Steroid Nation

Amgen, It Is Time For Team EPO!

(By James)

Tomorrow the Amgen Tour of California starts.  The six stage, 640 mile race begins in San Francisco and ends in Long Beach.  This race has been given the U.C.I.'s (the governing body of cycling) highest rating of any race outside of Europe.  It is attracting cycling's biggest stars and over one million spectators are expected.

Now comes word from today's New York Times that last year's race did not test for cycling's most abused drug, Erythropoietin or EPO.  From the Times Article:

That failure is more surprising because the lead sponsor of the Tour of California is Amgen, the California biotechnology company that produces the genetically engineered version of EPO, which is sold primarily to help cancer and dialysis patients battle anemia.

A spokeswoman at Amgen, which had marketed its sponsorship as a way to educate people against improper use of its drug, expressed outrage at the failure to test for it, saying that the company had been repeatedly assured last year that EPO testing was done.

The spokeswoman, Mary Klem, said that when Amgen executives were informed of the oversight, they were angry and surprised. “Our understanding going into the race was that the test would be included,” Klem said. “And we were told afterward that no rider tested positive for EPO or for any banned substances.”

This year, the organizers of the race have agreed to test riders for EPO.

North Carolina next to test high schools for steroids.

North Carolina, home to the doped-up Carolina Panthers, the UNC Tar heals, and the Duke Lacrosse Blue Devils is pushing legislation to test high school student-athletes for 'roids.

DURHAM, N.C. -- State lawmakers are taking a stand against steroid use in high schools.

Jose Canseco pimps up Boot Camp

What's steroid and baseball bad boy Jose Canseco been up too?  Yesterday he dropped in to a Pacific Coast workout gym called 'Boot Camp' in La Canada.  Report here in the La Canada Daily News.  Canseco apparently was in town to grace the gym with his celebrity.

Baseball big-name and author Jose Canseco stopped by La Cañada's West Coast Boot Camp last Friday to investigate the popular local fitness program. He stayed long enough to chat with instructors and pose for a few photos before heading back to work on a filming project.

"Jose is a cousin of a client," explained Boot Camp owner and instructor Adrian Pietrariu. "So he came in to check it out."

La Cañada resident Frank Frias, cousin to Canseco, had been raving about his experience with Boot Camp and convinced Canseco to learn more about the program. Boot Camp is a six-week outdoor work out class that encourages healthy eating and physical fitness. The techniques are based on military work outs and performance on physical training tests.

Gatlin, What's Really Going On Here?

(By James)

As we reported earlier, Justin Gatlin is requesting a hearing in order to prove his innocence.  Just another cheater screaming?  Maybe.  But the Washington Post had an interesting take on this story last December.

Money Quote:

The case has attracted the attention of federal investigators, according to several sources, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has allowed an unusual extension to give Gatlin's lawyers time to assemble their client's defense.

Mr. Pound Speaks Again

(By James)

Pound: 'You can't be prudent in the fight against doping'

World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Richard Pound said Friday he has no regrets about his abrasive style in dealing with famous athletes which earned him a warning from the International Olympic Committee.

"I'm very happy to be known by the enemies I make," Pound told reporters on the sidelines of a two-day anti-doping conference in Athens. "You're dealing in most cases with organized cheating and hypocrisy beyond belief. You've got to challenge them; you've got to be right in their face."

Another French athlete tests positive

(By James)

Another French athlete tests positive

National cross-country champion Khalid Zoubaa has become the fourth French middle- distance athlete in eight months to test positive for an illegal substance, French sports daily L'Equipe reported on Thursday.

The paper said traces of the blood-boosting banned agent erythropoietin (EPO) were found in the 29-year-old Zoubaa's A sample following the military national championships in Pau on January 27.

Zoubaa's positive test comes just one week after traces of EPO were found in a sample taken from French 1 500 metres record holder Hind Dehiba, who was arrested at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport last month after vials containing human growth hormone were found in her luggage.

Men's steeplechaser Nordine Gezzar and women's 1 500 metres runner Latifa Essarokh both failed drugs tests last July and August and were handed two-year suspensions from the sport.

Justin Gatlin requests hearing

Briefly here in the Telegraph:

Olympic and world 100m champion Justin Gatlin has requested an arbitration hearing to prove he is innocent of deliberately committing an anti-doping violation.

Justin Gatlin has requested a hearing on his positive steroid test last spring.  As readers recall, Gatlin was the world record holder in the 100M, who was stripped and banned when a test at the Kansas Relays turned up positive for an anabolic steroid.

Olympic and world 100m champion Justin Gatlin has requested an arbitration hearing to prove he is innocent of deliberately committing an anti-doping violation.

The attorney for the US Anti-Doping Authority commented on CNN:

"When Justin Gatlin accepted a positive test and a doping offense (in August), part of the agreement was that he had the right, if he chose, to challenge only the eight-year suspension," Travis Tygart, USADA's senior managing director and general counsel, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"He has given his intent to USADA before Friday's deadline that he intends to do that through the established arbitration process," Tygart said from Washington, D.C.

Is Gatlin appealing his suspension, or is he now objecting to the conviction?

D-3 to implement steroid testing

Division 3 athletes will now undergo doping tests, following NCAA changes (CSTV).  Studies had indicated that D-3 athletes used more recreational drugs, and anabolic drugs than their D-1 counter-parts.  Part of the reason appeared to be fewer restrictions and much less testing in the colleges.

Problems at D-3 Wisconsin-Stout changed all that in a hurry.  The negative publicity surrounded the bust of Stout football players, prodded the NCAA to implement new policy on D-3 steroid testing.

Wisconsin-Stout and up to 115 other schools will participate in an NCAA pilot program starting next school year that will subject some of their athletes to random drug testing and require them to educate players on the effects of drug use.

Olympic steroid cheat Ben Johnson now coaching

Ben Johnson, the disgraced 100M sprinter, who was stripped of his gold medal when he tested positive for Winstrol, now coaches promising young sprinters in Canada.  Story here in the Townsville Bulletin.  One of his young charges did make interesting comments to the media:

"I come in dead last in a race and all of a sudden I have an hour of media in my face," Fralick told USA Today..

"Everyone wants to know the same thing.

Recently Johnson has been coaching young sprinters.

"I don't talk to my athletes about anything drugs-wise. <>

I'm just there to help other kids," Johnson told USA Today. "I can offer them discipline, self-motivation. That's all."

Dick Pound current head of WADA, and  Johnson's defense attorney in his  doping trial added:

"If someone does the time you hope there was been some change in behaviour and approach," World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound told the newspaper.

Hopefully Johnson is not repeating his Carl Lewis drugged my beer story to his young sprinters...

 

Philadelphia Eagle's Coach Andy Reid's son charged with steroids

The San Jose Mercury-News reports charges filed of Philly Coach Andy Reid's son for narcotics and steroid possession.  Authorities charged Twenty-three year-old Garrett Reid after a police pursuit, a personal-injury car crash, and  discovery of syringes containing heroin and testosterone.

Garrett Reid, 23, of Villanova, Pa., was charged with 14 misdemeanor offenses stemming from the Jan. 30 car crash that left a woman injured. The charges included assault, drug possession and driving under the influence of a controlled substance.

Authorities found syringes with heroin and testosterone in Garrett Reid's Jeep, and he acknowledged that he had used heroin that day, according to police. He is scheduled to surrender to authorities in Plymouth Township on Friday morning.

European Track wants Marion Jones to stay home.

As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune, The Euromeetings Group - a group of European track organizers - plans to bar Olympic sprint champions and BALCO drug-cheat Marion Jones from track meets on the continennt.  The same group also is unhappy with Justin Gatlin, and Gatlin's and Jones' coach, multi-offender Trevor Graham.

Rajne Soderberg, the president of the Group which organises lucrative athletics meetings across Europe, said they would recommend that Jones and all athletes associated with Jamaican-born American coach Trevor Graham were barred from their meetings. Sprinter and long jumper Jones, 32, who won three gold medals and two bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was cleared of a doping offence in 2006 after a B-test proved negative following a positive for the banned blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO).

Jones is an elite sprinter, whose career has been star-crossed with any number of shady characters.  She was married to confessed drug-cheat.  She bore a child with disgraced former 100 world record  holder Tim Montgomery.  She cavorted with BALCO leader Victor Conte.  Jamaican born Trevor Graham, associated with a handful of world champion drug-cheaters coached her.

Jones, on a NCAA basketball championship at North Carolina, is a genetically gifted athlete who was recovering her career last year. However, she may have shot her wad, due to the drug involvement.

She emerged last year to run some sensational races in Europe, winning the 100 metre dash at Gaz de France in 10.93 on July 8, which was her fastest in almost four years.

