Steroid Nation

Dominican women's weight lifter positive for CERA EPO

A very interesting story out of Reuters,says a female power lifter from the Dominican Republic -- Yudelquis Contreras -- tested positive for CERA EPO.  This positive EPO is interesting because weight lifters usually use anabolic steroids, HGH, or insulin as primary anabolics.  EPO would generally be utilized by more distance and endurance athletes -- cyclists and runners.  Here we have a female strength athlete using EPO.

Women's weightlifter Yudelquis Contreras of the Dominican Republic has tested positive for the banned blood booster CERA, the Dominican Today newspaper said on Thursday.

Dominican Today said the positive test had been confirmed by the Dominican Olympic Committee and the Dominican Weightlifting Federation on Wednesday.

Contreras is the sixth and final athlete to test positive for CERA after the International Olympic Committee re-tested samples taken at last year's Beijing Olympics.

The weightlifter, who finished fifth in the 53 kgs category, faces a two-year ban.

Bahrain's Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist Rashid Ramzi and Italian cycling road race silver medallist Davide Rebellin were among the six to test positive for the new generation of EPO.

The athletes can ask to have their B samples tested in their presence. If the B samples are positive the athletes face two-year suspensions, if they are first time offenders, and possible life bans if they have been caught cheating before.

More on 2008 Beijing Olympics positive doping tests: Davide Rebellin, Rashid Ramzi & Stefan Schumaker

More news emerges from the news wires today on the new 2008 Beijing Olympic doping results.  Focus is directed on 2 sports and 3 athletes:

Cycling: Stefan Schumaker, Davide Rebellin
Track: Rashid Ramzi (Gold medal 1500)

Again, it appears CERA-EPO constitutes the doping agent.

From Monsters and Critics:

Stuttgart - Olympic 1,500 metres gold medallist Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain and Italian cycling  road race silver medallist Davide Rebellin have tested positive for the latest generation of the blood booster EPO at retests of samples from the Beijing Games.

German cyclist Stefan Schumacher was also named by the German cycling federation while the ruling athletics body IAAF confirmed reports that three of the overall six suspects are from its sport.

Ahmad Ben Hamad Al El Khalifa, deputy general secretary of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, told German Press Agency dpa on Wednesday that the committee has been informed about Ramzi's positive test.

At the same time the Italian Olympic Committee CONI named Rebellin as a doping suspect and summoned him to a hearing on May 4.

And Germany, hit with a spate of blood doping scandals, announced this:

The Germany cycling federation then confirmed that Schumacher had also failed a retest for CERA. Schumacher had already tested positive for CERA at retests of 2008 Tour de France samples.

If found guilty, the athletes face disqualification, will be stripped of their medals and banned from the 2012 Games on top of sanctions from their respective sports federations.

Weird 'doping photos' of ex-New York Ranger star Alexei Cherepanov

Last year, budding NHL hockey star Alexei Cherepanov collapsed and died of 'myocarditis' at a hockey game in Russia.  His demise seemed fishy at the time.  Russian news releases were not all that helpful in clarifying the situation.

Now, photos emerged from Russian showing the young hockey star receiving an iv infusion of something.  It is referred as an 'injection' however that is not an injection.  To the National Post:

Remember a few months back when Russian investigators said that New York Rangers draft pick Alexei Cherepanov was taking banned substances before his death during a game with Avangard Omsk last October? Well, now photos on a Russian Web site suggest that those examining the case might have been on the right track.

The photos, which you can see here, depict Cherepanov taking an injection of something, and while it's always best not to jump to conclusions, the events that came after these photos were taken are kind of damning.

Cherepanov died of cardiac arrest on Oct. 13 during a game between KHL teams Omsk and Vityaz.

Here is translated Russian:

Attorney [Cherepanovykh] asked to introduce to the matter of the photo 27.04.2009 15:33 The attorney of the family Of [cherepanovykh] Sergey [Amfiteatrov] sent to the consequence on business of death of the forward of " [Avangarda]" Aleksey Cherepanov three photographs,  reports Sports.ru. " These photographs granted the family Of [cherepanovykh], one of them - the last photo before the game, made on October 13, during the day of death of hockey player. We see on two others how someone carries out the unestablished procedure. I sent to their inspectors with the request to introduce to the materials of [dela]" , he said amphitheatres. The dates of the second and third photographs are unknown. They are named " [Narkomaniya]" and " Addiction of 2" by hockey player himself, who sent to their family.

More 2008 Beijing Olympians test positive for doping: Cyclist Davide Rebellin and unnamed track gold winner

News agencies report today that several 2008 Beijing Olympians tested positive for doping. (NBC)  A cyclist from Italy -- Davide Rebellin -- was named.  Also interesting was unnamed male track gold medal winner.  Appears CERA-EPO was the culprit.

A person familiar with a new round of drug tests from the Beijing Olympics says two medalists were among six athletes who turned up positive when their blood samples were rechecked.

The person tells The Associated Press the tests nabbed three track and field athletes, two cyclists and one weightlifter.

The person also says one of the track and field athletes is a male gold medalist. The other medalist was in cycling.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the names haven’t been officially released by the International Olympic Committee.

The Italian Olympic Committee says one of the six was an Italian athlete. The Italian news agency ANSA identified him as cyclist Davide Rebellin, silver medalist in the road race.

