Jose Canseco ordered to pay $258,750 for reneging on marketing contract

Jose Canseco has been ordered to pay $258,750 to the independent Golden League for reneging on a marketing contract, the league announced today.

Canseco did not appear in court to contest the charges, according to a court filing. The league said in a news release that it filed suit after a "lack of response from Canseco and his string of attorneys over a two-year period."

The lawsuit, which describes Canseco as "an infamous baseball player," alleges that Canseco reneged on a marketing agreement that he signed when he agreed to play for the league's Long Beach Armada in 2006. Among the specific conduct cited in the suit:

--"Canseco faked a back injury to avoid a public appearance and game in Reno while he actually played poker all night at a local Reno casino."

--"Canseco cited a family emergency as requiring him to rush home and abandon his team while they were on a road trip when he actually traveled to Las Vegas to play in a Celebrity Poker Tournament which he won and then bragged to his teammates about upon his return."

--"Canseco abandoned the team in Yuma, Arizona, including a scheduled sponsor appearance with the Yuma team's largest business partner so he could return to Los Angeles to attend Hef's Mid-Summer Night's Party at the Playboy Mansion."

Canseco is scheduled to speak at USC on Friday.

-- Bill Shaikin