Steroid Nation

Reggie Jackson opines on steroid users in the baseball hall of fame: Keep 'em out

2009-07-16T10:14:35-05:00

Reggie Jackson, a shirttail cousin of the embattled juicer Barry Bonds, give us his opinion on baseball 'roiders introduced into the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.

"...I am hoping that those guys that get caught don't get into the Hall of Fame."

There is plenty of wiggle room in Jackson's statement of make excuses for Cousin Barry. However, it must gall the veterans to see the steroid-enhanced stats put up by the McGwires and Bonds of the recent baseball past. To Bloomberg:

Reggie Jackson, a two-time World Series most valuable player, said there's no room in baseball's Hall of Fame for those who have used steroids.

"It bothers me," Jackson, 63, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "A lot of Hall of Famers are very offended by this. I am starting to get affected and I am hoping that those guys that get caught don't get into the Hall of Fame." Jackson, who played for the New York Yankees from 1977 to 1981 and now serves as a special adviser to the team, also said he misses the old Yankee Stadium. The Yankees moved from the ballpark that was home to 26 World Series championship teams, including two of his own, to their new venue across the street.

"I never really saw the new stadium when they were building it," Jackson said. "I hung out at the old one. I had a difficult time leaving it. The last day I went out with a couple of friends and we walked around the stadium and I sat in the center field block with the fans and others and got a little teary-eyed."

Jackson, known as Mr. October after making history at the stadium as the only Major League Baseball player to hit three home runs in a World Series game, said he bought his old locker and the Yankee Stadium sign that was on top of the ballpark.

Interesting that Jackson has reversed his stance on 'roids to a degree...to the degree that he supported Cousin Barry in the past.

Minnesota Vikings Williams's trump NFL drug policies; Other leagues come to NFL's defense

2009-07-14T16:16:33-05:00

As noted over the weekend, a local Minnesota judge blocked the 2008 drug suspension of the two Minnesota Viking lineman Kevin and Pat Williams. (To the AP)

A judge has blocked NFL plans to suspend Minnesota Vikings players Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson on Thursday granted the players' motion for a temporary restraining order. That keeps the NFL from suspending them until their case is decided.

That may be a while. The judge also scheduled a hearing for July 22 on whether he should put state court proceedings on hold while a federal appeals court considers other issues in the case.

The defensive tackles tested positive last summer for a banned diuretic that can mask the presence of steroids, though they've never been accused of taking steroids.

The NFL had intended to enforce the Williamses' four-game suspensions at the start of the upcoming season.

Other professional leagues have now supported the NFL in attempting to discipline the Viking duo:

U.S. Olympic officials, Major League Baseball and other professional sports organizations are getting into the NFL's fight with two Minnesota Vikings linemen who were suspended for violating the league's anti-doping policy.

MLB, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey Association asked Monday for permission to file paperwork in federal court in support of the NFL, which wants to suspend the players for four games. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency filed a similar motion on its own.

Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, who are not related, have never been accused of taking steroids. The two linemen tested positive last summer for a banned diuretic, bumetanide, that can mask the presence of steroids. They took the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, which contained the diuretic but wasn't listed on the label.

The leagues contend their own drug testing programs would be affected if the linemen are allowed to fight their four-game suspensions in state court. USADA argues uniform rules are needed "to ensure a level playing field."

Jeremy Mayfield may be fighting speed, on and off the track

2009-07-10T10:34:47-05:00

Top NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield was suspended form competition in early May. However NASCAR releases almost no information on drug suspensions. Mayfield, rumored to be positive for amphetamine fires back today. Story at ABC News:

Suspended Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield has broken his silence, vehemently denying allegations of drug use and adamantly defending himself from recent NASCAR claims in an exclusive interview with ESPN.

It is Mayfield's first extensive public response since being suspended indefinitely from NASCAR competition on May 9, when NASCAR said he failed a random drug test the previous week in Richmond, Va. NASCAR later confirmed an ESPN The Magazine report that Mayfield had tested positive for methamphetamine.

A federal appeals court issued an injunction last week that lifted Mayfield's indefinite suspension. NASCAR appealed that ruling on Monday. Mayfield has not returned to the track.

Mayfield feels he was not given due process; he's mad and he's not taking it anymore:

"Every time there's an action [by NASCAR], there's going to be a reaction. From here on out," Mayfield said in a phone interview Wednesday from his home in Statesville, N.C. "I try to be nice. I try to be respectful to them. I try to do everything right. But I'm not getting drug through the mud no more."

Mayfield repeated his stance that he never took methamphetamine. He also said he no longer consumes alcohol, largely due to the fact, he said, his father was a "bad alcoholic." Asked if he had ever taken illegal drugs, Mayfield responded, "What are you calling illegal? I've drank beer. I don't drink beer at all anymore. I don't drink. Don't do anything."

He said he feels as though NASCAR is attempting to make an example of him.

"I feel like that's exactly what they thought I was going to be. Exactly. To a 'T,'" Mayfield said. "Now, all the sudden, Brian's [France, NASCAR's chairman] coming back saying, 'Well, we have positive tests all the time.' Well, if it's a zero-tolerance policy, how in the hell do you have people testing positive all the time?

"Then he comes back and says there's a list. I forget what big word he used -- an exhaustive list of drugs. Everybody in the world has asked him why the drivers don't have a list. What did he say? Now there's a list -- an exhaustive list. Right? Where's it at?

"It's bull----, man, and somebody needs to stand up and see through this. There's experts out everywhere saying the same thing I'm [saying]."