Unnamed male track gold medalist.  Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Any guesses?  CNN reports 7 positive tests from 6 athletes; one doper was a double winner.

A total of 948 samples were analyzed, with seven tests, from six athletes, coming back as positive.

More from the NY Daily News:

The IOC announcement didn't identify the six athletes, who each failed a newly-designed test for CERA, an endurance booster. They are being notified through the governing bodies of their sports. CERA, which stands for continuous erythropoietin receptor activator, is an advanced version of erythropoietin, which increases the development of red blood cells, bringing more oxygen to the muscles.

The IOC's anti-doping rules allow for the storing of samples for up to eight years so athletes tempted to cheat know that they may test positive even if the anti-doping technology hasn't yet caught up to cutting-edge doping products and techniques. The testing took place in accredited laboratories in Switzerland, France, and Germany, and targeted samples from athletes in cycling, rowing, swimming and track and field.

The IOC said it tested a total of 948 samples after developing new tests for CERA and insulin, the diabetes treatment that has some performance-enhancing properties. The insulin re-test, performed on 101 urine samples, didn't result in any positives. But the CERA test identified seven positives for six athletes.

Clay Matthews: 6-1 165 high school junior to 6-3 246 NFL draftee

Incredible story.  Clay Matthews Jr., once a 6-1 165 pound high school junior whose coach dad didn't even start him at Agoura High in California, will hit the NFL as a 6-3, 246 pound first round draft pick.  In between that the player walked-on at dad's and uncle's alma mater USC to join the incredible line-backing crew as a DE.

There must a few million 6-1 165 pound high school kids walking around out there.  Start lifting weights, eating healthy, and dreaming of the NFL -- although you may not have the genetics of Matthews -- because you too could be a first round NFL pick...if you know the right people.

As a junior at Agoura High, Matthews was 6-1 and weighed about 165 pounds. His body ached from growing pains and his father, the team's defensive coordinator, declined to start him.

"His mom was giving me the business, but he wasn't ready," the elder Matthews said, chuckling. "He wasn't very big and he wasn't very strong."

Matthews continued to grow during his senior season but drew interest only from local community colleges.

Rather than pursuing that route, Matthews told his father he wanted to walk on at USC, where brother Kyle was a walk-on safety in 2003.

Matthews showed up at unknown weight at USC; by 2005 he was listed as 6-3 225.  Not bad gains over 3 years from high school: 165 to 225, although he does sport a 6-3 frame.  By 2008, USC listed Matthews at 246.  That's 81 pounds of weight (muscle) on Matthews since a junior in high school (over 6 years), which is probably not unheard of for college linemen; for a linebacker to retain or increase speed while packing on 80 pounds, that's fantastic.

 What's in the water at USC?  Someone test it, especially in the off-season; those are super-human gains.  Matthews and companion linebacker Brian Cushing overcame false rumors they tested positive at the NFL combine for roids, so they must be clean, right?

Not that we know USC for Mark McGwire, Brian Cushing, the Ting Bros, and other incredible muscle-gaining strories, not at all.

Houston Chronicle debunks Brian Cushing steroids banter

The Houston Texans, long known for their wise draft picks, chose USC linebacker Brian Cushing in the first round of the NFL draft.  As long as Houston has been known as rather vaudevillian organization, Cushing has been rumored to juice.  Today, the Houston Chronicle defends Cushing as a victim of nasty internet rumor-mongering.

Frank Bush didn’t want to go there, tried his best not to, but it was too late.

In discussing why Texans first-round draft pick Brian Cushing was the guy the Texans’ defensive coordinator wanted the team to take in the draft, Bush explained that it was partly because Cushing reminded him of someone.

“His demeanor, his intensity and the way he played the game reminded me of a player I coached at Denver,” Bush said.

The player? Bill Romanowski.

Oops.

The last thing Bush wanted to do on such a special day for the linebacker from USC was initiate a discussion of steroid use, but when you bring up Romanowski. …

Actually, with Cushing you can’t really initiate steroid talk, only join in.

Fantastic Freudian slip.  However, the Chron debunks the myth of Cushing and 'roids.  How?  Taking Cushing's word  (that's never gone wrong before has it?; note the photo on the left was taken when Cushing was rehabbing from shoulder surgery thus it isn't quite 'fair' to be used as a comparison)

But the days when those who succeed simply faced accusations of working hard are long behind us.

Instead, we get “He’s fast. He’s strong. His body is cut. So he must be cheating.”

“I told every team that I never did (steroids),” Cushing said. “I’ve passed every drug test out there.

“I’m not that kind of guy.”

No athlete who juiced ever denied it, right?  Even one who proclaimed himself as part of USC's "White Nation" a couple years ago.

Cushing, who measured in at 6-3, 246 pounds at the NFL Combine, is an admitted health nut who doesn’t do junk food. He has his meals delivered to him by a nutritionist. He has worked with a trainer since high school. And of course he hits the weight room with passion.

To many, that adds up to a steroids user.

After he went from being a 165-pound freshman to a 225-pound terror and the top linebacker in the country at Bergen Catholic (Park Ridge, N.J.), students at rival high schools taunted Cushing with steroids-based chants.

If the report of a high school kid increasing his weight from 165 to 225 form age 14 to 18 doesn't give one pause for thought, nothing does.  True, significant growth occurs in adolescents.  And true, Cushing sports a tall 6-3 frame.  But gaining from 165 to 225lbs, or 60 pounds IN HIGH SCHOOL in 4 years is incredible.  All muscle too we bet.

