Rod 2.0:Beta

Alex Rodriguez Grabs a Handful of Derek Jeter's Butt

Ah. So this explains those Jeter-Rodriguez "sleepovers"...

Vis Outsports, from a screen capture of the Yankees-Angels game tweeted by Bill Simmons, who writes ESPN's Sports Guy.

Nelson Cruz Shows His Big Baseball Bat (and More) in "ESPN"

In case you haven't had enough of the super sexy nude (or nearly) nude athletes in ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue": Texas Rangers rightfielder Nelson Cruz is swingin' a big ole' baseball bat ... and shows just the right amount of cheek.

Oguchi Onyewu, Adrian Peterson and Dwight Howard also strip down for the same issue.

College Newspaper Argues Embrace "Homoeroticism in Sports"

While some professional and college sports fans become uncomfortable when they see too much male bonding in sports—remember the ridiculous gay panic and outrage over this photo of two University of Louisville basketball players?—others feel just the opposite. Arguing that "sports provide an exceptional display of homoerotic eye candy," an interesting op-ed at the University of Arizona student newspaper argues the athletic department should embrace homoeroticism and fight homophobia.

Take the simple butt pat, for example. The typical congratulatory pat on the fanny is nothing if not a homoerotic activity. While the intentions are not sexual, the act itself carries sexual connotations.

All-male sports teams create a unique fraternal bond between participants. These types of bonds create the strongest friendships. Combine that fraternal bond with constant body contact and huddles so close that you could kiss your teammates if you weren't wearing a helmet, and the underlying sexual tension is undeniable.

It is ironic that the sports world is generally homophobic, even though most sporting activities revolve around homoeroticism. ... Homophobic attitudes seem to be at the heart of sports, a concept that is hypocritical because they exhibit such homoerotic behaviors. In the same way that tantric sex focuses the orgasm inside the body, we should refocus our sports enthusiasm to promote LGBTQ rights; especially since it's only a small step from the homoerotic behaviors on the playing field and the people who engage in these behaviors as a way of life.

If only that could happen. Contact sports exhibit an incredible amount of homoeroticism and male bonding, but, this is probably why there is such an exclusive, homophobic and hyper-masculine attitude surrounds these sports. In other words, notes Cyd Ziegler at Outsports, "It’s OK if a straight teammate pats your butt, but if an openly gay teammate does, that’s trouble."

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New, Unauthorized Bio Will Examine Alex Rodriguez' "Struggles with His Sexuality" and Steroid Use

Poor Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees superstar slugger admits to ESPN he used steroids from 2001 to 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. That may be the least of the star baseball player's concerns, Outsports reports. "One item that’s not being talked about that much is that the author of the story on SI.com, Selena Roberts, just announced she has a book coming out in May" that promises to examine the secretive life of baseball's highest-paid player—including the many rumors surrounding his sexuality.

Bob's Blitz is one of several sports blogs reporting that the new and very unauthorized biography, Hit and Run: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez, will "look at Rodriguez'  struggle with his sexuality as well as his steroid use." The blog references an infamous Daily News article that described Rodriguez's tastes in strippers ... and women:

In New York, A-Rod used to be a regular at the VIP Club, where he always asked for a dancer who performs under the stage name Monique.

Monique is 5-feet-5 with brown hair and brown eyes and has a well-toned, muscular figure, a pal said.

When the stripper jumped over to the Hustler Club, Rodriguez started going there to see her perform and buy sexy lap dances, a source said.

He even took her out for a pricey shopping spree at the Versace store on Fifth Ave., the source said.

A petite stripper at the Hustler Club said A-Rod "likes the she-male, muscular type. They brought me up to the champagne room one time. I spun around once and that was it. I'm not his type."

The book will shed some light on A-Rod's former BFF relationship with Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter which Rodriguez says involved "sleepovers." The reality is "there's been a change in the relationship over 14 years and, hopefully, we can just put it behind us," Rodriguez told ESPN in 2007. "You go from sleeping over at somebody's house five days a week, and now you don't sleep over. It's just not that big of a deal." 

Last night Jeter announced he stands "behind" Rodriguez—must be a familiar position.

Hit and Run: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to drop on May 19, exactly one week before the Yankees travel to Texas to play the Rangers. 

A-Rod Story Gets A New Wrinkle [Outsports]
Can Pre-Order Selena Roberts' Rodriguez Book [Blitz]

Some Background ....
Toronto Fans Taunt Rodriguez with Madonna Photos [R20]
Kravitz Faults Ex Manager For Rodriguez Rumor [R20]
Rodriguez's Wife Claims Madonna "Brainwashing" [R20]