Steroid Nation

Rare NBA steroid-related suspension: Orlando Magic player Rashard Lewis reportedly out 10 games for drug policy violation (testosterone or DHEA)

The USA Today reports that Orland Magic forward Rashard Lewis sill sit 10 games in 2009-10 season due to testing positive for a banned substance.  It is believed the substance was 'testosterone' possibly due to DHEA in a nutritional supplement

According to the Orlando Magic's website, star forward Rashard Lewis (FSY) will be suspended without pay for the first 10 games of the 2009-10 season for testing positive for a banned substance the player said he unknowingly took.

The Orlando Sentinel, citing league sources, reports that substance is testosterone, which showed up from nutritional substances Lewis said he took not knowing they contained DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone). That is a chemical compound naturally occurring in the body but also found in over-the-counter supplements at nutritional stores.

Lewis released a statement, saying he took "full responsibility for the situation and accept the corresponding penalty."

He said toward the end of last season, "I took an over-the-counter supplement which at the time I did not realize included a substance banned by the NBA."

DHEA -- a testosterone precursor -- usually doesn't raise testosterone level enough to matter' however the drug can throw a positive into a urine test.

The NBA has been remarkably free of steroids and PEDs, either because the drugs have  not permeated the NBA culture,or because the steroid testing is weak.  This may be only the 4th or 5th steroids-related NBA suspension in history.

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

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."

Dwayne Wade accused of steroid use by disgruntled business partner

Take this for what it is, which may not be much.  Former Dwayne Wade business partner, Richard Von Houtman appears to be out to ruin D-Wades reputation.  Von Houtman not only sues Wade for fraud, but also accuses the Heat star of wild parties in an apartment, as well as illegal steroid use. Says Wade's behavior reminds him of roid rage. 

Remember these are unsubstantiated accusations. To the Miami New Times:

Richard von Houtman does not like Dwyane Wade. Today, von Houtman and business partner Mark Rodberg filed a federal antitrust suit against Wade and right-hand man Marcus Andrews for pulling out of their D Wade's Sports Grills franchise after allegedly demanding a larger share of the venture in return for his likeness and name. (Von Houtman was also involved in a charter school chain with Wade, which, according to our sister paper in Broward, the superstar left in the lurch.)

Wade owned 10 percent, the suit states, and Andrews owned 2. Court papers filed late yesterday allege "efforts to boycott and destroy a potentially competitive channel" for the marketing and sale of "personalized Wade sports paraphernelia." In other words, Wade is being sued for allegedly monopolizing the use of his own name, violating a contract made with von Houtman and Rodberg

That's Von Houtman's beef.  Here is his steroids accusation to explain why Wade dumped the marketing plan:

"Part of it is steroid rage. Dwyane has all of the signs of a steroid user, besides from the fact that he asked to buy steroids from me, twice. Because I was using [Deca-Durabolin] for my  rotator cuff. I said 'I'll give you the telephone number of my doctor and maybe he'll prescribe it to you, I'm not a steroid user.'" (Von Houtman offers no proof of this claim, which has not been verified by any other media or report.)

Steroid use in the NBA is extremely rare.  One wonders if a defamation suit from Wade will be forthcoming.

Ricky Davis did not do steroids...Ricky says

Everyone wants to know...did NBA bad boy Ricky Davis sit for a steroids suspension?  (at least we want to know)

Davis, a former Iowa Hawkeye player we knew since he was in high school, sat out a number of games for the Los Angeles Clippers after violating the leagues 'anti-drug policy'. Was the suspension steroids or PED related?

  To LA-NBC:

The injury struggles of the Clippers have been the major story for this team over (at least) the last 12 games or so. Playing without Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, and Chris Kaman, it's no surprise that L.A.'s losing streak has reached that number, and with the team being so depleted, we also shouldn't be surprised that they'd welcome back someone like Ricky Davis.

Davis made his return to the floor Wednesday night against the Hawks, and played like someone who hadn't been on the NBA hardwood since November 22nd -- which he hadn't. Besides the fact that Davis was recovering from a knee injury, he also had to serve a five-game suspension for violating the league's anti-drug policy.

