Hey everyone,

Since my last email, a number of you have written to ask me more about
Jose's book signing tour. I don't have any information other than what
I've posted on the site, but I wanted to let you know I updated it with
some more dates today:
http://www.canseconet.com/

By the looks of things, Jose will be in Illinois, Texas and then California
over the next couple of weeks.

If you can't make it to one of the signing sessions, you can purchase a
copy of Jose's book from Amazon for $17.13 (the retail prize is $25.95):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060746408/ref=ase_talkingpoker-20\
/104-5171690-2109502?v=glance&s=books

I ordered and read a copy of the book, and I have to say, it was much
better than I expected it to be... somewhat eye opening too. It's one of
those books that once you open it, you don't want to put it down and get
through it very quickly. This is definitely a "must read" for every
Canseco fan out there. Let me also say this: Agree or disagree with him,
Jose makes a strong case for responsible use of steroids. A very strong case.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. My only complaint is that he focused
too much on the steroids stuff and didn't tell enough non-steroid stories
about his baseball days. I would have especially loved to read about more
of his on the field experiences, which he hardly even mentioned.

In other news, wait until you read the first article below. When the
sports writer from my local paper contacted me, I figured he was writing an
article about Jose and just wanted a quote or two from me (that he could
then twist around like that last reporter did). To my surprise, the
article was about ME, and he didn't misquote me, twist my words, or make me
look like some obsessed fan! Check it out.......

-Mark


==========
From Florida Today:
Canseco fan now in limbo
Indialantic's Petrillo created first Web site
February 24, 2005

He is older now, relatively speaking. Mark Petrillo is 30, but when he was
24 he finally got to meet his boyhood idol and absolute all-time favorite
athlete.

Jose Canseco.

At the time, Petrillo said meeting Canseco might've been "the best five
minutes of my entire 24-year life. No kidding."

He isn't.

Petrillo, an Indialantic resident, might be the world's biggest Jose
Canseco fan. Way back in 1995, when dinosaurs roamed the Internet world,
Petrillo started what became the first-ever Web site dedicated to all
things Jose Canseco. Do a Jose Canseco Google search and it's Petrillo's
exhaustive www.canseconet.com that emerges at the top of the list, even
before Canseco's own official Web site.

Hundreds of photos, audio and video clips, a chat room, links, personal
stories, 1,245 e-mail subscribers . . . it's an impressive site that has
won multiple Web awards.

Petrillo also has thousands of Jose Canseco baseball cards -- perhaps every
card that's ever been issued -- and enough memorabilia that he could fill a
room with it. Among a myriad of other things, he has a pair of game-worn
Canseco spikes, several game-used autographed Canseco bats and a game-worn
T-shirt that Canseco is also wearing on a baseball card photo. "The way the
shirt is cut, you can clearly see that it's the same T-shirt on the
baseball card, which is pretty cool," he said.

Petrillo has all of these mementos and one other thing -- a huge question
mark as to what to think of his idol's recent revelations of steroid use.
How exactly does a fan, a real fan, handle such news?

"Good question," Petrillo said from his Indialantic home. "I'm still trying
to figure out how I feel."

This is no stalker or sycophant. Petrillo is college educated, intelligent
and well-spoken; a self-employed management consultant and Internet
developer. But so much of his life has been wrapped up in absolute
adoration of Jose Canseco. Even in college, he would take baseball road
trips, sometimes driving almost a thousand miles to see Canseco play.

You know the famous Comiskey Park photo of a fan holding a big bull's-eye
sign in the outfield seats with the name "Jose" on it? Yep, that was Petrillo.

As he read through Canseco's bombshell book, Petrillo realized he wasn't
"as disappointed as I thought I'd be." Canseco's tome is actually a
fascinating read, surprisingly well-written, containing much more depth
than the extracted media excerpts indicate. It offers context to Canseco's
steroid use, as well as to what will undoubtedly come to be known as
baseball's "Steroid Era."

"I'm not saying I agree with what he did," Petrillo said. "But I can
understand why the players did it. You ask yourself, 'Where does the blame
lie?' I believe it lies with baseball. They knew what was going on. They
could've stopped it, and didn't. I don't necessarily think it's the
players' fault."

On the one hand, Petrillo realizes that Canseco's steroid use "cheapens his
career." But on the other hand, "I realize he wasn't alone."

So where does it all balance out? When memories and realities clash, which
wins?

There are no easy answers.

Given Petrillo's history with Canseco, this is going to take time. It isn't
like a video game, where he can just hit the reset button. This was a major
chunk of his life.

Petrillo grew up outside Philadelphia, a Phillies fan. But as a kid, he
noticed almost cosmic connections to the Oakland A's, and in turn to Jose
Canseco. The A's were originally from Philadelphia, and Petrillo's
grandmother was a lifelong friend of Philadelphia A's Hall of Famer Jimmie
Foxx.

"I also grew up on Oakland Street," he said.

As a boy, Petrillo recalled dropping a quarter into a vending machine for a
baseball card, and Jose Canseco popped out. That was about the same time he
sent index cards to various players for autographs. Sure enough, it was
Canseco who responded with a signature.

