STEROIDS Contempt resolution possible

Some of the seven subpoenaed players may be excused from testifying.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the committee holding a hearing this week on steroids in baseball predicted Sunday the full House easily would pass a contempt of Congress resolution if subpoenaed players such as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa don't show.
Government Reform Committee chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., told NBC's "Meet the Press" that one or more of the seven active and former players called to testify might be excused from appearing, though he did not specify which players might be excused.
But Davis said his panel would vote to find players who fail to appear Thursday in contempt, and said he thinks the House would approve such a resolution by a large margin. The last contempt of Congress prosecution was in 1983.
"These people are not above the law," Davis told NBC. "You know, they may fly on private planes and make millions of dollars and be on baseball cards, but a subpoena is exactly what it says it is. They have to appear."
Missing Bonds
Davis was asked why Barry Bonds wasn't invited to the hearing.
"There are a lot of reasons why people are on or off the list, including the BALCO investigation in San Francisco, but including the fact that we didn't want to make this about one player," Davis said.
Bonds reportedly testified to a grand jury in 2003 that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer charged in the BALCO steroid-distribution case, but the San Francisco Giants slugger also reportedly said he didn't know they were steroids.
The ranking Democrat on the House panel, Henry Waxman of California, said on "Meet the Press" that Bonds could be summoned for a future hearing.
Lineup
Subpoenaed for Thursday's session: former players McGwire and Jose Canseco and current players Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Curt Schilling, Frank Thomas and Jason Giambi -- whose younger brother, Jeremy, told a newspaper Saturday that he used steroids.
Canseco -- whose best-selling book about steroids helped draw Congress' attention -- asked for immunity so he can testify fully, and his lawyer said the request is being considered by the Justice Department.
Schilling said Friday he was willing to testify, and Thomas might testify by telephone because of an injury. McGwire, Sosa, Giambi and Palmeiro haven't said whether they'll show up in Washington.
Asked why Sosa and McGwire were called, Davis said: "They've been accused by former colleagues of having used drugs at this point. In one case, we've had players who have said they want to be able to come up and set the record straight. But there have been public accusations about these players. They've set records. There is, I think, a widespread feeling that maybe they cheated their way to achieving these records by using illegal drugs."
1990s investigation
On Sunday, The Daily News of New York reported that McGwire's name was mentioned several times during a federal steroids investigation in the early 1990s, although he was not the target of the probe nor was any evidence collected against him. Two dealers caught in the federal investigation told the newspaper that a California man, Curtis Wenzlaff, gave Canseco and McGwire illegal anabolic steroids.
Jeremy Giambi, now with the Chicago White Sox, told The Kansas City Star that he used steroids. "It's something I did," he said. "I apologize. I made a mistake. I moved on. I kind of want it in the past."
Investigators probing a South Carolina alternative medicine doctor want to speak to at least nine current or former members of the NFL's Carolina Panthers about possible illegal steroid prescriptions. The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., based its report on court records and sources speaking on condition of anonymity.
The congressional committee has given baseball officials until today to produce documents about their new drug-testing program, including test results -- with the names of players removed from the results.
Davis and Waxman say they're not interested whether individual players took steroids. They want information about how pervasive steroid use in baseball has been -- and how that might have trickled down to high school athletes.