Mayfield points out inadequacy in the NASCAR drug testing policy:

To drive home his point, Mayfield cited quotes from a pair of drug experts, Dr. Gary Wadler of the World Anti-Doping Agency and Travis Tygart of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Both have recently questioned NASCAR's policy of not releasing its list of banned substances.

"I sit here listening to Brian [France] on a daily basis, defending their policy and talk about how thorough, accurate and fair it is. Then you turn right around and look at what, say, like, Dr. [Gary] Wadler, for example. Quote: 'Their policy is way, way behind those of other sports.'

Should be interesting to see where this challenge goes; NASCAR has not been challenged successfully over time.

UK 800M champ Jemma Simpson looking for redemption, and weighing in on doping

2009-07-10T10:07:08-05:00

After suffering stress fractures in her foot, British 800M runner Jemma Simpson is looking to get back on track during the UK's upcoming national trials. A article in the Times documents her comeback. We look at her doping attitudes.

In Simpson's event -- the 800M -- Russians form a major component of the competition, and a major part of the doping contingent. Her opinion:

It may be this optimism that informs her opinions about doping. The 1,500 metres, which is likely to be her ultimate destination, has been destroyed by Russian drug cheats. The IAAF, the world governing body, is awaiting the Court of Arbitration for Sport to decide whether to indulge Russia’s cynicism and backdate bans to free the cheats to compete at the World Championships in Berlin next month. With 29 Russians banned for doping, isn’t that depressing?

“No, it’s good,” Simpson said. “The more they catch, the better. You talk about it with other runners and you have suspicions, but you can’t let it affect you. It’s not a level playing field, but the more positive tests there are, the more likely we are to have a clean Games in 2012. You need the stigma. Japan never seems to have a problem and I think that’s probably because it would be considered a terrible thing there. That’s the way it has to be.”

What? A country with honor? Heresy. And how about Dwain Chambers?

But what of Britain, given Dwain Chambers is vying for a place in the Great Britain team today? “I honestly don’t think British athletes are doping,” Simpson said. “Our controls are so strict now. It’s not the culture.”

She avoited that questions quite well...

Tour de France 2009 now detects Synacthene (ACTH) in dope testing

2009-07-09T11:29:36-05:00

One of the stealth drugs to enhance cycling performance over the years , Synacthene (or Synacthen) will be detectable in the 2009 Tour de France. Synacthene is ACTH or Adreno-cortical stimulating hormone. The drug would stimulate the adrenal grand to pour out cortisol, a natural steroidal hormonal with multiple physiological effects.

Anecdotal evidence from cyclists using the drug say if used correctly the substance decreased last race inflammation, and improves performance; however street talk alos says that if used inappropriately the drug can decrease cycling efficiency. Who knows..there ar no scientific studies of the agent. To SBS:

Anti-doping authorities have perfected a new test capable of detecting the drug Synacthene and it is currently being used by doping controllers at the Tour de France, sources have told AFP.

The substance, a synthetic hormone also known as ACTH, has up to now proved virtually impossible to detect and evidence has been limited to allegations made by ex-users.

The new test has been perfected by specialists at the Anti-Doping Laboratory in Cologne and was tried out experimentally at German cycling events last year before being approved by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as part of its new battery of anti-doping measures.

"It is based on urine samples but can also be applied to blood samples," said Professor Mario Thevis, who developed the system.

"We prefer, however, urine because there are larger volumes and more samples available."

"Of course, Synacthene was considered relevant and important, but blood testing was not as frequent at that time and the first method was based on blood specimens," Prof Thevis said.

"Moreover, the collection and storage conditions were critical: nowadays everything is harmonised."

Experts say Synacthene has typically been used in association with anabolic steroids and testosterone, the cocktail of drugs being injected directly into a racer's body to boost resistance to pain and to enhance performance.

According to anti-doping expert Dr Jean-Pierre de Modenard, there is evidence of the drug having being used for many years - not just in cycling, but also in football.

Dr. de Modenard hopes the discovery will help fill one of the remaining gaps in knowledge relating to illegal susbtances.

"To state that only one percent of controls turn up positive is hypocritical, and this has been the perfect example of what happens when there is a lack of data," he said.

More Beijing Olympians tested positive for PEDs; Report says 1500M champ Rashid Tamzi included

2009-07-08T13:11:00-05:00

The AP carries a story today of positive doping tests in the rerun of samples taken from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Apparently a rerun for CERA EPO netted a few more PED cheats, including the men's 1500M gold medal winner. These results ave been hinted at for weeks. (Let's Run link too)

An official familiar with the results tells The Associated Press that backup tests came back positive for 1,500-meter champion Rashid Ramzi and four others accused of doping at the Beijing Olympics.

The athletes tested positive for the blood-boosting drug CERA in retests of their "A" samples earlier this year, with the results announced in April.

The official told the AP on Wednesday that the "B" samples have been analyzed and confirmed the positive findings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the results have not been announced.

The athletes face being stripped of results and medals.

The others are Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin, German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, Croatian runner Vanja Perisic and Greek walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka.

CERA EPO (the newer large molecule EPO) tends to be abused by endurance athletes.

Although this will not make as large a splash as Ben Johnson's Winny positive, an Olympic 1500 gold medalist positive for PED cheating is every bit as disgusting.

German speedskater on thin ice: Claudia Pechstein begins PED suspension

2009-07-04T23:40:26-05:00

Olympic speed-skater Claudia Pechstein starts a two year ban based on blood doping, devined from her blood indices. Considering Germany's awful past with doping, it is entirely disconcerting for an elite German athlete to dope. (AP)

Olympic speed-skating great Claudia Pechstein of Germany was banned for two years because of blood doping Friday and will miss the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The International Skating Union said Pechstein's blood profile indicated abnormal changes in a series of tests, in particular after the World Allround Championships in February. The governing body ruled after a two-day hearing.