Inquiring minds are dying somewhat interested to know exactly what substance led to the violation and suspension.  One of L.A.'s few reporters on the scene got the answer:

When asked if he'd tested positive for a banned substance or merely failed to comply  with the league's drug program (either by missing a test or some other violation) Davis indicated that he'd tested positive but added, "No steroids.''

Draw your own conclusions.

And how did Davis perform on his comeback?

Meanwhile, on the court, Davis played 16 minutes, and contributed just two points, two rebounds, and two assists. Unfortunately for the Clippers, the less than stellar numbers probably aren't due to being rusty; Davis wasn't so great before the injury (or the suspension) either. He's averaged just four points per game in 20 minutes on the floor, while shooting a dismal 27 percent from the field this season.

Just maybe Ricky should do steroids...brain steroids.  From the photo on the right, doesn't look like Ricky needs more male steroids...

Darrius Miles -- NBA player inactive for 2 years -- would be suspended 10 games in comeback

Incredible as it sounds, an NBA player -- inactive now since 2006 -- would sit out the first 10 games of 2008-9 if he is added to a roster even as a last ditch option.

Darius Miles, who last saw action in the 2006 NBA season before a career-ending injury throttled him, is being considered by the desperate Memphis Grizzlies.  However Miles still owes the NBA 10 games On he suspended list for an unnamed steroids policy violation.  To Hoops World:

Darius Miles signed a minimum-salary contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports on Saturday.

Citing an anonymous source, the web site said that the Grizzlies inked the 27-year-old Miles after considering D-League options to fill an open roster spot.  Memphis had room after trading point guard Javaris Crittenton to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Miles, who reportedly also worked out for the Los Angeles Clippers, has not played an NBA regular-season game since April 15, 2006, thanks to a right knee injury.

In fact, Miles was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers last season when an independent doctor deemed his injury career-ending.  The Blazers, as a result, were allowed to remove the $18 million that was owed to Miles over two seasons from their salary cap.

The ruling allowed Portland to become a threat in the summer of 2010, when a bevy of superstars - including LeBron James - hit the free-agent market.

However, according to the report, the Blazers again would be saddled with the money if Miles plays in 10 games this season.  The forward will be suspended for the first 10 games he is on a team's active roster after violating the league's anti-doping policy.

The third overall pick in the 2000 draft by the Clippers, Miles was drafted out of high school and has averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 rebounds in parts of six seasons with three teams.

He spent training camp with the Boston Celtics this season but was waived before the start of the campaign.

Steroid use appears to be rare in the NBA.  The record indicates only 3 players earned suspensions due to violation of the NBA's steroid policy (despite this incorrect answer online):

• Matt Geiger , 2001
• Don MacLean, 2000
• Soumaila Samake (Lakers)

Like many pro athletes the basketball players blamed supplements:

Los Angeles Lakers backup center Soumaila Samake was suspended for five games by the NBA on Tuesday for violating the league's steroids policy.

Samake, 24, a native of Mali in his third NBA season, will not be paid during the suspension, which began with Tuesday night's game against Atlanta.

The league and the NBA Players Association do not disclose details regarding the testing or treatment of players in the program, but Samake issued a statement saying he had taken a dietary supplement that contained Nandrolone, a substance banned by the NBA.

Charles Barkley didn't think McLean juiced up:

Charles Barkley has the most famous two-liner about steroids and the NBA. When journeyman Don MacLean tested positive in 2000, Barkley stuck up for the former UCLA star.

He tried to, anyway.

"Don MacLean?" Barkley said on TNT, "I've seen Don MacLean naked, and he doesn't use steroids."

MacLean was 6-foot-10 and 235 pounds, not exactly brimming with an A-list, body-building frame. He spent most of his nine-year career working through injuries after winning the Most Improved Player Award his sophomore season.

A guy with that build couldn't possibly be on steroids, Barkley joked, but he easily could have reached an opposite conclusion.

There was a question of Memphis forward Chris Anderson's use of 'roids, however he was booted from the league on his first public violation, which indicates something hard like heroin or amphetamines.