She improved it to 10.91 in the Rome Golden League three days later although she was beaten to second by Jamaica's Sherone Simpson who clocked 10.87.

Cowboy attorney identified as BALCO leak in plea agreement; Chronicle reporters spared jail

As reported by Yahoo News back in Dec 2006, the BALCO leak was identified. Victor Conte's ex-attorney, and current rodeo association president Troy Ellerman, 44, of Colorado pleaded guilty to to the 2004 leak, as well as lying about it, obstructing justice and disobeying a court order not to disclose grand jury information. 

Implications of the deal for San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams included a get-out-of-jail-free pass, and hopefully more sleep.  Fainaru-Wada and Williams investigated BALCO, broke the story in the a series of reports published in the Chronicle, then authored 'Game of Shadows', the best-selling book about BALCO.

A report of the deal is found here in the San Jose Mercury.

A defense attorney Wednesday agreed to plead guilty to leaking secret grand jury testimony in the Balco steroids probe to the media, probably sparing two San Francisco Chronicle reporters from an 18-month prison term for refusing to disclose their source's name. The reporters had used the leaked testimony to expose alleged steroid use among big-name athletes, including baseball players Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi.

Weis Trial Day 2: Going my way?

Quick update on the Weis trial.  How looped was Charlie Weis when he was in the hospital?  The Boston Globe says this looped when he finally awoke from a 2 week coma:

Weis said he remembered waking up in the hospital's intensive care unit after the surgery and seeing Brady and a priest at his bedside. Brady was not in court Wednesday, but may testify later.

No wonder Weis has a lawsuit.  Wouldn't that scene scare you to death too?

Remember your Weis 'Trial of the Century' coverage is at the Wizard of Odds.

Armstrong, Landis to lead dope free cycling team.

Announced here at Cyclingpost.co., Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong will lead a US team of cyclists, who will be tested 50 weeks over one year's time, to prove it can be done.  Prove what?  That a competitive cyclist would be able to stay clean for 50 weeks.

Interesting concept.  The Nation wonders what doping tests will be administered.  It will also be interesting to see how competitive such a team can be.

The following is the announcement; can you spot the typo?

AUSTIN, Feb 14 (CP) - A team of American riders will follow a test program during fifty weeks to prove cycling is possible without doping. The team will be led by 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis and seven-times winner Lance Armstrong.

During the coming year, the riders will deliver fifty urine and blood samples. If there are remarkable differences in the values, it will be concluded that doping is used. However it seems uncertain that one of the riders will dope himself while being testes all the time.

The program will be supported by a formed collaborator of an anti doping laboratory in Los Angeles .

It's going to take balls to be 'testes all the time'.
   

Steroids and Love: 'Roid romance

On this national holiday (Isn't everyone home, soaking in the hot tub with a lover, while the wife/hubby is at work?  No?) how can Steroid Nation not pay homage to the hormone that is the engine of libido.  No not chocolate, but testosterone.

While testosterone is responsible for primary and secondary gender characteristics in males, and estrogen plays the same role in women, testosterone is clearly the engine that drives the libido on both genders.  We will not tell you the correct dose to change that libido, but suffice it to say, that aspect has been researched, and researched well by scientists with smiles.

Here is an article in the St Petersburg (no pun intended) Times for your intellectual curiosity.

New Mexico, unlike MLB, stepping up to the plate on steroid use

As reported in the Santa Fe New Mexican, a  high school athletic director is stepping up to the plate, to deliver drug tests at the high school level.  Strapped for funds that would allow steroid testing, this NM high school will start with a smaller scope, then hope to work up to more expensive steroid testing.  The AD, Matt Martinez, has obtained funding for drug testing, although not steroids.  However, he has increased awareness of the problem, which is in line with NM Governor Bill Richardson's policy.

Matt Martinez wants what the Major League Baseball Players Association can't accept.

Responsibility.

Martinez, like so many athletic directors across the nation, is faced with the daunting task of keeping steroids out of his high school. So at Pojoaque High School, Martinez has taken the only step he can.

He managed to secure funding for random drug testing this school year, testing that doesn't detect steroids, but rather gateway drugs that could be a precursor.

A positive test yields a 45-day suspension. A second offense is forfeiture of the rest of the season.

Steroid testing is part of the overall plan.

"Eventually it will be taken care of," Martinez, pointing out the high cost -- about $135 -- of detecting steroids.

Dick Pound hammers Lance Armstrong

IN an interesting twist, WADA chief Dick Pound revealed yesterday, that not only undeterred by Lance Armstrong's recent attack, he has resolved to hunt down Armstrong even more.  Story in The Age, Aus.

Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), said on Tuesday that an International Olympic Committee (IOC) reprimand will not stop him from seeking answers to doping allegations surrounding Lance Armstrong.

"If Lance thinks this is going to make me go away he is sadly mistaken," a defiant Pound said.

Now in round 10, the ongoing fight between Pound, the swashbuckling head of WADA, and Armstrong, the 7 time Tour de France, megastar, continues in the media.

The retired seven times Tour de France champion has denied using performance-enhancing drugs after reports he used the banned blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) during his career.

In May last year, an independent investigation cleared him of doping during the 1999 Tour and accused anti-doping authorities of violating testing rules.

Armstrong filed a complaint against Pound for continuing the allegations.

Ruling on the complaint, the IOC Ethics commission recommended the WADA chief had, "the obligation to exercise greater prudence consistent with the Olympic spirit when making public pronouncements that may affect the reputation of others."

Retroactive testing of samples taken during the 1999 Tour were conducted only after an approved test for EPO had been developed.

The French sports daily L'Equipe reported that six of 15 positive results were produced by samples provided by Armstrong.

Trial of the Century: The Weis Gastric Bypass

Latest: Check the latest post that directs you to Weis-2 at the Wizard of Odds.

Update: We love the newspapers accounts of medical procedures.  Here in the Boston Globe was this description: Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital allowed Charlie Weis...to bleed internally for 30 hours after botched gastric bypass surgery in 2002, his lawyer said today during opening statements of a malpractice trial.

Botched?  Interesting.  Although there were complications with Weis' surgery, was it botched.  The accompanying photo in the Globe showed a pretty well proportioned Weis.  Not exactly the picture of a 'botched' surgery.  He should not be looking so dapper in a natty double breasted suit if the surgery were 'botched'.  Put him in a wheelchair with some drool dripping down from his bib if you want to talk about 'botched'.

Further he was 'allowed' to bleed.  'Allowed'?  We suspect there was much debate whether Weis' sutures were hemorrhaging internally. Probably not 'allowed' to bleed.  Can you imagine the doctors sitting around the staffing room:

     'Hey that guy Weis is bleeding over in Room 415'.

    'So what, that guy lost the game at the Jets, let him bleed'.
 
    'He's a whiner anyway'.

    'Hey did you see who visited today?  Tom Brady.'

    'Damn, I want his autograph.  Is he still there....'

The Wizard of Odds is running a daily update on the most important trial since the Clarence Darrow Scopes, Monkey trial -- the Charlie Weis Gastric Bypass Trial.  Yesterday was Day 1, a critical day for the Weis team, in which we found out that Weis was indeed obese, and Weis did indeed have gastric bypass surgery (graphic and story from The Wiz).

Yes, Weis underwent surgery, and yes Weis had complications, and yes Weis was 2 weeks in coma and shock.  However, much much more shocking information was to be revealed.

The courtroom, thick with drama, was stunned to learn that there was medical controversy over possible bleeding following Weis' surgery.

Barely recovering from this revelation, a second bomb was dropped on a shaken courtroom. A tall mysterious attractive woman called to the witness stand revealed that a nurse took care of Weis while in the hospital. The courtroom was stunned once again as she confirmed Weis was sick following surgery

Later, in absolutely explosive testimony, a witness dropped a laxative on the reeling trial spectators:  Charlie Weis pulled out his own breathing tube.

Pausing for minute, to collect itself the Nation thus posits this theory:  By pulling his own breathing tube out, Weis was performing a medical procedure on himself.  This clearly complicated the post-op recovery.  There are two implications: 1.) Weis practiced medicine without a license; and 2.) thus Weis de facto joined the medical team and thus is suing himself for malpractice.

Day 2 continues in Boston.

"Team EPO" - A Follow Up

(By James)

Last week we postulated that cycling was in such dire straits that some outside the box thinking is needed.  We then suggested that Amgen, the creator of Erythropoietin (EPO) might be a good fit.  Amgen's products are the drugs of choice among dopers in endurance sports.

We also said that it would not be easy and we were light on specifics.  Today's New York Times has an article about the cycling team Slipstream.  If you want to know what can be done, here's a good starting point.