Are there any McDonalds in New Jersey?

Linebacker U (Southern Cal) started with the 2005 class.  All incredible stories.  All will be alumni of the same school that produced Mark McGwire.  Interesting.  Whats in the water down there?  Test it.

Alyssa Milano on steroids in baseball and botox in actresses

Actress Alyssa Milano has a new book on baseball: Safe at Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic.  She traces her interest in baseball, and association with the game.  She also discusses steroids and PEDs in the game.

Milano admittedly is a bit confounded by baseball's ever-present albatross - the steroid issue. "There have always been scandals in baseball," she philosophizes. "Steroids is a sign of the times. We are a pharmaceutical nation.

"You can't find a woman over 40 who is an actress who hasn't used Botox. I get the players' perspective. What I don't get is how it got so out of hand, and how they let it go on for so long. I can forgive a player if he is honest about it. I don't view Alex Rodriguez any differently than anyone else. He may be different to some because he's a Yankee, but I don't think it's any worse for the sport because he did it.

"The players' union should support a come-clean program. Just say 'I was wrong, I got caught up in it, and I'm sorry.' Apologize for it, then move on."

The remarks about appearance enhancement in actresses is right on.

German pro cyclists Kloeden and Kessler under doping suspicion

A huge doping scandal in pro cycling continue in Germany involving the T-Mobile team.  Latest caught up were Andreas Kloeden and Matthias Kessler.  To the Earth Times:

German cyclists Andreas Kloeden and Matthias Kessler have been implicated in illegal doping practices following an independent investigation, news magazine Der Spiegel reports. The former T-Mobile cyclists are suspected of having received banned blood transfusions by doctors at Freiburg University Clinic, the magazine reports in its edition to appear Monday, quoting the results of an investigation by an expert commission.

The independent commission has spent two years looking into doping allegations against the doctors, Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, who are alleged to have created a systematic doping system between 1995 and 2006 for the former T-Mobile and Team Telekom team.

Kloeden, who now rides for Astana and is regarded as Germany's top cyclist, and Kessler, who is serving a doping ban, did not comment to Spiegel on the report. Kloeden has always denied doping. Former T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz has admitted having received banned blood transfusions from the Freiburg doctors and also to having used the illegal blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO).

Once again medical professionals aid the dopers.

Dwayne Wade accused of steroid use by disgruntled business partner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lenny Dykstra, 'Nails' with steroids, a complete sports and business fraud

EPSN compiled an in-depth story on Ex-Philadelphia Philly, Ex-New York Met Lenny Dykstra once known as 'Nails".  Dykstra was a  hustling aggressive ballplayer in the MLB, but when it was revealed that Nails used steroids to juice up his play, his athletic reputation appeared a a bit rusted.  (commentary at Deadspin)  Now, like other steroid cheats (Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Tim Montgomery) we see his business dealings are also fraudulent.

Fish's article looks at the fraud that is Lenny Dykstra's business 'empire'.  Like the fake stats he juiced up in baseball, Dykstra fraudulently juices up his business acumen, massaging the data to look great, meanwhile he lies, cheats, misrepresents, and defrauds his clients, friends and family.

In case you missed the HBO profile last year or the magazine stories that trumpet Dykstra's business acumen, his life beyond baseball includes acquisitions such as hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's old house ("the best house in the world," Dykstra says) in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which he bought for $18.5 million. He drives a black Rolls Royce Phantom with an extended wheelbase, and hires pilots to fly him around in his Gulfstream II jet...

And after thumbing through a series of lawsuits that stretches from coast to coast and chatting up his business associates, you wonder if this aspiring financial Pied Piper is, indeed, living in a fantasyland. You wonder if the dream, built on glitz and greed in a time of economic uncertainty, is a teetering house of cards. You wonder if anyone this side of Bernie Madoff has ticked off more people -- business partners and family, alike -- than Lenny K. Dykstra.

The lawsuits suggest that one of two things is going on here: Either Lenny hates to pay his bills, or he's a financial train wreck.

Just in the past two years, Dykstra has been the subject of at least 24 legal actions, including 18 since November. Three suits hit the courts on Jan. 29. He's been sued by publishers and print companies, by three different groups of pilots and by a Maryland-based financial and litigation consulting firm that offered expert testimony on his behalf in an earlier lawsuit. He's even been sued by a die-hard Mets fan who was the best man at his wedding 20-some years ago, though that New York investor claims there is no bad blood. 

Dykstra cheated at baseball with steroids and PEDs, and it also appears he cheats at business.  Critical point: look at Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and Lenny Dystra.  Heck, look at A-Rod too.  These athletes expose serious character flaws that cheat the games, the fans, their competitors, and now their clients.

Those who say illicit steroid and PED use presents no big deal need to answer to the cheating.  The cheaters are consistently flawed and frequently fraudulent.  Sports fraud leads to business fraud leads to personal fraud leads to a wacky moral compass.

Baseball may not be really important or as revered as devotees think.  Then again, ostensibly the sport offers a break from the stress of life...the sport defines itself between the lines where the setting is controlled and the results immediate.  Man v man, like the old days.  However, the cheating and back-stabbing that now takes place daily in the business sphere, is mirrored between the lines.  Great refuge huh?  Human nature, huh?

