Now that the dust has began to settle I can write more clearly and professionally and give the Ryan Braun situation more of a detailed analysis. I guess we shouldn't be surprised about the suspension. We live in a world of which lies, fear, controversy, misinformation and (most importantly) scapegoats and historical inaccuracy creates two histories existing side-by-side one another where one half of the population believes one thing and one set of facts and the other half believes in another set of facts regardless of whether or not the evidence produces an accurate argument. When someone is caught lying, people are finally given a convenient scapegoat to point which eases their confusion not only in sports but in life.

The reason the Ryan Braun saga has and continues fascinates me is because I see myself in Ryan Braun. 16 years and 3 days ago, I was 17 years old playing baseball for the Menominee (MI) Red Wave high school baseball team. I had just graduated high school and, until this point in my life, I loved playing baseball more than anything. The problem was my body didn't keep up with my dreams of playing baseball after high school. While other teammates and peers had hit puberty at the normal time early in high school, unfortunately I didn't. I tried for two years prior to gain weight as I ate a ton, took two weight-lifting classes in high school, and ran 2-3 miles every other day, and tried endlessly to put on some muscle. But, all that happened was my veins got bigger! I was raised to be moral and self-righteous and it never once crossed my mind to take steroids. I did all I could to naturally gain weight but it was all futile. I've amassed some baseballs in my life from games I played in and games I've attended. But no baseball means more to me than the one I got on July 19th, 1997. It was then that I hit my first home run !!! Yeah, granted, it was during batting practice but hell it went over the fence in left field !!! When I look at the baseball today it brings back sentimental thoughts and at the time it was a moral victory to me that all my work paid off. I didn't cheat, didn't take PEDs, didn't take any drugs, and on that date (the last high school practice of my life) it paid off.

Fast-forward to 2007, when Braun made his debut, the PED-era in baseball was coming to an end and seeing Braun, Fielder, Hart, Weeks, and others bring forth a winning team it was mesmerizing watching such "natural" greats play the game. So when I started the Innocence Page I believed him, as did many others, because it didn't show. In him, I saw myself, a guy who despite temptation had on his own developed himself into one of the most natural hitters I have ever seen. In fact, his swing is an art form, and watching it the only one who rivals the beauty of his swing I think is Ken Griffey Jr. So, after seeing the truthful speech Braun made after he won his appeal, I weighed the evidence and vehemently stood by what I said on this page. Yes, I had a lot of time on my hands in between semesters working on my MA in history and, owning my own domain, figured why not just toss everything I think down on one page! It was bothersome to me and may others that, despite all the evidence I had gathered, that some people were still going to hate. It exemplified what I wrote in the opening paragraph which is regardless of facts people will believe what their feel. It was truthiness, as so perfectly defined by Stephen Colbert!

So when on July 22nd, 2013, I'm sitting there watching Intentional Talk and eating a salad and then all the sudden Chris Rose says there is breaking news on Ryan Braun and he would be suspended for the rest of the year! They posted his beyond vague confession where he admitted making mistakes and I couldn't believe the betrayal, sadness, frustration, and even hatred I immediately felt towards Braun. What irritated me the most was that insistence that "the truth is on my side" was not true. Prior to him being suspended I was open to the possibility that he was guilty but was probably 95% positive he was innocent or at least not-guilty. But now, it's exactly the other way around. Considering my own history and love for the game, I feel betrayed, mostly because I no longer see myself in Ryan Braun. I see another guy like Sosa, Bonds, and all the others who cheated themselves and the game. The thing is, I have pride and honor, the one HR ball sitting on my fireplace is a testament to what I worked for. Yeah, I may have sucked, but in 1997 at that point in my life, when I ran out to retrieve my HR ball when I picked it up I knew I would keep it the rest of my life because it represented the hard work and dedication I had put into becoming a player at the time.

Well, enough blabbing, if you have taken the time to read this so far (and considering what I wrote in the last paragraph you haven't) I thank you.

There are still some questions that I am waiting to have answered.

What was the illegal substance?
What was the "overwhelming" evidence against Braun?
Is there any truth to the lifetime ban rumor?
Why was Braun's statement so vague?
Why didn't he meet with the media?

Plus, there are still things that are just irritating that I also wouldn't mind discussing of getting answered.