Congress investigated NBA steroids by interviewing Juan Dixon.  Juan Dixon?  Because he knew the drive to Capital Hill? 

The Hill dressed down David Stern, who redid the steroid policy to implement a huge 10 game suspension for a first AAS violation.

If Miles used steroids, it certainly hasn't been broadcast widely.  The use of anabolic steroids seems not to be in the NBA culture.  As a Laker blogger attests, most trainers have to drag their players into the weight room:

With all the recent hubub of steroids in baseball, it's not surprising that the NBA wants to proactively deflect any potential suspiscion of steroid use amongst its players.  A recent article by Marc Stein, Stern On Steroids: 'It's Not a Problem We Think We Have,' talks to a couple of NBA players around the league who state that steroids are not really an issue.  These players explain that basketball players want to remain nimble, quick, lean - they aren't looking to pack on muscle, muscle that will only render them a quick slower and reduce their overall stamina.

Memphis' Shane Battier echoed Massenburg's assertion that steroids are unlikely to appeal to NBA players – now or in the future – when weight training appeals to so few.

"Something you've got to understand is that basketball players just don't like to lift weights," Battier said. "Most of us would rather be out playing ball. We all grew up either on the playground or in the gym. If we're going to spend time working on our game, we're going to be on the court."

Although some fans suggest NBA players could abuse HGH, we know of no NBA player to abuse growth hormone (unless naturally from their own mutant pituitary).  The NBA players association will not even hear of HGH testing.

Dan Dickau: Got your back in doping control...maybe

Ex-Gonzaga star guard Dan Dickau suffered back spasms and anti-doping problems in Europe and America this year.  Dickau, the oft-traveled NBA point guard, journeyed to Europe to play for the Air Avellino italiano team;  however it is reported the medication he takes for back spasms didn't make it through European doping control.  To BallinEurope:

This story about Dan Dickau joining Avellino (Italy)/leaving Avellino and joining the Golden State Warriors was kind of a weird story. Nobody really talked about the “why” and still nobody really knows. Everything we have is rumors from pretty reliable sources so we thought it might be a good idea to post them, since there is no official word - besides back pain.

Dan Dickau was released from Air Avellino, a Euroleague newcomer, because of back problems that prevented him from doing what he gets paid for: play basketball. At first this sounds like a very sad story, but two days later, Dan Dickau signed with an NBA team again: the Golden State Warriors...

Sources say that Dan needed special drugs, that weren’t allowed in Europe but are allowed in the NBA. With the word DRUGS, a lot of confusion ensued. Some web sites reported that Dan refused to get tested for illegal substances, which was the reason for his release. Combine Dan’s back problems with pharmaceuticals he probably had to take and you might think he took substances that are allowed in the US but not in Europe.

It is important to say that you can’t just buy anything in the United States and that we’re talking about pharmaceuticals allowed in within US basketball and just not allowed within FIBA or Euroleague play.

What drug could that be? Maybe cortisone. Use of cortisone requires special permission in Italy and must  be permitted by the Italian league, which for sure would not have been a problem in Dan Dickau’s case.

Another reason why this was probably not the cause: Italian Danilo Gallinari can’t play right now because of back problems while he is in the United States. Dickau is now able to play with two hernias

Or maybe this has nothing to do with doping or doping tests:

So the stories get even crazier all the way to one with Dickau having a gambling problem … well, of course, it has to be something, right?

Interesting report...Dickau, unwilling to pass doping-control because of cortisone.  Doesn't Europe have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to allow cortisone?  Or was there something else doping control checks out in the tests?  Note Dickau was credited with 3 'robberies' in this translation:

the base just fichado that seems that antidoping because of medecines was dismissed of the Air Italian Avellino to refuse to pass a control that are taking by back problems which they are legal in the USA but not in Europe, made debut with 8 points, 5 bounces and 4 robberies.

