Steroid Nation

From Australia: More on police steroid use

From Australia comes another story of police abuse of anabolic steroids (Brisbane Times).  Apparently a detective was up to no good while using 'roids on the force.

An undercover police officer who successfully sued the force for psychological injury was using steroids despite at least one of his supervisors knowing about it, a confidential internal report reveals.

The officer, who cannot be identified, was also placed on a two-year good behaviour bond after supplying a criminal wanted over a shooting spree with a part for a gun.

These revelations, and more, have been kept a closely guarded police secret for almost seven years despite a major internal investigation in 2002, codenamed Operation Tumen.

Do we want the armed police using another drug that increases aggressiveness and decreases judgment?

Baltimore Sun lays bare steroids and PED allegations against Orioles

The Baltimore Sun lays bare the rocky trail down which the Baltimore Orioles trod the past few steroid filled years.  Not long ago, the Orioles made real noise in the AL East Division.  Ten years ago the O's won the division.  Since that season, the O's consistently languished in 4th place.  To change their fortunes, the Orioles gambled on high risk players -- a gamble that did not pay off except in future legal/disciplinary actions.

Dan Connelly -- Sun reporter -- documents a diamond-full of 2003-4 Oriole players who stand implicated in steroid/HGH: Raffy Palmeiro, Gary Matthews Jr., David Segui, Jay Gibbons, Jason Grimsley, Brian Roberts, Sammy Sosa, Tony Saunders, and Miguel Tijada.

Orioles managers and team personnel appear baffled to explain the underground juicers:

"It wasn't like there was an underground, secretive group where guys knew about each other and talked about it and shared it," the former (anonymous) Oriole said. "That just didn't happen."

Oriole player Jay Payton put it this way:

Orioles outfielder Jay Payton, who is with his sixth big league club, said he was unfazed by one team's having so many links to the drug scandals. It wasn't as if Payton, while playing elsewhere, viewed the Orioles as the majors' steroid club.

"I never really paid a whole lot of attention to where the names were coming from. I'd just see another name get thrown out and say, 'There's another guy,'" Payton said. "I didn't really think too much about the fact that it was four or five guys from the same team...

"After you think about it, it kind of makes sense. There's usually a common link," he said. "If one guy is doing it, he's probably supplying more than one guy on the team. That's basically what it comes down to, I guess."

Baltimore should have been forewarned of illicit drug problems.  In 2003, pitcher Steve Bechler collapsed and died from ephedra use.  Since that time, all of the Orioles above are alleged to have incorporated steroids or HGH into their workouts.  Quite a grubby record.

The Sun's story is a good look at a clandestine plague on a team mired in muck and mediocrity.

My Steroid Space

In a follow-up story to the Massive DEA Bust, The New York Times says that teenagers didn't need the local gym's back alley to purchase some 'roids, because purveyors of gear can be found on MySpace.com.

NEW HAVEN, Sept. 26 — Steroids have long been sold in gyms and locker rooms, through the mail and at weight-lifting competitions. Now, the authorities here say teenagers can purchase them by browsing their favorite social-networking Web site.

Among the more than 120 arrests announced on Monday in what the authorities called the largest steroids crackdown in the nation’s history, five men charged in a Connecticut sting stood out not for what they were peddling, but for where they were suspected of doing it: on MySpace.com.

For teenagers who flock to the Web site to watch videos and connect with friends, ordering anabolic steroids took no more than a few extra mouse clicks, the authorities said. And with the Web site’s popularity among young people, some coaches in this area described the case as an unpleasant reminder about how easily minors can surreptitiously obtain performance-enhancing drugs.

Simply go to MySpace and type in 'Winstrol' and watch what falls out in the search.  From 'Fox' in Tempe Arizona you receive a nice ala carte menu of drugs and prices (after the jump). .

In an indictment unsealed on Friday, four men — three from Arizona and one from Pennsylvania — are accused of purchasing raw steroid powder from China, manufacturing the drugs in home-based laboratories and selling the finished products through a MySpace profile and an online store they created. The investigation also netted a Florida man who advertised and distributed steroids through his MySpace page. He pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court in Hartford, said Kevin J. O’Connor, the United States attorney in Connecticut.

“Of particular concern to us is obviously the use of profiles on MySpace.com, which gives us concern that this might in fact be a way to market to minors and to children,” Mr. O’Connor said at a news conference earlier this week. “Some of the methods that we’ve uncovered in this investigation lead us to conclude that it may not just be adults that are being marketed to.”

MySpace users could initiate a purchase by sending a message through a seller’s profile, Mr. O’Connor said.

Enhanced Super-Merriman performs for Nike

More interest bubbled-up out there about Nike's ad campaign featuring 'convicted' steroid-user Shawne Merriman.  As we pointed out the San Diego Charger LB, who served a 4 games suspension last year when he tested positive for nandrolone, performs superhuman feats apparently due to his Nike spikes.  (his strength might be due to something spiking, but not the Nikes)

Today, Adfreak.com picks up on the story. 

We wonder if Organon might not start their own ad campaign for Deca-Durabolan, the trade name of injectable nandrolone?  An All-Pro like Merriman would wield some influence in the medical world, one would think.  Organon once tried marketing anabolic steroids to third world children for weight gain.  With Merriamn on their team, Organon could go big into the anabolic steroid market, although we hear their products are doing quite well without much marketing support.

A commenter at Adfreak thought a good advertisement would involve Merriman, with other juicers like Luis Castillo and Rodney Harrison.  Excellent idea.

It would appear the Nike spot used mucho VFX effects.  Maybe Michael Mann utilized a facsimile of Madden 2008 software to generate some of the Merriman sets or moves? 

We would lobby for some programmatic control with steroid options in Madden 2008.  Perhaps one could choose off-season nandrolone, HGH, or clen to enhance your athlete.  The game could include episodes of 'roid rage, torn tendons, and  even a drug suspension or two.

How 'bout that realism in Madden?

Leave nothing......especially not traces of nandrolone.

Branded: Bonds home run ball #756 to wear scarlet asterisk. And Jim Palmer don't care

As reported last week, entrepreneur Marc Ecko took an Internet poll asking readers to vote on a home for the Barry Bonds home run #756 ball.  The choices were:

• Bestow it (to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame)
• Brand it (with an asterisk then send it to the HOF)
• Banish it (to outer space, although the mechanism was unclear)

The New York Times reports that results are in.  The adoring public says to brand that bad boy and send to Cooperstown.

Speaking on NBC's "Today" show, Ecko said donating an altered ball to the game's Cooperstown shrine reflected the overwhelming desire of fans voting on a Web site established after he purchased the ball for $752,467 at an online auction on Sept. 15.

Ecko said more than 10 million votes were cast on his vote756.com site, with 47 percent favoring branding the ball and another 34 percent preferring to see it donated to the Hall untouched. The remaining 19 percent chose the third listed option: "Launch it into space forever."

(An interview with Ecko is found at The Loss Column)

...Ecko said his poll results prove that fans believe Bonds' feat was "shrouded in a chapter of baseball history that wasn't necessarily the clearest it could be."

Bonds has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.

Will the Cooperstown HOF accept the branded ball?

Dale Petroskey, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said the Hall would accept and display the baseball, even if it is marked with a permanent asterisk.

"It's coming to Cooperstown, and we're thrilled that we now have the opportunity to preserve it forever and to share it with everybody who wants to see it," said Petroskey, who was in Texas for the opening of the Hall's latest traveling exhibition.

"I don't presume to know why (fans) voted the way they did, but we'll take it. It's still a very important part of baseball history."

Petroskey said there was no precedent for the Hall receiving an artifact that had been intentionally defaced before its donation.

"But I think what Marc did with buying the ball, doing the online poll, giving people options, nobody's ever done that before, either," he said. "So, it's all sort of a first. My feeling is that baseball belongs to the fans, and I thought giving the fans a voice was a pretty neat idea."

Sounds like the Hall of Fame doesn't have too many problems with the asterisked baseball.  DO other HOFers?  Jim Palmer seems to think that the ball (and Bonds) got what it deserved:

The four Hall of Fame players attending Wednesday's exhibition in Dallas expressed mixed feelings about the historic baseball's fate and its potential impact on Bonds's legacy.

"Why brand it?" asked former pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. "I mean, that's an achievement, an accomplishment of 21, 22 years."

Ferguson noted that it has not been proven that Bonds used steroids."It's a cruel world we live in," he said.

Former Chicago Cubs slugger Billy Williams said, "I don't know about the asterisk, but I'm glad it's winding up in Cooperstown. A lot's been said about Bonds as an individual. A lot's been said about his use of steroids. But nothing has been proven. This guy, I look at him as a great player. Before the 'Steroid Era,' he was having great years. ... I guess if you pay that kind of money, of course you can do what you want to it."

Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer hinted that a tarnished legacy represented by a defaced baseball could be Bonds's just reward.

"I think time will sort out how you want to view it," Palmer said. "But the fans, they must have a pretty good sense of what has gone on, or at least what they think might have gone on."

 

Saraceno in USA Today: For steroid deterrent, name names

John Seraceno of USA Today recommends as a deterrent to steroid-cheating among professional athletes, the professional leagues start naming names -- of player caught in the steroid sweeps.

The government released a flock of big, headline-grabbing numbers when it revealed the results, thus far, of its worldwide probe of illegal steroids and human growth hormone that focused on China as a major supply source: 124 arrests, the seizure of $6.5 million, along with 71 weapons, 27 pill presses, 25 vehicles and more than 11 million doses of steroids.

But it is what the Drug Enforcement Administration did not disclose — names of users — that might limit the chance for effective drug curbs in sports. DEA officials said the nature of the ongoing inquiry prevented the release of such specifics. When it comes to elite junkies … er, athletes, I seriously doubt many, if any, names would pop up. They often get their stuff from legitimate sources (yes, dirty doctors).

Several issues emerge here.

• What is the purpose of the DEA and of federal policy?
• What are the 'rights' of the users who buy illegal drugs?
• How effective would naming names be in drug deterrence?
• Has the federal approach won the 'war on drugs'

The federal government says there is concern about the public health, and the integrity of sports.  Fair enough.  Another 'war on drugs' -- a war on drug users -- who perform in public facilities to capitalize on their athletic skills.

We have a global scourge. This is not a sports cause — it is a public health issue. The feds realize they can't eliminate this stuff on the black market. But they can, as one DEA spokesman suggested this week, try to cut off the head of the dragon — raw-material manufacturers and suppliers. Those trafficking steroids should have smelled a laboratory rat nearly four years ago when President Bush warned us. He called upon team owners, union reps, coaches and players to "take the lead, to send the right signal, to get tough, and to get rid of steroids now."

It sounded like a populist platitude, to be sure, but to raise the issue during his State of the Union address turned out to be a harbinger of the government's new, aggressive attitude in this arena. Unfortunately, the president's get-rid-of-steroids-now proclamation was remarkably naive. Rid sports of steroids?

How effective has the government's strategy -- knock out the distributor --been on the ubiquitous use of drugs.  Did I just answer that question?

On the other hand, how effective has the professional sports drug testing program been in eliminating steroids and PEDs in pro leagues?  Again, not very.

We have a better chance of eliminating the ubiquitous bag of popcorn sold at concession stands.

"Drug-testing, from a historical perspective, is a colossal flop," said Chuck Yesalis, the retired Penn State professor, an expert on such matters. "One might argue that its done more damage than good because it has kept a façade — 'So-and-so must be clean because he never flunked a drug test.' " Clearly, the feds are serious — for now, anyway. But what about professional and amateur sports leagues?

The elimination of PEDs from the pro leagues would appear to be an admirable cause.  PEDs clearly unbalance sport, where integrity and combating cheating must reign supreme.  No one wants a cheating ump or a cheating ref.  No one should want a cheating player.  Perhaps that is why Bonds is routinely booed in visiting parks.

The use of anabolic drug presents a real public health issue.  The costs will be seen down the road in heart, liver, ligament, and other organ damage seen with chronic use of the drugs. 

The last reason is more abstract: the influence athletes hold over youth, and society in general.   Realistically a very small percentage of kids will use steroids because a big time jock uses.  The unsavory influence on a cheating culture is more pervasive in our view, however that is a very sticky wicket to sell.

The idea that athletes use needles to gain a competitive advantage is more than a half-century old. What is particularly worrisome is that young adults love to imitate, and now the illicit use of performance-enhancing substances has spread into our schools and neighborhoods. Young folks don't have to worry about lurking in some back alley to buy from some pusher. They need only sit down at their PC — and they are.