If Baseball doesn't give a dran about reputation, let the cheaters go on about their way, and we look on the sport as an interesting pastime, kinda like Vegas.  However devotees demand 'integrity'.  Clean up the game and the records if that is the case  From 1990 on there is little  integrity in the game in the 'Steroid Era'.

Dystra's brother turned against him, after the business burns; guess who supplied Nails with Roids:

Kevin Dykstra acknowledges that he briefed investigators for the Mitchell report as well as Major League Baseball security on what he describes as Lenny's use of recreational and performance-enhancing drugs during his playing days. Kevin says he was a source of the drugs for his brother, even after Lenny's baseball career ended.

And here is what the tainted records are worth:

So Dykstra, an assistant and a driver dash out of his office en route to the meeting, carrying plastic-wrapped bundles of The Players Club magazine. Inside the office elevator, Dykstra lifts his right leg like a dog relieving itself -- he retains a degree of the old flexibility -- and farts.

Steroids ruin Earth Day

Steroids didn't really ruin Earth Day, celebrated by President Obama who flew into Newton Iowa, about an hour from.  However, studies show a significant amount of the drugs in ground water.

It’s been 39 years since the first official Earth Day in 1970. Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day as a protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda.” And, according the Earthday.net, the world of unaddressed pollution being accepted as the “smell of prosperity” would no longer be the norm.

Unfortunately, it seems that the original message has been subtly redefined. Yes, we have made major strides at reducing visible pollution, but our poisoning of our planet continues unabated. We decided that carbon dioxide made our air look bad and worked to curtail its emissions. At the same time, a much more insidious toxin called carbon monoxide became predominant in carbon emissions.

Plants, those green things we count on to provide us with oxygen, take carbon dioxide and turn it into breathable oxygen for the planet and turn the carbon into their own growth. On the other hand, carbon monoxide is highly toxic, although useful in a myriad of chemical application.

We don’t see nearly as much garbage in our rivers and streams as we did 40 years ago, but groundwater contamination from invisible, man made, pollutants is a huge problem. We genetically modify and chemically alter our foods now. We modify animal feed to fatten them up quicker for market purposes. Steroids and antibiotics are also used to fatten up the animals we eat. And we spray our foods with pesticides to improve our crop yields. Is this good for us?

Don't blame us.  We ate some delicious antibiotic free chicken at Panera the other day.  No mention of steroids or not...

Steroids at Buckingham Palace?

Scandals everywhere.  A Herald-Sun report tells us that the Buckingham Palace guards juice with 'roids, along with selling hard core porn.  No wonder those guys stand at attention all day.

PALACE guards allegedly dealt in hard-core pornography and steroids and sat on Queen  Elizabeth's throne in comical poses when on duty, a court has heard.

Former royal protection officer Paul Page appeared in court yesterday charged with conning colleagues at Buckingham Palace out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in a property fraud.

But defence counsel John Cooper in turn alleged there was a "culture" of scandal within the walls of the Palace...

Mr Cooper asked Mr McGregor if he had been aware of any officers he had worked with having been involved in "any other illicit dealings", such as selling steroids.

He also suggested that at times hard-core pornography would be sold and traded in the locker rooms of royal protection officers.

ESPN writer Howard Bryant calls out 2002 Angels - Giants World Series as apex of steroid juiced MLB

ESPN writer Howard Bryant (Juicing the Game) calls out the players and management of both teams in the 2002 World Series between the Anaheim Angles (Troy Glaus) and the San Francisco Giants (Barry Bonds).   Bryant doesn't spare the doctors, also popping unethical California physician Ramon Scruggs who supplied steroids to the Angels' players.

The cornering of Alex Rodriguez and his subsequent admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs represented, for all intents and purposes, the nadir of the steroid era with few, if any, remaining ambiguities: The A-list, Hall of Fame's best used drugs; and so did the mediocre; and so did the worst. The general managers demurred, the leaders shrank and the men who signed the checks, like everyone else, made a fortune. The shock is gone. Little else can surprise our calloused sensibilities.

That said, the intricate details of just how this confidence game was carried out still carry immense value, for they cement a discredited time with facts instead of speculation. Understanding the foundations of the steroid era also reveals that this industrywide failure stretched far beyond the players connected to Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski or the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. It provides even more evidence that so much of what we've seen on the field during the past decade and a half needs to be recast.

Recently, The New York Times obtained transcripts of interviews by federal agents with four major league players conducted as part of the ongoing criminal investigation of Ramon Scruggs, a physician under indictment for illegally distributing steroids to big leaguers, police officers and corporate executives, among others.

As we have said, dirty trainers, doctors, and health professionals often stand behind the doping curtain:

Meanwhile, dirty doctors such as Scruggs have applied the same cheap excuses for their behavior that we've heard for years from the players. Glaus told investigators he used steroids to recover from a shoulder injury that was not healing. According to the Times, Schoeneweis told federal agents he felt run-down. Greene said he was fearful of losing his spot on a major league roster and so would not be able to support his family. Valdez said shoulder and knee injuries were not healing. Suggs mailed him steroids and syringes.

Each player used an old rationalization -- I wasn't trying to cheat; I was trying to stay on the field -- to soften the appearance of his actions, but the domino effect remains the same. At this late date, the excuses grow thin, the lies nothing more than a self-created noose.