As an adult, Petrillo's access to Canseco and the game-worn memorabilia
he's received have been because of his popular Web site and his stature as
Jose Canseco's No. 1 fan.

So where will it go from here?

"I don't know," Petrillo said. "Luckily for me, I'm older now, so I've
mostly outgrown being a serious Canseco fan. I'm 30. Your interests change.
I used to be a baseball fanatic, but I haven't been to a game since Jose
Canseco retired. I'm more of a football fan now."

Contact Kerasotis at 242-3694 or HeyPeterK@.... Listen to him Friday
mornings from 8:30 to 9 on WMEL-AM 920.


==========
From the AP:
Palmeiro considers lawsuit against Canseco
By DAVID GINSBURG
February 24, 2005

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles' Rafael Palmeiro is
leaving open the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Jose Canseco, who
said he introduced the first baseman to steroids in 1992 when both players
were with the Texas Rangers.

Canseco cited Palmeiro as a steroid user in his new book. In an interview
on the CBS television show ``60 Minutes,'' Canseco said he injected the
drug into Palmeiro.

Palmeiro issued a statement last month in which he denied he ever used
steroids, and he emphatically backed up that assertion Thursday after his
first practice of spring training. Palmeiro also said he's considered
hiring the law firm of Orioles owner Peter Angelos to take legal action
against Canseco.

``The one thing I can say is I have the best law firm and the best lawyer
standing in the wings in Peter Angelos,'' he said. ``I have options
available for me. He stands behind me and he's ready. I will look at all my
options and I'll decide.''

Palmeiro, 40, ranks among the greatest hitters in baseball history. The
four-time All-Star has 551 career homers, 2,922 hits and a .289 batting
average. He would prefer to focus on preparing for his 20th big league
season, but the topic kept swinging back to steroids during an impromptu
interview session in the Baltimore dugout at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

``I can't worry about those things. Along the way, there's always going to
be someone saying something about you, whether it's true or not. You just
go on,'' Palmeiro said. ``My job right now is to get ready for baseball. My
mind has to be here.''

Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli told Palmeiro that he has the full support of
the team.

``It's totally unfair because it's always hearsay,'' Mazzilli said. ``I
think in this country you're innocent until proven guilty. They don't have
to defend themselves. If you feel good about yourself, you shouldn't worry
about what people say.''

Palmeiro is at a loss in trying to figure out why Canseco chose to include
him as one of several players that used steroids.

``He and I grew up playing ball together in the Miami area, but we never
did anything together other than play on the same team,'' Palmeiro said.
``We went our separate ways after high school and I never saw him again
until he was in the big leagues and I was in the minors. He and I have
never been close friends or anything. We were teammates, but that's about
it.''

Palmeiro initially was concerned that Canseco's accusation might upset his
two sons, ages 10 and 14, but that fear was unfounded.

``We were watching TV, and my oldest son saw it on the news. He started
laughing,'' Palmeiro said. ``He's like, 'What's this guy saying?' My kids
understand that a lot of the stuff is made up. (Canseco) has his reasons
for accusing people, and he's got his reasons for writing a book that's
trying to bring our game down.

``This game was great to him. He was the only one at fault for destroying
himself. He should be thankful that he had an opportunity to play.''

==========
Lastly, here is an except from an email I received from a Canseco fan who
went to Jose's first book signing:

I said I'd let you know how the signing went. It was scheduled to start
at 7pm. I got there at 4pm. I was the 4th person in line. The
bookstore gave the first 20 of us chairs to sit on. Everyone beyond that
had to stand up. We had to sit outside the bookstore until 6:15pm.
Luckily it wasn't raining. Two Spanish channel news stations were there.
One did a live broadcast at 6pm. I appeared in the background of the
broadcast, as well as the first 3 people in line. There were also
reporters from the NY Times and the Bergen Record. They both spoke to
me, as well as some of the other people near the front of the line. I
have a copy of the NY Times article. I didn't get quoted. I haven't
gotten the Bergen Record yet, but my sister knows someone who lives in
that area.

Jose arrived at 6:45pm and signed some books for people who were friends
of the book store owner. Then he started signing for those of us in
line. He wouldn't stop to take pictures with anybody because his
security people wanted to keep the line moving. I really wanted to get
my picture with him, but we were only allowed to take as many pictures of
him as we wanted too. I took 7 pictures. I'm still near the beginning
of my roll of film, but when I finish it and get it developed, I'll scan
in the pictures and send them to you. Jose did answer peoples questions,
but again his security people wanted to keep the line moving, so it was
quick answers. I asked how long it took him to write the book and if he
did all of the writing himself. It took him 2 years he said, and yes he
did all of the writing. No ghost writers.

He was dressed in this very nice looking blue suit and had on a World
Series ring. He's also very tan.

I was out of the bookstore and in my car at 7pm. It was really nice of
him to start signing early. He was going to sign until 9pm and then he
was scheduled for a live interview.