SHOCKING NEWS: MANNY RAMIREZ HAS BEEN SUSPENDED 50 GAMES AFTER POSITIVE TEST

In absolutely shocking news, former Red Sox star and current Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. Ramirez' agent, Scott Boras, says that he did not test positive for a steroid. The suspension will keep Ramirez off the field until at least July 3 and will cost him about one-third of his $25 million salary. Ramirez is batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBI for the league-leading Dodgers this season.

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to [Dodgers owner Frank] McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, [manager Joe] Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

Ramirez will not appeal the suspension.

Now, the bigger news here is that the Red Sox' world championships have taken a huge hit and questions will surround their sudden rise to the top of the baseball world. Red Sox fans are quick to point out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi and Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, but those names were brought out by the corrupt Mitchell Report and corrupt leaks that targeting just the Yankees and Mets and their employees. This news is the first to hit the heart of the Red Sox organization, something I knew would happen if everything was on equal ground - which it wasn't in the past. The Red Sox and their fans can talk around this all they want, but their recent "dynasty" is now tainted.

[UPDATE: Straight from ESPN.com ... Two sources told ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG - human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO. A source with intimate knowledge of steroids told ESPN that a male athlete usually uses HCG after a cycle of steroids because steroids often shut down the testosterone-making ability of the testicles. HCG restores their capacity to make testosterone. The source said that some males may use HCG in lieu of steroids also. HCG by itself can provide a substantial boost in the body's own testosterone, and this may provide some performance-enhancement benefits.]