Dickau signed with the Golden State Warriors in early October, who then cut him yesterday (Solo Basketball):

Chris Mullin announced that Dan Dickau has been waived. Dickau was one of the players that left the NBA to play overseas with Italian LEGA A and Euroleague team Air Avellino. But there he had some problems with his an injury in back and he left to the States after being waived by the Italian club. Air Avellino then signed former Indiana Pacers Travis Best.

Then, Dickau signed almost immediately with the Warriors and all kind of rumors about his departure started to appear. It was said that Dickau needed a special treatment that was not allowed by anti-doping policy in Italy.

Finally, he has been waived again. He just played four preseason games with Golden State, averaging 5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2 steals in 12 minutes played per game. Dickau is now 30 years old and has already played with Mavericks, Blazers, Hawks, Hornets, Clippers and Celtics in the NBA.

Wonder what is the real Dickau story?

After 10 game suspension for ?phentermine, Darius Miles will play for Celtics

Darius Miles, once a Portland Trailblazer will be fed a steady diet of Celtic Green, that is after a 10 game suspension reportedly for phentermine, a diet drug.  To ESPN.

The Celtics announced today that they have signed Darius Miles. Terms were not disclosed.

The Celtics are the champions, and they run a tight ship. They don't hand out roster spots like candy. They say they have had him in twice for workouts, and now they're willing to commit some money to the project to keep another team from getting Miles.

That makes you wonder what the NBA's independent doctor was thinking in declaring Darius Miles a medical retirement. Perhaps that doctor will yet be vindicated, as it certainly does not sound like Miles has actually made the team yet.

"Darius will have the next couple of months," explains Danny Ainge, in a press release, "to prove to myself and Coach Rivers that he can help us win."...

Reportedly Miles' next NBA season, assuming there is one, will begin with a ten-game suspension, reportedly for taking the drug phentermine, which has been described as a diet pill.

       

Diet pill?  Miles always looked too skinny to us.

Daily Steroid Briefing

1.  New York City cops get lecture on steroids.  (NY1 News)

2.  Gilbert Arenas does not have freedom of speech about Roger Clemens and steroids (AOL Sports)

3.  Barry Bonds might still be swatting at balls this year.  (Trading Markets)

4.  WADA plans on testing for HGH during the Olympics in China.  (ESPN)

5. Rafael Nadal, looking really buff for a tennis player in Florida tournament.  (Palm Beach Post)(Go out and hit)

Another US Congress committee holds steroids hearings: Uniform testing laws?

The AP publishes this lenghty article on Rep Bobby Rush's "House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection" hearings, which invited America's sports leagues chiefs.

Some members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection used Wednesday's hearing to express doubts that the leagues have done enough since a similar session before the same subcommittee in 2005. Several called for a federal law to legislate drug testing for all the major professional sports.

"Let's get it right this time. ... Let's go ahead and get something into law that is acceptable," Texas Republican Joe Barton said. "It's no fun having this hearing every two to three years."...

There were no players at Wednesday's hearing. Instead, the commissioners sat side-by-side with their sport's union chiefs: Bud Selig was inches away from Donald Fehr; Stern was next to Hunter. Then there was the NFL's Roger Goodell and Gene Upshaw, and the NHL's Gary Bettman and Paul Kelly.

The NBA's David Stern disagreed with PED testing mandates:

No, thank you, said Stern, who twice interrupted lawmakers to cite the progress made by all four leagues since the 2005 hearing through collective bargaining with their respective unions. He and the other witnesses also cautioned against a one-size-fits-all law that would apply to their very divergent sports.

"Federal legislation in this area is not necessary for the NBA," Stern said. "Nor do I believe that a uniform, federally mandated approach to drug testing for all sports leagues would be appropriate."

(more on the issues after the jump)

"In spite of the fact that they want to pronounce that they have it under control, I still think that it's not fully under control," said the subcommittee's chairman, Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. "And we have to do more."

The committee should consider sports frauds law -- that would protect the consumer.

Jeff Van Gundy injects a little humor, Roger Clemens style

Thanks to You Been Blinded, we now know what NBA ex-coach and current analyst Jeff Van Gundy learned from the Roger Clemens episode.  Seems Van Gundy thought of new ways to dope up the NBA.