The 37-year-old skater is a five-time Olympic gold medalist. She is banned until Feb. 9, 2011 and can appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Pechstein was stripped of her results in the 500-meter and 3,000-meter races Feb. 7 at the World Allround event, where she finished fifth and fourth, respectively.

Pechstein had hoped to compete in Vancouver for her sixth straight Winter Games. She won her first gold medal in the 5,000 in Lillehammer in 1994, and won at the same distance in Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002. She also won the 3,000 in Salt Lake City and was part of Germany's winning team in the pursuit in Turin in 2006.

She also won two Olympic silvers and two bronze medals, including a third-place finish in the 5,000 at the 1992 Albertville Games, along with six world championship titles.

Manny Ramirez sneaks back from steroid suspension

2009-07-04T23:27:44-05:00

As arguably baseball's biggest steroid suspension, Manny Ramirez accomplished an uneventful return to the LA Dodgers lineup on this 4th of July, 2009. Appears that steroid and PED abuse is so prevalent that a large segment of the population just either doesn't care about cheating the game, or worse even encourages the bloating of players. From Reuters:

Manny Ramirez made a low key return to the Los Angeles Dodgers line-up after serving a 50-game ban for a doping offense on Friday, the slugger going 0-for-3 during his team's 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

Playing for the first time since the suspension was handed out on May 7 for violating the Major League Baseball drug policy, Ramirez brought the Padres home Petco Park to its feet during his first at-bat, a first-inning walk.

The right-hander also grounded out twice and popped out before being replaced in left field by Juan Pierre in the bottom of the sixth.

"It was great. I was nervous at first but it was fine," Ramirez told reporters.

So many athletes abused PEDs and AASs that Ramirez should not become the poster boy for 'roiders; on the other hand it is amazing that baseball gave up a premier player...something the sport could not effect for Sosa, McGwire, and Bonds.

"It was great. I was nervous at first but it was fine," Ramirez told reporters.

"I want to thank my fans. I think they drove from (Los Angeles) just to watch me play and it was unbelievable. This team can do a lot of great things without me. I'm just trying to follow those guys."

With a large contingent of Dodger supporters making their way to the sold-out stadium of 42,217 fans, Ramirez was welcomed warmly for the most part with the applause drowning out the boos.

His much anticipated return included a pre-game news conference in which he apologized to fans and team mates but refused to answer questions about the banned substances that evoked his suspension.

"I don't want to get into (that)," Ramirez told reporters.

"I don't want to talk about my record. I just want to talk about the game. It was tough but it's over.

"I'm moving on."

Manny should move on, but baseball shouldn't.

Boston police involved in steroid scandal

2009-07-03T14:59:30-05:00

Police everywhere appear to abusing steroids. New York, Florida, Texas, Phoenix, Cleveland to name a few municipalities. Now Boston police are involved in a steroid, drugs, and hooker scandal.

Police officers, like everyone else, sometimes behave badly. Eight officers were suspended after a three-year investigation into steroid use by the BPD, FBI and the U.S Attorney. Four other cops were suspended for visiting the "Boom Boom Room", a Hyde Park brothel. The steroid-related suspensions range from 5-80 days. The Herald said Commissioner Ed Davis confirmed a grand jury is investigating the "Boom Boom Room". Extensive details on both matters are available at BPDNews.com. [Boston Herald]

The Boston Herald carries more info:

The stepbrother of murder victim Imette St. Guillen is among seven decorated officers suspended without pay for admitting they previously abused steroids as far back as 2001, Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis somberly announced yesterday.

“There’s an emerging trend in law enforcement regarding the use of steroids,” Davis said in culmination of a three-year internal probe. “Unfortunately, we were on the leading edge of this. Luckily, it’s not very widespread.”

2003 Major League Baseball steroids list: fact or fiction

2009-07-01T13:50:23-05:00

Apparently a list of 104 players testing positive during the 2003 MLB preliminary steroids testing, surfaced on the net yesterday. There is no way of knowing the authenticity of such a compilation of names. It could be fantasy, or it could be a leak -- which did not find outlet through a credible source.

If such a list were available, then why did Senator Mitchell not discover the document during his well-financed, thorough investigation?

Links are found here (Rotoworld) and here (The Big Lead)

Play the Game 2009

2009-06-09T04:45:33-05:00

We are in Coventry England to present papers at WADA's Play the Game Conference. We apologize for the lapse in coverage of the steroid and doping scene; however we can tell you that Prime Minster Gordon Brown is in a bit of a predicament.

Catch up with things later.

Greg Lemond is on the podium today...should be interesting.

Tampa newspaper reports on teen bodybuilding

2009-06-05T16:36:36-05:00

Tampa Bay Online carries a piece on teen bodybuilding, which at face value should present an activity for health, self-esteem, and socialization. Obviously there is some risk, as with sports in general.

One risk is the exposure to PEDs and steroids. Among the problems delimited in the story were the troubles with adolescent steroid use.

...Camona, of the American Council of Exercise, said supplements don't have a lasting effect, so competitors looking for an edge could turn to banned performance enhancers such as steroids.

In some bodybuilding circles, steroids are the ultimate answer. In May, a national professional bodybuilding competition in Belgium was abruptly canceled when every contestant withdrew to avoid dealing with the arrival of random drug testers. Two weeks ago, Polk County sheriff's investigators seized an enormous steroid stash. Among the items confiscated: amateur bodybuilding trophies won by husband-and-wife defendants.

Baker said it's much more likely to hear talk about steroids in bodybuilding than other high school sports. "Bodybuilding is that, probably, times 10," he said.