What can the pro leagues do?  Institute the drug testing policy, which is difficult given the adversarial role the player's unions hold in the scheme of things.

Leagues and organizations could make it a lot tougher on athletes, if they desired. Those entities are awash in millions of dollars, but they don't pool resources effectively to come up with a viable solution; instead, they make it look good for public consumption.

Would naming names reduce PED use? Everyone 'knows' Barry Bonds used (?uses) steroids and PEDs.  There continue to be defenders of the gargantuan one who believe steroids don't matter in sports, or that  a player is 'innocent until proven guilty'.  Naming names might deter a couple players.  However consider Gary Matthews; naming Matthews hasn't seemed to hurt either the player or his team this year.

Furthermore, it is a legitimate issue about the player's rights when he is under suspicion in these legal cases.  Is it fair for the Gov't to name a player?  The Gov't has a different mission that journalists who  can question a player's behavior; the Gov't is held to a higher standard because action could contaminate an on-going criminal case.

What would deter athletes form using PEDs?

Sports fraud laws would deter some -- not all -- pro players from using PEDs.  It is as much fraud for a player to violate the regulations against PED use as a drug company fudging data on medicines, or a vacuum cleaner company not providing a working product.

Allow DAs and federal attorneys to prosecute millionaire drug cheats as parties to sports fraud.  Sports fraud is exactly what the drug cheats do: they defraud fans, other players, and league competition.  The names come out and the facts are discussed.

Wait, you say, didn't the BALCO case produce arrests, convictions and the leaking of a superstar? What about that New York Mets batboy who admitted to distributing drugs to dozens of major leaguers? What about the Carolina Panthers team doctor who served time for distribution? What about the guilty like Rodney Harrison and Wade Wilson? What about the implicated, like Rick Ankiel, Jay Gibbons and Troy Glaus?

So-called "wellness" clinics have been busted from Florida to New York, physicians have been stripped of their licenses — there is even further welcomed scrutiny in those twin cesspools of suspected illegal drug use: professional wrestling and cycling.

You want an effective deterrent? Go to the end user.  Go get yourself some high-profile athletes.

The best way to scare the end-user here is to allow the Feds to prosecute under fraud laws.  Local authorities might be intimidated by the star power, or simply want to win (hear that Tony LaRussa?).  Not a perfect solution -- the perfect solution would be a society that abhors cheating -- but a step in the right direction.

Lance Armstrong muffled on Floyd Landis outcome; Appears disinterested in cycling

Frequent champion Lance Armstrong, almost as frequently questioned about doping, says he don't know and he don't care about his former bud Floyd Landis' doping conviction last week. AFP caught up with Armstrong in Vancouver.

Lance Armstrong deflected questions regarding the decision to strip disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis of the 2006 Tour de France title following a positive drug test.

Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, told The Vancouver Province newspaper on Sunday that he has no comment because he no longer follows the competitive cycling on a daily basis.

"I would love to answer that question but unfortunately I'm out of that business," Armstrong said. "I only have the ability to focus on one thing at a time."

Chuckle.  Armstrong can only focus on one thing at a time.  Over the past 16 months he apparently never once thought about his former teammate locked in a death struggle with the anti-doping agents as the 2006 Tour de France title hung in the balance -- or that he will reveal to the press.  Armstrong is 24/7 about raising funds to fight cancer, a very noble cause.

Armstrong, who was in Vancouver to raise money to fight cancer, said cycling matters are "just a distraction for me."

"I'm here to fight cancer. I haven't looked online. I still love the bike and ride all the time but on the competitive side I'm just not engaged," Armstrong said.

Armstrong tends to avoid the steroids controversy, maybe even more with the books discussing his alleged anabolic use recently out there.  Probably best for the former champ to low ball the interviews.

Armstrong has also pulled away from his former team -- Discovery -- which is now defunct.  Armstrong now appears to be separated not only form Cheryl Crow, but from the sport that brought him fame as well.  And why not?  The cyclist has moved on to a new phase of life.

Tiger Woods wants significant penalties for steroids on PGA Tour

Tiger Woods commented on the PGA announced anti-doping policy in an interview with the LA Times.  Woods says penalties should be significant.

Tiger Woods called for "somewhat significant" penalties for professional golfers who test positive for banned substances when the PGA Tour begins an anti-doping plan next year.

Woods, who is in Montreal with the U.S. team to play in the Presidents Cup, said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem will be on hand to give the players further information about the testing procedures and the potential penalties involved.

"Given our reputation in our sport, how honorable our sport is and always has been and will continue to be, I think that the penalty's got to be somewhat significant," Woods said.

"I don't know how extensive. But I believe that it has to be somewhat significant because the sport has traditionally been about honor, and I think that someone who breaks that code of ethics in our sport should be penalized."

In other words, not  a 4 game NFL slap on the helmet.

Woods appears to be into the anti-doping thing.  He discusses the use of beta-blockers, and steroids, although it appears he is talking the anti-inflammatory steroids:
Woods said he isn't sure what precise violation should lead to a player being banned, or how the degree of the penalty would match up with a player using a specific performance-enhancing drug.

"How severe are we going to go on this is the question," he said. "I know some of the guys have taken a steroid pack. What I mean by that is you have an anti-inflammatory. It's like a five-day pack. . . . I don't know how far we're going to go on that.

"We all think that it has probably happened in the past. We know guys who have tried beta-blockers. Nick Price is the first one to admit it, that he did use it, because he had a heart problem. He needed to do it so he didn't have any more heart complications. He said it actually hurt his game. But, you know, as far as that, we really don't know."

Woods was an early proponent of an anti-doping policy in professional golf. He called for a drug testing program for the PGA Tour 13 months ago and volunteered to be first in line.

Woods discusses the use of anabolics candidly, and event he possibly of a PGA golfer using anabolic steroids:

He said much of the same in December at his Target World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, when he did not rule out the possibility that PGA Tour pros were using performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids.

Said Woods: "There's always a possibility. Unless you're tested, there's always going to be a shadow of a doubt on any sport."

Massive DEA drug bust heard 'round the world

Yahoo's Josh Peter is right on top of the DEA drug bust.  Josh documents the enormity of the bust (read our companion piece here):

The undercover operation led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration resulted in the seizure of massive amounts of anabolic steroids from an illegal, underground network and the ability to identify hundreds of thousands of people who received steroids and other substances used by some athletes as performance-enhancing drugs, a DEA spokesman told Yahoo! Sports on Sunday.

Most of the raids took place in the United States, and the DEA called the steroids crackdown the largest in U.S. history. DEA offices in New York and San Diego provided lead guidance during an investigation that resulted in 124 arrests and seizures at 56 labs across the country. Investigators also seized 71 weapons, 27 pill presses, 25 vehicles and three boats, but the coveted item was illegal drugs, and the DEA said it intercepted a staggering quantity.

Here is the new twist, according to the Yahoo story: the Feds may have massed another database of steroid and PED users:

Also, federal officials are creating a database of names of the people who received steroids, human growth hormone (HGH) and other drugs banned by most sports leagues and athletic associations, DEA spokesman Rusty Payne said.

"I have no information about any athletes yet," Payne said when asked about the names in the database and others implicated in the case. But he acknowledged the possibility of athletes being linked to the investigation that focused largely on steroids, HGH and other drugs being manufactured by Chinese companies and flooding the U.S. market.

"Of course, performance-enhancing drugs are an issue right now," Payne told Yahoo! Sports during a telephone interview. "They're in the news, and they're in the news because there have been athletes that have been tied to them. We know that's what this story is."

Steroids, HGH and other drugs seized in the raids promote muscle growth and speed recovery from injury, and athletes have used them despite the risk of suspensions and permanent bans from sport.

Whether Major League Baseball, the NFL and other sports bodies can gain access to the database and search for athletes who received substances banned by the respective sports organizations will be up to top officials at the Justice Department and DEA, according to Payne.

As we pointed out in the previous post, the DEA focuses on the distribution network.  Someone, however needs to focus on the end user.  Sports fraud laws would enable drug-cheating athletes to suffer the consequences of their actions.

"Anything is possible," he said.

Typically, DEA investigations focus on drug suppliers and dealers. But now that the DEA has the ability to identify the largest numbers of people who received illegal shipments of drugs during Operation Raw Deal, Payne said, "If you are one of those people, you could get a knock at your door."

U.S. officials enlisted the help of China and eight other countries in an investigation that targeted more than 35 Chinese companies that produce raw materials used to make steroids and HGH, and in some cases finished product, sold illegally on the global underground network, Payne said.

China has emerged as the leading supplier of illicit steroids and HGH since the DEA began targeting Mexico suppliers two years ago. U.S. authorities said the operation that shut down steroids manufacturers in Mexico temporarily cut into the supply in the United States, but Chinese suppliers stepped in.

The move from Mexico to Chinese manufacturing of illegal drugs is exactly what we feared as presented  to USA Today.  The money and the demand for illegal anabolic drugs is so great, new suppliers will be happy to fill the void left by arrests of old suppliers.  (more from the excellent Yahoo article, after the jump)

 

DEA on steroids: Operation Raw Deal, Pumped-up anabolic drug bust

The Drug Enforcement Agency appears to be working overtime.  ABC News reports on a massive 'roid drug bust announced by the agency.  (read the companion piece here)

Drug Enforcement Administration officials say they wrapped up the largest investigation of illegal steroid use in U.S. history, early this morning. An investigation which, they say, leads directly back to China.

Sources tell ABC News that a series of raids across the United States uncovered an extensive underground network of illegal laboratories, and large-scale marketing operations via the Internet.

This bust once again cites the link between China and illegal drugs in the USA.

More than 56 labs were targeted, with more than 120 arrests made in New York City, San Diego, Providence, Kansas City, and Houston.

Operation Raw Deal allegedly discovered millions of doses of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs worth tens of millions of dollars.

Investigators say they identified more than 30 companies in China, which allegedly supplied the chemicals needed to produce steroids.

According to DEA officials, the precursor drugs from China were shipped to the United States, where drug dealers would then use their labs to produce the finished steroids.

Although the quantity of illegal juice is impressive, we are reminded of the success the war on drugs enjoyed....little.  We maintain the Gov't model of busting the source while ignoring the users generally may be efficient in  use of resources, but likely does little to stem the tide of illegal drugs.

This country needs sports fraud laws to affect the end users.  Otherwise what deterrent do the athletes who are drug-cheats face?  Induction into the Hall of Fame is not a deterrent.

(more after the jump)

Ankiel, Jocketty, and the Cardinals exposed for HGH use

The St Louis Cardinals continue their fall swoon, that began following the expose of revamped slugger Rick Ankiel's use of HGH.  The New York Daily News (TJ Quinn) publishes a story today melding together several important issues surrounding Ankiel and the rash of recent HGH revelations:

• HGH clearly was illegal, and banned (although the News says since 2005, however it was much earlier)
• Ankiel was not honest about his acquisition of the drug as well as inaccurate his purported reasons for using HGH
• The use of HGH can be traced back, in part, to another famous Cardinal slugger: Mark McGwire

First, the News exposes Ankiel's reception of the HGH:

The package with two months' worth of human growth hormone was addressed to Rick Ankiel, 3345 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That's the address for The Health and Rejuvenation Center, the "anti-aging" clinic that helped provide his prescriptions for Saizen, Genotropin and vitamin B-12.

Someone named Johnson signed for the FedEx package at 2:37 p.m., Dec. 3, 2003, at the clinic from which Ankiel received HGH. The return address on that package, according to records obtained by the Daily News, was Shipping Department, Signature Pharmacy, 1200 Kuhl Ave., Orlando, Fla

Next the News takes on the two spurious excuses for Ankiel:

After the Daily News reported on Sept. 6 that Ankiel had received the HGH shipments for a year, he offered two responses in his defense:

• First was a very public denial that he ever received anything from Signature, the Orlando pharmacy raided by law enforcement agents in February and at the center of an illegal prescription drug distribution ring. Apparently Ankiel didn't want to be associated with the clinic, but the Signature client records the News obtained two weeks ago and the shipping records, which correspond with the dates the prescriptions were filled, belie that argument.
• The other argument, one parroted by his fans in Cardinal Nation and his bosses in Cardinal management, is that Ankiel had done nothing wrong. His defense: He took HGH because a doctor prescribed it as a way to help his recovery from ligament replacement - "Tommy John surgery" - on his elbow.

The use of HGH for injury and surgery rehab in healthy athletes is just not backed up by research; not is that use approved by legitimate medicine.

"Too much credence is given to that argument," a senior MLB official says. "These guys, whatever they may lay out there publicly, they know that they're doing something they're not supposed to be doing. That's why they never tell team physicians."