Jeff Van Gundy was a good coach but he’s a better broadcaster. He’s straight up and doesn’t hold back. He has some biases, but none are as bad as Doug Collin’s love for Steve Nash. I think there’s a 85% chance that Doug Collins calls his sons daily and yells “Why couldn’t you be like Steve?!?!”

So near the end of ESPN’s broadcast of the Milwaukee Bucks-Los Angeles Lakers game, the discussion turned to the health of Kobe Bryant. It had been revealed earlier in the game that Bryant was suffering from an infection.

JVG: If I was Phil Jackson I would inject a dose of upper respiratory viral infection into my whole team tomorrow at practice. That would be practice.

MB: In case you’re just tuning in and you don’t know what this sick man is talking about.. Bryant not feeling well, before the game, and that’s what he has, but it certainly hasn’t affected him, 37 points 7 assist 5 rebounds.

JVG: Can you do that? Can you inject somebody with a serum of upper respiratory viral infection?

MB: I believe that’s illegal.

JVG: Isn’t that what Clemens said he did?

MB: (subtly laughing) You’re going down a dangerous path. I’ll ask you to reconsider during this timeout.

JVG: Laughs

They didn’t talk about it anymore after the timeout, but they didn’t need to. JVG had done his job..

Brilliant.  inject virus into the butt. We are thinking Nobel Prize.

BTW, anyone looking for a blog name, a new possibility emerged: "Roger Clemens's Abscess".

The USOC (US Olympics), MLB (baseball), and the NFL partner against doping and steroids

The three most powerful sports organizations in the country - The Olympics, MLB, and the NFL, will partner to fight doping and steroids.  An announcement today initiated the Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC).

The Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC) will, for the first time ever, combine the resources and expertise of many of America’s leading sports entities to underwrite meaningful and scientifically-legitimate anti-doping research. Beginning this year, the focus of the PCC will be to fundraise and make targeted grants in support of non-partisan and independent scientific research to be conducted at universities and other world-class research institutions. Priorities for the collaborative will include underwriting research that addresses:

• new methods to more cost-effectively detect and deter the use of banned and illegal substances at every level of sport
• identification and detection of designer substances
• the consequences of doping, from both a medical and ethical perspective
• the further development of a widely-available, cost-effective test to detect Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

The PCC will sponsor research into anti-doping measures.  Note the NBA, the NHL, PGA and other sports organizations will also participate in this collaborative effort.  First order of business: find a test for HGH.

As the initial Founding Partners, the USOC, USADA, MLB and NFL have collectively committed to contribute $10 million to this landmark collaborative. Each Founding Partner will have one representative on the Board of Governors, which will oversee the research collaborative.

Also participating and contributing financially to the research collaborative are the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA). The Founding Partners will seek to raise additional funds and include other entities (both sport and non-sport) in the collaborative as well.

Will the NFL and MLB really support this coalition?  If a player is a steroid user, will he be banned from the Baseball Hall of Fame, and stripped of records, as a Olympic track athlete may be stripped of medals and records?

Bill Moyers talks of a society on steroids

Bill Moyers publishes an excellent essay examining the society on steroids.  Moyers appears not happy with the corruption at the core of the country.  The cheating culture, as always, leaves a stench of corruption weakening all.

So what do we learn about ourselves from the Mitchell Report? That something is flowing through our veins other than red corpuscles. It turns out owners, players and the players' union were complicit in ignoring the growing use of steroids and other illegal drugs in our national pastime. But suppose our national pasttime has become our national pathology? Ours is a society on steroids, and we're as blind as baseball's owners were a decade ago.

In our drugged state, we cheer the winners in the game of wealth, the billionaires who benefit from a skewed financial system -- the losers, we kick down the stairs. We open fire hoses of cash into our political system in the name of "free speech." Television stations that refuse to cover government make fortunes selling political bromides over public airwaves. Pornography passing as advertising assaults our senses, seduces our children, and pollutes our culture. Partisan propaganda gets pumped up as news. We feed on the flamboyance of celebrities. And we actually take seriously the Elmer Gantrys who use the Christian Gospel as a guidebook to an Iowa caucus or a battle plan for the Middle East. In the face of a scandalous health care system, failing schools, and a fraudulent endless war, we are as docile as tattered scarecrows in a field of rotten tomatoes.

