Local Reaction: Ryan Braun and the Fallout

Check out our blog roll partner Brew Crew Ball for the Brewer faithful reaction to Ryan Braun's failed drug test.

There are a lot of comments... 315 comments on the first two posts announcing the failed test.  The emotions have been running hot in Brewer nation and everyone wants to see what becomes of this increasingly bizarre story.  For Brewers fans, the hope of exoneration lies in the details and handling of the tests.  The initial reports were that Braun had failed a test and the test was linked to the use of performance enhancing drugs.  Those initial reports have been somewhat denounced; the allegations have now shifted to unusually high levels of exogenous testosterone in his system; levels so high that (according to an anonymous source cited by Ken Rosenthal and others), "there had (has) never been a result like this in in the history of the (MLB drug-prevention) program."  The question is, how did it get there?  Were the tests somehow tainted?  Is there an alternative explanation that does not involve unknowingly taking a drug that he should not have taken?  And, finally, do high testosterone levels indict Braun of using performance enhancing drugs (which carries a mandatory 50 game suspension) or could that test result somehow be linked to a lesser offense (like using a banned substance, which only carries a 25 game suspension)?  Again, it remains to be seen how this will all play out and exactly what Braun's defense will be but it's pretty clear that he's not going down without a fight.  He has hired high profile defense attorney David Cornwell (who has represented athletes like Warren Moon, Randy Moss, Gilbert Arenas and Reggie Bush over the course of his career in various roles)... one thing is for sure, this thing is likely to get more bizarre as it progresses.