"Though not specifically referencing the drug testing controversy that has enveloped him for most of the off-season, Ryan Braun did not ignore it as many expected when accepting his National League most valuable player award Saturday night.

The Milwaukee Brewers' star leftfielder, who awaits the verdict from an arbitration panel on whether he'll be suspended for the first 50 games of the 2012 season, talked about facing "adversity" and "challenge" during his speech at the annual Baseball Writers Association of America awards banquet at the New York Hilton.

"Sometimes in life we all deal with challenges we never expected to endure," said Braun, making his first public appearance since a report surfaced in early December that he tested positive for a banned substance last October and faced the suspension."