Moyers ties things together, as only a man of broad vision can see.

You don't get a level playing field with performance enhancing drugs, any more than you get an honest government with political action committees and bundled contributions, or a fair economy with some derivatives, hedge funds, and private equity managers taxed at rates lower than their janitors. You get a level playing field only when the fans demand it. Suppose people stopped attending games in large numbers, stopped watching on TV, stopped buying the products hyped by the icons. The leveling would happen, or baseball as a money-making business would die. It's not likely to happen. If we can't organize to stop a brutal, bloody war in Iraq, or rectify an economic system that divides us further every day, we can hardly expect collective action from baseball fans.

So what are the excuses we use to exonerate the drug-cheats:

• Everyone was doing it (corruption)
• PEDs do not work, or have not been proven scientifically (give us a break; are we going back to the sports medicine stance pre-1984 which was rejected by the athletes as capricious)
• There is no proof of doping (do we need steroid molecules dripping from the liver tumors as shrunken testicles dangle helplessly, before fans believe the game was hijacked? by PEDs)
• We love home runs ( so we cheat the fans and the game itself; and we let the athletes suffer the health consequences of steroid use as they artificially pump up the numbers for the superficial thrills)
• Sports have always cheated (mired in corruption, we cannot rise above a level of depravity, but rather invent new more powerful ways of dishonesty)

As Moyers adds:

There was a lesson in George Mitchell's report that I'm not sure even he recognized. The day Americans don't feel strongly enough about the need for level playing fields to fight for them -- the day when cutting corners and seeking an edge become the national pastime -- is the day democracy will be lucky even to find a seat in the bleachers.

Byron Houston Exposed

By now fans have heard of the problem Byron Houston got himself into in Oklahoma City:  Arrested for indecent exposure the other night.  This constitutes his fourth arrest on this charge (NewsOK.com).

Troubled former basketball star Byron Houston told police he fears he'll end up in prison because of his arrest for indecent exposure Wednesday in Oklahoma City, according to a police report released Friday.

Houston, 37, was arrested after a woman told police she saw him masturbating in his vehicle during afternoon rush hour traffic. It is the fourth time he's been arrested for indecent exposure.

He pleaded guilty to indecent exposure charges in 2003, but hasn't been charged in connection with Wednesday's arrest.  Judge Ray Elliott sent Houston  to treatment instead of prison for the 2003 conviction, and Houston remains on probation.

Houston's attorney says this is a mental health issue.  This is true:

Houston's attorney said the arrest is the latest in a painful chain of events for he and his family.

"It's a legal issue, but it's also a mental health issue,” attorney RIchar Anderson said.

Andnerson said it is unfortunate that Houston's celebrity status as a basketball player has caused him to be "ridiculed” for his troubles with the law. He said Houston faces serious mental health issues but is a "loving” man surrounded by a "great” family.

Houston, a registered sex offender, is being held in the Oklahoma County jail.

A series of reports in the UK recently dealt with this issue.  Although in this blog we usually talk about the effects of anabolic/androgenic drug, anti-androgen drugs can help people who cannot control urges like exhibitionism control the compulsion.

There are blogs that say Houston is incorrigible.  Not true.  There is effective treatment.

Fly Brad Lohaus Airlines

I see my former Iowa Hawkeye friend Brad Lohaus has made Sports by Brooks, and Deadspin.  He is a salesman for an aviation service, which is interesting. He once owned the best pizza bar in town --and best window on scenery in downtown Iowa City-- The Airliner.

Lohaus was recruited by Lute Olson to Iowa basketball.  He was buried by George Raveling (I saw Raveling sprint on the court once to lay into Lohaus with a vengeance).  Lodawg was resurrected by Tom Davis on that wonderful 1986-7 Hawkeye team that went something like 31-5 (link to classic piece featuring both Brad Lohaus and ex Hawk coach Steve Alford).