Another risk to teens, would be a morbid interest in physique, leading to body dysmorphia.

That doesn't surprise Ennis, who said he considered shutting down the Mr. and Miss Falcon event at Leto in the mid-1990s because he suspected students were using steroids. Instead, he said, he redirected the bodybuilding contest and made it less competitive.

It's about looks

Entering a high school bodybuilding contest is no easy decision. Female students have to be willing to go onstage in no more than a bikini or sports bra and micro shorts; boys wear compression shorts or less. They perform a routine in front of their peers, flexing all the major muscles, from abs to the gluteus maximus.

Samantha Hensley, Durant's Miss Cougar 2008, thought she had the nerve even though she weighed just more than 100 pounds. She loved working out before the competition and seeing her muscles develop.

But when Hensley hit the stage, some in the audience booed. Text messages and jeers from other students after the win were ruthless, as were the comments she discovered on Facebook, where someone posted an unflattering picture from the event and called her anorexic.

"I don't know if it was worth it. It's so hard when everyone's so mean," said Hensley, now a student at Florida Southern College. She attended this year's competition, and was disappointed to again hear boos targeting some contestants.

No matter the sponsors' healthful intentions, the high school bodybuilding contests "amp up" the pressure for teens to focus on body image, said USF's Professor Thompson.

"You can pitch this as fitness, but what they are being judged on is not their heart rate. It's about how they look," said Thompson, co-editor of "The Muscular Ideal" (American Psychological Association, 2007).

Doping suspension hits University of Calgory Dinos linebacker Duncan McLean

2009-06-05T15:51:17-05:00

A University of Calgary Dinos football player will be suspended for doping the next two seasons. That's right, the Dinos are officially dopers.

University of Calgary Dinos football player has been removed from the team and deemed ineligible for play in Canadian Interuniversity Sport for two years after a positive doping test. Linebacker Duncan McLean tested positive for Oxymetholone metabolites, an anabolic steroid on the 2009 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List, following an out-of-competition urine test March 20.

McLean completed his third-year with the Dinos in 2008, playing in seven regular season and two playoff games.

"The University of Calgary is unequivocally opposed to the use of banned substances by our student-athletes," said Dinos Director of Athletics Kevin Boyles in a Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport press release May 27. "We have a zero-tolerance policy both at the U of C and in CIS. We are fully supportive of the Canadian Anti-Doping Program and hope that this unfortunate situation sends a strong message throughout the league."

Drug and doping testing varies by sport in the CIS. Because of cost, the CIS focuses their resources where there's strong concern there will be doping. Hockey and football players are tested more than other athletes. Football players are commonly tested five or six times a year, Boyles told the Gauntlet.

All CIS athletes can be tested 365 days a year, any day, both in season and out of competition, and up to 18 months after they finish their CIS career. Testing is done randomly and via a sample of players.

McLean's violation ends his CIS career. He will be suspended for his two remaining years of eligibility, but will be allowed to continue pursuing his degree at the U of C, Boyles said.

"We're always concerned and this just reminds us we need to continue to be very diligent with our education process," he added. "We're stepping up our efforts with providing our athletes with tested and screened supplement alternatives that we know are clean and that we know they can take. ... We need to put those efforts in to make sure it doesn't happen again. But at the end of the day, each individual athlete is in control of what they put into their bodies, you just can't prevent it from happening if they make that bad decision."

Dude took Anadrol, which caused the positive.

Lest you berate the Dinos football program, they have had 3 players drafted by the CFL.

Summary of recent Texas steroid bust

2009-06-03T10:57:48-05:00

For more complete coverage of the large Texas steroid bust last week, and much more comprehensive than we can offer, go to this site --- Mesomorphis.

Operation Farmacia de Juicy Phruit is the code name for the major steroid bust in Houston led by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department involving the arrest of 73 defendants. The “largest narcotics operation in the history of Fort Bend County” primarily involved the arrest of personal trainers, their clients, bodybuilders, a professional bodybuilder and a gym owner in the Houston area. Many of the arrests only involved steroid possession. The steroid network was characterized by Sheriff Milton Wright as a “loose knit” network of individuals involved in fitness/bodybuilding who distributed steroids through “word of mouth”. The total amount of steroids sold over a period of about six years was estimated to have been $643,924 (”Authorities round up drug suspects,” May 27).

California physician Ramon Scruggs pleads guilty

2009-06-03T10:48:29-05:00

The US District Attorney received some PR, and California steroids doctor Ramon Scruggs copped some pleas it was announced yesterday. As readers recall, Scruggs was a major supplier of steroids and PEDs to professional athletes, and apparently normal people too. To the Imperial Valley News:

United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Anthony D. Williams announced that Dr. Ramon Scruggs pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute anabolic steroids and illegally smuggle human growth hormone into the United States, and one count of money laundering, in violation.

Dr. Scruggs, 61, of Tustin, California, was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 6, 2008. He was charged with conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, specifically, the illegal distribution of anabolic steroids and the illegal smuggling of human growth hormone into the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; the distribution of anabolic steroids, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841; misbranding drugs held for sale with intent to defraud and mislead, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 331(k); conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956; and money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A). Under the plea agreement, Dr. Scruggs is pleading to the counts charging him with conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and to bring human growth hormone into the United States and one count of money laundering.

In pleading guilty, Dr. Scruggs admitted that between 2000 and 2003, he distributed anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (“HGH”) to individuals in a manner outside the usual course of professional practice while operating his medical practice at New Hope Health Center in Costa Mesa, California. Dr. Scruggs further admitted that he knew that such distributions were not for a legitimate medical purpose, and that they were instead for non-legitimate purposes, including performance enhancement.

