Alex Rodriguez Accuses Selena Roberts Of Stalking Him

Alex Rodriguez did the right thing by quickly coming clean about his use of steroids, and by most accounts he seemed forthright and genuine in his interview with Peter Gammons. Yes, parts of it seemed scripted (because, let's face it, they were), but overall he seemed contrite, which is really all fans can ask for after being subjected to the soap operas surrounding the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

ESPN aired its lengthy interview with Alex Rodriguez on Monday evening and one of the topics that really got Rodriguez going was the tactics of Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts. Rodriguez took off on Roberts, who co-wrote the Rodriguez piece with David Epstien, claiming that she resorted to questionable tactics when researching the story.

"What makes me upset is that Sports Illustrated pays this lady, Selena Roberts, to stalk me," he told ESPN's Peter Gammons.

Rodriguez went on to say that Roberts was tossed from his New York City apartment building, that she had to be escorted off of the University Miami campus by police when she sought out Rodriguez at the campus gym on Thursday and that she tried to break into his Miami home where his "children were sleeping".

"There are some really respectable journalists that are following this lady off a cliff," he said.

Roberts, as most would expect, immediately issued a statement through Sports Illustrated saying, "The allegations made by Alex Rodriguez are absurd" and affirmed that she'd never been to his apartment or his Miami home and that she'd never had any run-ins with police at the University of Miami campus.

The press release contained a quote from "Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig," aka The Nutty Professor. Make no mistake, when Roberto is rapping on MLB Network, he's an employee of baseball. There are many sides to Costas, including an opinionated one. Never hysterical or over the top, Costas offers his criticisms in a measured and thoughtful manner.

He was put to the test Saturday, as was the entire MLB Network, when the Alex Rodriguez steroid story broke, and the network moved into high gear with extensive coverage. Costas was called in to interview one of the Sports Illustrated reporters who broke the story, Selena Roberts. Clearly, Costas' expertise in interviewing paid off. He even went so far as to try to ask Roberts who her sources were.

It was a big day for the MLB Network, which launched on Jan 1. Its coverage included a panel discussion on which Costas also served and voiced his displeasure with the Major League Baseball Players Association and its role in the seizure of the 2003 tests that landed A-Rod with a positive. All in all, considering that Costas just landed the gig, the MLB Network's timing was perfect.

As far as covering his bosses, Costas said he's not about to start hiding his feelings, even if his words are at odds with the agendas set by the geniuses running major league baseball.

"From the start, both from (MLB Network CEO) Tony Petitti and commissioner Selig, the understanding that I have is I'm free to make any comment I deem appropriate," Costas said. "That's what I intend to do ... I'll express myself in the way people have come to expect me to express myself."

Obviously, Costas believes he will be "free" to be himself on the MLB Network. He likely did get assurances from Selig and Petitti. There still is more to this equation. Selig is the commish. Petitti is a network suit. They both work for all Major League Baseball owners. Each owner has a stake in the MLB Network. The real static will come down - hard - if something Costas says upsets the Lords of Baseball.

Selig's history has always been to side with the owners. His popularity among the Lords has paid off for him. Paid off to the tune of $18 million per. Is Selig going to suddenly change because of the network? Would Selig jeopardize his relationship with the owners to defend Costas? Are the owners, all of a sudden, going to get liberal and say: "Hey Bob, go ahead, knock us. We don't care. It's good TV." If Selig asks Petitti to "straigthen Costas out" will he tell Selig: "No, we've got to support Bob. We've got to go to the mat for him."