And that 2002 Series pitting Glaus and the 'Angels' v. Bonds and the 'Gaints'.  We will not point out the delicate irony behind those monikors (we just did):

The 2002 Angels, for example, are the legitimate champions of an illegitimate time, just as Bonds is the legitimate home run champion of a discredited era. Despite Angels manager Mike Scioscia's adamant public stand against drugs, people around the game point privately to that club as one of the premier steroid-fueled teams thanks in part to a bullpen rife with career minor leaguers who suddenly began throwing in the mid-90s after their 30th birthdays.

Glaus was the MVP of that 2002 World Series, which is looking more and more like the definitive Steroid Series. Glaus, Brendan Donnelly and Schoeneweis, all of whom have been implicated, played for the Angels that season. On the Giants, there were Bonds, Benito Santiago, Marvin Benard, David Bell and Rich Aurilia. And that doesn't include the players who were suspect.

Bryant's exleeent writing is very dense reading, packed full of fact and logic.  Excellent piece.

British teenage cadet dies after taking anabolic steroids

A 17 year-old British teenager died in hospital after what appears to be ingesting anabolic steroids.  To the Times:

Post-mortem tests will today be carried out on a 17-year-old body builder who is thought to have died after taking steroids to bulk himself up for selection into the Royal Marines.

Matthew Dear of Southend, Essex, had been an Army cadet since the age of 12 and was planning to hea take the grueling selection test for the Marines when he turned 18, in three months' time.

He was admitted to Southend University Hospital eight days ago after becoming seriously ill and died yesterday morning.

"He lived for joining the Armed Forces but fell to pieces before our eyes," his father, Chris Dear, 43, told the Daily Mirror.

We heard other health professionals describe a systemic collapse after using anabolic steroids.  There are cases of teenagers like Taylor Hooton who suicided after anabolic steroid use.  This case, however is physiological and medical collapse.

He was discharged the following morning but was rushed back to hospital that night after losing his sight and was moved into intensive care. The teenager, who had three brothers and a sister, finally died yesterday morning. "They said his brain died and his kidneys packed in," his father told the Mirror.

Police said that tests were being carried out to establish what tablets the teenager had taken, and that a pathologist would examine the youngster’s body.

Those on the inside know about use of PEDs in the military.  Those recruits don't come back all big and bad just from good food.

Illegal cosmetic enhancements prove deadly for women

In the category of 'appearance enhancement' comes this piece from the New York Times.  Many women undergo illegal procedures -- like silicon injection -- that 'enhance their appearance but carry significant and unjustified risks.

Like almost every woman, Fiordaliza Pichardo just wanted to look beautiful, so a few years ago, she began getting silicone injections from a woman she met through a friend in order to plump up her thighs and derriere.

She never expected to pay such a high price for her looks.

In March, a day after receiving an injection,

Ms. Pichardo, 43, died of what the medical examiner later determined was a silicone embolism in her lungs.

Incredible that women (and men) go to these lengths to 'enhance' their appearance.  (listening Sylvester Stallone?)

Nationally, reports of buttock enhancement using silicone and similar thick liquids have surfaced from the Northeast to Miami, and the Food and Drug Administration is also planning to issue a warning on the dangers of such practices, Siobhan DeLancey, a spokeswoman, said Thursday.

“This seems to be kind of an underground occurrence, so it’s difficult to get numbers of actual events and to know exactly what these people are being injected with,” Ms. DeLancey said. “It’s important to note that none of the products that are reportedly being used are approved for this purpose.”

Ms. DeLancey said silicone was not approved for injection into tissues at all, only for use in the eyes and in certain implants where it is contained and cannot leak into tissue. She said the F.D.A. had the ability to conduct criminal investigations, and would encourage victims to come forward “so that we can document the problem.”...

Although side effects are fairly rare, silicone can migrate through the bloodstream, creating potentially fatal clots in the lungs, as it did in Ms. Pichardo’s case, said Dr. Nathan M. Graber, director of environmental and occupational disease epidemiology for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. It can also migrate through tissues, leading to ugly lumps and chronic pain

In the personal realm, as well as in the professional world, the artificial enhancement of performance, and beauty, and prominence continues to march on, despite health risks.

Professional hockey (NHL) lays off dope testing in playoffs

The National Ho Hockley League, not known for steroids or doping will lay off steroids testing now that the playoffs are on-going.  In fact, the NHL will lay off dope testing for over 5 months.  Some experts say that is a ridiculous policy in 2009.  To the Columbus Dispatch:

...the NHL doesn't test for performance-enhancing drugs during the playoffs. For all the prices paid to hoist the Stanley Cup, a fear of being caught taking banned substances is not among them.

The NHL's performance-enhancing drug policy, enacted three years ago by the league and players union, does not permit testing during the playoffs and off-season. It's a five-month window in which the only enforcement against doping is the honor system.

Doping experts do not endorse that approach:

"You would have to be an idiot to get caught under a system like that -- an absolute moron," said Charles Yesalis, a Penn State University professor who specializes in the use and impact of performance- enhancing substances. "To me, you have to go far beyond that testing system to have a true sense of whether players are not doping."...

National doping experts say the NHL policy is "woefully inadequate" and too flawed to allow a judgment on what percentage of players might be using steroids, stimulants or other banned substances.

"I think most people in professional sports wish the problem away," said Dr. Gary Wadler, a New York official with the World Anti-Doping Agency and an expert on drug use in sports. "They tweak their programs to take the heat off, but there hasn't been any heat on hockey."