Thus Ankiel and Cards GM Walt Jocketty have deceived the fans with their representation of the reality behind HGH use.  Neither the player nor the GM may be a evil guy; however their deception is not what the MLB nor the Cardinals need (obviously by the Cards record since the scandal).

We touch more on this subject after the jump.  However, note that the Cards appear to present a poor history with regard to PEDs and ethical competition (read LaRussa and McGwire).  It would behoove the organization to come clean.  with a great MLB tradition, the recent history of the Cardinals in this matter, is not admirable

Numerous players have said that Mark McGwire helped fuel the rise of HGH in baseball in 1998 when he spread the word that it was the perfect companion to steroids, strengthening the connective tissue that sometimes ruptured from illicitly expanded musculature. His advice was incorrect - hormones don't affect ligaments and tendons - but players came to believe HGH wasn't only a good companion to steroids, it was a performance-enhancing alterative.

Steroids, Springsteen, and Supertramp: East German doping machine's legacy

The East German doping machine that produced incredible results in Olympic competition remains as an example for those who underestimate the perniciousness of steroid and PED use.   Now defunct, the East German model lives on as recently as the paradigm for BALCO, and other doping conspiracies that rob honest athletes of victories and records.  Considering the heavy influence BALCO exerted on American athletes, one can draw a straight line from East Germany to BALCO and Victor Conte, to records such as the lifetime home run mark established by Barry Bonds.

A story in the Telegraph looks again at the East German model.  East German athletic bosses pumped up their competitors with 'roids and with banned (In the GDR) rock and roll from the Western devils:

For more than two decades they were part of the world's greatest athletics scandal, taking vast quantities of steroids in an attempt to prove communism's superiority

Now, though, another guilty secret of East Germany's Cold War Olympic success has finally been revealed – not a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs, but a mixture of Supertramp, Bruce Springsteen and Shakin' Stevens.

Hits such as Dreamer, This Ole House and Born in the USA have been revealed as the unlikely motivational soundtrack for the country's athletes as they trained at a top-secret sports complex, now earmarked for reopening after 16 years lying disused.

Despite pop music being banned by the communist authorities, a discreet exception was made for sports stars as a treat to help them train harder.

"We always had good music, the latest Western hits," said Torsten Gutsche, 59, a multiple Olympic gold medallist in kayaking, one of nearly 100 successful Olympians who was coached there.

The sinister tunes were rocked out at a secret underground training bunker (shades of Hitler!).

Built in 1979, the underground training facility, consisting of a special depressurised bunker designed to simulate high-altitude conditions, was developed as an alternative to steroid programmes when international doping tests became more sophisticated.

The complex had remained quietly forgotten until this summer, when a doping scandal involving German cyclists sparked renewed interest in the East's controversial sporting past. Now there are calls for it to be made into a museum.

The decompressed facility increased red blood cells, a then legal way to give the GDR jocks an advantage.

Inside, a descending corridor leads to a steel shaft, followed by a decompression room – a gateway into a hermetically sealed two-story chamber, fitted with treadmills, exercise bikes, weight-lifting devices and rowing practice pools.

An elaborate ventilation system extracted air until the pressure was similar to that at an altitude of 4,000 metres (13,000ft), inducing athletes' bodies to produce more red blood cells and extra endurance.

"There is no doubt that the chamber fulfilled its purpose. The results were obvious. And there was nothing illegal about it," said Klaus-Peter Nowack, the head of the Kienbaum sport centre.

Athletes were ordered to train underground for weeks on end, being sent off to big contests only when their red blood cell count was drastically raised.

The GDR amassed an incredible total of medals, astonishing for the population, and the lack of resources in the communist country.  The tally came at a toll.  GDR athletes were forced to ingest steroids;  the females now suffer incredible health problems.

Between 1972 and 1988 they notched up 384 Olympic medals – from a population of just 16 million.

Up to 2,000 former athletes who were forcibly doped are now suffering serious health problems as a result, including Heidi Krieger, the 1986 European women's shot-put champion, who had a sex-change operation in 1997 as a result of having taken steroids that change hormone levels.

Gerd Heber, who coached East German runners and later the athletes of united Germany, said: "We would often spend days with our athletes inside, without seeing any daylight. It was, in a way, also a form of torture, but it has brought us a lot."

Keep in mind the heinous actions of the GDR doping machine when discussing the legality of steroids and PEDs.  Consider how Victor Conte and BALCO designed their programs of systematic doping when discussing the legitimacy of records like Barry Bonds home run marks.

Is this what we should be honoring in our sports world?

 

 

Shawne Merriman's steroid use doesn't scare Nike

This fall football season, a Nike TV advertisement features proved juicer, and San Diego Charger, Shawne Merriman performing feats of incredible athletic ability.  Apparently Nike ignores Merriman's anabolic steroid use that brought him a 4 game suspension last year.  That earned Merriman the wrath of defensive end Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins who rightfully questioned honors bestowed on a cheater.

Merriman, who seems a little too fast, too strong, and too quick for his size (and we wonder why) destroyed Priest Holmes a few years ago.  Too bad Holmes did not take Merriman to court for a lawsuit.  Part of the risk in the NFL is the risk of injury.  However, that risk does not entail the risk of injury to a steroid enhanced athlete.

Nike's message apparently awards performance despite the cheating to achieve that performance.  Wrong message Nike.

(EpicCarnival link)

Steroids dramatically increase home run power according to physicist

A condensed matter physicist says that a small increase in muscle mass induced by anabolic steroid use, can pay off in a dramatic increase in home runs.  Roger Tobin, a physicist from Tufts University in Boston, puts it this way in Science Daily:

"A change of only a few percent in the average speed of the batted ball, which can reasonably be expected from steroid use, is enough to increase home run production by at least 50 percent," he says. This disproportionate effect arises because home runs are relatively rare events that occur on the "tail of the range distribution" of batted balls.

Steroid use increases muscle mass (lean body mass), which leads to increased strength, power, acceleration, and explosiveness (some of this is logic by induction).  The increase in power increases bat speed and therefore imports more force to the batted baseball.  That results in more distance for the hit ball.

Tobin reviewed previous studies of the effect of steroid use and concluded that muscle mass, the force exerted by those muscles and the kinetic energy of the bat could each be increased by about 10 percent through the use of steroids. According to his calculations, the speed of the bat as it strikes the pitched ball will be about 5 percent higher than without the use of steroids and the speed of the ball as it leaves the bat will be about 4 percent higher.

It is astonishing that some would argue that increased muscle mass would not result in more kinetic energy applied to the batted ball (longer hits).  One argument held that steroids do not improve hand-eye coordination, and thus do not import an advantage in the hitter.  That argument appears simplistically naive.  Obviously anabolic drugs will not benefit an nonathletic player and thus that argument is irrelevant to elite athletes.  The effects of the drugs on the accomplished athlete should be the issue.

To determine the ultimate impact on home run production, Tobin then analyzed a variety of models for trajectory of the baseball, accounting for gravity, air resistance and lift force due to the ball's spin. While there was considerable variation among the models, "the salient point," he says, "is that a 4 percent increase in ball speed, which can reasonably be expected from steroid use, can increase home run production by anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent."

Pitchers gain an advantage by increasing their muscle mass too.  That effect is less dramatic than the benefit of steroids for hitters, according to Tobin's calculations.  And also remember that the velocity of the pitched ball will increase the rebound on the batted ball; in other words an enhanced fastball will rebound off the bat harder.

Tobin applied a similar, though less extensive, mechanical analysis to pitching and found that smaller impacts were possible. He calculated that a 10 percent increase in muscle mass should increase the speed of a thrown ball by about 5 percent, or four to five miles per hours for a pitcher with a 90 mile per hour fastball. That translates to a reduction in earned run average of about 0.5 runs per game.

"That is enough to have a meaningful effect on the success of a pitcher, but it is not nearly as dramatic as the effects on home run production," says Tobin. "The unusual sensitivity of home run production to bat speed results in much more dramatic effects, and focuses attention disproportionately on the hitters."

Anabolic drugs alone cannot produce increases in power or acceleration.  A strength training, and conditioning, program would be key to development.  Thus it might be difficult to separate out the effects of anabolic drugs from the effects of a solid weight-training program.  Nonetheless, the use of anabolic drugs constitutes cheating, and should be treated as such.

Giants to end Bonds' cycle

Barry Bonds, one of the most decorated baseball players in the history of the Giants, and of the game, will be off-cycled by the team.  Today at 5:00PM, the Giants will announce that the team will pull the syringe on the slugger.  Bonds' remarkable 15 year run produced single season home run, and career home run records.  Bonds' performance brought perennial MVP honors to the Giant's left fielder.  However, Bonds involvement in BALCO, and amphetamine use also injected incredible controversy into the Giant's organization.  To the San Francisco Chronicle for the story.

The Giants will announce at 5 p.m. today that Barry Bonds will not return next season, ending his career in San Francisco after 15 remarkable seasons.

Bonds upstaged the Giants on his Web site, with the following entry:

"This journal will be one of my last entries as a San Francisco Giant. Yesterday, I was told by the Giants that they will not be bringing me back for the 2008 season," Bonds wrote. "During the conversation with Peter Magowan, I was told that my play this year far exceeded any expectations the Giants had, but that the organization decided this year would be my last season in San Francisco.

"Although I am disappointed, I've always said baseball is a business , and I respect their decision. However, I am saddened and upset that I was not given an earlier opportunity to properly say goodbye to you, my fans, and celebrate with the city throughout the season as I truly believe this was not a last-minute decision by the Giants, but one that was made some time ago.

Bonds says he harbors no ill feelings toward the Giants.  However, watch out Giants, for that post-season 'roid rage.

"I don't have, nor do I want any ill feelings towards the organization, I just wish I had known sooner so we had more time to say our goodbyes and celebrate the best 15 years of my life.

"I would have loved nothing more than to retire as a Giant in the place where I call home and have shared so many momentous moments with all of you, but there is more baseball in me and I plan on continuing my career. My quest for a World Series ring continues."

Most baseball analysts expected the Giants to release Bonds.  Thus far no one has speculated on how Bonds will fit into his new role as DH for the Kansas City Royals.  :-)

 

Golf putters around with anti-doping tests

Worldwide golf organizations announced a coordinated policy on anti-doping yesterday.  Although Gary Player accused tour members of shenanigans, no doping scandals ever arose down the fairways (an Italian golfer used finasteride, likely for hair loss).  Thus, organized golf appears to be responding to scandals permeating other pro sports.  Story in the Houston Chronicle. 

It would not seem steroids present a problem on the PGA tour.  Theoretically golfers could use drugs for a competitive edge.  Beta-blockers may help with putting, amphetamines improve concentration and energy, and anti-anxiety agents calm ruffled nerves in the game.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, who in the past had resisted such measures, said testing could begin as early as 2008. The United States Golf Association, the PGA of America, the LPGA, the Augusta National Golf Club and the European Tour also are behind the initiative.

"But for the problems in other sports," Finchem said, "I doubt we would be at this point."

THe PGA, and world counterparts, will phase anti-dope tests in 2 steps:

Finchem said Thursday's announcement is the beginning of a two-phase global anti-doping policy. The WGF released a list of 10 classes of substances it will ban. The list includes anabolic steroids, narcotics, beta blockers, stimulants, hormones and masking agents that include diuretics. Finchem said Glucocorticosteroids and Beta-2-Agonists — banned by the World Anti-Doping Association — are not on the WGF list because it would cause an excessive administration burden and because such agents do no not enhance a golfer's performance.

The second phase, which Finchem said should be in place before the end of the year, is to set up procedures, testing protocols, medical exceptions and penalties. Once the procedures are in place, Finchem said, the Asian Tour, Australasian Tour, Canadian Tour, Japan Professional Golf Tour, Sunshine Tour and Tour de Las Americas will fall in line with the program.

The PGA joins the LPGA and the European Tour with anti-doping measures. 

Finchem said the program will cost the PGA Tour approximately $1.5 million a year to administer. Beginning immediately, Finchem said, the tour will make a "comprehensive effort" to educate the players. The effort will include a 24-hour consultation line for players, agents and fitness trainers.

WADA's Dick Pound, however, seemed a bit teed off at the PGA (AFP):

"Two or three months ago, the PGA was denying that there was ever a problem in golf," Pound said in a conference call. So, "there is quite a lot of progress that's been made."

"It's very disappointing to us, however, that they would not use (the WADA) list" of banned substances, he added.

Anabolic steroids: the new contraband

We may be presumptuous to think this is new information, but here goes: anabolic steroids and PEDs constitute a major new black market contraband.

