I think everyone in these parts has made their peace with the Alex Rodriguez confession, but surely others must have an opinion. They do! And here they are:

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• My lawyer never told me that: "This is bad. I wanted to let him off the hook, I really did, and I still don't hold him fully responsible in the sense that baseball created this problem and, let's face it, everyone was cheating during this period. The problem is, this guys story seems about as legit Roger Clemens or Barry Bond's at this point. Any good lawyer- hell, even a bad one- will tell you to stick to your story and never stray." [I'm Writing Sports]

• It's good to have principles: "Anybody who want to pay me upwards of $200 million can put just about anything in my butt as long as I get the money up front. No questions asked. Tic-Tacs for $100 million? Done. What's that? Steroids? $120 million? Hmmm... Lemme think about... Done. Gerbils? $180 million? Sure, why not." [Gaslamp Ball]

• Classic Lupica: "At this point you want Alex Rodriguez to find a cousin, any cousin, who will inject him with truth serum." [Mike Lupica]

• I don't know; I thought it went well: "As someone in the PR industry, I can't imagine a more disastrous performance (and I use that word intentionally) then Rodriguez put on Tuesday afternoon. Is there such things as an F-, because that was more than failing. Instead of slamming doors shut with confidence and honesty, he opened about 10 more up with evasiveness and incoherent babbling." [Cecilio Guante]

• I'm glad you're here to tell us these things: Yes, Johnny Damon, you are correct. Committing murder is worse than using steroids. [Bob's Blitz]

• Knowing is half the battle: "We have to appreciate his honesty when he basically said he wasn't sure if he'd say anything had it not been for the Sports Illustrated report. But the bottom line is we just can't believe he took something for so long without knowing what it was." [Darren Rovell]

• Thanks for the pictures: "A-Rod: Creating childhood memories, one presser at a time" [Big League Stew]

They sat like lemmings, one alongside the other alongside the other, nodding with Alex Rodriguez's words, showing that-good or bad-he is one of them. That he is a New York Yankee.

And then, I vomited my Honey Nut Cheerios back into the bowl.

Will someone please tell me what, in the name of Steve Balboni, were ARod's teammates doing at today's press conference? Why were they there? Why were they supporting this man and his actions?

You're Derek Jeter. You've presumably played the game cleanly since making your debut 14 years ago. You're known as a stand-up guy and a hard-nosed shortstop who believes in the pure goodness of baseball. Why would you support ARod?

You're Andy Pettitte. You've been down this road before. You claim to detest cheating and how it has corroded the sport. Why would you support ARod?

You're Brian Cashman. You (laughably) claim to never have suspected Rodriguez or Roger Clemens or Jason Giambi or Jose Canseco any of the other juiced Bombers who have graced your roster. Why would you support ARod?

The answer, of course, is simple: Baseball players are dolts.

Admittedly, I am not that bright. I attended the University of Delaware. I am a sports writer. I liked Charles In Charge. But when Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass were outed as the worst kind of journalists (not mere plagiarists or mis-quoters, but inventors of reality), I didn't show up for their farewells in a display of support. I didn't have anyone's back or stick up for a peer. No, I saw the massive damage they did to our profession … and I was royally pissed off.

So, once again, why?

In my 15 years of covering sports, I've heard hundreds of athletes talk of "being a real man" A real man plays hard. A real man shows up on time. A real man admits his mistake. A real man ... blah, blah, blah. Truth be told, being a real man (if one must use such a stupid phrasing) means having guts to go against the uniform and the expected behavior. Of course the Yankees stood behind Rodriguez-because 95 percent of these boobs have never taken a stand in their lives. The foundation of their existences centers around repetition and precision; doing as told and being robotic in response and output. That, more than anything, is why I'd rather my daughter and son become bowling shoe cleaners than pro athletes. I want them to be blessed with conviction and decency, not mindless adherence.

So, New York Yankee players, line up behind a man who cheated; who lied; who shamed the game. Line up behind someone who has shown you and your profession no respect.

At some point, clean ballplayers must take action. No more support for disgraced teammates; no more "We just need to move past this" BS monologues; no more calls for fresh starts and short memories.

No, somebody like Jeter or Johnny Damon or Mark Teixeira needs to make clear that steroids are a disgrace, and those who use are damnations to the game.

It's time to stop supporting Alex Rodriguez-and start supporting baseball.

Jeff Pearlman is a writer for Sports Illustrated, purveyor or JeffPearlman.com and the author of "Boys Will Be Boys."

This was the supplement that was featured on practically every shelf in GNC, playing on the notion that, you, jiggly Nautilus fraud, could be all diesel in a week if you just swirled this powder into your water thermos everyday. It worked. It worked plenty. I remember a few friends of mine who became so addicted to it and amazed by its fat-shredding results that they would buy the stuff in Costco-like bulk. That is until, yeah, it became obvious that when they weren't playing sports full-time and lifting everyday that it made them more tweaked out than Jason Schwartzman in "Spun." (Nobody else saw that movie? Nobody?)

There is no real reason for this post other than that I haven't heard Ripped Fuel mentioned in public in quite some time and it made me long for the days of when ephedra-laced muscle-builders were perfectly legal and available to everyone who just wanted to lose their Natty Light paunch before Spring Break. Ripped Fuel basically became the definitive Pure Evil of over the counter supplements when it was found in Vikings' lineman Korey Stringer's locker. And anybody who's chugged it on an empty stomach and then walked outside on a hot day realized how something like that could happen. But now it's finally brought back in to the conversation thanks to A-Rod admitting that he was a chronic Ripped user back in his Mariner days. You know, when he looked like this.

So Ripped Fuel, I salute you and your ability to give non-professional athletes and do-nothing Communications majors the inspiration to look like the Soloflex guy because you made it seem possible. Oh, and thanks for the orange pee, too. That was awesome.

Ripped Fuel Danger [Body Building For You]

Ignorance seemed to be the theme of most of his answers during his media "grilling" today. Rodriguez admits to buying and injecting primobolan with his his unnamed "cousin." But he didn't know what it was for, didn't know how to take it, didn't know if actually did any good, and didn't care enough to find out. "Naive young kid" is his story and he's sticking to it.

I'm almost inclined to believe that he was that dumb. Not so dumb that he didn't know he was doing something wrong, but dumb enough to not really understand why it was wrong (or even how do that wrong thing correctly.)

Of course, if he wasn't just a stupid kid, then he's a tremendous, diabolical liar and nothing he ever says can be trusted. So which explanation fits with this uncomfortable moment when he tries to address his teammates, but sits silent for a full thirty seconds—even taking a drink of water—before simply saying thanks. Was that in the script, or is he just incapable of working without one?

[Video via MLB Network]