“It reflects the prominence of what Texans do, not what we’d prefer them to do,” wrote the editorial staff of the Dallas Morning News (DMN). “Armstrong’s crash to Earth in 2012, with all its painful reverberations, leaves a Texas-size crater that qualifies him as a finalist for this year’s distinction. His fall wasn’t pleasant to behold. If nothing else, it’s a lesson about the perils of hero worship.

The DMN largely decided to recognize Armstrong for the impact of his doping scandal rather than his greater contributions to cancer awareness. It was the allegations related to the use of anabolic steroids, erythropoietin (EPO) and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) that have made Armstrong the topic of water cooler discussions in 2012.

The newspaper acknowledged the amazing and inspirational accomplishments of the athletic prodigy known as Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong defeated professional triathletes in competition at age fifteen.

He became the youngest cycling road racing champion in history at age twenty-one.

And not only did he overcome testicular cancer that had metastasized to his lungs and brain, he returned to cycling to win seven consecutive Tour de France titles.

Along the way, he helped raise half a billion dollars for cancer awareness via the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He used his clout to encourage voter passage of Proposition 15. Proposition 15 was an amendment that authorized up to $3 billion in state funds for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

However, these accomplishments had little to do with the DMN’s decision to select Armstrong as a “Texan of the Year” finalist. It was the implosion of Lance Armstrong and his unceremonious fall from the pedestal that had the greatest “perceived” impact on society.

If it wasn’t for the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) exhaustive 200-plus page report that convinced a significant number of people, including all of Armstrong’s sponsors, that Armstrong doped, it is unlikely that the DMN would have even chosen Armstrong as a nominee for “Texan of the Year” award.

Texans love to build up heroes and put them on a pedestal. But they enjoy knocking them off the pedestals even more.

Lance Armstrong - 2010 Tour de Franc. Photo credit: Millard Baker

Source:

Dallas Morning News. (December 18, 2012). Editorial: Texan of the Year finalist Lance Armstrong. Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20121218-editorial-texan-of-the-year-finalist-lance-armstrong.ece

“My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors,” Nadal said in a statement. “But this virus didn’t allow me to practice this past week, and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open.”

Nadal has never tested positive for anabolic steroids. While tennis players may not be tested as frequently as other sportsmen, Nadal was subjected to at least seven in-competition steroid tests and three outside-competition steroid tests in 2011. He passed all anti-doping tests without a single positive.

Nadal has never been linked to anabolic steroids. And none of his coaches or colleagues have claimed to have knowledge of steroid use by Nadal. Nadal has always vehemently denied the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs.

The only “evidence” put forward to suggest PED use has been the “muscularity” of Nadal’s physique. By bodybuilding standards, Nadal is not particularly muscular. The 6-foot, 1-inch tennis player only weighs 190 pounds. Nonetheless, his muscle tone and definition have raised suspicions.

Yannick Noah, the retired French tennis star, used muscle profiling as his justification for his allegations of steroid use among Spanish tennis players.

The popular French satirical television show known as “Les Guignols de l’Info” featured a life-size puppet representing Nadal as a heavily-muscled bodybuilder. The show claimed that Spanish athletes “don’t win by chance”.

Nadal missed several months of competition in 2009. This year his withdrew from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London only 15 days prior to its commencement. Many commentators speculated that Nadal was afraid of the unprecedented steroid testing in London. Sadly, any sudden withdrawals from competition in the future will inevitably be accompanied by further steroid speculation.

Source:

Associated Press. (December 28, 2012). Rafael Nadal out of Aussie Open. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/8786752/rafael-nadal-pulls-australian-open-due-virus

“Forget about PEDs,” White said. “If we get into this system that we’re talking about where we would randomly test these guys, do you know how many guys would probably test positive for marijuana? It would be probably off the charts. If you randomly test them and then came out, you’d get the exact same suspension as you do for using PEDs.”

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) currently has about 475 fighter signed under contract. White worries that as many as 80 percent of them use marijuana periodically and could end up being suspended for it if a year-round, random drug testing program was implemented.

In the for-profit drug testing business, steroid testing organizations such as the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) have been lobbying for the UFC to standardize steroid testing in the sport. Both USADA and VADA have pursued contracts with individual fighters to help promote them as steroid-free competitors. However, a big UFC steroid testing contract has remained elusive.

White has no plans to hire USADA or VADA or any other anti-doping organization. He currently seems content with the level of steroid testing done by state athletic commissions. White is not to keen on sport-wide, year-round, randomly-announced testing as being in the best interests of the UFC.