Under current policy, an NHL team can receive up to three no-notice tests a season. The Blue Jackets were given the league maximum last season but only one test this season.

Is there a doping or steroids problem in the NHL?

Since the drug policy went into effect, only one player, former NHL defenseman Sean Hill, tested positive for a banned substance, in 2007. Hockey's doping record stands in contrast to the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the Olympics and other international sporting events in which cheaters routinely are caught.

So, are hockey players that honest or is the policy that ineffective?

"I'd say we're that clean," said Nash, who added that he has never considered using banned substances and would support a year-round testing program. "I have been here for five or six years, and I haven't seen anything once."

The Dispatch conducted an anonymous survey of the Jackets, and not a single player thought that the league has a doping problem.

Obviously NHL hockey players could use steroids to bulk up in the long off-season, then slip by during the sparsely monitored playing season. Problem or not?

Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock noticed a change in body types in the mid-1990s, and it wasn't a subtle one. Hitchcock coached minor-league hockey then and recalled marveling at the physical transformations on the ice. "Guys changed over the summer in a huge way," Hitchcock said. "Small guys became big. There was a time maybe 15 years ago that you thought, 'What's going on here?' 

Read more of the comprehensive report at the Dispatch's site.

Oklahoma State wide receiver Bo Bowling was a 'possession receiver': To stand trial for felony drug possession

Oklahoma State wide receiver Bo Bowling will be looking at a nasty 7-10 split (and we don't mean pins) if convicted on three felony counts for drug possession.  One of the drugs the OSU transfer possessed was an anabolic steroid.  (Apparently he was a 'possession' wide receiver)  To the Stillwater News-Press:

A judge has ordered a suspended Oklahoma State football player to stand trial on three felony drug counts that now include possession of an anabolic steroid.

Wide receiver Bo Bowling, 21, a Tonkawa native, appeared in Payne County District Court on Friday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. After the two-and-a-half-hour session, Special Judge Phillip Corley ruled there was sufficient evidence for Bowling to stand trial.

Bowling is charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, one count of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of controlled dangerous substances that include Alprazolam - the anti-depressant commonly known as Xanax - and the anabolic steroid Stanozolol.

Wonder if OSU coach Mike Gundy will reiterate that "I'm a man", during the trial?  That's why your wide receiver had some Winny on hand.

Bowling is a senior wide receiver who played in 13 games last season, and made 10 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns, as well as two kick returns and one punt return. He transferred to Oklahoma State from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.

Been some trouble with 'roids down in Oklahoma these days...

Royals' prospects will sit 50 games for steroids violations: Juan Rivera and Joseph Billick

Two Kansas City Royals minor league prospects will be taking a vacation, due to steroids infractions. 

Kansas City Royals minor leaguers Juan Rivera and Joseph Billick were suspended for 50 games Friday after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances under baseball's minor league drug program.

Rivera, a shortstop with Class A Burlington, tested positive for metabolites of Nandrolone, the commissioner's office said. Billick, a catcher with Class A Wilmington, tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol. Both suspensions were effective immediately.

Four of the 10 players suspended this year for violating baseball's minor league drug program are Royals prospects.

Rivera is a 22 year-old shortstop at Burlington, hitting .222 this year.  Nandrolone sure didn't help his hitting.

Interesting that 40% of the pro baseball players played in the Royals system.  Either the Royals prospects want to bulk up, or they aren't too bright, or the Royals are more diligent in testing.

Gary Sheffield launches tainted home run *500*

One more milestone, one more 'asterisk'.  Gary Sheffield luanched home run #500 in Citi Field for the New York Mets.  Here is what the New York Daily News says:

"Everything happens for a reason," Sheffield would say. "There's a reason I hit 19 homers instead of 20 last year. Doing it on the biggest stage, it makes it that much more special to me." Then he talked a bit piously about "a higher purpose" and "a bigger reason."

Sheffield is only the 25th player to enter the 500 Club, the fourth oldest, yet his accomplishment deserves one of the larger asterisks handed out in the steroid era. His election to the Hall of Fame is far from assured, despite this statistical feat. Sheffield has admitted to using a performance-enhancing cream back in 2001 while claiming he had no idea at the time about its chemical makeup or potency. He is named in the Mitchell Repor

If the feat sells more caps and jerseys and tickets it's all OK.  Like one big MLB Ponzi scheme.  Of Sheffield recieved one penny for each home run, he could buy one share of CitiBank Stock...

His narrative on that subject is about as believable as the tales we have been hearing from Marion Jones and Barry Bonds all these years. Friday night, no reporter was going to bother Sheffield about such things when the slugger showed up at the postgame press conference with two children on his knees and his wife at his side. And again, if you think the crowd at Citi Field cared in the least about any of this in the seventh inning, down a run, then you don't know much about baseball fans. They'd cheer the cream itself, right there in the container, if they thought it could win them a pennant. "We needed it in a big way," Jerry Manuel said of the homer.

Greek racewalk champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka might be walking in jail yard

From Hellenic Athletes comes a story on champion Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka.  Appears the Olympic athlete caught doping with CERA EPO may be spending time in the pokey.

Olympic race-walk champion Athanasia Tsoumeleka was charged under Greece’s penal code earlier this week with using an illegal performance-enhancing drug.