Welcoming Testing, Team Battles Cycling’s Image

Each Slipstream rider is tested not for the illegal substances, but for the body’s reactions to doping. To do that, riders are blood-tested 50 times a year, at least five times more than usual. In the program, they are also urine-tested 50 times a year.

“It’s an absolute severe pain for us to do, but I’ll do anything to keep from being lumped with the guys accused of cheating,” said Danny Pate, 27, a former under-23 world champion and one of Slipstream’s top riders. “I’ll give DNA. I’ll post all of my information on the Internet. I’ll do anything to help save the sport.”

The team, which is one step below the top level in cycling, is composed of young men who aspire to ride in the Tour de France or in the Olympics. Slipstream is scheduled to compete in races throughout the world, including the Tour of California, which begins Feb. 18. The team hopes to receive an invitation to the 2008 Tour de France.

Rant Your Head Off adds to this idea:

Doing all this is an expensive proposition, about $20,000 per athlete per year, or about $400,000 for the whole of Slipstream. While Slipstream’s approach is certainly an innovation compared to current methods, it’s an expensive one. Applying such a program to all athletes in cycling would be very expensive.

Someone will need to fund such a system, and finding sponsors to do so will dry up resources that might otherwise go to the teams, themselves. Given the problems (or perceived problems) with doping in sports, this is certainly a worthwhile program to support. Perhaps these programs should be funded by governments, through each country’s anti-doping agency, on a national level, rather than on a sport-by-sport level.

As Don Catlin says, this is a baby step. As long as anti-doping agencies continue testing athletes in and out of competition, however, programs like Slipstream’s aren’t complete insurance against an athlete testing positive. Even the cleanest of athletes could wind up testing positive under the right (actually, wrong) circumstances. How such a case plays out will be the real test of whether the insurance policy pays off.

Story on BALCO prosecutor Kevin Ryan

More famous for BALCO, but more appreciated for his work prosecuting gang members is former US Attorney Kevin Ryan.  A look here in the SF Examiner online.  Still a questions whether he left of his own accord or whether he was pushed out.  Also a question as to where BALCO goes now.

Stats on 'roids in Baseball

(By James)

Excerpt from a long ESPN story on 'roids in Baseball.  Worth a read at this link.

Steroid problem reaches critical mass in the D.R.

The numbers reveal a troubling story. According to Major League Baseball, more than half of all pro baseball players who tested positive since the start of the 2005 season -- 169 of 289, or 58.5 percent -- hail from the Dominican Republic, and that includes major and minor leagues, as well as those who play in the Dominican and Venezuelan summer leagues.

Of the 157 players suspended during this time, 37 (close to one-quarter) are from the Dominican Republic. And approximately 132 others have tested positive since 2005 in the 32-team Dominican Summer League, which generally features players just starting out in pro ball. They can't be suspended because of the country's labor laws.

How to explain it? Should we blame it on the "buscones" (pronounced boo-SCONE-ehs), baseball street agents, some of whom are suspected of starting teenage prospects on steroids to improve their ability to sell them to pro scouts? On tainted supplements and a government that allows banned drugs to be bought over the counter? On a lack of education about doping rules?

Steroid use at Westminster Dog Show

(by Cloud -a bichon - and Corgi-train)

With nothing to do all day, we surf the net until the humans come home.  Usually the stuff on dogs and steroids is bone dry. Today, however, we hit the doggy doo-doo. Found here in Sports Illustrated confirms our suspicions that some of our canine friends are using more than puppy chow in their dishes.

Why is the NFL soft on drug cheats?

A nice piece by Dayn Perry in the Chicago Sports review addresses the NFL's stance on steroid and drug cheats: soft.

As pointed out by many writers, baseball and many sports remain under tight scrutiny for anabolic use.  Evidence for this includes the moral hand-wringing seen at the Hall of Fame voting for Mark McGwire, and now the emerging tempest over the soon-to-be Barry Bonds passing of Hank Aaron's career home ruin mark.

In track, if an athlete is caught cheating, or even implicated in drug use (as with Tim Montgomery), or misses testing dates, he/she loses world records, and is barred from competition for years.

One gets the impression that had Floyd Landis been treated like an NFL linebacker, he would have had to give the other riders a 10 minute head start the next day, then zip off to win the race.

Whereas a MLB player loses 50 games (about 30% of the season, but 2 months) on his first anabolic offense, an NFL player loses 4 games (25% of the season and one month).

Major NFL offenders who cheat are not penalized.  Players from the Carolina Panthers received anabolic prescriptions one week before the 2004 Superbowl  No penalty given.

NFL brass even mistate facts, stating that there are no reliable tests for HGH (a major NFL anabolic) which is quite inaccurate.

If the NFL were serious about stopping anabolic use, it would not only beef up dope testing, but would move to punish dopers.  For instance, the 2004 Superbowl in which there is clear and unequivocal evidence that Carolina player doped, could be used as an model.  A good start toward indicating it's seriousness would be for the NFL either to retro-actively strip Carolina's participation in the game, or to indicate that any such occurrence in the future would strip players and teams of honors garnered in the post-season.

The NFL suffers from on-going anabolic abuse, the games and the post-season honors are compromised, and former players are suffering medical complications that arguably are from anabolic use.  When will the NFL recognize and confront the problems?

(excerpts from Chicago Sports after the jump)

Fund manager to pay 20 million; cheated clients including NFL players.

Report from Bloomberg that it isn't only NFL players like Shawne Merriman drug cheating.  An investment manager who bilked clients of millions, including NFL players union was ordered to pay a tidy sum back to those he cheated. (More about the suit here)

Hedge fund manager Kirk S. Wright, accused of bilking clients including National Football League players, was ordered to pay almost $20 million in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.         

A U.S. District Court judge in Atlanta ordered Wright to forfeit $19.8 million and pay a $120,000 fine, the SEC said in a statement today.         

The SEC, in the suit filed last year, alleged that Wright falsified statements about the amount of his firm's assets and inflated the rates of return for the seven hedge funds under his management. Clients, including some NFL players, also sued Wright last year after they couldn't retrieve money from their accounts.         

             

MLB Players Union appeals court decision to release names to US Attorney.

As expected the Major League Baseball Players Association filed an appeal to keep the names of anabolic steroid users confidential.  Reports here in the New York Daily News, and Forbes.

As you recall, the 9th Circuit Court of San Francisco overturned lower court rulings last Dec 2006, to allow the US Attorney's office (them Kevin Ryan) to keep the names of steroid users from a 'confidential' test in 2004.  MLB and the MLBPA had tested all players as a fact-finding study.  About 104 players urines tested positive, however only about 10, inlcudeing Barry Bonds, were of interest to the Government.  The Govt BALCO task force raided labs in California and Utah to obtain the players database.  Although initialed denied the data, the appeals court ruled that a magistrate could comb the entire database to release the results of those of interest to the Govt task force.

There was much outcry about rights, however this behavior is not new to the Govt.  Steroid Nation pointed out the labs did use proper protocol in keep the codebook (names and codes) next to the data.  Everyone knows that what the Govt finds, the Govt keeps.  The Govt does not sign any agreement for confidentiality between the US and the players, nor does the Govt respect such agreements in any research endeavor.  If a Govt inquiry suspects a crime, it will subpoena such data.  It is up to the investigator to assure participants their results are confidential.

Reports suggest the Govt will use all 104 positive names, however this is unlikely.  The Govt may require the 10 players of interest to testify, about sources (conspiracy investigation) and about their past testimony (perjury).  The Govt is not generally interested in steroid users, themselves.

Also remember that former US Attorney Kevin Ryan was fired about 2 weeks ago, so different management is on the Govt's case.

From the NYDN:

With almost no options left, the Major League Baseball Players Association filed a last-ditch request last night to keep the names of 104 steroid cheats out of the clutches of a grand jury.

.

New Jersey gives wrestlers steroid tests at state tournament.

As noted here at Atlantic City.com, New Jersey kicked off the announced high steroid testing program at the state wrestling tournament.

One year ago former Gov. Richard Codey signed an executive order approving testing in 2006-2007.  This was the first test run for wrestling.

Kansas City-based Drug Free Sport —  the same company that tests NCAA athletes and minor league baseball — implemented the tests.  The company chose five weight classes at random. Every wrestler at those weight classes competing in Sunday's tournament had to submit to a urine sample after his match. The samples were to be tested for 82 types of steroids.

Timko (NJ official) said the feedback has been so good that other states are looking into enacting similar policies. He will speak about New Jersey's testing program in April at a meeting of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

“Everybody has been very positive,” he said. “We're looking out for the safety of our student-athletes and trying to make a level playing field.”

Parents appear to be responding positively to the testing program.

