Major League Baseball

A.J. Burnett's new contract with the New York Yankees is not only for top dollar -- he will receive $16.5 million in each of the next five seasons, making him the sixth-highest-paid starter in baseball -- it is also concise. The agreement is a sentence long and contains neither perks nor bonuses. Which is very much an exception to the norm.

The doping suspension of Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez on Thursday has revived a debate that Major League Baseball undoubtedly hoped it had put behind it: Is the sport's anti-drug program finally harsh enough to deter potential dopers, or is it still too lenient? Baseball "has come a long way in the last seven years," said Dr. Gary I. Wadler, a New York sports medicine expert and a key official of the World Anti-Doping Agency. "But it's still not where it needs to be."

Roger Clemens dismissed claims that his former strength coach repeatedly injected him with steroids and human growth hormone as "hogwash" and said such a series of injections would have left him so strong that "I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead and I should be pulling tractors with my teeth."

Major League Baseball launched a department of investigations Friday, a permanent branch of the commissioner's office responsible for looking into drug use in the sport. In his report last month on drug use in baseball, George Mitchell had recommended the formation of the unit. Adopting another of Mitchell's recommendations, MLB is establishing a tip line for team employees to make the commissioner's office aware of violations of drug, betting and other rules.

On the eve of testifying before Congress about baseball's steroid era and subsequent reforms, Commissioner Bud Selig said Monday he would not pledge to outsource baseball's drug-testing program to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency or any other third party. "I'm satisfied with the way it is now," Selig said. Selig said he remains committed to implementing all the reforms recommended in last month's report by former Sen.

WASHINGTON -- A congressional committee exploring baseball's steroids scandal asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to investigate whether shortstop Miguel Tejada lied in denying he used performance-enhancing drugs as lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on Major League Baseball to clean up its act or face possible legislative action.

As Commissioner Bud Selig made it abundantly clear that he has no intention of letting an independent agency run baseball's drug-testing program, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency criticized Selig and players' union chief Donald Fehr on Wednesday for "essentially thumbing their nose at those who care about the integrity of the game."

Congress might not love him, anti-doping experts might not love him and the players' union might not love him. But Bud Selig works for the 30 major league owners, who unanimously awarded the commissioner a three-year contract extension Thursday. Selig's contract now expires in 2012, when he will be 78. He said he would retire at that time, although he had previously said he would not accept an extension and would retire in 2009.

BEIJING -- How do you explain inning in Chinese? That is among the challenges facing the Dodgers as they prepare to play the San Diego Padres in the first major league games in China. It is with a certain missionary zeal that the teams hope to enlighten China's 1.3 billion people in the pleasures of the exotic sport of bang qiu, literally "stick ball." American sports have a mixed track record in China. The Chinese are crazy about basketball.