Philadelphia Phillies left-handed specialist JC Romero has been suspended for 50 games by MLB because he tested positive for a banned substance.

Romero has denied the charge of cheating but won’t declare any formal appeals.  MLB has had a problem with players such as Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds rumored to have taken steroids.

Give Romero credit for not doing something like driving drunk like Antoine Walker or rushing to receive sex like Charles Barkley, but Romero’s suspension starts as soon as the next MLB season starts in spring.  And also good to see the World Series champions taking a firm stand.

This is the beginning, or maybe the end. The recession will reveal if the consumers and companies have to use their money to support favorite sports teams, in the mean time many sports are already planning for the worst that could happen. With customers eating fewer hot dogs or cutting days out of going to the ball park, companies reducing advertisement, all the major sports teams and parks could suffer badly.

“It’s unlikely that we won’t suffer (in 2009),” said Tim Finchem, commissioner of PGA Tour, the main U.S. golf tour. “What we’re seeing now is a pullback on spending by corporations … and those things come home to roost in ways that can negatively impact us.”

The weakness sign is already present to the NFL, MLB, Golf (PGA), and NASCAR. Sponsors spending less and lower attendance to cut jobs. The weak economy also has raised costs for such things as stadium financing, and has also hurt advertising, sponsorship and consumer spending. the NFL has cut a “substantial” amount of travel and entertainment, and promotional spending. While NASCAR was being hit with high gas prices.

“Next year, we will not obviously make that kind of a gain,” he said. “The question is, are we going to back up?”

Sources within the organization revealed yesterday that the Chicago Cubs have agreed in principle on a 3-year, $30 million contract with controversial outfielder Milton Bradley. The deal is pending a physical, but expected to be finalized no later than Thursday. After having the National League’s best record the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs for the second straight year. Their futility was blamed in large part on their lack of productive left handed hitters in the middle of the lineup. Bradley is coming off his first All-Star season and is the best available option to fulfill this need for the Cubs.

While playing for the Texas Rangers last season Bradley batted .321 with 22 homeruns and led the American League with an on-base percentage of .436.  He will play in right field for the Cubs, taking over for Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs committed $12 million per season to Fukudome last year but he was not able to meet their expectations. Chicago is hoping that Bradley can be that last piece of the puzzle that will come together as a Cubs’ World Series Championship.

Although only 30, Bradley will be on his 7th team after joining Chicago and is widely considered the most disruptive player in baseball. His Major League career has been marked by confrontations with coaches, players, umpires, and the media.  Last season he tried to make his way to the broadcaster’s booth in Kansas City to confront the Royals’ announcer and the year before he was injured while being held back from attacking an umpire. Controversy has followed Bradley on every stop in his career, as he has very thin skin, and this bodes dangerously for the Cubs as the fans at Wrigley Field can be ruthless. However, when in the midst of a 100 year championship drought as the Cubs are, a chance to add a player of Bradley’s caliber cannot be passed up.

Here’s something a little bit different. Not all the hottest sports chicks are the ones competing. Check out Erin Andrews, ESPN’s hot sports caster.

From Lewiston, Maine, Andrews grew up in Tampa, Florida where she graduated with a degree in telecommunication from the University of Florida. Not surprisingly, she was a Zeta Tau Alpha sorority girl.

From 1997-2000 Andrews was a member of the Gator’s basketball dance team the Dazzlers. Her career started with FSN Florida as a freelance reporter and went on to cover the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Atlanta Braves.

She joined ESPN in 2004 covering the NHL and nowcovers ESPN College Football Saturday telecast. She occasionally covers MLB and Great Ourdoors Games. In 2007 she was voted “America’s Sexist Sportscaster” by Playboy.

The New York Yankees said goodbye to the original Yankee Stadium at the end of last year’s disappointing season. In 2009 they will be playing in a new version of the historic ballpark, creatively titled the new Yankee Stadium. To kick off the MLB season and to celebrate the new ballpark the Yankees have invited the Chicago Cubs for two exhibition games.

To honor the old stadium, and celebrate the new one, admission to these two exhibition games will be 25 cents for the bleachers and $1.10 for the grandstand. The two games will take place on April 3rd and 4th. Prices are set as such to match what they were on April 18, 1923, the first game at old Yankee Stadium, against Boston.

Every ticket for these games will be discounted, with none costing more than $50. This might not seem like a great deal to some, but consider that tickets will cost as much $2,500 for regular season games. This is a perfect opportunity for young, single men to take advantage of. The bleachers, and stadium, will be packed with tons of beautiful women who will have plenty of money left over for beer.

Major League Baseball player Mark Texeira is considered the biggest commodity on the free agent market since the signing of C.C. Sabathia last week. Texeira went from a respected hitter on the Texas Rangers, to dangerous hitter on the Atlanta Braves, and is now considered worth more money than Manny Ramirez after half a season in Anaheim. He is expected to get a deal around 200 million dollars, becoming only the second player to ever sign a contract of that size.

There is no doubt that Texeira has come into his own as a ballplayer. He has two Silver Slugger and two Gold Glove Awards in his career. He made the Angels the hands-down best team in the AL for the regular season after he was traded to Los Angeles.  However, his team lost handily in the first round after being the favorite to win the World Series.

With the free agents that are available this year, it is hard to justify Texeira even being a first choice in free agency. Manny Ramirez, a future hall of famer and greatest hitter in the game, is also available. He sparked the Red Sox to two World Series and carried the Dodgers to the playoffs after a mid-season trade. He is the kind of player that changes a whole team and wins titles.  If a team is looking for a superstar this is where they should go first.