Rick Vernon, whose sons Cory and Owen wrestle for Hackettstown, one of the participating teams Sunday, said he has no problem with the testing. Cory, a senior, was in one of the weight classes tested.

“If you're clean, you won't mind,” Vernon said. “It's all right as long as they are doing it professionally, not making mistakes. It better be 100-percent kosher.”

“What if your kids are doing drugs?” he said. “Wouldn't you want to know?”

The implementation of the anti-doping program appears to be well thought out, and well-planned.

All student-athletes must have a permission slip — which lists the 82 steroids that will be tested for — signed by a parent or guardian at the beginning of the season.

A positive test results in a 365-day suspension from all NJSIAA sports.

Costs

Testing isn't cheap, however.

The NJSIAA allotted $50,000 for the program and was given another $50,000 by the state, Timko said. Each individual test costs around $175.

Not every sports gets tested, but every sport is open to testing. For instance, the use of steroids to enhance performance is more likely in a sport such as wrestling than in bowling. That's not to say bowlers won't ever be tested, Timko said, but maybe not as often as other sports.

During the fall sports season, boys and girls soccer, field hockey and football teams were tested.

Tennis and cross country athletes were not.

Myostatin - The Next Generation's Steroids

(By James)

Steroids were developed in the 1950s and powered East Germany and China to many Olympic feats in the 1970s and 1980s.  What is coming next?

You're going to hear the word myostatin a lot in the next few years.  Forbes has a good rundown on it in this article.

And by the way, their is no drug test for myostatin.  To test for it, you need to have a biopsy.  A medical procedure that costs thousands of dollars that involves taking a small core sample of one of your muscles.  It is painful, will leave you with a nice bruise, and disrupt any training schedule you're on.

Forbes - Superbaby Serum

A brawny infant's mutation has set off a hunt for a muscular dystrophy drug.

The child was the talk of the Neonatal Ward at Charite Hospital in Berlin, Germany. His biceps and and thighs were twice as thick as a normal newborn's despite typical height and weight. He looked like he'd been lifting weights in the womb.

This was in 2000. The child's doctor called in pediatric neurologist and geneticist Markus Schuelke. He thought the boy might have had a muscular disease but then remembered that Se-Jin Lee, a Johns Hopkins University geneticist, had produced overly buff mice by knocking out the gene for a protein called myostatin, which is supposed to slow muscle growth. Schuelke thought here was the first evidence of a myostatin mutation in a human.

Four years later the world heard about the boy for the first time, when a group of researchers including Schuelke and Lee proved the boy had a myostatin mutation. By then the child could hold a 7-pound dumbbell in each of his outstretched hands. One writer to the New England Journal of Medicine speculated that the mythical Hercules was a myostatin mutant, too.

The news about this rare mutation precipitated an intensive effort to design drugs--call them myostatin blockers--that would let muscles flourish without onerous side effects. The work holds the most promise for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a debilitating and deadly disease diagnosed in 600 American children, almost all boys, every year. Corticosteroids and heart-failure drugs have allowed some patients to survive into their 40s, but they are still strapped to ventilators and require round-the-clock care.

"This is a like a bright light in a fairly dark tunnel," says Patricia Furlong, founder of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. She lost two teenage sons to Duchenne. The research also offers hope for patients with Lou Gehrig's disease and age-related weakening.

Myostatin was discovered in mice in 1992 in Lee's Johns Hopkins lab. In 1996 he proved its importance by showing that mice without the myostatin-producing gene got twice as big. The next year he discovered that the bulging Belgian Blue cow was a myostatin mutant, the first of eight prized cattle breeds later found to have the mutation. The company he had cofounded, MetaMorphix, is working on manipulating myostatin to beef up livestock. Wyeth picked up the rights to develop a drug for humans. Its experimental antibody drug produced bulked-up mice in 2002, and results of a trial in adults with muscular dystrophy are expected as early as March.

Already there are concerns that the drugs might be used by athletes as a kind of supersteroid, and dietary-supplement companies have introduced knockoffs made from sea algae for that purpose. "They don't work," says Schuelke.

Schuelke and Lee still see room for failure. Side effects could crop up, and Lee's work shows that real muscle growth may require a broader attack than the Wyeth drug's targeted approach, because there are a host of mysterious myostatin-like proteins that also dampen muscle growth. Lee doesn't know how many. Acceleron Pharma is set to begin human trials on a drug that mimics a cell receptor that could disable many of the myostatin-like proteins. The Cambridge, Mass. firm has raised $56 million from venture funds, including Polaris Venture Partners and OrbiMed Advisors.

Schuelke continues to see the muscular boy he found in Berlin seven years ago. Though there were fears that his heart might get too thick, the boy is completely healthy. He's strong but no longer abnormally so. It may be that myostatin's effects are most dramatic during fetal development, but that's one of many guesses in this genetic mystery.

Just when did baseball know, and what did they know about steroids? Answers by Former Commissioner Fay Vincent

Before 1991, and little.  Answers to the headlines in the view of former MLB commissioner Fay Vincent.

USA Today's Joe Saraceno caught up with the former commish, now retired in Florida.  Saraceno's focus was on the current commissioner Bud Selig's recent remarks about not attending the 'historic' Home Run 756 game when Bonds surpasses Hank Aaron's career home run mark.  However The Nation is more interested in Vincent's remarks.

When did baseball become aware of a steroid problem:

"Look, when I was in baseball (1991) there were rumors that (Jose) Canseco was taking steroids," Vincent said. "Baseball knew — at least I did. I put out a decree banning steroids..."

And how much did baseball know:

"...But we really didn't know what we were talking about. I don't think we understood. We didn't realize it was going to be as big a problem for baseball as it was."

Thus, since 1991, baseball recognized it suffered from a steroid problem, over 15 years before the McGwire/Sosa summer of '98.  Almost 2 decades before the circus that Barry Bonds became.

And yes, Vincent is correct in that baseball had no idea what kind of huge problem that syringe would become.  Worse yet, in the 25 odd years since the Vincent decree, MLB still hasn't handled the issue of anabolic drugs very well, and will face another crisis when Bond's passes Aaron with homer 756.  2000 pound 'roided-up gorillas cause trouble when in the room, and when ignored.

Vincent on Bonds and on Selig's reaction:

"I think the widespread belief that Bonds has been cheating probably is going to be substantiated."

"My expectation would be that (Selig) would not be there when the record is broken," Vincent said by phone from Vero Beach, Fla. "I think he'll send a message: 'We acknowledge it, but we won't acknowledge it the same way we would have if Bonds had not been (allegedly) cheating.' I think he has got it just right."

The Mitchell investigation:

"He has to tell us what did baseball know? What were the federal authorities telling baseball, if anything? What did the security people know?"

Univ Wisconsin Stout to beef up drug testing in football players; Seem more interested in reefer than steroids

Update: Univ Wisconsin Eau Claire paper calls for universal drug testing on conference teams (WIAC):

However, the Stout policy calls for testing of traces of marijuana and cocaine, which are not considered advantageous in the sports world. People are always going to use drugs and if those drugs are not giving the athlete a competitive edge, then the system should not test for them.

With a universal steroid testing system in the conference, athletes will be discouraged to use performance enhancing drugs and will compete at the same level as everyone else.

We reported on the arrests of Univ of Wisconsin Stout players (D-3) for anabolic steroids, among other substances.  The school has responded with a beefed-up drug testing policy, as reported in the Kansas City Star (off the AP wire).

Even though the drug bust netted 'roids, the Univ of Wisconsin appears more interested in cannabis and cocaine than anabolic drugs. That stance indicates misplaced priorities by the school administration.  Why test all football players for street substances?  Why would a football player deserve more intense scrutiny for street drugs than any other student in Stout?  However, football players do merit increased scrutiny over anabolics than other students.

School officials said Thursday that the football team's 100 players will be tested this spring for commonly abused drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, and a quarter will be randomly tested for steroids. Players in other sports at Wisconsin-Stout will undergo random drug testing starting in the fall.

The Nation wonders about the logic of this policy.

1. Why should athlete be singled out for street drug testing?
2. Why should the tests to detect anabolics be much less hearty than that for cannabis?  Cannabis generally does not enhance athletic performance.  The key issue among football players is the use of anabolic drugs to cheat the competition, and not the use of recreational drugs (although the school may be interested in that policy).  The NCAA has stated anabolic use may be higher in D-3 athletes than in D-1 participants.

Isn't this illogical?  It would also seem that this discriminatory policy should be challenged in court by the athletes.  The school is selecting out athletes for recreational drug testing with little evidence there is enhanced use of these drugs in that group.  Not very libertarian, that campus.

Once again, officials in a bureaucracy don't understand the issues, then obfuscate the logical consequences.