Dr. Scruggs admitted that he illegally distributed between 250 to 1,000 10cc vials of anabolic steroids. He further admitted that on or about May 17, 2003, he illegally distributed the anabolic steroid testosterone to a person in Santa Clara County, and that he caused this distribution of anabolic steroids without a medically adequate examination.

Dr. Scruggs further admitted that he asked others to assist him in the illegal distribution of steroids. On March 11, 2003, an individual under the authority of Dr. Scruggs wire-transferred $3,605 from a bank account under Dr. Scrugg’s control at that time, Bank of America Account #02020-01935, from San Francisco, California, to the People’s Republic of China. The purpose of this transfer was to make a payment for HGH Dr. Scruggs had prescribed for patients without a medically adequate reason or a medically recognized need.

So the Scruggs book appears closed. Scruggs supplied dope to athletes like Troy Glaus. Although no one would condone Glaus's actions given the widespread use of PEDs, Glaus might have thought he was cautious going to visit a doctor who apperaed to use PEDs in his practice. In this case, the doctor is more at fault than the patient...and problaby liable to a lawsuit too.

Danica Patrick gets caught in typical thinking" "It aint cheating unless you get caught"

2009-06-02T11:57:31-05:00

How many times have we heard it? It ain't a foul unless the ref blows the whistle. It ain't cheating unless you get caught. It ain't illegal unless you get arrested. Danica Patrick knows it.

Not to advocate a world of obsessive rules, bureaucratic entanglements, and snitches, but really can we ever expect to make a dent (to coin a phrase) in cheating and drug-cheating if this attitude permeates the world? Don't hold your breath waiting for change. To the Seattle Times:

The CEO of U.S. Anti-Doping Agency isn't amused by driver's comment in Sports Illustrated: IndyCar driver Danica Patrick insists she was joking when she said using performance-enhancing drugs would only be cheating if she got caught.

Not so funny, said the leader of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Travis Tygart, USADA chief executive officer, said Patrick's comments, printed in Sports Illustrated, were "totally irresponsible."

"In one interview, she undercut what millions of parents try their best to teach their kids every day in this country, that winners never cheat and cheaters never win," Tygart said Monday.

In an interview with Dan Patrick published in Sports Illustrated, Danica Patrick was asked if she could take a performance-enhancing drug and not get caught, would she do it if it allowed her to win the Indianapolis 500.

"Well, then it's not cheating, is it? If nobody finds out?" she said.

Dan Patrick responded: "So you would do it?"

Danica's answer: "Yeah, it would be like finding a gray area. In motor sports, we work in the gray areas a lot. You're trying to find where the holes are in the rule book."

Danica Patrick, 27, later said she was joking and apologized in the event her comments came across differently.

"It was a bad joke," she said in an interview that appeared in USA Today.

Right, Danica, a joke. Like we believe that.

Note this Patrick add.

Big Poppy, David Ortiz, enmeshed in controversy

2009-05-31T22:44:00-05:00

Pity David Ortiz, Big Poppy of the Boston Red Sox, crowd pleaser, slugger magnificent, and humble star appears welled in a nasty slump that has led to talk and suspicion about steroids.

Ortiz has never admitted steroids or other PEDs. Ortiz's name never showed up on an Internet list of PED buyers. Ortiz has not even incurred the wrath of Jose Canseco.

Because Poppy shows no pop in his bat this year, at age 33 Ortiz is hitting .185. The talk in 2009 is that Poppy came down from steroids.

Of course there is no real evidence Ortiz is suffering steroid withdraw. Does anyone know what a year after steroid withdrawal looks like? We don't. To the Eagle-Tribune:

It was about 1:20 p.m. yesterday when Red Sox "slugger" David Ortiz stepped into the batter's box.

Five barbers and five customers, all Dominican men, watched intently on the big screen TV in the back of the busy Flow Barber Shop on Lawrence Street.

Flow Barber Show was a place I expected the last bastion of believers.

I was wrong.

From 2003 through 2008, would have brought silence to Flow's.

But only one of the barbers, Cristian Felipe, cared to stop cutting and look up at the TV.

"It's sad, really sad," said Felipe, through an interpreter, shaking his head. "He's always been the best."

So what's wrong?

What's wrong with Ortiz?

There were almost as many theories as there were men at Flow's.

"He might be all done," said barber Christian Flores. "I'm just glad they moved him out of the third spot (in the lineup). He can't hit. And the Red Sox need a great hitter in that spot."

Felipe says Ortiz hasn't looked the same since Manny Ramirez was traded last July.

"People can say Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay are great hitters, and they are, but they're not Manny Ramirez," said Felipe. "Manny was the best protection Ortiz ever had. He's one of the best hitters ever. Ortiz just hasn't seemed the same."

The steroids rumor — could he have been taking them and stopped? — was also tossed out there. That brought an interesting response.

"I wouldn't doubt that for a second," said Tejada. "I honestly believe about 80 percent of the Dominicans that play in the major leagues probably have tried steroids. In our country, they are easy to get. If you have money to pay for them, you can go to a drug store or a doctor and get them.

"Our country has a lot of poor people and we aren't as educated when it comes to steroids and that other stuff. I know people that have taken steroids. It's different here. Maybe he is off them now and maybe that's the problem? You don't see guys drop off the way he did."

Tejada said the pressure of playing for the Red Sox and being one of the most beloved athletes in the Dominican Republic has become too much.

"I was in the D.R. when Manny was traded and people there jumped ship and traded in their Red Sox caps for Dodgers caps," said Tejada. "Ortiz is really the only Dominican left on the Red Sox and the country depends on him. I know he feels that pressure."

