Mitchell Report to be released Thursday; Canseco totally calm

NEW YORK and MIAMI — With the now-infamous Mitchell report finally coming on Thursday - and many baseball players anticipating being named - there is a lot of tension throughout the world of Major League Baseball. Not for Jose Canseco, though.

“Cool as a cucumber, I am,” said Canseco, the 1988 MVP with the Oakland A’s. “I am fully and 100 percent confident that nothing written in that report is going to tarnish my reputation or damage my good name at all.”

The report - conducted over several months by former senator George Mitchell, at the behest of baseball commissioner Bud Selig and the U.S. Congress - is expected to name 60-80 baseball players. It has the potential of bringing with it suspensions and fines, as well as tarnishing the reputation of many players, active and retired.

In anticipation of the release of the report, Canseco is making no special provisions. “I’m probably going to go out to lunch, and maybe go hit a few golf balls in the afternoon,” he said.

As for the impact on the future of baseball, Canseco said there is much that some of the current players can learn from him.

“The problem with baseball is that there’s rampant dishonesty,” Canseco said. “There are a lot of players feeling very nervous right now. Not me, though - I’m an honest athlete, an open book. I stand here as an example for the rest of baseball, of what it can be.”

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!