Sparky Anderson. Out of baseball, out of touch.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald caught up with former World Series manager Sparky Anderson.  Anderson attended the Halifax Progress Club Celebrity Dinner, serving as speaker/guest of honor.

Sparky weighed in on subjects like overpaid and under-motivated players, Barry Bonds, and steroids in baseball.  Anderson discussed recently Hall of Fame snubbed Mark McGwire:

"I don’t think (McGwire) could possibly have a chance because the mood was not for getting him inducted," said Anderson, who’s ranked fourth all-time for career managerial wins. "Maybe it will go away later on, but I knew he had no chance.

The Spark is wondering what all the bluster surrounding Barry Bonds.

"The only thing I would like to see is proof. Last summer, they said they were going to indict Barry Bonds on Friday. A lot of Fridays have gone by since and I haven’t seen any indictments. Nobody has any proof.

Then Anderson get's it wrong.

"Besides, when McGwire and them took it, it wasn’t illegal. Now what do you do? I think they have themselves in a corner. "

In fact, Federal law placed anabolic steroids in Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as of February 27, 1991.

Possession of anabolic drugs, without a prescription is illegal and has been since 1991.  Possession of these substances can be worth 1 year/1000.00 fine.  Trafficking of anabolic steroids is up to 5 years prison and up to a 250,000 fine.

Even if a physician prescribes these substances, because they are regulated by federal law, the doctor can be in trouble, as was Dr. James Schorr when he prescribed to the Carolina Panthers.

We have not started to discuss modafinil, insulin (and the syringes), HCG, HGH, and other substances that Bonds apparently has admitted to using.

Sorry, Sparky, on the facts, you strike out.

Why Cycling Needs "Team EPO"

(by James)

Lance Armstrong is co-owner of Tailwind Sports, the team that Discovery Channel sponsors.  As we reported yesterday, Discovery is dropping its sponsorship after the end of this upcoming season.  So for the second time in three years, Armstrong and his agent Bill Stapleton are working the phones and looking for a new sponsor. 

According to the New York Times, finding a new sponsor is appearing tough.

Bill Stapleton, a part owner of the cycling team along with Armstrong, Bruyneel and others, said Friday in a telephone interview that the owners hoped to attract another United States company as the team’s lead sponsor. But, he said, the announcement last summer that Floyd Landis, the winner of the Tour de France, had failed a drug test during the race “took the wind out of a lot of people’s sails” around the sport.

Several of the team’s lower-level sponsors “expressed their displeasure and doubts about continuing” in the sport, he said.

“Nobody asked to be let out of their contract,” Stapleton said. “What we said to all of our sponsors was that Floyd wasn’t on our team, and we have never had a positive test. We understand it’s a suspect environment right now, but we answered all their questions.”

Stapleton appears to blaming Landis and distancing himself, which again highlights why we believe his doping case is so important.

Why Sponsor?

Why does someone sponsor a cycling team?  The simply answer is to boost name recognition.  That is why most of the Pro-Tour teams in Europe are sponsored by national lotteries, financial firms or telecommunications companies.

How effective is sponsoring a cycling team?  Phonak explains.

Before it entered the world of professional cycling, Phonak's degree of familiarity in Germany was 0.6% (1999). Today, 52% of people in Switzerland and roughly 20% of the German population are familiar with Phonak. Sales during that period rose from 314 million Swiss francs to 867 million francs (2005/06 fiscal year). Those welcome figures were achieved thanks to the marketing presence, among other things. At various races in Europe over the years (Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Tour de Suisse, Tour of Germany, etc.) Phonak came into direct contact with thousands of people, for instance at the so-called Hoermobil, where spectators at those events could learn more about "Phonak - Better hearing" right there on the spot. In addition, during the 2006 ProTour alone, Phonak Cycling's media team put out 270 articles about the team in 176 days; not including the newsletter, which began appearing this year, each Monday. During the summer months of 2006, more than 100,000 people from different IP addresses visited the web pages. Those are numbers that speak for themselves.

So, what Armstrong and Stapleton need is an American Company that needs to boost its name recognition in Europe.  A company with an interest in cycling is a plus.

Enter Amgen

Amgen is a Southern California bio-technology firm that is facing heavy competition from European bio-technology firms.  Amgen also sponsors the Amgen Tour of California which starts next weekend in San Francisco.

At first blush it seems like a good fit.  However their is a catch.  Amgen explains:

Amgen discovers and develops innovative and vital medicines that have helped millions of patients fight cancer, kidney disease and other serious illnesses. Two of these medicines - EPOGEN(R) (Epoetin alfa) and Aranesp(R) (darbepoetin alfa) - have been used in violation of certain worldwide and national athletic association regulations by some athletes in an attempt to enhance their performance. Amgen has and continues to collaborate closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Anti-Doping Agency and other international groups to help develop effective tests to detect this improper use.

"We worked long and hard to develop these medicines to help patients fighting serious illness," said Amgen scientific director Steve Elliott. Elliott is the inventor of Aranesp and has worked closely with the IOC to develop tests to detect improper use of Amgen's medicines. "Doping is dangerous and unhealthy. This sponsorship provides us with an opportunity to combat the inappropriate use of our vital medicines and to educate athletes, both amateurs and professionals, of the potential dangers of misusing drugs of any kind."

EPOGEN, one of the first biologic human therapeutics, is approved for the treatment of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis. Aranesp is approved for the treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease and chemotherapy.

Amgen make the drugs of choice for doping cyclist.  These drugs that are so often used by cheaters that cycling is suffering in both in reputation and financially.

If Amgen were sponsor a team, no doubt it would be nick-named "team EPO" much like the Tour of California is called "tour EPO" by snooty European cycling fans.

But their is some logic to Amgen's sponsorship of a Pro-Tour cycling team.  Not only can it increase its name recognition in Europe but Tailwind is one of the more influential teams in the Pro-tour.  They can set the standard in cleaning up the reputation of cycling.

No other sponsor has as much a vested interested in in cleaning up cycling as Amgen.  The rest just want it to go away.  But Amgen could benefit financially to the tune of billions (in Euros!) by taking this lead.  Should they pull this off, Amgen's name will become somewhat of a legend in cycling and they will enjoy benefits long after their sponsorship ends.  Certainly more than Tailwind's previous sponsors  -- 7/11, Motorola, U.S. Postal and, Discovery.

Ivan Basso?

The trick is pulling this off.  It is not easy, but then again anything worth a big payoff is not easy.  Further Italian rider Ivan Basso, winner of last year's Giro d'Italia, transfered to Discovery last November.  Basso's name surfaced in the Operación Puerto doping case. 

Basso name was linked to Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes (the Victor Conte of Europe) who is at the center of Puerto.  Press reports say the Spanish police have documents from Fuentes implicating Basso in an illegal blood doping scheme. Spanish authorities also have hundreds of blood bags and they are attempting to get DNA tests from up to 50 riders (as well as other athletes, possibly including tennis #2 Raphael Nidal).  Basso has apparently given Discovery a DNA sample and the lawyers are now arguing what to do with it.

While Basso has never failed a doping test, and was withdrawn from last year's Tour de France, he was subsequently cleared (due to lack of evidence) and is free to ride again.

It will be hard to clean up cycling's image with Basso on the team, now that he has become a "poster child" for doping.  But, Discovery still has the sponsorship this year and they should have this cleared up one way or another before a potential Amgen sponsorship would take effect.

When faced with lemons, make lemonade.  Cycling is suffering because riders are abusing Amgen's products.  Who better than Amgen to clean up this mess?

Illinois man convicted of doping horses with 'elephant juice'

From the Chicago Tribune, comes a story about an Illinois man, convicted of doping race horses with 'elephant juice'.

The Nation documented horse doping with steroids, cobra venom, and of course legally given Bute (anti-inflammatory) and Lasix (diuretic).  Now, a new way to abuse the animals pops up: etophrine.

Etophrine is a compound, related to morphine, that is used to tranquilize elephants.  Reportedly the drug could be up to 80,000 times more potent than morphine.  The immobilization is called 'catatonia'  In small amounts, it reportedly has stimulant effects in certain animal species. A fine substance to give to our equine friends.

STICKNEY -- A Will County man has been sentenced to 24 months of probation for injecting his racehorse with an illegal drug that may have helped it win two 2005 races at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said Friday.

Will County Judge Richard Schoenstedt sentenced Donald Paulik of rural Beecher recently as part of a plea agreement on two counts of possession of the controlled substance etorphine, Madigan said in a news release.

If you are attending a horse race, and rather than race, the horse line up tail to trunk, you might think they were doped with elephant juice.