A huge new bust occurred in New Jersey today.  This report comes from the AP:

Federal agents on Thursday seized more than 40,000 doses of illegal anabolic steroids from a central New Jersey home they said was being used as a factory.

The manufacturing was done in the basement of the Sayreville home of Alfred Scarpa, an electrician who was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Agency, authorities said.

Scarpa, 34, admitted he was involved with buying, making and selling steroids, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. He was ordered held without bail.

A message seeking comment from Scarpa's lawyer was not immediately returned.

DEA agents also seized $56,000 and two semiautomatic handguns at the home, where the basement was filled with "tubs, bottles, vials," Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Kirsch said.

We documented steroid busts in the past, most notably related to sports dealers.  However we also looked at cops who deal PEDs, and occasionally dealers who extend their services to kids.

"Overwhelming evidence of an active, ongoing manufacturing laboratory for steroid production was blatant and in plain view," Kirsch said. He declined to say whether others might be arrested in the continuing investigation.

Agents found large hand pumps attached to large brown glass bottles filled with liquid in the basement, and a centrifuge often used to make steroids was found in the garage, according to the DEA complaint.

Chemicals were also seized, including vials of liquids labeled stanozolol, testosterone and nandrolone, the complaint said.

The raid came after the DEA obtained e-mails from Scarpa that showed he had been negotiating to buy steroid powder since at least April 2006, the complaint said.

Financial records dating to January 2005 revealed dozens of transactions in which Scarpa made wire transfers totaling at least $25,000 to businesses in Colonia and New Providence, some of which were suppliers of steroids, the DEA said.

News flash: Preliminary results just in on 2006 Tour de France; Landis loses

In now the world's longest race, Floyd Landis appears not to be the winner of the 2006 Tour de France.  Spain's Oscar Pereiro, who crossed the finish line second, could be named the 2006 winner (Pereiro experienced his own doping troubles in 2006-7).  MSNBC timeline of Landis episode here.

You will recall in July of 2006, Floyd Landis finished first in the Tour de France (we didn't say won).  However, his urine showed a high testosterone:epitestosterone (T:E) ratio, which not only voided his first place finish for the time being, but also started a joke a world wide obsession on T:E ratios.  The 2006 Tour title hovered out there (in absentia we guess) until arbitration, which interesting enough took place at Pepperdine California not France (we said it was a long race).

In the meantime, Landis published a book about how the French anti-doping lab sucked, and David Walsh published another book on how much Lance Armstrong sucked.

The Landis hearing went into deliberation in May, with promised results in a couple weeks, or at least before the 2007 Tour began.  The decision, however, did not make opening day of Tour 2007.

Now, in September 2007, Stage 2 of the Floyd Landis 2006 decision appears decided; Landis loses this stage.  AP Story here.  Also note Landis will receive a 2 year ban from pro cycling events.

Floyd Landis lost his expensive and explosive doping case Thursday when arbitrators upheld the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory, The Associated Press has learned.

The decision means Landis, who repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, must forfeit his Tour de France title and is subject to a two-year ban, retroactive to Jan. 30, 2007.

Landis may have won Stage 1  (the race), lost State 2 (The USADA hearing), but may push on to Stage 3 -- The world court of Sports Arbitration.

If Landis doesn't appeal, he'll be the first person in the 105-year history of the race to lose the title because of a doping offense.

According to documents obtained by AP, the vote was 2-1 to uphold the results, with lead arbitrator Patrice Brunet and Richard McLaren in the majority and Christopher Campbell dissenting.

The ruling, handed down nearly four months after a bizarre and bitterly fought hearing, leaves the American with one final way to possibly salvage his title — an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Of course, the US Anti-Doping Agency considers the verdict a victory for anti-doping.  Floyd Landis considers the loss a loss for athletes.  And lawyers all over just consider it more compensation.

"Today's ruling is a victory for all clean athletes and everyone who values fair and honest competition," U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said.

It's a devastating loss for Landis, who has steadfastly insisted that cheating went against everything he was all about and said he was merely a pawn in the anti-doping system's all-consuming effort to find cheaters and keep money flowing to its labs and agencies.

Landis didn't hide from the scrutiny — invited it, in fact — and now has been found guilty by the closest thing to a fair trial any accused athlete will get.

Landis, who has a month to file his appeal, is still weighing his legal options, according to a statement released by his legal team.

"This ruling is a blow to athletes and cyclists everywhere" Landis said. "For the Panel to find in favor of USADA when, with respect to so many issues, USADA did not manage to prove even the most basic parts of their case shows that this system is fundamentally flawed. I am innocent, and we proved I am innocent."

We provide more information on this decision after the jump, as the day goes on...Landis will hold a news conference later today to announce his future plans.

Our bestest buddy and big toe, Barry Bonds, goes roid rage over 756 ball

Sounds like Barry Bonds became enraged over Marc Ecko's Internet vote on whether to asterisk or asteroid the home run #756 ball.  From the SF Chronicle:

Barry Bonds does not think much of Marc Ecko, the clothes designer who bought his 756th home run ball for a shade more than $750,000 and is asking people on the Internet how to dispose of it.

"He's stupid. He's an idiot," Bonds said. "He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it? What he's doing is stupid.

Bonds says 756 is 756...unless of course it is 'enhanced':

Bonds' issue with Ecko was not that one of the three choices on the 756-ball ballot is sending it to Cooperstown branded with an asterisk, an implication that his record is tainted by alleged steroid use. Bonds merely suggested the guy could have found a better use for three-quarters of a million large.

The other two options are giving the ball to the Hall of Fame as is or blasting it into space. Bonds pooh-poohed the poll after insisting he heard nothing about it until a Chronicle reporter related the story.

"All of those options don't weigh anything," he said. "In baseball, that number (756) stands."

Bond is talking big on the sidelines, because of a sprained right toe....our bestest buddy and big toe, Sgt Hulka Bonds.

Was OJ Juiced?

At the risk of appearing too obviously obsessed with 'roids, we ask the question:  Was the Juice juiced?  Probably not.

Back during the original OJ trial, forensic physicians considered the possibility that OJ acted in a 'roid rage.  If I Did It (If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer; author=Simpson/Goldman) discusses a 'blackout period" (from a Fox News columnist):

There were a lot of theories about how he did it and lived with himself afterward. Apparently, in the unpublished book he says he had a "black out" period — if he did it.

One theory that I (the writer, not Simpson) came to subscribe to was supplied by a freelance writer and his brother, who was a Harvard forensic psychiatrist. To this day it makes the most sense: Simpson was having steroid rage. This wasn’t from being on steroids, but from getting off of them. He’d been addicted to them for years when he took a pounding in football and stuck with them later for rheumatoid arthritis.

That line of thinking mixes up anabolic steroids and corticosteroids: one group could produce the more typical aggressiveness none to PED abusers; the other group produces euphoria or dysphoria, however not known so much for 'roid rage.  Continuing down the anti-inflammatory (corticosteroid, or prednisone-related line of reasoning):

A lot of different details added up to this conclusion. For weeks, Resnick’s boyfriend, Christian Reichardt, had been weaning Simpson off the steroids with a fruit drink that Simpson promoted in a TV infomercial. Reichardt told me this had begun in late March, early April 1994. By June 12, Simpson was probably not feeling too well. Erratic outbursts, extreme emotions — these were indications that his withdrawal was not a success.

In the infomercial, made March 31, 1994, which was entered into evidence but never pursued, Simpson recalls "They had me on — you name it — Naprosyn, Indocin, Motrin, I, I had so much Motrin you couldn't believe it, you know.”

Simpson was 'withdrawing' from the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories he used to relieve osteoarthritis pain.  The theory postulates that Simpson suffered from symptoms of withdrawal including sweats, and erratic psychotic behavior.

Then he (Simpson) talks about the miraculous turn around in his life from drinking Juice Plus: “And then before I knew it, I just start skippin' the Naprosyn and skippin the Indocin and skippin the pain pills, uh, the Advil. I mean I was one of these guys who was on six or seven Advils a day, you know, until today when I don't have to take anything.”

For some reason, no one bothered to ask the doctor what the effect would be of no longer taking all those drugs. And no one asked Dr. Robert Huizenga — a doctor whose specialty was steroids and athletes — one word on that subject as well.

Simpson, I learned from the FBI lab in Washington, had been tested for eight different kinds of drugs but not for steroids when he was arrested.

My sources’ claims, they say, were further emphasized by the Bronco “chase.” Al Cowlings, who’d been in the car with Simpson, described to a writer he’d hired for a book proposal that Simpson had been sweating like crazy in the car. His face had turned “golden,” Cowlings recalled. Sweat poured from him. Simpson was so incoherent that he let Cowlings do the talking for him.

The chase was on June 15. Three days earlier, Simpson had returned to L.A. from a visit to Chicago. Howard Weitzman had been his lawyer. Dr. Bertram Maltz , now deceased, had been his long-term physician.

When Weitzman handed over the reigns to Robert Shapiro, the first thing Shapiro did was get rid of Maltz and bring in Dr. Huizenga. Huizenga had just published a book on the subject (steroids), as physician for the L.A. Rams.

Dr. Huizenga tested the Juice for juice, something the FBI  negligently forgot to do:

Huizenga testified in the trial that he tested Simpson for several drugs, among them anabolic steroids. All the tests came back negative. The FBI lab had tested Simpson a couple of days earlier for the same drugs, without the steroid component. During the trial, a Harvard forensic psychiatrist with a connection to the case conjectured to me that Simpson might have killed his ex-wife Nicole and Ron Goldman in some kind of steroid rage. Huizenga says now that it's unlikely based on the tests.

"Of course, the original tests had much higher detectable limits. We set ours much lower. Look at all the pictures that were taken. They were all from my office. All the cuts on his hands, none of that would have been known without us. They" — he said, referring to the police and FBI — "did a terrible job."

Although a possibility, the odds OJ suffered from 'roid rage, remain a long shot at best.  The Juice displayed road rage, however it seems unlikely he suffered 'roid rage.

"Bestow it, brand it, or banish it" Vote on Bonds 756 home run ball's fate

The buyer of the Bonds' 756 home run ball wants to settle thing all democratically.  Go to this web site to vote on bestowing (he could have said 'bequeath') the ball to the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, branding the poor leather cover with an asterisk, or banishing the unfortunate sphere to outer space somewhere.

This election may be the finest hour of the electronic Internet democracy; or this could the beginning of the death knell for the poor Rawlings orb that Bonds so unceremoniously bashed into the left field stands at Pac Bell.

The San Francisco Chronicle carries the story on Mark Echo's democratic solution to the Bonds ball issue.

Marc Ecko, who won the ball in an online auction that wrapped up Saturday, offers three choices:

-- Send the ball directly to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

-- Send it to Cooperstown after branding it with an asterisk that would acknowledge the public's suspicion that Bonds used steroids to boost his strength.

-- Put the ball on a rocket ship and launch it into space. He isn't saying where he's going to get the rocket ship.

"We all have opinions about this ball," said Ecko, who paid $752,467 for it and the right to run the election. "Some feel it is a piece of history that belongs in the Hall of Fame. Others believe it is the embodiment of cheating culture - not just in baseball, but in professional sports generally.

"I bought this baseball to democratize the debate over what to do with it and allow the public to decide," Ecko said in a statement Monday. "The idea that some of the best athletes in the country are forced to decide between being competitive and s taying natural is troubling."

He'll take votes until 11:59 p.m. Sept. 25 and says he'll do what the people want.

Echo is a man of wild and interesting stunts:

Ecko, 35, has made millions in the fashion business with his Ecko brand of clothing, headquartered in New York.

He also has a history of outlandish public stunts. Last year, he released a video on the Internet that seemed to show graffiti artists spray-painting Air Force One. It turned out the plane was a replica of the U.S. presidential aircraft.

"I wanted to do something culturally significant, wanted to create a real pop-culture moment," Ecko said after the video was revealed to be a hoax.

Will the Cooperstown HOF take a branded ball?  Damn straight they will:

The Hall of Fame doesn't care whether the ball gets tagged with an asterisk as long as the record-setter ends up in Cooperstown.

"We'd be absolutely elated" to get the ball, Hall of Fame spokesman Jeff Idelson said. "Regardless of whether it has an asterisk or not, it's the ball that set the mark. If it carries an asterisk, so be it."

The Giants are on the hall's side, team spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said.

"We feel that like all pieces of baseball history, a ball of this significance belongs in the Hall of Fame," Slaughter said. "We just think it would be appropriate to be there so that all baseball fans around the country could have the opportunity to enjoy it."