Why was Braun always singled out?
Why didn't other players (like A-Rod) get suspended first?
Why did Bosch say previously validate Braun's statement that he only used him as a consultant?
Will we ever see the full story?
IS IT ALL A BIG CONSPIRACY ???!!!
Can we please stop the Aaron Rodgers and Braun relationship stuff? It's not like they are a same-sex couple! But, yeah, I'll admit I wanna hear what he says too!
Diamondbacks fans, you did not lose to Ryan Braun in the 2011 playoffs, you lost to the BREWERS. All things considered, I'm sure at least one guy on the D-Backs was on PED then too so enough whining.
Finally, seeing he's now guilty, just how many OTHER PLAYERS have taken PEDs and got away with it. A sad day indeed not just for Braun and Brew Crew fans, but baseball as a whole. :((

I typed this whole shebang up in one sitting so I'll fix the grammar and clean it up eventually But, I simply do not know how I will react next year when spring training hits and Braun takes the field. In fact, I can already see Braun turning into the new Brett Favre where he's a love/hate type of guy.

Right now, it's just sad, I am sad, we are all sad, for the man, the game, and the mythology and sacred history of the game being tarnished. But, remember, he's one man, it's a team game, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes ... it rains ... think about that for a minute (yes, a Bull Durham reference). I am a fan of the team and not the player. If you stop following the Brewers or scapegoat the entire Brewers organization you are more of a players fan instead of a team fan. Which, I don't look down upon, because some people are probably just interested more in players instead of team, so be it.

I don't know how I'll react come 2014. If Braun stepped to the plate today I don't think I would boo or cheer, I would just shake my head and cheer on the Brewers (regardless of their record) to victory.

NOTE: I have temporarily removed the pictures on this page because I was getting hits by the thousands and my web server was overloading (never mind, traffic has slowed down, I have put them back) !!

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SUSPENDED FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR !!!! AND HE ADMITTED IT AND APOLOGIZES. EVERYTHING HERE ON THIS PAGE IS NOW MOOT AND I HAVE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR THE MAN FOREVER AND I HOPE THE BREWERS RELEASE HIS ASS RIGHT AWAY AND EAT HIS ENTIRE CONTRACT !!

SHIT! I'm getting hits by the second!! I only have a 1MBs upload! AHH WELL, IT WAS FUN PLAYING DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR A WHILE!

I temporarily removed the images linked! the page should load now!
Follow me on the twitters for any updates or for any questions  !!!

Before I start, let me inform you that I believe if you have something to say on the internet then just say it. Yes, I also like neon colors on a black background! PLUS, I WRITE 100% GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT SPELL CHECKED PROFESSIONAL PAPERS FOR SCHOOL AND ON THIS PAGE I DO NOT CARE ABOUT GRAMMAR ERRORS BECAUSE I JUST SPEW EVERYTHING OUT WHILE PLAYING DEFENSE ATTORNEY. Also, 'Roids, Steroids = PED  .. however you want to define it. Thanks to BrewerNation on twitter for reading this page and pointing this out to me and motivating me to make this "disclaimer." Plus, I toss everything on one page to read. WHY split it up into separate pages (even though maybe someday I will) if everything you want the reader to read is on one page? Words denote a point to be shown to audience. I, obviously, prefer to use bold and cool neon colors instead of pretty graphics and neat-o-styled back/forward icons.

Yes, I believe my points are extremely valid and prove Braun INNOCENT. OR, at least make it clear there is beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty. However, I generally do not take things seriously and I made this page primarily to ENTERTAIN (mostly myself cause I got a lot of time on my hands). I hope you enjoy reading and get a few laughs at the same time !!!

Contact me on twitter or email to share your thoughts, provide more evidence that proves his innocence, ask me for an interview, or offer me a book deal (more professionally written of course) to expand on everything I mention on this page. Does this page look familiar the legendary Mp3 page run from 1997-1998 Blex's Page of Good Mp3 ?? Indeed, I'm the same guy that ran that page !! If you remember that page, let me know !!!

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ESPN has scapegoated Braun ONCE AGAIN on 6/4/2013 !! Real News = "Bosch Cooperating" .. ESPN somehow takes that news to REHASH AND SPECULATE using Braun as a convenient scapegoat to provide casual fans of the game somebody easy to point at and say "he's the bad guy." ONCE AGAIN - ESPN = BAD REPORTING, BAD JOURNALISM, BAD FOR BASEBALL, BAD FOR SPORTS, BAD FOR EVERYBODY. ESPN has now gained Foxnews status in my book !! I haven't switched channels to Foxnews in over TEN YEARS and now ESPN has that honor !! Besides, MLB network is 10000x better anyways !! H4T3RZ STILL GONNA HATE !!!