Discovery Channel ending its sponsorship of pro cycling

(By JB)

Discovery is pulling the plug on its sponsorship of cycling after 2007.  This follows the financial firm iShares that backed out of its long planned take over of the sponsorship from Phonak.  iShares cited the Landis doping scandal as a principal reason.

Cycling continues to sink both in reputation and financially.

Discovery Channel ending its sponsorship of pro cycling
By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY

The Discovery Channel is dropping title sponsorship of its professional cycling team after the 2007 season.

The team, formerly known as the U.S. Postal Service Professional Cycling Team, won the Tour de France seven times with Lance Armstrong. Discovery became a lower-level sponsor of the team in 2004 and assumed the title sponsorship for Armstrong's final win in 2005.

USA TODAY has been unable to reach Lance Armstrong or a Discovery Channel spokesperson.

Armstrong retired after that race and the team faltered without him at the 2006 Tour, where it held the leader's yellow jersey for just one stage and didn't place a rider in the top 10 standings.

Armstrong remains a co-owner of the team through Tailwind Sports, an Austin-based company run by his long-time agent and attorney Bill Stapleton.

Stapleton told USA TODAY Friday that the Discovery's decision to not renew for a fourth year is connected to Monday's firing of Discovery Network's president Billy Campbell by new Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav.

Campbell was the major force behind the company's decision to sponsor the team in 2004. He also pushed the team to sign Italian star and Tour favorite Ivan Basso this year despite a since-resolved controversy about the rider's role in a Spanish doping scandal.

"This would not have happened if Billy Campbell was still there," Stapleton said. "This is about their change in management."

Stapleton said the company is already evaluating potential replacements for Discovery and could sign another company before the 2007 season is over.

IOC rebukes Pound for remarks on Armstrong

Pound beat down? (posted by JB)

IOC rebukes Pound for remarks on Armstrong
By Michael A. Hiltzik
Times Staff Writer

5:13 PM PST, February 9, 2007

The International Olympic Committee on Friday rebuked Richard W. Pound, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, for comments it said had impugned the integrity of cycling star Lance Armstrong.

The action resulted from a complaint Armstrong filed in 2005 with the IOC Ethics Commission after Pound publicly suggested that the cyclist had taken the blood-doping hormone erythropoietin, or EPO, during the 1999 Tour de France. Armstrong's victory that year was the first of his record seven consecutive Tour championships.

The statements by Pound, who has been widely criticized for prematurely or inaccurately condemning athletes subject to international drug testing, ignited a public clash between him and Armstrong.

Pound and officials of his Montreal-based organization, known as WADA, could not be reached late Friday for comment.

The IOC endorsed the ethics commission's carefully-worded finding that Pound's public remarks "could have been regarded as likely to impugn the probity" of Armstrong. The remarks, it added, were imprudent in light of the Olympic charter's goal of "a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play" within the movement.

The ethics body had recommended on February 2 that the IOC executive board "remind [Pound] of the obligation to exercise greater prudence...when making public pronouncements that may affect the reputation of others."

Armstrong's complaint had named Pound and WADA, but the ethics commission found that, as an independent agency, WADA lay outside its jurisdiction. In addition to his role as WADA president, however, Pound is a member of the IOC, which made him subject to its oversight. The ethics commission said that it found no "incriminating element" in Pound's conduct, but noted that he had refused to respond to its requests that he respond to Armstrong's complaint.

"In the world of the IOC, this is a censure," said Mark S. Levinstein, a Washington, D.C., attorney who helped Armstrong bring the complaint. "It's a clear statement that Pound violated the Olympic charter, the rules of the IOC, and the rules of the Olympic movement."

The root of the clash between Pound and Armstrong was a 2005 research project by WADA's Paris anti-doping lab that utilized unused urine samples from the 1998 and 1999 Tour de France. Under WADA rules, the samples could be used only if all indentifying information linking them to individual racers was deleted.

Instead, a French sports journal reported that several samples tied to Armstrong showed that he had taken EPO during the 1999 race. Although researchers questioned whether tests on aged samples were reliable and the link to Armstrong was accurate, Pound remarked publicly that the results made it "very likely" that Armstrong was guilty of doping.

Armstrong shot back to Pound that he should stop "accusing innocent athletes without any evidence other than your own speculation."

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Landis Responds to Apparent Leak of Information about ‘B’ Sample Retesting to L’Equipe

Over at Rant Your Head Off they post a press release from Floyd Landis.  We have found no other online source.

Landis Responds to Apparent Leak of Information about ‘B’ Sample Retesting to L’Equipe

Illegal Re-testing Initiative by United States Anti-Doping Agency Breaks ADA Rules, AFLD Should Audit LNDD Lab

New York / Murietta, Ca., February 9, 2007 - Floyd Landis today responded to a report in the French newspaper L’Equipe concerning unprecedented and illegal attempts to re-test cleared samples from the 2006 Tour de France and two subsequent out-of-competition samples given in early August. The original request for re-testing came from United States Anti-Doping Agency ( USADA ) general counsel Travis Tygart in late December and proposed further testing of the “B” portion of cleared “A” samples at the Labaratoire National Depistage de Dopage’s (LNDD) laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry. Landis and his team are concerned about this latest strategem, which involves retesting samples that have previously tested negative for any performance enhancing substances at the very same laboratory whose procedures are at issue in the upcoming case.

Landis: “They Got it Wrong the First Time, and They Are Trying To Get It Wrong Again”

“I have not taken testosterone or any other performance enhancing substance. I am 100% confident that if best practice in process and technology were applied to testing my sample back in July, I would be racing my bike this season. With all that we have learned, however, I am very concerned regarding the LNDD’s handling of my samples over the last six months as well as the Anti-Doping Agencies’ (ADA) complete and consistent disregard of their own rules and procedures. With the steady stream of news flow regarding serious problems at the LNDD, it’s impossible to understand USADA’s motivation for this move, unless it’s simply another way to drain my resources in this fight to clear my name. My message to USADA and the LNDD is: this testing should have been done right the first time.”

Landis’ “A” Samples Negative - USADA / LNDD Re-Testing Violates the ADA’s Own Rules

The ‘A’ samples for each of the seven stages for which Landis produced samples have already tested negative for all prohibited performance enhancing substances. USADA’s request for further analysis of “B” samples is in clear violation the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code and Union Cyclist International (UCI) rules and is unprecedented in athlete anti-doping cases. USADA’s illegal initiative would also cause the Landis team to expend unnecessary resources to halt a clearly prohibited activity — resources that have already been unduly and unfairly stretched by the ADA’s unethical approach to their pursuit of unsubstantiated allegations against Landis.

Along with violation of the ADA’s own rules and principles, the Landis’ team is fighting against a process that ignores democratic principles of fairness and due process. For example, the Landis team has been denied access to the full analyses detailing the results of his other ‘A’ sample tests and has no reason to believe that it would be provided with the results of any further tests. Given USADA’s consistent refusal to provide relevant discovery documentation, Landis’s defense team has no expectation it would receive appropriate documentation from any proposed illegal re-testing.

Maurice Suh commented, “Illegal re-testing of these cleared samples is designed to further injure Floyd by costing him and his team substantial time and money, more deeply invading his privacy and destroying evidence that may later on be valuable in his defense. USADA continues to dramatically demonstrate that they have no interest in providing Floyd with a fair and just outcome to this process.”

Background: Original Stage 17 Sample Unfit for Testing But Ruled a “Positive” by the LNDD

The sample that is the basis for the unsubstantiated allegations against Landis was confirmed to be contaminated, yet the LNDD proceeded to test this sample, in violation of WADA protocols. The results of testing this contaminated sample did not meet the criteria for a “positive” test based on the standards of the world’s leading anti-doping laboratories in the US, UK and Australia.

Background: LNDD a Compromised and Conflicted Facility

The scientific misconduct committed by the LNDD in testing Landis’ Stage 17 sample, the Vrijman Report castigating the LNDD for its leak of false information regarding Lance Armstrong’s 1999 samples, “whistleblower” documents citing previous grave LNDD testing errors, and last year’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision citing LNDD errors in the anti-doping allegations against Spanish cyclist Iñigo Landaluze all highlight the strong possibility that any testing conducted on the remaining ‘B’ samples by the LNDD will be handled in an incompetent and possibly corrupt fashion, and analyzed on the basis of flawed “science.”

For further information, documents and case history pertaining to the unsubstantiated allegations can be found on www.floydfairnessfund.org.

Anna Nicole Smith state funeral to be held in capitol rotunda Wednesday; flags at half mast. Best alternative sources of sports news.

OK, the headline has nothing to do with this post, well almost nothing.