Athens prosecutor Costas Simitzoglou charged Tsoumeleka with breaking the country’s strict anti-doping laws, recently revised to include jail-time, after she tested positive in January for the drug CERA, an advanced version of the blood-booster EPO.

Last month, Greece's track and field federation handed her a two-year ban from competition, while this week's charge carries a maximum two-year jail term.

Tsoumeleka finished ninth in Beijing in the 20k walk event in a personal best of 1 hour, 27 minutes, 54 seconds. She was almost 3½ minutes behind winner Olga Kaniskina of Russia.  In 2004, she won Athens gold in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 12 seconds.

Tsoumeleka, 27, denies knowingly using the substance, has expressed doubts about the whole testing procedure, and upon learning in

January that she had tested positive announced her immediate retirement from competition.

Steroid bust in Oklahoma nets IFBB pro bodybuilder Sherry Smith

The News OK reports an interesting steroids bust in Oklahoma City which netted an IFBB body builder Sherry Smith.  The report states the people targeted in the arrest maintained an interest in bodybuilding.  It appears that a female firefighter arrested is a big time IFBB star.  We wonder why anyone would suspect her of using anabolic steroids (see photos).

Five people were arrested Thursday, including an Oklahoma City firefighter, on allegations of using, manufacturing and distributing anabolic steroids, authorities said.

Firefighter Sherry Smith, 39, was arrested on one of two warrants issued in Oklahoma City in connection with a two-year investigation into illegal steroid use, said Mark Woodward, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs spokesman. Eight warrants were also issued in Tulsa and two in Wagoner County. Of those 12 warrants, five arrests were made by 9 p.m. Thursday, but the identities of the others arrested were not available, Woodward said.

Those arrested face various complaints, including misdemeanors of using anabolic steroids and felony charges of importation, manufacture and illegal distribution of steroids, he said.

Woodward said the individuals involved all share an interest in competitive bodybuilding, but aren’t linked to a particular gym or organization, and that more warrants and arrests are pending.

“This is far from over, but this is a very significant phase that we wrapped up today,” he said.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Tulsa Police Department were also partners in Thursday’s operation.

A famous researcher, after struggling to find female steroid users for his studies, concluded that not many women 'roided' up.  Guess he never attended an IFBB event.

Steroids in Fencing? Italian Andrea Baldini suspended

The International Fencing Federation appears to be concerned about doping in the sport.  The agency handed out a 66 month ban to a gold medalist who tested positive for furosemide (a diuretic).  A diuretic can be used as a masking agent -- or fir short term weight loss.  In fencing though...steroids???  From BMA News TV:

Italian fencer Andrea Baldini has been handed a retroactive six-month ban by the international federation and stripped of his team foil gold medal from the European Championships. He could return to the sport, however, when the World Cup resumes next month.

Baldini was removed from Italy's team days before the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for the banned diuretic furosemide at the European Championships in Ukraine in July.

Baldini said he had taken an antibiotic prescribed by the Italian federation's doctor and declared it before the doping test. He also suggested he may have been a victim of foul play, although the Italian Olympic Committee dropped its inquiry into an alleged conspiracy plot in October.

Meeting in Belfast, the international fencing federation ruled that Baldini be banned retroactively from Sept. 3 — the date he was provisionally suspended — to March 3. The ban is subject to approval by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

"The cases of using prohibited substances in our sport are extremely rare," FIE secretary general Maxim Paramonov said in a statement released Tuesday. "Moreover, it is absolutely unclear what could urge the fencer, who had already ensured his participation in the Olympics, to use doping drugs during the competitions of no relevance for him.

"(This) decision allows the athlete to return to the elite sport within a short period and try to demonstrate his exceptional talent in the future tournaments."

The ruling also means Baldini will have to forfeit his gold medal from the team foil at the European Championships.

Oregon police chief felled by steroids investigation

Over the years we discussed steroid use among our nation's police forces, which presents a problem if anabolic steroids increase behavioral aggressiveness.  Now a police chief in Oregon falls when he fails to aggressively pursue an investigation into his force using illegal anabolic steroids.

To Oregon Live:

The Canby police chief has resigned while facing possible termination resulting from FBI and city investigations into whether he concealed or failed to investigate an officer's steroid abuse.

Greg Kroeplin had been chief of the suburban Portland farming community since January 2006.

The Oregonian reported the 48-year-old Kroeplin had been on paid leave since Nov. 17, a day after the Portland newspaper ran a story with details of the allegations.

The FBI alleged Kroeplin failed to address numerous complaints about former Officer Jason Deason's steroid abuse, enabling Deason to buy steroids on the job and in uniform without any serious investigation.

Sprinter Justin Gatlin settles with anti-doping agencies in civil lawsuit

Beleaguered American sprinter Justin Gatlin settled out of court in a lawsuit involving anti-doping agencies.  Gatlin sued because the agencies suspended him over Adderall (apparently the anabolic steroids he also used didn't enter into the suit).  From Universal Sports:

Suspended American sprinter Justin Gatlin has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Track and Field (USATF) and the International Associations of Athletic Federations (IAAF) in a civil suit Gatlin filed claiming the four groups discriminated against him based on the Americans for Disabilities Act, Universal Sports has learned.

Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 100m and the 2005 world champion in the 100m and 200m, is serving a four-year suspension for testing positive for  testosterone in 2006.

Court documents show that Gatlin agreed to the settlement on Feb. 9 in the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Gatlin and his attorney, Joe Zarzaur, refused to comment about specifics of the settlement.

