Hey Canseco fans...

I know it's been a long while since you've heard from me, but Jose simply
hasn't been in the news - well, that, or I haven't seen it if he has been.

Sorry the below articles are a little bit dated, but better late than
never. Some of you will really enjoy the first one, which alludes to
Canseco trying to make another comeback. Don't get your hopes up
(personally, I doubt any team will give him a chance), but then again, you
never know. That article also reveals that once again, Jose's tell-all
book has been pushed back indefinitely.

As for the second and older article, yes, Ozzie Canseco was sentenced to a
year in jail for violating his probation. Ouch.

As always, if I hear anything else, I'll send it out. Canseco news is
really scarce these days though, so if you happen to find an obscure
article or hear something you think other Canseco fans would like to know
about, please pass it to me.

Thanks,
Mark


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From thestate.com (South Carolina):
Canseco hasn't given up on dream
By BOB SPEAR
Dec. 06, 2003

LESS THAN A MONTH after Major League Baseball announced that players will
be tested for steroids use next season, Jose Canseco passed on the
opportunity to issue an I-told-you-so proclamation.

A day after six-time National League MVP Barry Bonds testified before a
federal grand jury in a case involving possible drug violations by a
laboratory, Canseco rejected the chance to fan the flames on a subject that
baseball officials wish would disappear.

His reticence almost surely can be traced to one fact: He wants to play in
the majors again.

Canseco, a former American League MVP and one of a handful of players to
hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season, did not back away
from his claim that 80 percent of major-league players used steroids. But
he took the high road in sharing his thoughts Friday after arriving in town
for a series of weekend appearances.

He left listeners searching for the slugger who became a poster child for
controversy in his playing days. Where is the bombast? Where are the
inflammatory comments? Where are the claims that officials blackballed him
from the game?

"That's the media" picture of Canseco, he said. "(Reporters) never took the
time to get to know me."

Translation: His desire to reach 500 career home runs overrides all else.

The dream’s still alive. Canseco quit the game almost two years ago,
leaving behind a legacy of 462 homers, 1,407 runs batted in, a .266 batting
average and a colorful reputation in his 17 seasons. Last summer, Doug
Ames, a Columbia-area resident who represents Canseco, began selling the
player's baseball memorabilia.

"He just decided the baseball part of his life is over," Ames said then.

Friday, Canseco, 39, said he believes he can still hit 40-50 home runs a
season "if I get the chance. I'm in great shape; I still weigh the same
thing (245-250 pounds) as two years ago."

Ames said he has talked to several teams about his client's availability
and has meetings scheduled next weekend with the Yankees and Devil Rays.

Ames also said a contract had been signed for a tell-all book on Canseco's
baseball career, then added, "There will be no book until Jose retires for
good." When that book is published, "Everything will be explained," Canseco
said.

"Everything" includes a larger-than-life persona usually associated with a
rock star instead of a baseball player. But, he said, "A lot of things have
been exaggerated."

A new chapter. In their days in Oakland, Tony LaRussa once called Canseco
"the most complete player I ever managed." More recently,
writer-broadcaster Peter Gammons linked him with Dwight Gooden and Darryl
Strawberry as the three greatest wastes of baseball talent between 1980 and
2000.

The truth probably belongs somewhere between those extremes, but Canseco's
legacy always will include steroids.

He denied numerous reports linking him with using the substances during his
playing days.

"I never said that," he insisted Friday, "and nobody who represented me
did, either."

But he stands by his charge that 80 percent of the players used steroids
and challenged the 5-to-7 percent figure released by major-league officials
and the players' union.

"I have heard a lot about how the testing went," he said. "Some players
took the test four or five or 10 times (to bring the percentage down). I
don't think (5-to-7 percent) is accurate."

Ken Caminiti once claimed that at least 50 percent of the players used
steroids, and Curt Schilling supported that statement, saying, "Half the
players have used steroids and the other half have thought about it."

Whether pro-Canseco or anti-Canseco, no one can deny his appeal to fans.
Ames said he has been approached about making movies, and he also has an
offer to put on hitting exhibitions in Japan for a seven-figure guarantee.

First things first, he said, and that means his focus centers on returning
to the major leagues with a goal of reaching one of the game's magic
numbers — 500 home runs.

If he succeeds, that would be a final chapter for his tell-all book

AUTOGRAPH SESSION

Former American League MVP Jose Canseco will sign autographs today from
noon-3 p.m. at Communications Specialists Inc., 829 Gervais Street in the
Vista. Also, some of Canseco’s memorabilia will be on display. Canseco will
make another area appearance Sunday in North Myrtle Beach (Overtime Sports
Cafe, 2-4 p.m.).

==========
From the AP:
Jose's brother jailed on probation violation
October 17, 2003

MIAMI -- Former major leaguer Ozzie Canseco was sentenced to a year in jail
Friday for violating probation stemming from a 2001 barroom brawl.

The twin brother of former slugger Jose Canseco was credited for 158 days
served while awaiting sentencing. With other accrued time off, he could be
released in about four months. Once released, Ozzie Canseco will serve five
years' probation.

Ozzie Canseco, 39, pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor battery charges
after the Miami Beach brawl. The sentence Friday was for 364 days.

A routine traffic stop for darkly tinted windows in May led to his arrest
on charges of possessing an illegal anabolic steroid, driving with a
revoked license and possession of drug paraphernalia. Those charges, plus
leaving the county without consent, violated his probation.

Ozzie Canseco played briefly with Oakland and St. Louis in the early 1990s.
He had a long minor league career and played in Japan.

Jose Canseco was released from jail in August after being held 73 days on
charges he violated probation by taking steroids. Those charges were
dropped. He also spent 30 days in jail this year on other probation
violation charges.