Carlos Nunez, who stopped in for a lunch time haircut, said Ortiz needs to be treated like every other player, Dominican or not.

Nunez said, "If you're not going to produce, you're not going to play. And he's not producing. I would bench him. And if he doesn't hit, I'd find someone else."

Other explanations than steroid withdrawal. However, those whisper are not likley to be silenced soon.

Busted steroid dealer in Florida says he supplied Washington Capitals and Nationals players

2009-05-27T10:44:57-05:00

A drug peddler in Florida says he supplied steroids to professional athletes including Washington Capitals and Washington Nationals players. What might be significant would be a connection to the Caps and steroid use in the NHL. Never hear much about PEDs in the NHL.

Original report here. To the Washington Times:

Law enforcement officials in Lakeland, Fla., on Tuesday arrested two people on charges of steroid possession who claim they sold the illegal substances to players on the Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals teams.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said officers arrested Richard and Sandra Thomas on 10 counts of steroid possession with intent to distribute, 10 counts of importing the drugs and one count of maintaining a dwelling for drug sales.

Judd said Thomas bragged about being one of the largest sellers of steroids in Florida, obtaining the drugs from suppliers all over the world. In making the arrests, the Sheriff's Department seized several loaded weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle.

Thomas did not name specific players but mentioned the Capitals and Nationals by name in specific interviews, Judd said.

"Richard Thomas told Sheriff's narcotics detectives when he was asked if he had sold steroids to professional athletes, 'Name the sport - if they played it, I sold it,''" Judd said in a statement Wednesday morning. "Then Richard Thomas went further and specifically mentioned two professional sports teams from the Washington D.C. area whose players he had sold steroids to - the DC Nationals baseball team, and the Washington Capitals hockey team. While he stated to detectives that he sold steroids to professional athletes on those teams, he did not mention any specific players' names."

Judd said that Polk County detectives have yet to uncover any evidence to support Thomas' claims that but that an investigation is ongoing.

Now besieged by problems, Autrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl crashes career

2009-05-26T09:30:29-05:00

Once close to the top of cycling world, Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl retired from the sport, apparently eschewing the dope-for-wins philosophy in pro cycling. Kohl is currently mired in a professional,personal, and legal quagmire of doping, and doping allegations.

Reflecting on this event, one cannot but help to think about the twisted culture of pro cycling. Ostensibly based on an activity that promotes health and fitness, all too often pro cycling promotes drug-cheating, dishonesty, and death from doping drugs like EPO. Kohl apparently tired of this nonsense, calling his career kaput.

It might be easy to drawn down on Kohl and individual athletes. Much of the disdain may be merited because no one should absolve these dopers of responsibility. However the system of management, doctors, trainers, personal managers that promotes doping should also be highly implicated. The athletes (in Europe) often are punished while the doctors behind the dopers simple get rich. From the Examiner:

Bernhard Kohl of Austria, the disgraced former rider for the former Gerolsteiner team, has retired from cycling and said Monday he will not return to the sport after his doping-related suspension ends.

"I don't want to continue leading a double life which is based on lies," Kojhl said at a press conference in Vienna, Austria.

Kohl originally finished third overall in the 2008 Tour de France, 73 seconds behind race winner Carlos Sastre. But Kohl, 27, tested positive for the EPO derivative CERA during the Tour de France and later confessed to having used illegal doping products and methods for most of his career. He was given a two-year suspension.

Kohl's dismissal from the Tour improved riders below him in the overall standings one position, including American Christian Vande Velde from fifth to fourth.

"Without doping there is no equal opportunity in the top international field," Kohl said. "This is absolutely the end. I have voluntarily doped – in a system in which you can't win without doping. Talent, training and iron discipline just aren't enough at some point. Doping becomes the rule. A clean sport is unfortunately an exception."

Kohl said that he would now dedicate himself to doping prevention, by speaking on the subject and organizing cycling camps.

MLB fan opinion: High salaries are more problematic for baseball than steroids

2009-05-25T14:02:03-05:00

The American Chronicle carries a piece on baseball, and the problems fans perceive. Apparently salaries -- which are set by supply and demand -- are perceived are more problematic than steroid-cheats.

I was watching Mike & Mike in the Morning on ESPN 2 today (March 2009), when they discussed an interesting survey conducted with baseball fans. The question: What is the one thing that is most responsible bringing Major League Baseball down? Both Mikes thought the majority would say high ticket prices, but this was only 23%.

Even the steroids abuse was only 22%. The answer that received 51% was the high salaries being paid to baseball players. Interesting is it not? Despite all the media exposure of big name ball players exposed as hypocrites and liars about their steroid use. Despite high ticket prices directly affecting their family economics. Exorbitant salaries are what tick fans off the most.

Perhaps this should not be such a surprise. After all, exorbitant salaries and bonuses have been getting even more media attention than steroids as of late. The public is quickly losing their taste for those being paid ridiculously high salaries and bonuses. We see so many examples of pay far exceeding the value that any one person could offer. If you are the owner of a business, then I say that this is an entirely different matter, but if you are an employee (and even a CEO is an employee), of a publicly help corporation, there should be a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders for reasonable wages.

One argument for high CEO pay is that they are being paid according to their peers. If you do not pay, they will leave and move on. The self serving argument has produced a situation in the USA where a CEO makes over 400 times the earnings of the average worker. The next highest country is 29 times the average worker. The boards of directors that are supposed to oversee companies are composed of CEOs. Why wouldn't they participate in the escalation of salaries and bonuses?

If you argue that the business increases and they deserve these extravagant amounts, I would argue the businesses might be charging too much. If we cut baseball player's salaries then this money flows back to the owners. We then put pressure on the owners to reduce the price of attending a ball game. If we cut executive pay, then shareholders, employees and customers should all benefit.

