As far as Canseco's comments are concerned, I forgot to mention one issue, which Charlie Mikolajczak brought to my attention:

This guy (Canseco) is as sharp as a marble. I saw the interview on ESPN you were referring to. If he doesn't think Sosa would be treated like this if he were white, what does he have to say about the scrutiny Mark McGwire came under when he admitted to taking andro? It essentially boils down to the same thing, people felt that they were using something to get an edge. The exposure you get simply comes down to your reputation and fame as a ballplayer based on your career, nothing more.

Good point. Andro (androstenedione) was found in Mark McGwrire's locker during his historic 1998 season by a reporter. It was a legal, over-the-counter nutritional supplement that was not banned by baseball (though it was by other sports) and that he stopped using after the season. However, even though he did nothing technically wrong--like cork his bat--he did catch a lot of flack over the incident.

Further Cork News...None of Sammy Sosa's Hall-of-Fame bats contain foreign substances. His five bats in Cooperstown were X-rayed and much like Dizzy Dean's X-rayed head, nothing was found. The next step is to start examining his garbage for cork-related substances.

I'm glad that the Hall has enough resources available to examine bats that are no longer used anyway--what were they going to do if they found cork anyway, suspend the bats? No, they have to explain when the same resources could not be brought to bear to help extraicate Hall president Dale A. Petroskey's foot from his mouth after the Bull Durham incident.

And from the Ft. Myers Miracle's site...

FORT MYERS, FL (June 4, 2003) - The Fort Myers Miracle, the Class-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will hold a "Salute to Sammy Sosa" during the Thursday, June 5 game against the Dunedin Blue Jays at Hammond Stadium.

Evidently, the "tribute" will contain or entail giving away a corked bat to the 21st, 66th, and 505th fans. Twenty-one for Sosa's uniform number, 66 for his 1998 home run total, and 505 for his current number of career home runs.