Now's the time that Costas will revisit steroids, By: Neil Best

May 2, 2006

Bob Costas never used the word "vindicated." But we can.

"I wouldn't stop you," he said.

So here goes: Costas has been vindicated, many times over, on a concern he was among the first to raise on national television, back in the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil days of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I just thought I was doing part of my job as a commentator," he said.

"I didn't think you could look at baseball in the 1990s and at the turn of the century and not notice something very strange was happening that was distorting the game."

Costas said he never accused individuals; he was more frustrated with baseball itself for not acting and others in the media for not speaking out.

"People would show up with 20 pounds of solid muscle and no fat, packed on in four months during an offseason and it was like, 'Hey, nice workout program!' " he said.

Costas has retained his interest in the topic and returns tonight from his post-Olympics hiatus to revisit it in depth on HBO's "Costas Now."

The centerpiece is an interview with Willie Mays, now No. 4 on the all-time home run list and godfather of Barry Bonds, closing in on No. 2.

Mays, 74, tells Costas he probably would have tried steroids as a player if they were prevalent then. He also says he never has asked Bonds whether he used steroids.

"I don't think I will," he says. "I mean, I may not get the right answers."

Last year, Costas asked Frank Robinson whether players proven to have used steroids should be kept out of the Hall of Fame. "Wipe it out," he said. "No numbers. It's like they didn't play."

In 2002, Costas asked Bonds whether he ever used steroids or ever would.

"No," Bonds said. "I don't have to. I mean I'm a good enough ballplayer as it is."

For some, Costas' interest in steroids fits an unfortunate caricature. At 54, the Commack South High alum no longer is viewed as an irreverent wunderkind. To critics, he is an elitist scold who rails against modern scourges such as interleague play.

The low point might have been an essay in The New York Times' sports magazine in February, which portrayed Costas as an intellectual who "floats somewhere above the rest of us."

Costas called the piece "beyond ridiculous," "almost incoherent" and "drivel." What was unfair about it? "Every comma, every letter of every sentence."

Costas argues that both he and his show have a sense of humor. "I'm the guy who did the elevator races on Letterman," he said. "I've never abandoned that."

"Costas Now" and "Real Sports," HBO's other contribution to serious sports journalism, are not meant to supplant lighter fare, he said. "It's an alternative. It's an addition." Tonight is the latest addition on a matter many were late to catch onto.

Said Costas: "I'm glad I said it when I did."

Lou sweet on managing again

Lou Piniella, 62, signed with Fox to analyze a series of Saturday games starting May 20, but he said he still is interested in managing - only for a contender.

"I don't think I'd like to have my career end with three losing seasons," he said yesterday, referring to his stint with the Devil Rays.

Meanwhile, he keeps busy at home in Florida, fishing, golfing, and even water skiing.

Piniella spoke at a Manhattan luncheon while wearing his 1977 Yankees World Series ring. He said he wears it every day. Why? "It was the first one," he said.