White has previously expressed support for the increasingly widespread use of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) among UFC fighters. Therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) have been granted to numerous top-name fighters. Critics have suggested that TRT is simply a convenient excuse for allowing athletes to “legally” use anabolic steroids.

The bottom line is that keeping UFC fighters from using steroids (testosterone) and smoking pot is bad for business.

Source:

Iole, K. (December 28, 2012). Dana White fearful that increased drug testing would result in widespread positive marijuana tests. Retrieved from http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma–dana-white-fearful-increased-drug-testing-positive-marijuana-tests-023723557.html

“Pacquiao got hit by a guy who miraculously went through puberty a second time at 39 years old,” Sonnen said. “He got hit by a guy that showed up with more power at 39 than he had in any of the previous fights. He had a 6 pack that he never had before.”

Sonnen acknowledged that Marquez passed the anti-steroid urinalysis administered at the fight. But Sonnen was unconvinced that Marquez was steroid-free. Sonnen believes he can determine whether or not an athlete is using steroids by muscle profiling.

Much has been made of the fact that Marquez had gained approximately 10 pounds in the months preceding his fight with Pacquiao. He bulked up to a soaking weight total of 143 pounds at a height of 5-feet, 7-inches at the Marquez vs. Pacquiao weigh-in. Marquez is probably the only 143-pounder in history to be accused of using steroids. Yet Marquez failed the “visual test” in Sonnen’s opinion.

Nonetheless, Sonnen defended Marquez – sort of.

“No, I haven’t said that (he’s on PEDs), but I sure came close, didn’t I?” Sonnen said. “I know that Freddy Roach did. I know Freddy Roach said, ‘If that body’s clean, I kiss your ass.’ But you gotta understand, all substances aren’t illegal. Did he take something? Sure, he did. Did he take something illegal? Well, according to the test, no. I just know you don’t go through puberty twice and I’ll leave it at that.”

Essentially, Sonnen denied accusing Marquez of using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But Sonnen seemed convinced that Marquez was using some type of PED. He suggested that it was a legal PED.

Sonnen knows from personal experience that an MMA fighter can use anabolic steroids legally in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of state athletic commissions that regulate MMA and boxing.

Sonnen gained permission to use the anabolic steroid testosterone after he appealed a failed testosterone:epitestosterone ratio (T:E) test. Sonnen was suspended only for failing to obtain a therapeutic use exemption for testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). However, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) recognized the legitimacy of TRT and testosterone use in MMA athletes during the Sonnen ruling.

Since the Sonnen case, numerous MMA fighters have obtained TUE for testosterone.

Sonnen considers his use of testosterone as “taking something legal.” Perhaps, Sonnen was implying that Marquez was the beneficiary of a similar legal advantage?

Source:

Petit, J. (December 27, 2012). Chael Sonnen: “(Marquez) Miraculously Went Through Puberty A Second Time At 39 Years Old.” Retrieved from http://www.fighters.com/12/27/chael-sonnen-marquez-miraculously-went-through-puberty-a-second-time-at-39-years-old

“He wasn’t planning on fighting. He said that he was practicing to maybe do some pro wrestling and whatever the excuse is,” White told MMA Weekly. “I’ve known Stephan for a long time. We have a great relationship.”

Bonnar was caught with metabolites of the anabolic steroid drostanolone in his post-fight urine sample on October 13, 2012. Drostanolone is the active ingredient in the steroid product known as Masteron.

Only weeks prior to UFC 153, Bonnar was given the opportunity to fight Anderson Silva as the main event after the original card of Erik Koch and Jose Aldo was scrapped.

White suggested that Bonnar only got caught because he had no plans to participate in a drug-tested MMA fight.

But a chance to fight Silva was an opportunity that Bonnar could not turn down. And unfortunately, the short notice did not allow Bonnar to clear the drostanolone from his system prior to the post-fight steroid test.

White seemed forgiving of Bonnar but could not hide his disappointment. White has always been thankful to Bonnar and Forrest Griffin for helping save the UFC with their epic battle during the finale of the first Ultimate Fighter season.

Bonnar’s steroid positive was an unfortunate way to end his career in MMA. The only question now is whether White was correct about Bonnar’s aspirations of being a professional wrestler!

Source:

Pishna, K. (November 18, 2012). Dana White Doesn’t Hate Stephan Bonnar for Taking Steroids, but Doesn’t Want to Talk to Him. Retrieved from http://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-doesnt-hate-stephan-bonnar-for-taking-steroids-but-doesnt-want-to-talk-to-him