Yankee Hero Tino Martinez Defends A-Rod, Directly Refutes Canseco's Claim

New York Yankees great Tino Martinez came on this morning to our show and vehemently denied Canseco's claim that Alex Rodriguez had used steroids. Martinez said that he played with A-Rod in seattle when Alex was only 19, and Tino has seen no increase in Alex's body since then. Tino seemed to dismiss Jose Canseco's assertions as more marketing for his new book, than anything actually true.

Meet Tino today, March 26th, 2008 from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. at ESPN Zone Times Square, NYC. This will be a great opportunity to talk with Tino before Opening Day 2008 to hear his thoughts about baseball moving past the steroids era and how to encourage the next generation of players to make good decisions.

Kids are encouraged to share their story through a video, essay or photos at www.briggsdiamondsintherough.com. The grand prize winner will win $10,000 to help maintain their home baseball field and a trip for four to New York to attend a Yankees game.

INTERVIEW & MORE AFTER THE JUMP...

As both spring training instructor and front office assistant for the Yankees this year, Tino has the inside scoop on who and what to watch this season. Martinez is supporting this idea as spokesman for Briggs & Stratton’s Diamonds in the Rough youth baseball program. The 2008 Diamonds in the Rough youth baseball contest is challenging kids to inspire their peers – and America – by explaining how playing baseball helped them build The Power Within to overcome challenges on or off the field.