FBI opens Tejada inquiry

``The Department of Justice has referred the Miguel Tejada matter to the FBI and a preliminary inquiry will be conducted,'' said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.

A former American League Most Valuable Player now with the Houston Astros, Tejada said during an August 2005 interview with congressional investigators that he never took the drugs. A House committee earlier this week asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate Tejada's statements after a report by former Senator George Mitchell linked him to steroids.

Tejada was among the more than 80 players named in Mitchell's report, which chronicled widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs. The Baltimore Orioles traded the shortstop to the Astros last month, a day before the report was released.

Fernando Cuza, Tejada's agent, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.