Vote Vote Vote.  However we hope former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris will not certify the online voting.

Jim Bouton, former MLB pitcher and author of Ball Four, throws some high hard ones at steroid users

After a short hiatus to see Barry Bonds annihilate his toe in San Diego, we resume our own annihilation of written English.

Jim Bouton discusses amphetamines and steroids in a blog interview (All on the Field).  Bouton says the amphetamines (greenies) reigned in his day.  He compares amphetamines with steroids/HGH.  We loved Ball Four, and see that Bouton has updated the work.

You reference "greenies" several times in the book. How extensive was their use when you played? Did everybody use them?

I don't know, but in the book I asked Don Mincher how many guys are taking Greenies. I said "Fifty percent?" And he said, "Hell, way more than that." I would probably guess maybe 60 to 70 percent.

But you have to distinguish greenies -- the peptos as they were called -- from steroids. Greenies only allowed you to play up to your ability. If you didn't get a good night's sleep, or you had a hangover, it would allow you to play up to your ability, or at least some players thought that. It did not create a different human being. It did not change your physical makeup. It did not allow you to play beyond your ability, your normal ability as steroids do and as Human Growth Hormone does.

Bouton's separation of amphetamines from steroids seems a canard.  Amphetamines certainly constitute a performance enhancer.  Stimulants improve concentration and motor coordination.  There is little room for a hierarchy in PED rankings.

Bouton gets back on track here with his next response.  He points out that that the MLB Player's Association protects suspected steroid users from unnecessary search an seizures by management.  However, at the same time, when the MLBPA is too obstructionistic they hurt those players who do not want to dope, to keep up.  It is a conundrum.

As you mentioned, these days it's HGH and steroids that are all the buzz. How do you think the game evolved to this point where no slugger or power pitcher is immune from suspicion?

Baseball got itself into this position because it has refused to have a strong drug policy, and for that I blame the Players Association. They're very short-sighted. They elevated the players' rights to privacy above their rights to good health and fair competition. The Players Association should have protected the players who were not taking the drugs; even if most of the guys wanted them, the Players Association should have protected the non-users who have to compete against the users.

It's really not fair, is it?

No, it's not, and now you've got a bunch of records that are going to be hard to break. It's unfair from two levels: first of all, it's unfair to the records that were broken and were set by guys years ago who weren't on performance enhancing drugs. And now they're going to be broken in the future by guys who aren't going to be on performance enhancing drugs because they're going to have tougher drug laws.

So you're going to have a set of records that are going to be distorted and are going to be standing for longer than they should be.

This is the point in track too. There are track records almost certainly recorded under the influence of PEDs (even if track purists do not want to discuss this issue).  Those records are so far out in terms of human performance, they may not be approached now that the typical PEDs are farrowed out by anti-doping procedures.

So are you in the camp, then, that would go for asterisks attached to some of those records?

Yeah. A blue ribbon panel needs to be appointed and be given a launch budget and investigate just exactly what kind of impact steroids have on batting and pitching. And also [to determine] what period of time were they prevalent, and to what extent have they affected the numbers, the records.

This would be not a punitive thing; this would be investigatory simply to establish which records are legitimate and which ones are not. And then, they need to figure out where the impact is. If it's on home runs -- for example, 40 percent increase in home runs as a result of steroids -- they need to apply those numbers to the numbers that were actually hit so that next to the actual number of home runs hit, you'd have, in parentheses, a steroid adjusted number. I call it the S.A.N. It would sit there in parentheses next to the actual number hit.

Very nice thoughts by Bouton on how to correct the PED enhanced records.  The problem is actually determining what the influence on performance PEDs gave the drug cheats.

Good interview, worth reading.

Padres try to maim Bonds

Steroid Nation flew out to Southern California to witness one of the last 2007 games of MLB career home run leader Barry Bonds.  Bonds singled sharply in the 2nd inning, however the anemic Giants could not move him past second base. 

In the following inning a long fly by Adrian Gonzalez drove Bonds up against the left field wall.  Bonds showed at least a 12 inch vertical as he smashed into the wall.  Fan interference made have prevented the Giant left fielder from making (at his age) a spectacular catch.

Apparently the wind knocked out of him, Bonds retrieved the ball to limit Gonzalez to a triple, then collapsed on the ground. He seemed to sit stunned for a couple minutes.  He finished off the inning, however the Giants pulled the slugger from the lineup.

We wondered if we saw the end of the year for Bonds, perhaps the last game of his career considering the injury.

Turns out Bonds suffered a vicious toe injury that may cost him a week.

Giants left fielder Barry Bonds could be sidelined for up to a week with his sprained right big toe, manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday, revising an original estimate.

After Bonds hurt himself while pursuing Adrian Gonzalez's long drive in Saturday night's second inning, Bochy said that Bonds might be shelved for two or three days. But Bochy reported that the swelling around Bonds' toe increased "quite a bit" overnight, requiring a more prolonged rest...

Bonds, 43, landed awkwardly after leaping at the wall for Gonzalez's hit, which resulted in a triple. Television replays indicated that a fan with a fielder's glove might have deflected the ball away from Bonds or knocked it out of his glove. Giants right-hander Matt Cain said that Bonds told him he had the ball in his grasp but had it jarred from him.

San Diego fans...not only tried to disable the greatest slugger in MLB history, but went on to flog the Giants with a 6-0 shutout...

Sigh.  Once again Barry Bonds defies the laws of nature.

MLB meets with Ankiel, schedules Glaus and Gibbons, eyes Sarge Jr.

Looks like Rick Ankiel, Tory Glaus, and Jay Gibbons made the MLB steroids party.  Gary Matthews Jr. just might get an invite too.

The New York Daily News reports that MLB officials met with The St Louis Cardinals Rick Ankiel on Tuesday.  The paper says that  MLB is getting jealous of the cooperation Albany DA David Soares give the NFL and not MLB,  Perhaps he likes football  better?

The Daily News also adds that MLB will meet with Troy Glaus and Jay Gibbons, names also leaked out by the press.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel met with MLB officials on Tuesday, the first of three players who have been summoned to answer for their part in the growing Signature Pharmacy scandal.

Sources said Ankiel was asked about how he came to receive a year's worth of human growth hormone from Signature in 2004, and whether he continued to use it after he stopped receiving shipments. Sources did not disclose what his answers were, however.

Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus and Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons are expected to meet with officials within the next week. Both could face 50-game suspensions because they received steroids after MLB's ban went into effect.

Unless Glaus and Gibbons admit to possessing or using the drugs, their fates may depend on whether MLB officials can get their hands on the client lists from Signature, the Orlando pharmacy raided in February by Albany, Florida and federal agents. Sources said yesterday that MLB VP Rob Manfred will meet with Albany District Attorney David Soares to see whether MLB can get the same sort of cooperation that Soares' office has afforded the NFL.

MLB sources have grumbled that Soares has ignored their pleas for information, yet worked with the NFL to identify league personnel who received drugs from Signature...

MLB sources said that despite Ankiel's apparent admission, they don't believe they have grounds to punish him, unless they can establish that he used HGH after MLB banned it in 2005.

On the West Coast the LA Times says that Gary Matthews Jr. will be on MLB's schedule for a meeting.

Baseball officials want to meet with Gary Matthews Jr., seven months after the Angels center fielder was alleged to have been sent a shipment of human growth hormone.

When Matthews was initially identified as an HGH buyer, his lawyers claimed he might be the target of an investigation into illegal drug trafficking.  (Note the slight inaccuracy about MLB not banning HGH until 2005)

On Feb. 28, SI.com reported that, in 2004, Matthews had been sent a shipment of genotropin, a brand of synthetic human growth hormone since alleged by the New York Daily News to have been sent to Ankiel in 2004. Baseball did not ban HGH until 2005, although its use was -- and is -- illegal without a prescription.

On March 14, Matthews issued a statement in which he denied using HGH and he has refused to address whether he ordered or received it.

In the interim, baseball officials quietly tried to arrange a meeting with Matthews. His lawyer, Harold McGuire, told them Matthews would not talk because he could be "the target of a criminal investigation," MLB spokesman Rich Levin said.

McGuire did not return a call. Leventhal said Matthews' statement reflected McGuire's subsequent conclusion that the player was not a target of any investigation.

Heather Orth, spokeswoman for the Albany County district attorney, said Wednesday the targets of that investigation are pharmacists and distributors.

"No athletes are the target," she said via e-mail. "We are unaware of any criminal investigation targeting Gary Matthews Jr."

Said MLB spokesman Pat Courtney: "If that is indeed the case, we will revisit bringing Mr. Matthews in."

Although Glaus hurt his ankle as did Sarge Jr., as they say, this could be a quite fashionable party, all the right people are invited...

Weird court proceedings for Elijah Dukes in Tampa: Devil Rays refused to release drug testing results

Is is us, or is the world getting nuttier every day?  Re: the case of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Elijah Dukes.  Mrs. Dukes accused her husband of marijuana and steroid use leading to violent rages; Dukes is not paying her court-ordered child support, to boot.  A Tampa judge issued a subpoena for the drug testing records, however the Devil Rays refused to deliver the documents.

As documented (Deadspin, With Leather) Dukes, the Devil Ray rookie, threatened his wife, sent nasty images to her cell phone, disrupted his wife while she was teaching school, and generally behaved not so nicely.

[Gilbert, Duke's wife] told the court in another filing [for a restraining order] Thursday that her husband threatened to kill she (and children) and sent a photo of a handgun to her cell phone.

Events got dirty, lawyers got called, and things ended up in court...you have seen it before.  Dukes admitted to drug use in a Florida court in July; the wife accused him of MJ and steroid use. The presiding judge apparently ordered the Devil Rays to supply the court with Dukes drug testing results. (A full listing of the court's requirements of Dukes, after the jump). The baseball club did not cough up the drug tests.

Today, the presiding judge wanted to know just why the Devil Rays did not release the drug tests, which could show MJ and steroid use (My Fox Tampa Bay)

Another nasty round of divorce court led to charges that the Devil Rays are trying to hide steroid use by player Elijah Dukes. A drug test forced the Rays to sideline Dukes, and now the team is refusing to release the results of that test. Judge J. Kevin Carey wanted to know why he didn't have Dukes' drug evaluations, as ordered. The attorney for Dukes' estranged wife, Nishea, said that steroids may be the underlying reason for Dukes' aggressive behavior... "All of a sudden, we start to see these personality changes and I suspect it's that they are associated with the taking of steroids," said attorney Catherine Real.

The Tampa judge is not pleased with the Devil Rays.  If the judge subpoenaed Duke's drug tests, it would seem under Florida law, the employer (the Devil Rays) should have released those records to the legal proceedings, with or without employee permission. Dukes also underwent treatment at the Menninger Clinic (Psychiatric clinic) in Texas.  The judge subpoenaed those records in addition to the Devil Ray's records on Dukes:

Dukes' attorney (Ms Real) said during a July hearing that Dukes had undergone an evaluation while at the Menninger Clinic in Texas, Real said.

Real said the clinic records may include drug test results that could show whether Elijah Dukes had taken steroids or growth hormones. But she acknowledged she isn't sure what the records contain because she hasn't seen them.

The judge in July gave Dukes' attorney 10 days to send Real the records. Real never received them. She subpoenaed the Devil Rays for them.

The Devil Rays say in court papers that any documents in the team's possession about Dukes' health are confidential and cannot be released without Dukes' permission, which he has not given.

In response to today's court proceedings, the Devil Rays released this statement: "The Rays are not a party to these matters, and the law prohibits the release of any employee's medical records or other information without employee permission."

It would seem that a judge's order to turn over medical records in a legal case trumps an employee's right to privacy. More to come next week on this as the parties are back in Tampa court.

David Boston not in ecstasy as Bucs cut him from roster

Looks like the Tampa Bay Bucs released David Boston from a contract.  Boston, whose career maneuvered through steroid suspensions, and multiple injuries was arrested for public intox, after he was found sleeping at the wheel of his car, motor running.  Boston seriously contended for a starting WR spot with the Bucs.  Looks like he just ran a crossing pattern with the management who crossed him off the roster.  (More from Tampa here and here)

The arrest video was made public on the Internet; we didn't see signs of alcohol intoxication from the player.  Boston performed well on cerebellar tests (walking a straight line etc.), however he appeared a bit belligerent.  We even thought the arresting cop behaved in an annoying way.  We were right/wrong.  Boston's urine contained a huge level of GHB, and thus he faces intox charges;  there was no alcohol reported.

