A group of APSE sports editors met in April in New York with commissioners from the four major sports leagues, plus the NHL and Major League Baseball players associations, NASCAR, U.S. Track and Field and the United States Olympic Committee. Here's what they had to say.

Bud Selig says he has a simple and personal motivation to clean up baseball.

"I don't want someone to say someday, 'You knew. You knew the problems. And now, my husband is ...' " Selig said, his pause finishing the thought.

"They'd be right. We do know."

In fact, almost the entire sports world now knows that baseball has a drug problem.

Five to 7 percent of tests conducted on players in 2003 came back positive for steroids, triggering in the collective-bargain agreement a more comprehensive testing program for the 2004 season.

"It really substantiated my concerns," Selig said.

Then, BALCO happened. And the trickle of general interest quickly became a flood of public concern. President Bush mentioned baseball and steroids in a State of the Union address, and Selig testified before Congress.

"I meant what I said in Washington," Selig said. "I've spent a lot of time with doctors and team physicians, and I'm very concerned about steroids.

"I feel even stronger about it than I did in March. It's a health issue. It's an integrity issue. It's not a problem that's going away by itself."

To that end, baseball and the players' union continue to have ongoing discussions about how to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Selig said the tenor of those conversations is somewhat better than in past labor disputes.

One step forward is their near-agreement on the use of a World Anti-Doping Agency-certified laboratory for more sophisticated testing in the future. Both sides expect that to happen.

"Look, this is a tough situation," Selig said. "But we're trying to get something done without embarrassing each other."

Selig, however, will not invoke the "best interests of baseball" clause to mandate tougher testing at this point.

"I'm going to let events unfold, and I think we're making progress. It's always better to get something done in a meaningful negotiation."

One thing Selig won't expedite is a judgment on the innocence or guilt of home run king Barry Bonds, who is among six players alleged to have received illegal steroids from BALCO, the Northern California laboratory.

"I hate dealing with hypotheticals," he said on the issue of whether Bonds' records could be erased or carry an asterisk. "I don't want to deal with that until someone is charged."

Until then, baseball will apparently continue to count its dollars and turnstile clicks. The timing of these troubles isn't hurting the game, Selig said.

"Business has never been better in most places. We're off to a remarkable start in every way. I'll be surprised if we don't break our all-time attendance record this year."

In other news: Selig said life's been good on the labor front since the implementation of the last collective-bargaining agreement. "There's no question we've been burdened by four decades of strife," he said. "But I think the changes have been good and now we have relative peace. You can't have a viable sport without revenue-sharing."

— Mike Fannin
Kansas City Star