Anna Nicole Smith died yesterday.  At any demise of a human, especially under adverse circumstances, there is sadness.   However, if one watched the media, it seemed the importance of this event equaled the John F. Kennedy assassination.  CNN sported a little pic of the deceased Smith in the bottom right of the screen with a 1967-2007 on it, during news broadcasts.  Media outlets were blasting this news all day.  The event even supplanted the loony, diapered, BB-gun armed. love-triangulated, astronaut.

CNN interviewed forensic pathologists who speculated about the Smith cause of death.  A medical expert was brought in who discussed pulmonary embolism, medical overdose, etc.etc.  As we said, the  importance was equal to JFK's last trip to Dallas.  We would not be surprised if Fox discovers a man on the grassy knoll in Florida.

The point is this:  the mainstream media appears to lack perspective & judgment.  Smith - although a media celebrity- was a not-very-bright, minimally talented, personality-disordered woman whose claim to fame was exposing her fake breasts in Playboy.  Not to be unkind to the dead, but this stuff occurs in all over the world, every hour of every day.

Now, if your made ill by the sports mainstream media which, although talented, appears to buy into this cult of badly-behaved, personality journalism, check out the 'alternative sports media'.  Here  are the best (links also to the side):

1.  General sports news: Deadspin, and The Big Lead.
2.  All-purpose niche blogs (these blog deliver interesting, kinky stories with a twist): The Big Picture, With Leather, the Mighty MJD, and  Kissing Suzy Kolber.
3. Specialty blogs: The Wizard of Odds (where we contributed to a continuing story on college football's shift away to more commercials and fewer plays/points, and The Hater Nation for the NFL.

The Nation will add more to this all-star list, but first we need to check on the Anna Nicole Smith autopsy progress.....

Bud Selig annouces ignorance about steroids; also annouces he won't be in the stands for Bond's 756 homer, and he won't talk about it.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig delivered an interesting appearance in the SF Bay area on Thursday.  Story found in the San Jose Mercury-News.  Selig states that baseball's future is wonderful.  The commissioner is ignorant of the steroids problem, he isn't going to see or talk about Bond's potential record-breaking home run, and the Mitchell steroid probe is dead in the water.  But other than those minor points, things are good.

Selig is claiming ignorance of the steroid problem in baseball.  His blindness is due to the vast conspiracy among sportswriters to cover-up the anabolic abuse.  However, now that the massive secret is out there, sportswriters should solve the problem.

Turns out that baseball writers are Selig's best friends. First, it's their fault that he didn't know about steroids until 1998 (years after rumors reached a deafening level in places like Oakland) because his research shows that only a handful of stories were written in the previous decade on the issue. Second, it's the writers' problem to deal with the consequences of the steroid issue. Even though he's the leader of the sport, he doesn't want to weigh in on the Hall of Fame. Doesn't want to make that kind of judgment.

What about that Bond's historic homer #756 to break Hank Aaron's career HR record, that is if Bonds avoids jail.  Selig isn't watching, nor is he talking.

Selig said the home run record would be handled in the same way as other records have been. He wouldn't promise to be in the stands for the big moment and then, when asked again, said, "I'm not going to say any more."

How is the George Mitchell probe on steroids in baseball?  It's going great.

The George Mitchell investigation? Well, it's still going on. No holds barred. Also no timetable and no subpoena power. And sure, some clubs aren't cooperating as well as one might like. And probably - at the end - no records will be pulled, no asterisks attached, no punishments handed out. That would be draconian.

Landis, The Last 48 Hours

(By James)

Since we last commented on Landis case, a lot has happened and some of it is very significant and telling.  For those new, we regard Landis' doping case to be the most important case since Ben Johnson in 1988.  Win or lose this case will influence prosecutions of doping cases for years to come.  Therefore, we believe a detailed analysis is warranted.

Landis' Hearing

Yesterday representatives of the Floyd Fairness Fund held a teleconference in New York City.  It was disclosed that the arbitration hearing will be held on May 14.  The location was not disclosed but has long been rumored to be the Pepperdine Law School.

Today Michael Hiltzik of the LA Times disclosed the names of the arbitrators.

That appeal hearing is scheduled to open on May 14 before a panel of three arbitrators. They are Christopher Campbell, a San Francisco lawyer and former Olympic wrestler, who was selected by Landis; Richard McLaren, a London, Ontario, lawyer selected by USADA, and Patrice Brunet, a Montreal lawyer chosen as the panel's chairman by the other two arbitrators.

Juan Gonzalez wants 'shot' again at Major League Baseball

Article in USA Today says: "At 37, Juan Gonzalez is still searching for one more shot at the major leagues"  Ouch, how ironic is that headline?  Shot of 'roids?

Gonzalez stands accused of steroid use by Jose Canseco.  Canseco is considered to be batting a pretty good average on naming 'roid users these days

The report indicates Juan Gone is leaner (wonder why?) than his former MLB physique.  His team is completing in the Caribbean Series. Juan Gone is 9 for 24 (.409). Not bad.

Whether that's enough to tempt a team to take a chance on one of the most productive sluggers of the 1990s remains an open question.

"He looks like he's in good condition, the actual bat speed is quick, and he looks motivated," said Billy Owens, the Oakland Athletics director of player personnel, who was scouting the Series. "But it's a gamble because of the history of him not playing."

Gonzalez, 37, said four or five teams he won't name have expressed interest, but already several possible suitors, such as the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles, have said they'll pass.

Juan Gone hasn't been in MLB since 2005.  However, last year he produced some good numbers:

Last spring, Gonzalez backed out of a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox after they traded for outfielder Wily Mo Pena, and he played 36 games with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. Then he played winter ball for the first time in a decade with the Gigantes de Carolina, hitting .281 in the regular season before hitting .369 in the playoffs. Altogether, Gonzalez had seven home runs and 23 RBI in 45 games.

Gonzalez has 434 career home runs.  Will an MLB club give him a shot at 500?

Oregon lawmaker introduces anti-steroids bill

Reported here in the Oregon Statesman-Journal the Senate President in Oregon introduced legislation to curb school employees (coaches) form promoting supplements and steroids, to give power to the high school athletic association to test for PEDs, and to enhance education on anabolics.

Senate President Peter Courtney of Salem today introduced Senate Bill 517 to curb the use of steroids and performance-enhancing supplements by Oregon youth.

The bill would prohibit school district employees from endorsing, distributing or suggesting steroid or performance-enhancing supplements to students. It also directs the state Department of Education to include information on steroids and performance-enhancing supplements in physical education and health classes.

His bill would provide ongoing education for coaches and athletic directors on identifying components of steroid and performance-enhancing supplement abuse and strategies for preventing their use.

“I have been around sports most of my life and healthy competition is a valuable part of growing up” said Courtney, a Democrat. “However, competition can become unhealthy when winning becomes an obsession. Our children are concluding that trying dangerous substances which promise increased performance are the only way to compete.”

Do they ever learn? Indian weightlifting caught doping just TWO DAYS after ban lifted.

India cannot shed a load of a problem.  Indian weightlifters suck up steroids like rice sucks up ginger sauce.  Indians are bad at cheating.

Just two days after coming off world suspension for repeated steroid use in weightlifting, a reprieve that costs India 50,000 to the IWF, Indian lifters test dirty in Australia. Story here in People's Daily Online (Chinese).

Indian lifters could not participate in several major events this fall and winter because of the international ban.  The recent lifting of that ban indicated India could participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  Maybe that should change.

Three Indian weightlifters have tested positive for banned drugs, two days after the world body lifted a ban on the country for dope offences.

Indian weightlifting official Balbir Bhatia on Wednesday confirmed media reports that the three unnamed athletes had failedtests conducted during the national championships in December.

"The Sports Authority of India has informed us about the positive tests,"said Bhatia. "We will take strict action against them once the final reports are received."

Bhatia said the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) had on Monday revoked a ban imposed on India from all world meetings following four positive dope tests before and during the Commonwealth Games in March, 2006.

The ban was lifted after India paid half of the 50,000-dollar fine demanded by the IWF to fund extensive anti-doping programs, Bhatia said.

In the past, major Indian lifters doped:

   Two male Indian weightlifters, Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh, tested positive during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Two women lifters, Prameelavalli Bodari and Shailaja Pujari, failed pre-Games tests and were banned by India from making the trip to Australia. India's weightlifting federation banned all four for life.

These lifters competed successfully.  Pujari won gold at major lifting events.

French postpone Landis hearings; Deal for not participating in 2007 Tour?

The Boston Globe reports that the French Anti-doping, Floyd Landis hearings have been postponed.  Apparently this was in exchange for a Landis promise not to compete in the 2007 Tour de France.
The decision came after Landis pledged not to race in France in 2007, Bordry said in a statement he read to reporters in Paris.