As a nation, we need to make better judgments as to when enough is enough. Why is it that we so envy power, money and fame? Where has it gotten us? Why are we so concerned about what we have rather than who we are as a human being? What would our daily life be like if we were all more concerned with being good people rather than rich people? All we have to do is establish a mindset of sharing the wealth rather than stealing the wealth.

Interesting comment. We noted the fan survey which rates salaries a problem. On one hand, salaries are determined by the market o supply and demand. Ticket prices too. This is what baseball fans will pay.

On the other hand the high compensation drives the cheating to a degree.

Korean baseball players juice too: Ma Hae-Yeong

2009-05-19T17:13:04-05:00

A top Korean professional baseball player leaked the juice: Korean pro ballers 'roid up too. Mae Hae-Yeong's new book on his time in the Koren leagues reveals some juice, which has caused quite a stir. To Donga.com

Xports’ commentator Ma Hae-yeong, who once played for the Lotte Giants, unleashed harsh criticism yesterday through his newly published memoirs, “The Original Character of Baseball (Those Who Have the Future).”

The slugger made his debut for Lotte in 1995. After being traded to the Samsung Lions in 2001, the Kia Tigers in 2004, and the LG Twins in 2006, Ma returned to Lotte and retired last year.

He has a career hitting average of .294, 1,609 hits, 260 homeruns, and 1,003 runs scored.

In his memoirs, Ma said around 10 pro players in Korea have taken steroids, mostly foreigners, but that certain Korean players were asked to take banned substances by the foreign players.

“Out of curiosity, certain Korean players took banned substances for a while. The number of Korean players who did is under 10 and most of them have retired. I cannot name them since I don’t want to injure their honor,” he said.

“When I was demoted to second string, I almost yielded to the lure of banned substances. But baseball players no longer took banned drugs. I hope you don’t exaggerate my statement. I wrote this book to prevent young players from falling into a trap.”

The Koreon also comments on cheating by giving away signals (?A-Rod)

Ma also said certain players exchange signs with players on opposing teams, usually friends. “When my friends on the opposing team were about to be benched and asked me for my team’s signs, I couldn’t reject the requests. But these kinds of events happened only after the results were determined,” he said.

Like America's MLB, the Korean organizations were quick to react:

The Korea Baseball Organization and the pro league’s eight teams were quick to hit back at Ma’s accusations.

The league’s director of operations Lee Sang-il said, “We introduced drug testing in 2007 in a first for a professional sports league in Korea. Ma’s claim on banned drugs has significantly damaged the reputation of Korea’s professional baseball league.”

The league conducted two dope tests last year and will conduct three this year. All foreign players are subject to drug testing from this year.

Ma’s criticism of the Giants as “a miser” also angered the club. Team President Lee Sang-gu said, “Ma was misinformed. For example, we couldn’t sign Choo Shin-soo (Cleveland Indians) and Baek Cha-seung (San Diego Padres) since they kept asking for more money.”

Other critics say Ma’s memoirs could cause misunderstanding. A source from one team said, “When certain players suddenly gained weight, we suspected possible use of banned drugs. But we found no evidence. It was rash of Ma to write a book based on his suspicions.”

Steroids, the universal language.

Catch me if you can: Did world class cyclists -- including Bernhard Kohl and Michael Rasmussen -- engage in doping conspiracy?

2009-05-18T11:22:11-05:00

It's one thing to run afoul of the press and the fans using PEDs as a drug-cheat as we saw with Manny Ramirez. Manny lost a few million dollars, and lost some face with the fans and the Hall of Fame voters. However, it is quite another thing to be charged in a criminal prosecution.

World class cyclists -- elite competitors -- Bernhard Kohl and Michael Rasmussen appear to be targets of Austrian prosecutors as part of an international doping conspiracy. To Monsters and Critics:

Vienna prosecutors said Monday that they had started criminal proceedings against cyclists Bernhard Kohl from Austria and Denmark's Michael Rasmussen, as well as Austrian Nordic skier Christian Hoffman, for allegedly running a blood doping operation.

The three are suspected of having invested in a blood centrifuge which they not only used for themselves but also made available to other athletes, Austrian news agency APA reported.

Having just watched "Catch Me if You Can", the video with Leonardo DeCaprio and Tom Hanks, we don't think we would want to see the inside of a European prison (or any prison for that matter).

The third 'co-conspirator -- Christian Hoffman -- is no slouch as a gold medalist in skiing.

Hoffmann, who won a gold medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, denied the accusations.

'That's absolute nonsense, that's a smear campaign against me,' the Austrian daily Die Presse quoted him in its Monday edition, after his name was the first to be confirmed by prosecutors on Sunday.

Kohl has publicly admitted having used blood doping and having bought the machine together with others. He has been stripped of his third place in the 2008 Tour de France for using the blood booster CERA.

The cyclist's former manager Stefan Matschiner was conditionally released on May 7 after several weeks of detention, as he was heavily implicated by Kohl. The centrifuge was found in Matschiner's apartment in Budapest.

Rasmussen is currently banned for lying about his whereabouts at the 2007 Tour in connection with doping tests.

Blood doping is mainly used in endurance sports. Athletes are injected blood that has been enriched with performance-enhancing red blood cells.

Sounds like these boys were very heavily involved in the doping process.

In the USA, doping obviously carries much more rewards than risks. If being a drug-cheat were risky would athletes like A-Rod and Manny dope? There are few legal consequences. The law trouble that dopers run into tend to occur when their egos run into a grand jury, ala Barry Bonds. If Bonds had been truthful (according to legal charges) he might have been exposed as a juicer or he might not have been embarrassed. Embarrassed or not, Bonds would never have seen the inside of a courtroom as defendant; the USA's legal machine looks the other way for athletes. No sports fraud, no conspiracy, etc. -- although there are exceptions (Marion Jones).