I WILL GLADLY VOLUNTEER to go on ANY RADIO OR TV SHOW to argue my case. LET ME KNOW AND I'LL DO IT (yes, I love the attention, and stand by everything I say on this page) !!!

SOON TO COME: A PAGE OF COMMENTS I've received about the page ... Entertaining !!

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1) APPEARANCE IS EVERYTHING !!!

We all know that steroids increase head, body, and even shoe size while at the same time having side effects of permanent shrinkage, erection problems, and violent outbursts. Even Barry Bonds' mistress reported the side effects and he (like you know) was proven guilty of taking steroids. Did Braun have any physical signs of taking steroids? SEE FOR YOURSELF in this l33t side-by-side graphic I conjured up.

GO FIGURE, Braun looks the same in 2011 and 2008. Compare that to the above photograph of Mark McGuire who looks like so big and went through such a physical metamorphosis that he looked like an actor from the movie Universal Soldier!

Additionally, steroids create what is know commonly as 'Roid Rage. Braun has never shown ANY violent outbursts in his career even though he gets BEANED all the time every year! If he was taking steroids wouldn't he have any outbursts like what happened in the steroid-era? Think back to the 90s when steroid-era was at it's pinnacle. Brawls happened so often that I remember Charlie O'Brien being on the cover of sports illustrated while an article highlighted all the brawls taking place do to the infestation of players taking 'roids and getting 'roid rage from being pitched inside and plunked by the opposing pitcher!

Remember this SI cover? Ever see Braun do this? .... THAT'S A NEGATIVE AND HE GETS BEANED ALL THE TIME !!!

History does not lie. Unless, if it's being invented by Republicans. Yes, I am very anti-republican so if you are one I hope I really made you upset as that was my intention. There is NUMERICAL EVIDENCE that players who admittedly or obviously took steroids revived their careers and/or suddenly became gigantic home-run hitters that it's simple math to show they took steroids. In Ryan Braun's press conference http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/140333483.html, he too stated  "I’m 27 years old, I’m just entering my prime, I have a contract guaranteed for nine more years. I’ve been tested 25 times over the course of my career, at least three times this season prior to this test, and an additional time when I signed my contract, including an extensive physical, blood test – everything you could imagine." 25 TIMES in his career he was tested and nothing showed up. Prior to the sample that surprisingly tested positive he was already tested 3 TIMES and nothing showed up. But then, OUT OF THE BLUE, he tests positive with his testosterone being at a 20-1 ratio of regular levels! The conclusion is: HE HAD NO INTENT TO DO STEROIDS! Let's check his career statistics compared to Sammy Sosa's according to baseball-reference.com ...

So, notice anything that stands out in 2011? NOPE! Braun, as people know who have watched him play everyday, is the MODEL OF CONSISTENCY !!! WOW, he had more HR in 2008 than he did in 2011 !!! I'm writing this in late August of 2012 and (go figure) he's already got MORE HRs this year than last year! If he DID do steroids in 2011, wouldn't his numbers have gone down in 2012 especially seeing he is under the spotlight and probably being tested all the time?

NOW, let us compare Braun's with a CONFIRMED, GUILTY, AND ADMITTED steroid user Sammy Sosa ...

Check that out, from 1997 until 1998, he goes from 36 to 66 home runs! Quite the anomaly! POINT IS, there's a SUDDEN INCREASE in his power numbers. Braun, from age 23-28 (when most players are in their prime), has been consistently in the 30s with how many home runs he hits a year. But, as you can see with Sosa, all the sudden AFTER AGE 28 he pops 66, 63, 50, and 64,  homeruns a year at the final age of 32 !! The age most players have retired! The thing is, EVIDENCE IS THERE that makes mathematically gives somebody more than a reasonable doubt that Braun was guilty of taking steroids.

ESPN nowadays sucks! Really, I liked it more when I was a kid when it was all about showing baseball, football, basketball, and hockey highlights (the 4 major sports).

Now, the channel has a major hard on for three things.

First, they get major wood during baseball season the only team that matters to them is the YANKEES and they salivate like Pavlovian Dogs whenever they play or don't play. The majority of people HATE the Yankees so why would we all care about them more than any other team?