GHB is gaba-hydroxybutyric acid -- or Ecstasy -- is a GABA-related drug, sold as Xyrem, a drug for narcolepsy.  GHB can be synthesized by your friendly neighborhood chemist for sale to bodybuilders, and ne'er-do-wells; the bodybuilder thinks it packs on muscle (by releasing growth hormone) the antisocial thinks the drug is a date-rape drug.

Interesting because GHB is not covered, according to sources, by the NFL's drug policy;  however arrests for public intox are covered by the league's personal conduct policy.

According to published reports, Boston had 870 micrograms per milliliter of GHB in his urine. Cynthia Lewis-Younger, medical director for the Florida Poison Information Center in Tampa, told the Tampa Tribune that the amount is four times what one would expect to see in the urine of someone who received a prescribed, legitimate dose.

The drug is believed by some of to have bodybuilding properties, but that has not been proven. GHB is an illegal substance under law, but the NFL does not test for the drug, so it does not fall under the league’s substance abuse policy. Nevertheless, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said a violation of substance abuse law is a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Agitation is frequent in GHB intoxication. An noted here:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry detected GHB in 12 of 40 patients with agitation, with serum levels of 108 to 422 mg/L and urine levels of 557 to 8221 mg/L. Of these 12 patients, 4 were also confirmed negative for stimulant co-intoxicants by toxicologic screen.

Fourteen presentations with agitation also included bizarre features (“doing somersaults,” “snapping lips and tongue, spastic type movements and bizarre behavior and speech,” “hugging trees, laying his head on the sidewalk,” “licking his own arms,” “climbing into a mailbox wearing fishnet thong, unsure why”) or self-injurious behaviors (“beating his head with his fist,” “threw himself against a wall”).

Boston's 870 mg/ml of GHB in urine  places him in the spectrum mentioned above.  His video behavior revealed no somersaults, however.  Now he would appear to have plenty of time to practice the 'climb into mailbox wearing fishnet thong' competition.

Boston's wife is expecting child #2, so hope he cleans himself up.

Ten more MLB players to be named as performance enhanced drug (PED) users/buyers?

Apparently the Albany NY District Attorney's office sits on a goldmine of steroids/PED headlines.  Sources say after a Monday meeting between MLB officials and David Soares the Albany DA, up to 10 more MLB players may find their headaches growing with HGH (and other PED) accusations. (Update, MLB schedules meetings with Ankiel, Glaus, and GIbbons; may invite Sarge Jr. too)

The New York Times buries this story on their Internet site, but it's here:

When representatives from Major League Baseball met with members of the Albany district attorney’s office on Monday they were looking to get a better handle on the investigation into an extensive prescription-drug distribution ring, a probe that has already seen a number of major league players linked to the purchase of performance-enhancing drugs.

Whether baseball can establish a working relationship with the investigators remains to be seen. What is almost certain is that more names of major leaguers are going to be disclosed in connection with the case. One person who has been briefed on the situation but was not authorized to speak publicly said baseball expects the names of perhaps 10 more players to emerge as the investigation continues to unfold.

Last week Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus, and Jay Gibbons emerged as linked to the Signature Pharmacy  -- the Internet sleazeclearinghouse for illegal PEDs in Orlando.  In the spring, names like Gary Matthews Jr., Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell, and Darren Holmes came to the on-deck circle for PED acquisitions via the Internet (from Baseball's Steroid Era database, because the names are getting too many to remember).

The Albany DA-PED link seems interesting in this aspect:  David Soares and the Albany DA's office releases his information to the press.  With BALCO the San Francisco federal attorney appeared reticent to release information.  Only the BALCO grand jury leaks lead to stories, and books such as Game of Shadows. However Soares invites publicity.

As we say, with the revelations of PED uses exploding in baseball, Commissioner Selig needs more than a limited Mitchell probe; MLB needs a full-time anti-doping office (and given the suspicions perhaps a full time steroid detox center too).

That fact is not good news for accused steroid-HGH-PED users.  Hang on tight because this may turn into a steroid-fueled roller-coaster ride shortly.

HGH huge growth in the news: MLB, Ankiel, Gibbons, and undectable

Since the onslaught of HGH revelations/accusations in MLB players over the past week, the news pours out on HGH.

Human growth hormone (HGH) use is not new.  Dr. Robert Kerr in Los Angeles began utilizing the hormone as an artificial anabolic drug back in the 80s, perhaps earlier.  Some contended the expensive treatment, harvested from cadavers, constituted a miracle anabolic.  Pharmaceutic companies used recombinant DNA technologies to develop more readily available forms of rHGH, which broadened the market.  Recent developments in anabolic steroid testing apparently hastened the use of HGH, undetectable in urine anabolic screams.

Debates rage over the efficacy of HGH as an anabolic drug.  While there is no doubt HGH is anabolic, the debate concerns at what dose, in combination with what other drugs, and in which athletes.  With this introduction, we will look at recent news reports.

USA Today's Bob Nightingale is saying that HGH may 'hide' steroid use.

While having no direct knowledge of their alleged drug use, Gary Wadler of the World Anti-Doping Agency believes athletes are using HGH, for which their is no reliable test, to help conceal the use of steroids, beating MLB's three-year-old steroid-testing policy.

"Taking HGH enables you to take lower doses of anabolic steroids," Wadler said. "By taking a lower level of steroids, you may not be detected when undergoing drug tests.

"They are not testing for HGH, so athletes can take that as well as anabolic steroids and beat the system. That could be what we're seeing going on right now."

Simply taking HGH by itself, said Karl Ullis, formerly of UCLA, would make little sense for athletes unless they're also taking steroids.

Don't know about this line of reasoning.  Might HGH allow a player to use a lower does of an anabolic steroid, that would go undetectable?  Speculation at best.  What dose of nandrolone (say) would be undetectable (by not increasing the T:E ratio) yet would be effective.  And who would risk that possibility, unless they had the full backing of a WADA-type lab to ascertain their T:E ratio?

It could also be that players are using HGH and an anabolic steroid in the off season, then undetectable HGH alone during the season.

Players use any excuse to explain their PED use.  Rick Ankiel, and his GM Walt Jocketty wish to 'splain away HGH as used for elbow rehab.  Right, and cocaine is used for ADHD too which makes it OK for shortstops.  From the SF Chronicle:

How could Jocketty say that when Sports Illustrated had just reported that the same pharmacy shipped banned steroids to Troy Glaus in 2003 and 2004? How could Jocketty be absolute about anything when the investigation of the pharmacy and the doctors connected to it hasn't concluded?

He and Ankiel rested their case on the argument that Ankiel used only medication that a doctor prescribed to help him heal from elbow surgery. But anyone who has undergone joint surgery knows that growth hormone is not an FDA-approved part of the recovery process. Should it be? Will it be someday? Maybe, but Jocketty wasn't talking about the future. He said everything was OK in 2004, because that's where the Cardinals and MLB would like the questions to end.

 

HGH currently evades anti-doping urine tests.  In combination with anabolic steroids, the drug appears to be very anabolic.  However there are those who say that insulin, and thyroid hormone also need to be taken with HGH.  What player can evaluate the scientific literature, or the word on the street?

We say take a look at the trainers out there.  These fellows keep on top of some of the science, as well as the street rap.  Does anyone think Jay Gibbons sat down to do a scientific review of the anabolic effects and safety of HGH?

Trainers charlatans like this appear to be skirting the rules using drugs illegally.  Someone needs to look into that greasy path for drug cheats.

The Sporting News says PEDs are like umpire's bad calls, now part of the fabric of baseball.

Notes from Readers

From 100% Injury Rate:  Lie detector tests at bodybuilding meet.  (with links to The Scotsman)

I always, repeat ALWAYS, go to The Scotsman for all my news. That aside, they had one really interesting article from late last week.

In an effort to put a dent into the performance enhancing drugs that dominate the sport of pro bodybuilding, a team of lie detecting specialists are being flown out to Edinburgh later this month to quiz 75 bodybuilders.

Former FBI expert Al Lombardo will lead a group testing competitors in the British Natural Bodybuilding Championships to ensure they are drug-free.

The New York-based polygraph consultant, who runs a professional lie detecting company, was invited by officials to screen entrants on computerized lie-detecting kits.

Vicky McCann, who is the current Natural Miss Universe titleholder and the federation's co-founder, said "Some bodybuilders try to use growth hormones that don't even show up on normal drugs tests, so the polygraph machines will help find out if anyone has been trying to gain an unfair advantage."

Nice find over there.  I too wondered about a lie detector to determine doping.  Obviously the anti-doping tests have major flaws.  Furthermore drugs like HGH are blood-only tests.  Lie detector tests have drawbacks with reliability;  however something creative needs to be done.  The cheats always stay ahead of the anti-doping police.

More later....

Advice for Commissioner Selig: Appoint a vice president for doping control

Baseball needs an appointed permanent vice president to deal with integrity issues like anabolic steroids abuse....now.

As if this summer needed more interruptions or injections caused by anabolic drugs, suddenly the HGH bugaboo pops up again.  The MLB season began with open investigations in the 4 year long BALCO case, the Jason Grimsley year-long probe, the spring Florida Internet pharmacy bust, and Metboy, the New York Met clubhouse boy who sold MLBers anabolic drugs.  George Mitchell's investigation tagged along along last spring too.  And the summer of Bonds presented 3 long months of material to write about how the career leader in home runs used an anabolic drug regimen that included anabolic steroids, HGH, insulin, and Clomid.

Now we get the Black September weekend of wacky HGH/steroid fun, courtesy of Rick Ankiel, Troy Glaus, and Jay Gibbons; heck those guys sound like suburban soccer players on the team with Buffy and Mikey.  Let's get some Ralph Lauren socks.

Obviously the use of performance enhancing drugs didn't start yesterday, and looking at the on-going investigations the new revelations won't end tomorrow.  The Mitchell probe supposedly has a beginning and an end (but perhaps without a middle).  What can be done? 

Ken Rosenthal over at Fox suggest Selig deal with the issue, which is an obvious idea.  But how?

If Major League Baseball is truly serious about limiting the use of performance-enhancing drugs — notice we say "limiting," not "eliminating" — then it's time to put up or shut up.

Become the industry leader in attacking PEDs.

Invest real money — not thousands, but millions — to compete in the chemical arms race.

Use of steroids/PEDs in baseball threatens the historical statistical integrity, taints the fairness of the contests (affects the outcomes), delivers a perverted standard of sportsmanship to younger players, and overall encourages the trafficking of illegal substances and drugs.  Enough already?

Bud Selig needs to act boldly, which would entail appointing a Vice President for Integrity.  Call it something else for God's sake (but not something lame like Homeland Security):  Vice President for Doping Control;  Vice President for PED and Substances Policy.  Something like that, but appoint a guy who can work with the baseball front offices, the commissioner's office, the MLB Player's Association, the medical profession, and the Gov't to manage steroid and PED policies.  This drug serpent is to large, too Medusa multi-headed for a casual approach, or a one-off commission, or management from the Commish himself.

A Vice-President for Integrity should lead a full time office with the medical and legal resources to manage all the aspects of the thus far unmanageable plague on the game.  The media points to the unprecedented growth in popularity of baseball by looking at attendance figures, as if that is justice for allowing drug-cheating to go on.  As if an operation without integrity will not one day suffer the consequences of malignant neglect.  As if one day fans just won't up and treat the game like a pro-wrestling entertainment.  Is this a path where baseball aficionados want the MLB to meander down?

No, and it will take a bold move by the Commissioner.  Act now and make anti-doping (throw in gambling and cheating too) a major issue by appointing a full time office to address the issues.

Illegal performance enhancing drugs -- anabolic steroids and HGH -- banned by MLB as early as 1991

In the discussion of HGH use by the Cardinals' Rick Ankiel, media and baseball pundits say that performance enhancing drugs were not banned before 2003/4.  If that statement is accurate, then MLB allowed illegal drug use.  Professional sports, although not following through with a comprehensive anti-doping testing program, long ago prohibited the use of anabolic illegal drugs in players and other personnel.

Also heard frequently, and just as inaccurate, is 'HGH is used for injury rehab'.

Baseball clearly banned illegal drugs (logic tells you illegal drugs are 'a priori' banned anyway) in 1991 (see image of memo) when Fay Vincent reigned as commissioner.  Commissioner Vincent stated "the use of illegal drugs by players, office personal, trainers or anyone else involved in the game cannot be condoned or tolerated" (see image to the left; reference here).  That means any black market drugs, such as cocaine or anabolic steroids are prohibited.  That includes illegal use of unethically prescribed drugs like HGH for faddish 'recovery' indications.  The Vincent memo says violators are subject to unspecified discipline.