 AFLD president Pierre Bordry:  ”He understood perfectly that if he didn’t act today, we would start the procedure immediately,” Bordry said. ”We will let Landis defend himself as he wishes before the USADA.”

As Landis had hip replacement surgery just about 5 months ago, this isn't an unexpected development.

JB should be weighing in later,  but right now the Nation says again, when politics, bureaucracy, and forensics dominate a sport or an event, everyone will lose.

News Flash: French runner Hind Dehiba postive for EPO

The French woman's 400 record holder Hind Dehiba tested positive for EPO, a French sports daily reported Wednesday (report in slam.canoe.ca).  As readers remember she was nabbed at the Paris airport with HGH, and other PEDs. Story here.

Dehiba, who was briefly held by police last month after customs officials discovered she was carrying alleged doping substances, tested positive for EPO in the "A" sample, L'Equipe reported on its website.

Dehiba, who holds the French women's record for the 1,500 metres, was tested by the French anti-doping agency on Jan. 23 on orders from the IAAF after she was taken into police custody.

Judicial officials said then that the 27-year-old runner had been carrying vials of human growth hormone when she was stopped by customs officers at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris after returning from a training session in the United States.

Her husband, Fodil Dehiba, and another runner who was not identified were also detained by police at the time.

Spanish newspaper says Landis to be banned and stripped of Tour de France title

A Spanish newspaper is reporting the French Anti-Doping Agency "will punish Landis with a two-year ban and the strip of the Tour de France title".  Whether this is a poor translation, misinformation, or a leak, is up for speculation.

07-02 | 12:42 hs. - It is said that the agency will punish Landis with a two-year ban and the strip of the Tour de France title.

The agency served notice upon Landis last January 11st after a request from Landis' lawyers to settle a proper defense.

Landis' positive test was made at the end of one of the stages at the 2006 Tour de France when he won in Morzine.

Landis' lawyers stated that the positive result was due to Châtenay-Malabry lab's negligence.

If Landis to be punished, he won't be at the next Tour de France, in addition to giving Pereiro the championship.

Update: Landis hearings on calender; First up on Thursday

From MSNBC comes notice that the French Anti-doping agency will hold a hearing tomorrow (8-Feb-07) on whether Floyd Landis is barred from competing in France for 2 years.  There have been many machinations to this hearing, but apparently it is going forward tomorrow.  Landis will have legal counsel there.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting the USADA hearing for Landis will occur in sunny May.

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller strikes steroids out.

The Louisville Courier caught up with Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller.  The hard throwing Feller, an Iowa native, remains one of the best pitchers in the history of the game.  Feller would never shy away from a batter, nor a controversy, nor a war. Now at 88, he continues to be outspoken about the game.

Feller's comments on steroids in baseball are down the middle of the plate:

- Baseball's Steroids Era: "Anybody who takes steroids is stupid. Those guys are gonna die in their early 50s, if not before. They're lousing up their bodies and their brains and their reproductive organs and everything else. ...

"I hope those guys never make the Hall of Fame. But then, anybody with any brains is not gonna vote for anybody who's on steroids."

The article discusses Feller's early career.  He broke into baseball at age 17.  At 23, his father dying of cancer, his family in need of financial support, Feller felt so strongly about the war effort, he enlisted in the navy.  That's character.  No wonder The Nation's father held Feller as his idol.

Feller entered the Navy on Dec. 9, 1941, two days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He was the first major leaguer to enlist in the armed services.

Feller had just turned 23, and he was coming off a season in which he went 25-13 with 250 strikeouts and finished third in the American League's Most Valuable Player voting. When he heard about the attack, he was driving to Chicago from his farm in Iowa to meet with Indians general manager Cy Slapnicka and negotiate his 1942 contract.

Feller drove on to Chicago and told Slapnicka he planned to enlist immediately. Actually, he didn't have to volunteer because he had a draft deferment; his father was dying of cancer and Feller was the sole support of his family, which included his mother and a younger sister.

"But I didn't give it a second thought," said Feller...         

Daily 'Monster' Bonds Roundup

Now that baseball season is in the on-deck circle, you can expect the Barry Bonds circus to ride through town daily.  Todays samplings:

1.  Goose Gossage refers to Bond as a 'monster'.  Here in AM New York:

Goose Gossage, at the Thurman Munson Awards Dinner, on Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron: "I think there's going to be a dark cloud over this thing the whole way through. That's a tough predicament to be in. I'd hate to be the commissioner ... I don't even know if we'd be talking about this at all if it weren't for steroids. Put steroids in a guy who's a superstar anyway, a performance-enhancing drug in his system, and he's a monster."

2.  Bonds and the Giants could not agree on contract language (Janie McCauley, AP).  Players may have an injury clause in their contracts;  Bonds has an indictment and perjury clause.  Funny.

In Bonds’ contract, there also is language dealing with his behavior and assurances for the team if he is indicted. A federal grand jury is investigating whether Bonds perjured himself when he testified in 2003 in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid distribution case that he hadn’t knowingly taken any performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds long has denied knowingly using steroids.       

Still, the Giants and Bonds couldn’t even agree on the wording in the deal after it apparently already was done. Bonds agreed to a contract containing a provision giving the team the right to void the deal if he is indicted, but the slugger’s agent, Jeff Borris, says the provision is unenforceable under baseball’s collective bargaining agreement...

The picture became more complicated when Bonds dumped on his teammate, Mark Sweeney, apparently when MLB nailed Bounds for greenies.

When spring training starts later this month, it will be interesting to see how Bonds’ teammates react to him following a report that he initially attributed his failed amphetamines test to a substance he took from teammate Mark Sweeney’s locker.

Dig in, baseball is getting warmed  up.  This is going to be one interesting Giant season.

More evidence of high school steroid problems

This article originates at the New Haven Register.  The main focus is not steroids, but procedural issues with building a new recreation center at a high school.  The last paragraph tells the story of the gym:  high school  kids procured steroids from New Haven area gyms.  Thus the school, in an altruistic moment, decided to build it's own gym to protect the student-athletes form steroid use.

The Nation spent time in those New Haven gyms.  In-law family lives around New Haven, which means we worked out in the area on vacations...forced indentured servitude vacations.  Anyway, we found the gyms to be excellent, and very interesting.  Interesting in that 'hard-core' element of heavy iron and freaky characters.

On one vacation The Nation took the two sons, who were preparing for football that summer, to a hardcore Waterbury gym.  It was obvious the players in the gym worked at day, pumped iron in the evening, and partied at night.   There was obviously some 'gear' passed around.

Seeing the last paragraph piqued the Nation's interest.  The local school raised funds to pull their student out of steroid use; a project that sounds both admirable and formidable.  Sounds like someone had his hand int he money jar.

MADISON — The athletic director for the Madison school district has been placed on administrative leave for reasons believed to be connected with a new, but yet-to-be-opened, fitness center at the Walter C. Polson Upper Middle School...

The idea for a fitness center was born in 2005, after seven student athletes were arrested on charges related to illegal steroids. Part of the rationale was to have athletes train in-house in an effort to keep them out of commercial gyms where there is less supervision and steroids might be more readily available.

Are Landis' attorneys bleeding him dry? Howard Jacobs responds.

(by James)

Background

Yesterday, the Nation post an update to l' affaire Landis.  In our conclusion we said (among other things):

We believe USADA has been trying to coerce him to close the hearing by dragging out the process and bleeding him of money and motivation.  Now that Landis has shown the ability to fund himself (at least for a while) and written off the 2007's season, he has trumped USADA's gambit.  With USADA getting pressure from France to wrap this up, they might have to agree to open the hearing so they can get the stalled process moving again.

(much more after the jump)

The Sad State of Cycling

(by James)

The Nation worries about the use of performance enhancing drugs (PED) turning into a steroids arms race.  No one wants to use them.  But everyone thinks they have to use them to compete.  So, if one person uses them, everyone has to use them.

This arm race is now the sad reality of professional cycling.  Velonews offer us the grim details:

Tyler Hamilton will likely race on European roads Tuesday for the first time since serving a two-year racing ban in what's sure to be an emotional comeback after one of the most contentious doping cases in cycling history.

And, if this does not best describe the credibility problem cycling has, nothing will

Sadly, Hamilton's last day as a pro serves as a painful reminder of just what the sport has suffered through in recent years. That day's stage was won by Roberto Heras (stripped of the 2005 Vuelta title and suspended for EPO), who knocked Floyd Landis (facing the loss of the 2006 Tour de France title on a testosterone charge) out of the leader's jersey. Finishing second that day was Santiago Perez (suspended for blood doping), who finished ahead of third-placed Francisco Mancebo (named in Operación Puerto and ejected from the 2006 Tour).