Second, they do NOT exist to INFORM their viewers and discuss the TEAM aspects of sports. They do not want to appeal to the EDUCATED fan. Instead, they want to maximize their audience by appealing to the MOST viewers. The motive of course is to increase ratings as much as possible so their corporate masters give them more money to perpetually advertise the polished turds they offer. It of course sucks for everybody in the entire world to be forced to watch (for example) the same stupid beer commercials over and over again. Really, how many times have we all heard that stupid Miller 64 song in the past year! After being bombarded non-stop with that song I swore an oath NEVER to buy one which isn't hard for me to do cause who wants a stupid low-calorie beer to begin with. To me, beer is beer, and judging by the obesity rate in the country it doesn't look like a lot of people are drinking and eating low-calorie and piss-tasting food.

Third, everybody there is IN LOVE with themselves and they all have massive throbbing erections for, you guessed it ... THEMSELVES !!!! What makes them get hard-ons? INDIVIDUAL "BREAKING NEWS" and "CONTROVERSIAL STORIES" !! For instance, team news? WHO CARES? Instead, when an individual is in the news they try to suck in as many idiots as possible. WHY? It's easier to make viewers (whether or not they are sports fans) relate to ONE PERSON instead of one team. Every time one person is in the news the entire network starts pleasuring themselves as the same time! You want evidence? The "score ticker" at the bottom of the screen. We see the scores scroll by separated by tabs: Football, Baseball, Hockey, and (as if anybody really wants to know) Mexican League Women's High School Volleyball. SO, when one person is in the news they totally character assassinate the guy by putting his NAME as a full fledged SPORT! How many times in the past few years have we seen, Favre, Clemons, Bonds, TEBOW, RGIII, Armstrong, and other players whether they are newsworthy items or not have a tab all to themselves.

Where does that lead us? Regardless of what the news is, if any of it is true or false it doesn't matter. All you have to do is put "sources report" in front of it and immediately whether the story is true or not. If a rumor breaks and utterly invades the privacy rights of a player they don't give a damn as long as people go "Ouuuu, so and so is in the news for whatever reason !! Get on the dial and tell everybody regardless of whether or not it's true."

WHO WAS THE IDIOT THAT LEAKED THE STORY TO ESPN? That has yet to be found. BUT, WHY would somebody leak it ONLY to them? Whoever the person was, ANY journalist knows that when you receive information you MUST question the source and whether or not the information is suitable for a leak. In this case it's not so as two crack-pot idiot "journalists" at ESPN named Mark Fainaru-Wada (WTF kinda last name is that anyway) and T.J. Quinn. A few years prior, these schmucks were subpoenaed to testifying in court who their leaked source was in the Bonds' steroid scandal. They never did and never faced criminal charges of obstructing justice. Yeah, it's just fine to protect their confidential sources no matter whether or not their information is true but when it comes to protecting the integrity of the game we love and protecting the confidentially of players who are heroes to people around the world it's no problem to throw them under the bus and "brand" them as cheaters for life. Those two assholes are NOT journalists or reporters. They are two son-of-a-bitches who want fame regardless of the truth and who they falsely accuse of wrongdoing !!!

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Steroids alter the mind and an overdose (of course) cause DRAMATIC MENTAL HEALTH CHANGES. I can testify myself with this. Back in 2000 I received too much of a non-dick shrinking and non-anabolic steroid. I WENT CRAZY AND HAD CRAZY MOOD SWINGS and that was with only 60 MG of Prednisone !! So, my testosterone level was probably something like 2/1 or 3/1. BUT 20/1 .. IT WOULD TURN A PERSON INTO THE INCREDIBLE HULK and practically make a man start uprooting trees and turning over cars like a crazy guy !! I got a tone of acne when I went through that experience. EVER SEEN BRAUN with Acne??? NOPE !! FACE IS ALWAYS BLEMISH FREE !!!

CHECK THIS OUT: According to the Mayo Clinic: "It is possible to overdose on testosterone from replacement therapy, according to the Mayo Clinic. Side effects may include temporary blindness or blurry vision, seizures, the inability to speak, slurred speech or severe weakness in the legs or arms. Seek emergency medical treatment if any of these side effects occur."

ASK YOURSELF - WHY IN THE WORLD, WOULD ANY ATHLETE DURING THE MOST IMPORTANT GAMES of their careers (in Braun's case, the playoffs) GO OFF THE GALVANOMETER (that's just a personal word I find funny and is used to study earthquakes) SCALES TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE? Why would a HITTER .. WANT .. BLURRED VISION AND WEAKNESS OF THE ARMS AND LEGS !!!!!!!!! ???????? Considering how great Braun did in the playoffs in 2011, evidence (like always) points to complete innocence !!!