In 1997, Commissioner Bud Selig, essentially  copied Vincent's memo reiterating that illegal drugs are prohibited in the pro baseball.  The memo specifies the policy, testing, and possible punishment (to the right, and above reference).

HGH is not approved for any PED use, nor for injury recovery.  (Reference here; see below)  A doctor's prescription for an adult athlete raises serious issues, and may lead to criminal prosecution (as with Dr Shortt who prescribed HGH to the Carolina Panthers' players)

Internet pharmacies also violate current FDA prescription rules (References here, and here.  There is no legitimate doctor-patient relationship in this prescriptions.

Signature used a quasi-prescribing scheme, noted here:

The document charges two people with conspiracy, illegal distribution of human-growth hormone and other steroids as well as health-care fraud. It also states Daniel McGlone of American Pharmaceutical Group in New Jersey peddled the drugs to bodybuilders and used Signature to fill prescriptions written by unlicensed or retired physicians.

"McGlone would forward these prescriptions via facsimile or mail to various large compounding pharmacies, including primarily Signature Pharmacy . . . to deliver human growth hormone, anabolic steroids and other prescription medications to customers all over the United States," the indictment reads.

We will develop a longer post on the prescribing practices and logic behind these drugs.  Suffice it to say that there has never been adequate research, nor an FDA indication, for using HGH as an aid when rehabbing athletic injuries.  The anti-aging clinic scams do not legitimize, nor legalize the use of HGH or anabolic steroids to rehab sports injuries (reference here).

The anti-doping milestone of 2003 (or 2004 when testing began), oft referred to in media reports, is simply the year that MLB decided to implement a more serious PED testing program.  The current anti-doping program is not perfect: As Victor Conte of BALCO fame says "You can drive a Mack truck through the current anti-doping program loopholes".  To say that HGH or anabolic steroids were allowed in Major League Baseball before 2004 is both inaccurate and misleading.

Here is an excellent reference on debunking the anti-aging effect of HGH.

Jay Gibbons reinjected into steroid/HGH controversy

Sports Illustrated says tonight that Baltimore Outfielder Jay Gibbons is again involved in a steroids/HGH controversy.   Gibbons joins Rick Ankiel, and Troy Glaus as Signature Pharmacy of Florida anabolic drug clients.  (Addendum: post on the legal issues of HGH use)

In 2006, media outlets (and Deadspin) reported that Jason Grimsley, then apprehended by the BALCO team, named several MLB pros as PED users; among this group was Jay Gibbons.  Later San Francisco attorney Kevin Ryan, before the Bush administration dumped him, cast doubt on this report.

Recent revelations following up on last springs Signature Pharmacy bust, renames Gibbons.  From SI.com:

In the ever-widening Signature Pharmacy scandal, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons is the latest pro athlete tied to an alleged illegal internet drug distribution network. According to information obtained by SI, Gibbons received shipments of performance-enhancing steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) from an Orlando-based compound pharmacy raided last spring as part of a multi-agency bust, even after both drugs were on Major League Baseball's banned substance list.

A source in Florida with knowledge of Signature Pharmacy's client list alleges that between October 2003 and July 2005, Gibbons received six separate shipments of Genotropin (a brand name for synthetic Human Growth Hormone), two shipments of testosterone and two shipments of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced naturally during pregnancy, but taken by anabolic steroid users to stimulate the production of testosterone, which is suppressed as a result of steroid use. The information regarding Gibbons only pertains to receipt and not actual use of the drugs.

SI gets into a discussion of the testing and banning of these PEDs in baseball.  The media never gets this right.  Peter Gammons, likewise, give inaccurate information.  HGH is NEVER legal without a prescription.  Further, there is no recognized indication for HGH in athletic rehab.  A doctor prescribing the drug for such a treatment is very clearly walking an increasingly shady ethics line.  The way the Internet pharmacies worked, those prescriptions are likewise extremely shady; if a physician has not laid hands on a patient, made a legitimate diagnosis, and noted his treatment plan, the HGH is unethical, and likely also illegal.

Testosterone was banned by MLB in 2003, the same year baseball initiated steroids testing. HGH was added to the banned list in January 2005, but Gibbons allegedly received a shipment in July of that year. (HCG is not banned.) The prescriptions were written in Gibbons' name and sent to a Gilbert, Ariz., address that traces to the player.

(We will discuss more on the ethics and legality of HGH after the jump; we also now wonder about the other names on the Grimsley list -- Clemens and Pettitte)  (Links to Ankiel, Glaus, and what Selig should do)

Steroid charges shake Blue Jays' Glaus

Toronto's Troy Glaus appears shaken by allegations of steroid (testosterone and nandrolone) use in 2003 and 2004.  The Toronto Globe and Mail reports Glaus' trade value, and even free agent value plummeted with the story that broke in Sports Illustrated. (also Fan Nation)

There are several issues with Glaus:

• Do these reports compromise his marketability, ie. trade value or free agent value
• Will Glaus face a suspension?  When will the inevitable call from the Commissioner's officer arrive?
• Was Glaus using the drugs to rehab from injury?  Or did he use anabolic as a PED?

From the Globe and Mail:

The issue resonates beyond Troy Glaus' career and reputation. For the Toronto Blue Jays, the connection of their slugging third baseman to baseball's steroid scandal effectively kills any chance of trading him in the off-season — and raises at least the possibility of future suspension by the commissioner's office.

It's a bad business all around, the Friday report on Sports Illustrated's website that Glaus received shipments of Nandrolone and testosterone between Sept. 2003, and May, 2004 while he was with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

And after deciding against making a statement on Friday, Glaus on Saturday appeared shaken, his voice quivering as he held an exceedingly brief news conference outside the visitors clubhouse at Tropicana Field before the second game of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

"I respect fact that you guys have a job to do," Glaus said. "I respect the fact that you certainly have some questions. Um, I am not going to comment on the story, and that's … I hope you respect that at this time.

Finally, Glaus needs to make a statement that will be received by not only the fans, but his teammates.  This won't be easy, but will be necessary.

Ankiel was reported by the New York Daily News to have purchased human growth hormone (HGH) from Signature. Glaus clearly needed to make some sort of statement. His teammates have largely held their tongues, although it was Vernon Wells who told reporters on Friday that: "Whatever decisions you make as a person, you have to live with them, and Troy will have to deal with everything that comes with his name being brought into this."

Steroid and HGH bust in New York

Anabolic drugs hard to get?  Apparently not.  Newsday details a brazen drug operation in a gym, that police busted yesterday.

Police arrested more than 60 people – including a former NYPD officer and a professional boxer - in a sweeping steroid sting at two Queens gyms that acted like "drug supermarkets," officials said Friday.

Gym owners and trainers allegedly sold human growth hormone and other steroids brazenly at the front desk, on the gym floor and in locker rooms, said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

The sting also netted two guns, more than an ounce of cocaine, numerous prescription pain killers and more nearly $40,000 in cash, Kelly said.

You can see the financial potential in dealing these drugs.  Not only have PEDs permeated pro sports, but they lead to huge drug profits for the distribution networks.  Remember years ago when cocaine ruined pro sports teams like the Kansas City Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates?    PEDs and steroids generate the same deleterious effect;  however many writers, fans, and theorists find no problems in illegal anabolic use.  Weird paradox.

The Powerhouse Gym in Bayside and Envy Us in College Point allegedly made as much as $50,000 a week from the illegal drug sales.

"These gyms had in reality been turned into drug supermarkets," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Ninth-ranked junior lightweight boxer Cindy "Checkmate" Serrano, 25, was one of those arrested. She was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, but there was no evidence that she was using the steroids, Kelly said.

Former New York Police Department officer, Benigno Mercado, was also charged with selling drugs. Mercado was fired last year when he was caught with stolen license plates on his car while on suspension for another matter, Kelly said .

Glaus' gloss shines less today; Is 2002 World Series tainted?

Sport Illustrated, on the wave of new Florida Internet pharmacy information, says Toronto first baseman Troy Glaus obtained shipments of nandrolone and testosterone in 2003/2004 when he played for the California Angels.  The shipments to Glaus' California address occurred, according to sources, in Sept '03 and May '04.  (Update link: Glaus shaken)

Former World Series MVP and four-time All-Star Troy Glaus, currently a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, received multiple shipments of performance-enhancing steroids through an allegedly illegal internet distribution network, according to information obtained by SI.

A source in Florida with knowledge of the client list of Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando-based compound pharmacy, alleges that between September 2003 and May 2004, multiple shipments of nandrolone and testosterone were sent to Glaus at a Corona, Calif., address that traces to the player. Though the information only pertains to receipt and not actual use of steroids, both nandrolone and testosterone were on Major League Baseball's banned list at the time.

Was Glaus using anabolic steroids for injury rehab in '03 and '04 when he suffered serious injuries, or was he hooked on the drugs after huge years in '00 (47, 102, .284) and '01 (41, 108, .250), and '02 (30, 111, .250)?   The Angels qualified for the playoffs in 2002 and 2004.  In '02 Glaus went 3HR, 8RBI, and .385 as the World Series MVP.  A theoretical question hangs out there about the legitimacy of the Angels season and post-season World Series victory in 2002.

Yet one more unethical physician enabled Glaus to allegedly cheat.  SI tracked down 'suspended' Dr. Ramon Scruggs, who replied in a most professional manner:

The prescriptions, written in Glaus' name, were obtained through New Hope Health Center, a California-based anti-aging clinic that advertises the sale of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones on its Web site. The prescription was processed by Signature. The prescribing physician was Ramon Scruggs, M.D. According to the Medical Board of California, as of March 2007, Scruggs has been on probation and is prohibited from prescribing drugs over the internet. He also was reportedly involved in a lawsuit with Mobile-based Applied Pharmacy, which, ironically, was the subject of a previous multi-agency raid. (Contacted through New Hope and given the chance to comment on Friday, Scruggs responded with expletives and ended the conversation abruptly.)

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has  never addressed what the effect of illegal anabolic use could be on the outcome of games.  Because no one directly admits to the boost given by anabolic drugs that improve strength and power, it follows that no MLB official addresses the issue of an unethical advantage given to the player using PEDs.

Pro sports does not exhibit a good record on the issue of unfair advantage given the PED cheater.  Carolina Panthers players received illegal anabolic drugs proximal to their Superbowl appearance in 2003.  No matter, the NFL Superbowl history still stands.  Like an injection of 'roids, integrity slowly drops out of American professional sports.

Again, we think of Tim Montgomery.  Without a positive test, but only the BALCO testimony, the IAAF stripped Montgomery of a world record in the 100M.  If officials want to deter steroid/HGH use perhaps they need to come down that hard on users.

The Angels 2002 WS championship could be one more tainted professional crown.

St Louis Cardinals' new natural slugger Rick Ankiel: Growing by artificial (HGH) leaps and bounds

In a surprising new development, the New York Daily News says new St Louis Cardinal wunderkind, Rick Ankiel may have grown alot the past few years.  Grown not only in hitting, but in stature.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, baseball's feel-good story of the season, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation, the Daily News has learned.

Shocking news to say the least.  This is a kid, who just a few weeks ago delivered one of the hot new stories of a long contentious sports summer.  At a time when everyone argued about Barry Bonds steroids this, and Hank Aaron's steroids snub that, baseball needed a bright new star.  Ankiel's Phoenix resurrection from doomed pitcher to 'The Natural' slugger blossomed to put a new feelgood spin on the summer.  Oops.  Ankiel just may have been 'injected' into MLB all too quickly and too artificially.

Ankiel compiled a ton of stats the past few weeks as he debuted in the Cardinals lineup:

Ankiel, who flamed out mentally and physically as a pitcher earlier this decade, only to return to the majors as a slugging outfielder last month, has evoked comparisons this season to Roy Hobbs and Babe Ruth. He hit two home runs, a double and had seven RBI yesterday against the Pirates at Busch Stadium, giving him nine home runs in 81 at-bats since his remarkable major league comeback began on Aug. 10.

However, the catch on The Natural is this:

According to records obtained by The News and sources close to the controversy surrounding anti-aging clinics that dispense illegal prescription drugs, Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including the brand-name injectable drugs Saizen and Genotropin. Signature is the pharmacy at the forefront of Albany District Attorney David Soares' two-year investigation into illegal Internet prescription drug sales, which has brought 22 indictments and nine convictions.

Wow.  Documented evidence of numerous shipments to Ankiel.   Remember too, that HGH by itself may not be a great anabolic.  Insulin and or steroids generally are taken in conjunction with HGH for maximal anabolic effect.  Ankiel may say he took the HGH for 'rehab' which is certainly an undocumented indication for the drug.