In happier times Lohaus built a huge house next to Tom Davis on Finkbine Golf course.  (The Nation drives by it every day).  Brad was the leading contributor to Hawkeye Sports back then.

Lodawg,er Lohaus is a nice guy with some baggage.   He got into a little woman  (women) trouble and a little Ebay financial trouble recently.  But he is trying to fly right.

Lohaus is a nice guy.  He will talk to anyone at anytime. Pull out of the tailspin, Brad.  The Nation wishes him well.

Athletes can't wait to get their hands in Stanford's RTX Glove

[Steroid Nation begins a new series of posts on a different sort of PED 'Performance Enhancing Devices'.  We will cover all manners of contraptions from the psychological to the mechanical to the nanochip and beyond.  We kick off this series by profiling a very interesting gizmo those wacko people at Stanford developed -- the RTX glove for cooling down an athlete, and thus enhancing performance.]

Update: Called 'Core Control' the RTX Glove is featured in The Wizard of Odds today.

Featured in Stanford Magazine, Wired, and Dave's Football Blog The RTX Glove uses the principles of “Rapid Thermal Exchange” or RTX to enhance athletic performance. 

It has long been known that patients with Multiple Sclerosis improve in cold and worsen in heat; this has to do with conduction along their nerve cells (the demylinating cells do better when cooled, like a computer).  Thus the team at Stanford began work on cooling devices.

RTX promises to enhance human performance in applications ranging from sports to medicine to the military. It is the brainchild of biological sciences professor H. Craig Heller and senior research scientist Dennis Grahn, who have spent nearly two decades studying temperature regulation in mammals. Their lab, once devoted to hibernating ground squirrels and marmots, now attracts San Francisco 49er football players, military representatives from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, multiple sclerosis patients and sweating Stanford athletes. 

Medical researcher are curious types yes, and those warriors at DARPA always look for an edge but athletes interested in being cool?  The researchers worked on the technology;  a lab assistant who was a bodybuilder volunteered to use the device in a workout:

A lab technician who was also a body builder, Vinh Cao, volunteered to be the test subject. To generate metabolic body heat, Heller and Grahn had him do sets of pull-ups  to exhaustion. He started with a set of 14 pull-ups and soon dropped to eight per set. After 20 minutes, they applied cooling and a vacuum to Cao’s hand. When they asked him to do more pull-ups,they were amazed to see his performance jump back up to 14  pull-ups.

The lab team announced their new discovery.  It was slow to catch on:

Excited by what they had learned, they arranged a presentation in 2000 to Stanford athletics coaches. Heller remembers the stony faces and crossed arms that greeted them. “It was not a warm welcome. The four or five coaches who showed up didn’t seem to think that a couple of biologists could tell them anything about performance enhancement.” Only  Weir agreed to try it. Off campus, the 49ers and Raiders football teams were the earliest adopters—later followed by theUniversity of Miami football team, the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and the Manchester United soccer team.

The Stanford football team used the RTX glove in a game, as the trainer noted an important observation:

When a battery-operated model of the RTX became available, the Stanford football team started to use it. Head  athletic trainer Charlie Miller made an inadvertent breakthrough when one his players came off the field with leg cramps during the third quarter of a game against Boston College early in the ’02-’03 season. “Since cramps tend to recur, a coach has to decide between benching a key player or keeping  him on the field and risk another cramp recurring in the middle of play,” Miller explains. In addition to conventional treatments—massage, electrolytes, fluids—Miller had him put his hand into the RTX. To his surprise, the cramp disappeared and the player was able to finish the game. “When the IV fluids worked [to revitalize a player], it wasn’t the minerals or the rehydrating,” he says, “it was because we were invasively cooling the players down. We had noticed that if the IVs were kept on ice, they worked better. Now we know why.”

How good is the device.  An unamed NFL player said the RTX GLove goes as good as 'the juice':

Ever seeking a competitive edge, athletes began paying regular visits to the fourth floor of Gilbert, causing one of the staff to remark that the hallways had gotten  smaller. A former NFL player told Grahn, “This replaces the Juice,” referring to steroids. Weirdly, cooling does mimic steroids in the way it allows an athlete to recover from intense exertion quickly, allowing someone to do more work in a shorter period of time. But cooling doesn’t result in shriveled gonads or ’roid rage.

