XM satellite radio MLB Channel had the agent of Rick Ankiel on their airwaves today and he has issued a blanket denial on the story. There were also interviews from St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and World Anti-Doping expert Dr. Gary Wadler.

Thanks to Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch for providing us with these quotes.

“Rick’s position is that he’s never had contact with this pharmacy, he’s never received anything from this pharmacy, he’s never been to this pharmacy, he doesn’t know anyone at the pharmacy and frankly these allegations that he received something from them or ordered something from them aren’t true.”

Tony La Russa was on XM earlier in the day and said:

“We just found out about this yesterday, you look at him now and there isn’t anything buffed up about him. This happened in 2004, that was 3 years ago… so he had a prescription for whatever reason and I haven’t talked to Rick about it yet so… If anyone has earned the benefit of the doubt it’s this young man.”

Steroids/HGH expert Dr. Gary Wadler on XM said:

“The notion that baseball is waiting for a urine test for HGH is not genuine. What baseball has to do and make it loud and clear is take blood and freeze the blood until they can test, but they haven’t taken that step. What they’ve said is that there is no test and that’s just not true.”

For more on this ongoing story, be sure to check out Bernie’s Pressbox at STLToday.com.

Source: Troy Glaus received steroids (SI.com)

Former World Series MVP and four-time All Star Troy Glaus, currently a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, received multiple shipments of performance-enhancing steroids, according to information obtained by SI.

A source in Florida with knowledge of a Signature Pharmacy client list alleges that between September 2003 and May 2004, multiple shipments of nandrolone and testosterone were sent to Glaus at a Corona, Calif., address that traces to the player. Though the information only pertains to receipt and not actual use of steroids, both nandrolone and testosterone were on Major League Baseball’s banned list at the time.

Sports Illustrated writers Luis Fernando Llosa and L. Jon Wertheim have been on top of this ongoing investigation from its start and the long and winding road continues to snatch names.

According to a broadcast report on ESPN News, MLB has requested to meet with Rick Ankiel over a published report in the New York Daily News that the pitcher-turned-outfielder received shipments of human growth hormone in 2004.

To be updated shortly…

***UPDATED at 2:31 PM EST***
Sources tell ESPN’s Buster Olney that MLB has formally requested a meeting with Rick Ankiel.  The sources also tell Olney that it would not surprise them if MLB will ask the MLBPA for blood testing for HGH.

***UPDATED at 3:43 PM EST***
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Joe Strauss confirms that MLB is in the process of perusing a meeting with Ankiel.  The club will withhold comment until they talk to the outfielder.

***UPDATED at 5:00 PM EST***
T.J. Quinn, one of the writers who helped break the story of Rick Ankiel’s alleged tie into receiving HGH from a Florida pharmacy, was a guest of “The Roll Home” on 1380 ESPN Radio in St. Louis.  Some quick hit notes on the interview follow the jump.

More after the jump »

(From time to time, we’ll post a short blog entry regarding a current topic or something else that catches our fancy. It might be something trivial or something that really makes us wonder what the hell is going on.)

Being fans of the Birds on Bat, we sure would love to believe that there is nothing to the Rick Ankiel story that broke late last night via The New York Daily News. Of course, there very well might be nothing to the story than being a familiar name caught by the press on a list of professional athletes that received shipment of human growth hormone (HGH) back in 2004.

Then this little passage opened up our eyes and harkened us back to the Mark McGwire steroid storm of the past.

According to records obtained by The News and sources close to the controversy surrounding anti-aging clinics that dispense illegal prescription drugs, Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including the brand-name injectable drugs Saizen and Genotropin. Signature is the pharmacy at the forefront of Albany District Attorney David Soares’ two-year investigation into illegal Internet prescription drug sales, which has brought 22 indictments and nine convictions.

We’d love to believe that one of our very own would be innocent of such evil deeds, given that a doctor prescribed the HGH. But in today’s sports world that is filled with cynicism, skepticism and innuendo, that can — and will not — be the case.

More after the jump »

News and notes while not ignoring the Rick Ankiel story (more on that later)…

Tirico passes on ESPN’s offer to fill Patrick’s radio role? (The Big Lead) Has Mike Tirico passed up the chance to replace Dan Patrick? The Big Lead reports that he may have done so.

Judge dismisses suit by retired NFL players (AP/SI.com) Retired players claim union hasn’t represented them.

Man gets life for stabbings in Chelios’ restaurant (AP/ESPN) An 18-year-old will spend the rest of his life in prison for the stabbing deaths of two employees at a restaurant owned by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios.

UNH backup QB charged with murder (AP/ESPNU) The University of New Hampshire said Friday it suspended a backup quarterback after learning that he faces murder charges in California.

Duke lacrosse prosecutor Mike Nifong reports to jail (The FanHouse) Nifong to spend the day in the clink for contempt of court charges levied his way for lying about DNA evidence in preliminary hearings in the rape case.

