Due to speculation that it would be a tell-all about drug usage in major league baseball, the forthcoming book by former ballplayer Jose Canseco, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big, has been eagerly awaited, an eagerness that was heightened by the fact that publisher Judith Regan had embargoed the book from the press until its 21 February release date. But, as an amazing flurry of stories atests, all that fell apart over the weekend when a New York Daily News story reported on some of the more sensational charges in the book, including Canseco’s claim that he injected steroids with his then-teammate, beloved homerun king Mark McGwire. A Reuters wire story says most of those named in the story have denied drug usage, including McGwire. A USA Today story by Mel Antonen says Canseco himself says he under a “gag order” and can’t comment, but the Daily News story “may or may not be true.” A New York Times story by Jack Curry, meanwhile, that ReganBooks has moved up the pub date a week to Februrary 14, and that an exclusive 60 Minutes interview with Canseco had to be moved up, too. But it’s a Seattle Times report that highlights what may be Canseco’s most sensation charge: That when he played for the Texas Rangers he introduced several teammates to steroid usage, and that management “must have known,” particularly the team’s general managing partner: George W. Bush. The report says a White House spokesman “did not specifically address Canseco’s assertion.” The White House did, however, finally address the assertion late in the day yesterday. According to an Associated Press wire story, the President’s spokesman said, “If there was, he was not aware of it at the time.”