Ankiel's prescriptions were signed by Florida physician William Gogan, who provided them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called "The Health and Rejuvenation Center," or "THARC." The drugs were shipped to Ankiel at the clinic's address. THARC also provided a shipment of steroids and growth hormone to former major league pitcher Steve Woodard, who pitched for Milwaukee, Cleveland, Texas and Boston during a seven-year career that ended in 2003, according to records. Woodard and Ankiel were teammates with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in 2004.

The Cards are surprised:

"This is the first I've heard of this," Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty told The News yesterday. "If it's true, obviously it would be very tragic, along with everything else we've had happen to us this year."

We will have more on this story as it develops during the day.

Sen Mitchell hoping to break MLB steroids probe out of slump

Senator George Mitchel would like to speak to more MLB players, over 45 more to be exact.  However he and the MLB Players Union seem to be arguing about where the strike zone rests, as the probe is mired in a player slump.

The New York Times reported Mitchell seeks  45 interviews, a nice round number:

The number emerged in a letter the union sent Aug. 23 to the head of the investigation, the former Senator George J. Mitchell, in which the union said it would let him know if any of the 45 players changed their minds about not wanting to be interviewed.

Seems only Jason Giambi talked with Mitchell, based on coercion form the Commission Selig's office.  One for 46 means Mitchell is mired in that aforementioned slump.  Not that Mitchell doesn't have good information; just we have no idea where his investigation wondered over the past 18 months.  Part of the wondering does not involve active players.  More:

The only active player known to have met with Mitchell was Jason Giambi of the Yankees, who was forced to do so by Selig under threat of discipline after he tacitly admitted in a published report to having used steroids.

The MLB Player's Union sent back a tough response to Mitchell's request:

Weiner (the MLBPA's lawyer) was responding to a letter sent by Mitchell on Aug. 13; it is not known what Mitchell’s letter said. Weiner said that Mitchell did not take into consideration that players could face legal ramifications for whatever they tell Mitchell and that Selig “had not ruled out attempting to discipline players as a result of the information gathered.”

“You are retained by, and act as an agent of the commissioner,” the letter to Mitchell stated. “You are essentially suggesting you will act as an investigator, prosecutor and judge, with respect to allegations about which you have disclosed very little.”

Good point counselor.  What the heck is going on with this investigation?  Mitchell replied back in a response to USA Today:

Mitchell, in a statement sent Thursday to USA TODAY, denied the union's assertions. "The Players Association confuses the central issue by arguing that there is no difference between an investigation and a subsequent disciplinary proceeding that may take place. But an investigation is very different from a subsequent disciplinary proceeding, a fact that is widely recognized in the law. Furthermore, in this matter the players retain all of their rights under the collective bargaining agreement which provides them an opportunity for a full, fair and independent hearing if they believe they have been unfairly disciplined.

"The Players Association contends that players could expose themselves to disciplinary and/or criminal jeopardy by speaking with me. That risk, of course, is present only if the player violated the law and/or the rules of baseball. Obviously, any player who has not illegally used performance enhancing substances incurs no risk.

Obviously (to use Mitchell's phrase) the great majority of MLB players (if they used) used PEDs illegally, which means they are not going to chat with the probe.  Duh.  Furthermore, a player does not want to be known as a snitch on his teammates.   Apparently Mitchell needs to speak to players who legally used steroids and HGH. 

Yep, 1 fer....46 now.

New angle on Benoit's rage: dementia (psychosis) caused by brain damage

ABC News, among other media outlets, carries a story on the Benoit situation.  As we all remember Chris Benoit started the summer of steroids rolling by committing a heinous homi-suicide when he killed his wife and 7 year-old son, then hung himself in his home gym.  The bizarre ritualistic nature of the killings -- bound his wife's hands and legs, put bibles by the bodies, then waited a day before snuffing himself -- promoted many to wildly speculate about causes.

The Benoit debate implicated 'roid rage, other drugs in his system (Xanax and narcotics), chronic multiple concussions, and psychosis.  The logical conclusion to such a bizarre episode is that Benoit was indeed psychotic, a psychosis brought on my multiple factors, none more important than others, but certainly a lethal mix.

Today's information, adds to the complexity of the story.  However, given the superficial one track nature of public thinking (there must be ONE cause), this story can be misleading too.

Benoit's brain was analyzed by a neurosurgeon (Dr. Bailes) at West Virginia, who is concerned about chronic concussions.  He found evidence in the postmortem, that the brain suffered from traumatic brain injury (TBI):

Bailes and his research team took samples from Benoit's brain postmortem and compared these microscopic brain scans to those of a healthy brain.

They found that Benoit's brain showed an advanced form of dementia that appears on the brain scan as brown clumps or tangles. These brown spots are actually dead brain cells, killed off as a result of head trauma, said Bailes.

In Benoit's case, the damage was found in every section of the brain  — all four lobes and deep into the brain stem.

"It was extensive throughout Chris' brain," Bailes said. "This is something you should never see in a 40-year-old."

The damage is proof, Bailes said, that Benoit suffered multiple, probably chronic, concussions over the course of many years.

Dementia is a behavioral syndrome when loss of orientation, memory and intelligence occurs.  In the early stages, there may be subtle loss of mental function.  However, the condition must be documented behaviorally and psychologically.  We are  unsure of this in Benoit's case.

If the brain showed signs of chronic damage - traumatic brain injury - then Benoit could clearly suffer psychiatric symptoms such as a psychosis based on the TBI...this would be called a Personality Change due to TBI, or a psychosis brought on by chronic head trauma (note the references).

To make this complex situation even more complex, Benoit's murderous behavior, uncharacteristic for him, was likely due to a number of factors, of which anabolic steroids figured in.  He was suffering from traumatic brain damage causing behavioral, psychological, and psychotic changes.  He exacerbated those problems with a mix of psychoactive drugs like Xanax and narcotics.  And he added to the aggressiveness with anabolic steroids.

Police use of anabolic drugs documented in new book 'Falling Off the Thin Blue Line'

The use of anabolic substances in law enforcement officers runs under most radars.  However, there is clearly an issue.  We highlighted a law enforcement-steroid scandal developing in Arizona, where widespread cop use of PEDs emerged in ongoing corruption investigations.  This post looked at a homicide trial, where steroid use was introduced as evidence for aggressive police behavior with deadly results.

A new book by a policeman highlights the use of steroids in law enforcement.  Titled  "Falling Off The Thin Blue Line" a new book by a former Texas cop, tells all about cop 'roid use (story by the AP, via The Charleston Gazette)

"Although I knew writing this book would cause a lot of controversy, my intention wasn't to cause widespread public mistrust in law enforcement,'' said David Johnson, the author and ex-police officer behind this incredible story.

Written from a first-person perspective with intriguing insights into the thought processes of law enforcement officers and criminals, readers will find Falling Off the Thin Blue Line difficult to put down. The author, who used a pseudonym to protect himself, writes candidly about his usage and eventual addiction to steroids. Despite most peoples' moral stance on the topic of steroids and drug abuse, the reader can't help but to identify with the author's struggle against his demons and grant him a modicum of respect. This book will disrupt the nation's current views on steroids and the reader will never look at law enforcement the same way again.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

"Holding the 10 cc vial marked "testosterona" carefully in my hand, I stuck my needle into the soft rubber stopper, flipped the vial upside down, and drew out 2 cc of oil. I pulled the needle out and tapped the side of the syringe to bring most of the air bubbles to the top.

I decided to stick it in my thigh. Off came my belt and down went my pants. This one hurt like a bitch on the way in. I slowly aspirated to see if I had landed the tip of the needle into a vein.

  No blood. Great.

  The plunger went in smoothly. I pulled the needle out, popped an alcohol swab on the site, and massaged the area.

I pulled my pants up, picked up my gun belt, and hooked it back on. It seemed to not fit me as well as it did a few weeks ago. I guess that would make sense because according to the scale, I had already gained fourteen pounds.

  I left the house and got back in my patrol car. I picked up the radio  and advised dispatch I was 10 8."

Dramatic, huh?  However, the issue is topical.  Not only do officers use steroids, they often are involved in the distribution of the substances, according to word on the street.  Interesting paradox.  Don't sleep feeling quite as safe tonight...

 

 

Florida man supplied steroids and HGH for 14 year-old inline skater son

This story flew under the radar however surfaced again last week with the legal consequences for the father.   A14 year-old boy found himself disqualified for HGH and steroid use during in-line skating championships in 2004.  As the picture developed, the father admitted to supplying the PEDs to his son.  The episode ended with the dad in court   Editorial in the Orlando Sentinel.

  Lady Lake  skater Corey Gahan -- the 2004 teenage national champion -- was only 14 when he was caught using steroids and human growth hormones. His drug source? His father, James Gahan.

   Corey Gahan's case dates back to May 2004, when he first failed a drug test and had to withdraw from an inline speed-skating world championship in China. His two-year ban ended last week, coinciding with his father's guilty plea.

Stories like this give duel to the steroids testing push in high schools.  There is always someone willing to cheat for fame, at any level.  Seems epidemic in America today...

   If a kid as young as Corey sinks to that level of competitive desperation, think of the forces in play for older kids.

   That's precisely why athletes in football, baseball and other sports are undergoing random testing under a new steroids policy for Florida high schools. Women's sports -- softball and flag football -- will also be included if approved by a state board of directors.

   The goal is to test 1 percent of the state's athletic population, but the deterrent factor should be much higher.

   Studies show that one in 50 high-school athletes have admitted trying steroids. Just imagine the number of kids who weren't as honest.

   Starting bad habits at an early age is damaging to one's health. The downside of "bigger and better" includes liver damage, clogged hearts  and violent rages.

   Another consequence is the embarrassment of being labeled a cheater. Just look at baseball players Mark McGwire, Raphael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco.

   Sadly, you can now add Corey Gahan to that list of shame.

                                                                               

Wade Wilson -- NFL coach -- suspended for HGH policy violation

(Update: Dallas Cowboy.com says Wilson received both HGH and anabolic steroids: No one is accusing Wilson of purchasing or using illegal substances, though the New York Daily News is reporting sources have tied Wilson to the recent internet drug scam involving Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., saying Wilson admitted to the league he received human growth hormones and anabolic steroids from the company. (Wilson says, "I don't think that I've ever said I took HGH.") )

Dallas Cowboys QB coach Wade Wilson admits he was suspended 5 games for violating the NFL's performance enhancing drugs policy.  ESPN, who seems to be getting all the scoops lately, says that Wilson used HGH for diabetes. 

HGH for diabetes is nuts.  HGH causes hyperglycemia.  Many HGH users need to use insulin to take care of the symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).  If Wilson was using HGH for diabetes, he was barking up the 'not too bright tree'.  What was actually happening?

Wilson's HGH use came to light in the Florida Bust, the same as the Patriot's Rodney Harrison, and the recent WWE suspensions.

The NFL on Saturday confirmed that Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson admitted to NFL officials that he bought and used performance-enhancing substances while an assistant with the Chicago Bears. Wilson, who has been suspended for five games by the league and fined $100,000, told ESPN.com's Matt Mosley that he used a substance, which he did not specify, to treat his diabetes. He said he did not pass the drugs along to anyone else and that he had "no regrets on trying to improve my quality of life." Wilson acknowledged he acted without "proper medical supervision."

In the following from the ESPN story, Wilson says he did not obtain HGH for anyone else.  Wilson says he attempted to treat his diabetes.  We just don't buy that.  Wilson wants us to believe that a reasonably intelligent human would buy a drug on the Internet, that needs daily injections.  Right...speaking of 'ludicrous'

According to the New York Daily News, Wilson received human growth hormone while working for the Bears from 2004-06. The league said that Harrison, Wilson and Richard Ryzde, a former doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers, were involved in an Internet pharmaceutical distribution ring for steroids and other performance enhancers being investigated by the Albany (N.Y.) District Attorney's office.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said both Wilson's suspension and the suspension Friday of New England safety Rodney Harrison stemmed from the investigation by the Albany D.A.'s  office. Authorities there have been looking into an Internet ring involving performance-enhancing drugs and allegedly involving athletes from a number of sports...

"I've dealt with [diabetes] almost half my life. I had no idea what I was doing was against league rules," Wilson said, adding that he regretted any embarassment he may have caused the Cowboys..

When asked if he was trying to help anyone else by supplying them drugs, Wilson, 48, said there was "no other reason at all."

"The idea that I was trying to get this for anyone else is absolutely ludicrous," Wilson said. "What competitive advantage could I gain at this point? I'm not trying to make a comeback."