However, sounds like Kohl and Rasmussen are in a bit of trouble...btw, someone tell Rasmussen (photo left) to lift some weights...

Nonotechnology for PED/HGH detection?

2009-05-18T11:03:27-05:00

Interesting concept: use of nanotechnology to monitor doping, even those compounds difficult to assay.

A Virginia-based biotechnology company, Ceres uses its patented Nanotrap™ -- a spherical, carbon-based nanoparticle designed to collect, concentrate, isolate and preserve the smallest and scarcest of molecules found in body fluids -- to pursue a range of applications in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as uses in sports doping screening, homeland security and environmental remediation.

Ceres and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency have partnered to study the potential for a viable urine-based test for the detection of human growth hormone (HGH). Laboratory findings recently published in NanoLetters and Nano Research strongly suggest that development of this screening tool is highly probable, a move that would revolutionize the way college and professional sports organizations monitor potential drug use by athletes.

The Nanotrap technology also is being reviewed by SAIC-Frederick Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Science Applications International Corp., to determine the feasibility of developing diagnostic tools that detect cancer at the earliest possible stage when treatment is most effective.

Lab testing for a peptide (protein) hormone like HGH is always vexing. Whereas the anabolic steroids either show a long half-life, or slowly seep out of muscle, HGH exits the body relatively quickly. A sensitive way of trapping the molecule would be a boon for dope testing.

Ryan Theriot and Rick Telander meet: No steroids, no HGH, no bull

2009-05-17T23:40:53-05:00

ESPN carries a story of reporter/columnist Rick Telander meeting Cub shortstop Ryan Theriot to talk about the column where the reporter discusses the cloud hovering over baseball since the steroid era came to town. Theroit knew he was not under steroid suspicion, rather his May outburst (5 home runs) was used as a point of discussion about why everyone is under suspicion in the MLB.

The writer and the player met on the field after Sunday's game to discuss the Sun-Times' article and headline that attached Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot's latest power surge to baseball's performance-enhancing drug problem.

Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander waited for Theriot to finish his post-game duties, then talked to him along with myself and two Chicago camera crews. I asked Theriot what his response was to Telander's article and the attending headline, which Telander didn't write.

"I didn't like it very much," Theriot said. "My response would be, it's unfair and kind of hurtful for me just because of the work I've put in and the way I've gone about my business and the way I've lived my life up to this point. To have something like that come out, to me, is just not fair."

Theriot and Telander were very respectful of each other, and Theriot has always answered all the questions asked of him. Sunday was no different. Again, I asked the Cubs shortstop his main contention with the story.

"I understand the article itself and the article had a lot of validity to it, but the lead, headline and even the first few sentences of the story, to me, were a little irresponsible," Theriot said.

The remainder of the article documents the meeting between reporter and ballplayer, an intelligent introspective discourse. More of what is needed to address the PED problem in the MLB.

Ex-San Jose State Spartan, ex-American Gladiator reveals steroid secrets

2009-05-17T13:13:22-05:00

Former San Jose Spartan football player, and American Gladiator regular discusses steroid and PED use in an insightful manner. Dan Clark discusses steroid use in his new book -- the effects and the side effects. The problem is that Clark talks from a position of success: he made himself with the use of steroids. How many sad tales of embezzlers in jail stops future embezzlers from stealing money? Few. The lure of success and fortune appears to be too strong. To the San Jose Mercury-News:

Dan Clark can tell you all the things that steroids did for him.

They helped get him a football scholarship to San Jose State, where he was a defensive standout and media guide cover boy. They allowed him to suit up briefly with the Los Angeles Rams during the 1987 NFL strike. They were the secret ingredient that made him a Spandex-wearing star of the "American Gladiators" television show two decades ago.

But that's not all steroids did.

They nearly caused a heart attack, left him with shrunken testicles, made him urinate blood and resulted in surgery to remove excess tissue from his breasts. There were unprovoked explosions of anger, too, yet Clark couldn't give up the drugs because of the addictive feeling of power they provided.

That's the story of self-inflicted hell Clark tells now in his unflinchingly raw autobiography, "Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption."

In an era when the shadow of steroids has darkened modern sport and made fans increasingly skeptical of what they see, Clark wants the book to be a catalyst for a more realistic discussion about performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids work, Clark says flatly. But they exact a terrible price.

"That's the conversation we're not having with young adults," Clark, the father of a 21-year-old son, said. "You know how teenagers are. You tell them: 'Don't you do this' and it's only going to make them do it more. So you have to tell them that you do get bigger, but you pay for those gains with a pound of flesh. It's a Faustian bargain."

The current spate of self-revealing books regarding steroid abuse will amount to nothing...and almost never have changed anyone's mind. The irony of Clark's friend at San Jose State -- baseball all-star Ken Caminiti -- dying at 41 of drug abuse obviously means nothing to the current crop of drug cheats like A-Rod and Manny. Deleterious outcomes of steroid abusers like Caminiti and Jose Canseco and CHris Benoit will stop no one from drug-cheating. Did Ivan Boesky's financial demise stop Bernie Madoff?

At SJSU he was a well-liked big man on campus and fraternity brother to rising baseball star Ken Caminiti. (Clark is well aware of the terrible irony in how Caminiti, who would go on to win the National League MVP award, later would admit his own steroid use before dying, in 2004, of a heart attack at age 41.)

Thanks to Jay over at the Wizard of Odds for the story.