Pirates fire general manager Littlefield (AP/ESPN)

After several inept seasons as general managers of one of baseball’s more storied franchises, Dave Littlefield of the Pittsburgh Pirates got his walking papers from new principal owner Bob Nutting Friday.

The firing came with only three weeks left in the season and the Pirates in their customary spot in last place in the NL Central, with a 61-79 record — three losses away from a 15th consecutive losing season, one off the major league record.

Source: Exonerated Duke lacrosse players to seek about $30 million (AP/Y! Sports)

According to source close to the ongoing Duke lacrosse rape case, the attorneys for the three players that were falsely accused are seeking a settlement of about $30 million and several changes to the state’s legal process.

Should the terms not be met, the source claims, the players’ attorneys will file a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Durham early next month.

During a discussion Wednesday with Durham officials, players’ attorneys Brendan Sullivan and Barry Scheck, stressed that the money they are seeking — about $10 million each for David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann over five years — must be accompanied by the legal reforms, the source said.

The three players were charged with raping a woman hired to strip at an off-campus party thrown by the lacrosse team in March 2006, but the case was thrown out and the players declared innocent after it became clear that the evidence the case was built on was pitifully weak.

Some information from this report was compiled from outside sources.

The morning after a quiet night in the Major Leagues…

The NL Central race tightens up as the top three teams have the same amount of losses (68); closers blew games in two games in the ninth inning (Cubs and White Sox); the Detroit Tigers gained a game on the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central and the Chicago Cubs dropped a key game in the Dodgers’ last at-bat.

White Sox 2, Detroit 3 — Sean Casey and Placido Polanco hit run-scoring singles off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks in the ninth inning, leading the Tigers over Chicago 3-2.

Red Sox 7, O’s 6 — Jason Varitek singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Red Sox squeaked past the struggling Orioles 7-6. Coco Crisp had three hits and scored three runs, including the tiebreaker in the ninth and David Ortiz tied the contest in the fifth with a drive to right field.

Indians 3, Angels 10 — Garret Anderson extended his streak to a club-record 11 games with at least one RBI, driving in three runs and leading the Los Angeles Angels past the Cleveland Indians 10-3.

More after the jump »

News and notes while the sports world deals with another prominent athlete ensnared in a PED controversy…

Colts dominate Saints in NFL Kickoff (SI.com) Peyton Manning threw two TD passes to Reggie Wayne and another to Marvin Harrison; Joseph Addai ran for 118 yards on 23 carries and the Colts’ defense shut down Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and the explosive New Orleans offense in a 41-10 rout.

Brohm, Louisville win in shootout (AP/Y! Sports) Brian Brohm threw for a career-high 401 yards and five touchdowns and running back Anthony Allen ran for a school-record 275 yards and two scores as Louisville survived a major scare 58-42.

Brady misses part of practice due to chronic injury (AP/ESPN) Bridget Moynahan’s baby-daddy has to sit out some practice time due to a chronic shoulder problem.

Breaking down who’s on the hot seat (FOX Sports) Ken Rosenthal, the FOX Sports baseball insider, examines which MLB managers may face the “short haircut.”

CU rape case headed back to trial (AP/SI.com) Two women who claimed that they were raped at a University of Colorado football recruiting party appear to have won their day in court as an appeal court revived their lawsuit against the school.

Max McNabb’s insight, stories will be missed (USA Today) Kevin Allen, the hockey writer for USA Today, remembers NHL legend Max McNabb.

Ankiel received 12-month supply of HGH (New York Daily News)

For a team that has faced a rash of unsettling news this season — the death of a relief pitcher, the drunk-driving arrest of their manager and the alcohol/drug rehabilitation of a key bench player — another bombshell has struck the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of a division race.

According a published report in the New York Daily News, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel allegedly received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation.

Ankiel, who put on a show during Thursday’s contest against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates by knocking two home runs and driving in seven runs, has hit nine home runs in 81 at-bats since his recall from Triple-AAA Memphis on August 10.

Could there have been medical reasons for the outfielder who has been compared to the real life version of “Roy Hobbs,” the character from the movie The Natural? It doesn’t appear very likely, according to Gary Wadler of the World Anti-Doping Agency:

According to physician Gary Wadler, a committee member with the World Anti-Doping Agency and an associate professor of medicine at NYU, there is a limited number of reasons a healthy man in his 20s would have a medical need for HGH. Unlike most drugs, federal law bans the use of HGH for off-label purposes: Physicians can distribute growth hormone only in connection with either treatment of a disease or another medical condition authorized by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. “You need a bona fide doctor-patient relationship and a bona fide disease to distribute growth hormone,” Wadler said. The list of possible uses of HGH by a healthy man in his mid-20s is “extremely narrow,” Wadler added.

This story will continue to unfold as Friday rolls along.