League Baseball most valuable
player, will spend two years on house arrest and three years on probation
after that. He also has to take an anger management class and perform 250
hours of community service.

Any missteps would bring even more serious consequences, Miami-Dade Circuit
Judge Leonard Glick warned.

''I would not hesitate for one minute to send you to state prison,'' Glick
told Canseco, as the former slugger stood with his head bowed and hands
cuffed in front of him. He wore a bright orange jail jumpsuit. He has been
in a county jail since Feb. 19.

Canseco, 38, who grew up in Miami and attended Miami Coral Park High, had
angered the judge several times during the case, which stemmed from a brawl
at a Miami Beach night club in 2001. Once, he failed to show up for a
hearing, sending a note from his doctor instead saying he was recovering
from elective surgery.

Canseco and his twin brother, Osvaldo ''Ozzie'' Canseco, pleaded guilty to
felony assault charges last year. Jose Canseco could have faced up to 15
years in prison if convicted.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, both brothers were placed on probation.
Ozzie Canseco has been meeting the requirements, according to court officials.

Jose Canseco failed to meet any of the requirements. He told Glick Monday
that he had learned his lesson and called spending a month in jail ``my
worst nightmare come true.''

''I'm sincerely sorry,'' Canseco said. ``I never meant to hurt anyone or
disrespect anyone. I embarrassed my family and friends...Now I know the
seriousness of probation.''

Glick told Canseco he owed prosecutors an apology.

''All these folks were asking you to do was the basics,'' Glick said. ``It
was the deal of the century.''

Glick and prosecutors Jon Granoff and Joshua Gradinger said they believed
Canseco's time in jail had served as a wake-up call, and they believed his
remorse was sincere.

Glick refused to transfer Canseco's house arrest to California, where his
daughter lives. Canseco, the American League MVP in 1988, will have to
request permission from court officials to travel. He won't be required to
wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, but will have to report weekly to
probation officers, according to his attorney Gustavo Lage.

''And they can go to his house to check on him at any time, with no
notice,'' said Lage.

The Canseco twins, 38, grudgingly pleaded guilty in November to aggravated
battery for breaking the nose of an Opium Garden patron and splitting the
lip of another during a 2001 brawl.

The brothers maintained they were protecting Jose's date, who they said was
harassed by two men from California in town for a business convention.

Lage said the brothers were accepting the plea deals to get the case over
with and protect their families, not because they were guilty.

In exchange for the plea, Glick placed Jose Canseco on probation for three
years and ordered him to perform 250 hours of community service and take an
anger management course. He also ordered Canseco to pay court costs.

==========
From Miami Herald:
Reality no show for Canseco
Jim DeFede/Commentary

Forget about MTV's Real World and The Osbournes.

Say goodbye to Anna Nicole Smith and The Bachelor.

I have the next big idea for a celebrity-driven reality TV show: This Old
Ballplayer, starring Jose Canseco.

On Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Leonard Glick ordered Canseco to spend
the next two years confined to his house. The former all-star, who pleaded
guilty to battery charges last year for a fight at a Miami Beach nightclub,
violated the terms of his probation by failing to attend anger management
classes or participate in community service.

Canseco apologized Monday, saying he had no idea that people on probation
actually had to do what they had been ordered to do. He just saw them as
suggestions.

Canseco has been in jail for the past month, but will now do his time at
home, which, in my mind, offers the perfect recipe for a hit TV show.

We set up about 200 cameras in every room of Canseco's house, turn him
loose inside, and then sit back and watch his every move.

Just picture him: He gets up for breakfast, tosses a couple of Pop Tarts
into the toaster -- which the producers will rig to burn the slugger's
breakfast pastries -- and WHAMMO! The next thing you know, Canseco will be
cursing, ''This damn toaster!'' and beating it into submission with a
baseball bat that later could be auctioned off on eBay.

Or maybe one night, Canseco is watching a little baseball on his satellite
TV. It's the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded, there are two outs,
the game is on the line and just as the pitcher goes into his windup, the
producers flip a switch and kill the transmission. The next thing you know,
Canseco has put his foot right through the TV screen and is spewing a
string of profanities so obscene that by the time network censors bleep it
all out it will sound like the Emergency Broadcast Signal.

I'm telling you this has real potential. Especially as we are about to go
to war. The country needs a little mindless fun. And if anyone epitomizes
mindless fun, it's Jose Canseco.

You could even cross-pollinate with other shows. For instance, as one of
the stunts on NBC's Fear Factor, you have to run into Canseco's house,
throw a bucket of cold water on him while he's sleeping and try to make it
out of the house before he kills you.

Every week, Judge Glick could drop by for a surprise visit. There could be
other regular guests, such as Lorenzo Lamas, from ABC's Are You Hot?, who
could bring his red laser pen and point out telltale signs of possible
steroid abuse on Canseco's body.

The gang from CBS' CSI: Miami could come over for barbecues and then later
process the house for fingerprints, fibers and suspicious-looking stains.

Miami natives Trista from The Bachelorette and Colleen from Survivor could
spend an afternoon lounging around the pool in Canseco's backyard while he
watches excitedly from the window and debates whether he should break the
terms of his house arrest for a chance to join the bikini-clad beauties.
Meanwhile, John Walsh from America's Most Wanted would be waiting just out
of view, ready to pounce if he goes outside.

Maybe we get Canseco a few roommates like they do on MTV's Real World or
that awful WB show, The Surreal Life. What is Todd Bridges doing these
days? Is James Brown still alive? Better yet, how about Robert Blake? He's
out on bail. He could bring the cockatoo from his old show.

My God! Let's not forget O.J.

The Juice, Baretta and Canseco all in one house -- tell me that wouldn't
kill in the ratings. It would be the celebrity version of Oz, only without
all the prison rape scenes. Then again, if we can sell it on cable and
package it tastefully, who knows?

If we are lucky, the show could run for years.