We cannot completely cover the RTX Glove in the space here, however read the references.  This is exciting AND legal technology.

NBA's performance drugs policy allows quick resolution of problems

Notice how fast the Lindsey Hunter suspension was announced?  The league also named th substance of the positive test.  How unlike other professional sports that dawdle or remain secretive in not coming clean. Shouldn't fans who buy the tickets, or purchase broadcasts of the sports know what's going on?

The San Antonio Express explains this is the result of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.  The NBA also feels it does not need to protect players against anabolic abuse; there isn't much of a problem using anabolics.

Steroids and performance-enhancing drugs were added to the league's substance abuse policy in the last round of negotiations with the players' union. One interesting aspect of the agreement dictated that any time there is a penalty handed down when a performance enhancer is involved, the offending substance is to be identified.

Thus, we learned Lindsey Hunter was suspended for 10 games last week after phentermine, a banned substance used primarily for weight loss, was discovered in his system in a random test.

To the best of my knowledge, only one other player has been suspended for using performance enhancers: Don MacLean, who played briefly for six teams from 1992-2000...

As commissioner David Stern testified when a Congressional subcommittee was considering the "drug free sports act," in 2005: "The sport of basketball emphasizes a specialized set of physical abilities — particularly quickness, agility and basketball skill — that are distinct from those required in a number of other sports. Accordingly, illicit substances that could assist athletes in strength sports (such as weightlifting and football), power sports (such as baseball), or endurance sports (such as cycling or marathon running), are not likely to be of benefit to NBA players."

Detroit Piston Lindsey Hunter suspended for phenteramine

Players in the NBA rarely use anabolic drugs.  That trend continues, but the Detroit Piston's Lindsey Hunter wanted to de-bulk up.  He tested positive for the banned anorexic drug phentermine.  Story at CBS Sportsline.

NEW YORK -- Detroit Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter was suspended 10 games without pay by the NBA on Wednesday after testing positive for phentermine, a banned substance primarily used for weight loss.

"I'm as shocked as anyone," Hunter said after arriving at the Palace on Wednesday. "It was a diet pill -- we've all taken stuff and nothing ever happens."

Hunter said the pill was prescribed for his wife Ivy.     

"We do that at our house -- if I've got a head cold, I might grab one of her pills," he said. "It was just a bonehead mistake on my part."

Phentermine is listed as a steroid or performance-enhancing drug under the league's Anti-Drug program and brings an automatic 10-game penalty for a first positive test.

Phentermine is chemically similar to amphetamine,  With actions like amphetamine to produce stimulation, improved concentration, and anorexia,  the drug is regulated by the FDA.

Phentermine could be a dangerous drug for an athlete.  Combined with fenfluramine, this drug was marketed as Phen-fen which led to cardiac valve problems, and sudden death.

Hunter began his suspension Wednesday night when the Pistons faced the Cleveland Cavaliers and will lose more than $202,000.

  "It's the league rule, and I have to abide by it," he said. "I just hope people don't think I'm out smoking marijuana."

Cannabis would be safer than phentermine.  We will check on this, however athletes really should be checked out before taking these substances.  Several years ago, ephedrine, taken as a supplement was implicated in several athlete's death.  Although usually safe, these compounds (which manipulate the adrenergic system, or release dopamine/norepinephrine) can have serious cardiac side effects.

The use of this compound for weight loss is somewhat suspicious. 

Jimmy Irsay honorary poll: which owners or coaches are doping

Add your comments below.  The Nation gets first pick.

1. Al Davis.  Definitely on 'roids.  Winnie we think.  We would suggest going to HGH to stop aging.
2.  Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Not on 'roids.  On stupid pills.
3.  How about Isiah Thomas?  What's he smoking?
4.  Iowa basketball coach Steve Alford?   (I put that in there for you Eric).  He has got to be doing sometime offensive, since his motion offense isn't.  (oops they won last night)