There is no doubt that Texeira is a first class player and valuable commodity. However, he has done little to justify the second richest contract in MLB history. Teams with that much money to spend can get a package of good, professional players or a superstar in Manny Ramirez. Don’t forget, Barry Bonds, the greatest of all time, whether legally or not, is available too.

The New York Yankees reportedly have a deal on the table that would make CC Sabathia the highest paid pitcher in all of baseball. The deal, which is reportedly for six years and a total of $140 million, would surpass the contract the New York Mets gave Johan Santana last season.

While Sabathia is a good pitcher who can oftentimes be great, signing Sabathia to a mega contract would be a colossal mistake for the Yankees. It’d go down alongside the signing of Barry Zito by the San Francisco Giants as the biggest wastes of money in baseball history.

The first problem is that Sabathia doesn’t pitch well under pressure. Examples can be found in many places. To start off the 2008 campaign, Sabathia struggled mightily due to the pressure of his pending free agency. In his career, he has also been horrid in the postseason.

Not being able to handle pressure will not go over well in New York. Everything he does will be under the microscope and each and every game will feel like a playoff game. Sabathia might have good stretches but he’ll get worn down by the pressure and eventually crack.

Secondly, Sabathia obviously doesn’t take the best care of his body. The 28-year-old 300 pounder will balloon up even more once he reaches his 30’s. His metabolism will slow and he will suddenly begin to tilt the scales at 350 instead of 300.

Last but not least is the fact that Sabathia has a ton of mileage on his arm already. In his eight years in the majors, he has pitched more than 1,650 innings. In the last two years ago, Sabathia has pitched more than 500 innings.

If the Yankees were smart, they’d be bargain hunting this winter. However, it appears that instead the Yankees will once again waste millions of dollars.

If you read the title of this article, I’m sure it was difficult for you not to roll your eyes. Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox had an extremely bitter divorce in the middle of the 2008 baseball season. The result was Ramirez being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pennies on the dollar.

While the ending was definitely acrimonious, the Red Sox should remember the good times with Ramirez. He helped the Red Sox, a team that hadn’t won anything in ages, to two World Series championships. He was not only a clutch hitter but he was also feared by every pitcher who ever threw a ball towards him.

Listening to Ramirez after all the incidents and the final divorce, you could tell that he didn’t like how it ended either. He didn’t like that fans and baseball experts were saying he stopped trying and gave up on the team. He didn’t like how he was portrayed as the bad guy in Boston.

If the Red Sox organization can swallow their pride and make him a contract offer, I’m sure the Boston fans will forgive Ramirez. He could come back to town as the returning hero. All the boos would turn back into cheers and Ramirez could get back to trying to bring championships back to Boston.

It may sound crazy but without Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox simply aren’t nearly as good. If it’s either championship contender with Ramirez or American League pretender without him, the Red Sox should forgive, forget and extend an offer.

Everyone is enjoying throwing dirt on Roger Clemens’ grave. The star pitcher has spent a lot more time recently on Capitol Hill than on a pitching mound. The court of public opinion has all but found Clemens guilty of using steroids.

Clemens great accomplishments over the years appear to be forever tainted. However, there is one thing Roger Clemens can do to redeem himself – come back and dominate. If the 45-year-old pitcher can prove he’s clean and once again become one of the best pitchers in the game, he could make America forget about this steroid talk.

While a number of teams would shy away from him due to his baggage, the Houston Astros appear ready and willing to accept him with open arms. In fact, he’s currently working out with Astros minor leaguers at Spring Training.

What Clemens needs to do is sign an incentive-laden contract with the Astros. Perhaps something as simple as one million dollars per win. He should also agree to weekly blood tests to ensure he isn’t using steroids. Under these conditions, baseball fans around the globe couldn’t help but root for him.

Here’s your chance Clemens. I have laid it all out for you. Now you can either standup, be a man and take the challenge, or forever be known as a cheater.

The choice is yours.

Lost in all the Barry Bonds hoopla is the fact that Bonds is without a team for the 2008 campaign. After spending the last 15 years with the San Francisco Giants, the team decided to let him go and move on. Now the 43-year-old slugger is looking for a new home.

Last season was one of the most historic seasons of all-time in the game of baseball. The game’s most prized record of the most career homeruns was broken by Bonds. Bonds, who now has 762 homeruns in his 22-year career, overtook Hank Aaron to become baseball’s homerun king.

Heading into the 2008 baseball season, no one seems to want to touch Bonds. Not only is he surrounded in the steroids controversy, he’s also not a clubhouse favorite among prospective teammates. On top of that, his production on the field is a far cry from what it used to be just a few seasons ago.

That said, there’s one team that should look into signing Bonds – and that’s the New York Yankees. The Yankees and their giant payroll will try once again to get back on the winning track this season. I believe that Bonds can help the team reach their goals.

First of all, Bonds is still a damn good baseball player. Put him at designated hitter and he could probably go for 30 homers and more than 100 RBIs. He walks a lot and does a good job of making pitchers work.

Secondly, Bonds can absorb a lot of controversy. Alex Rodriquez is the best hitter on the Yankees but he doesn’t do well when all the media is focusing on him. If the Yankees were to sign Bonds, Rodriguez could move to the background while Bonds became the most scrutinized player on the team.

Third of all, Bonds is desperate to win a World Series title. The Yankees are all about championships. This is a match made in heaven. Bonds has accomplished everything statistically he could ever want to accomplish. It’s now all about winning for him.

Finally, the Yankees owe it to the fans of the game. The team everyone loves to hate should be forced to sign the player that everyone loves to hate. The Yankees could become the ultimate villain and could make the forthcoming season one of the most exciting in recent history.