And some details:

It's unclear if the defendants admitted any guilt in the settlement.

“The fact that they settled has nothing to do with the merits of the case,” said John Collins, an attorney who has represented athletes against doping charges, including Gatlin. “You have to figure if the settlement is greater than the attorney’s fees, then there may be some admission of guilt. If not, than all they settle for is nuisance value.”

Gatlin filed a civil suit against the four groups on June 9, 2008, claiming they discriminated against him based on his disability, Attention Deficit Disorder. Gatlin tested positive for amphetamines from tests taken June 16 and June 17, 2006 during the U.S. Junior National Championships.

Gatlin claimed the drug Adderall, which he was taking for ADD, was the source of the amphetamines. He further claimed there were no forms to fill out at the junior national meet allowing him to declare that he was taking the medication.

Russian biathlon athletes suspected of doping

M and C reports a couple Russian biathlon athletes tested positive for doping at a recent meet.

Two Russian biathletes who tested positive at the recent national championships

were named by Russian news agency RIA Novosti Tuesday as Andrey Prokunin und Veronika Timofeyeva.

The agency cited confidential sources for its report but there was no comment from the Russian biathlon federation.

A-samples of the two skiers tested positive for the blood-booster EPO, it was reported. Follow-up B-samples will be returned next week.

Russian biathletes Ekaterina Iourieva, Albina Akhatova and Dmitri Yaroshenko were tested positive for the same drug at the biathlon World Cup season-opener in Ostersund, Sweden, last December.

The trio were identified as drug cheats after the examination of their B-samples ahead of February's world championships

in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Prokunin, 30, was a member of the Russian relay team which finished fourth at the 2001 world championships. Timofeyeva, 27, was second at the 2003 Universiade in Tarvisio, Italy.

Both have rejected the doping allegations, RIA Novosti reported.

This is how Usain Bolt rolls: World's fastest human knows ganja

USA Today discusses Usain Bolt's pharmacologic menu.  A little weed when he was younger; some Red Bull and ale now when he is older:

Turns out Olympic speedster Usain Bolt is not unfamiliar with the ganja.

Bolt, a triple gold medalist who set world records in the 100 and 200 meters in China, tried marijuana when he was young reports the German newspaper Bild

"In Jamaica, you learn as a child how to roll a joint. Everyone here has tried it. I did too -- but I was real young then," Bolt said. "My family and my friends don't smoke and I don't hang out any longer with people who smoke." (Photo by Mark Dadswell, Getty Images)

The story also said that Bolt has two bodyguards supplied by the Jamaican government and that he drinks Guinness mixed with Red Bull.

So will this change budding track stars training habits all over the world?  High rolling and lower times...

Lance Armstrong fears Tour de France ban

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong believes that French officials will ban him from this summer's event due to a recent report stating he violated protocol during a recent drug test.

"There's a very high likelihood that they prohibit me from riding in the Tour," a somber Armstrong said Friday in a video statement posted on his Web site. "It's too bad. The tour is something I love dearly."

Oh the drama, the drama...

MLB players -- Glaus and Schoenewies -- talk of relationship with steroid doctor Ramon Scruggs

Major league baseball players Scott Schoenewies and Troy Glaus recounted their roles in steroids and HGH use,prescribed by renegade physician Ramon Scruggs.  Scruggs appears to be a significant source for illicit PEDs for a number of athletes.  The information form the New York Times was found in federal documents preparing for a Scruggs prosecution.

When an All-Star third baseman needed help recovering from a shoulder injury, he knew from one of his agents whom to call: a doctor who mailed him steroids and syringes without ever seeing him.

A journeyman catcher, fearing he would not be able to support his wife and children if he lost his spot in the major leagues, reached out to the same doctor.

A pitcher who was feeling worn down followed the same path, but another pitcher who was plagued by fatigue found an alternative: he said a team doctor injected him with steroids.

Ok, now we have gotten over the human interest pity for the players, let's get to the heart of the story.  The MLB players, despite knowing the drugs were illegal found a doctor who supplied them with illicit prescriptions.  Forget the fact that there is no good research (especially at the time) of the regenerative porperties of the PEDs, it was simply illegal.

The account hints that Schoeneweis even used inside information on drug testing timelines because he was the player rep of the club, to avoid detection

Glaus said he was “willing to take the risk” because he needed to play, according to a report written by the federal agent who interviewed Glaus. Schoeneweis said he knew when players were tested because he was his team’s union representative, according to the report, though Schoeneweis said in an interview last month that the agent misinterpreted him. A basic tenet of effective drug testing is that the element of surprise is essential. The accounts of Glaus, Schoeneweis, catcher Todd Greene and pitcher Ismael Valdez were written by federal agents who interviewed the players as they gathered evidence in the case of Ramon Scruggs, an anti-aging doctor who was indicted last year on charges that he illegally wrote prescriptions for steroids and human growth hormone to the players, business executives, police officers and others.

Scruggs not only decides his own law, but his own interpretation of medical research:

“These players benefited from restoration, not performance enhancement,” Scruggs said in a telephone interview. “Steroids don’t make someone a good athlete or a bad athlete; they may make you stronger, but they don’t make you a better athlete.”

Dude, increased strength makes you a better athlete.  Basic.

Athletes and doctors may be involved, as well as agents. Wonder if the players thanked the agents for the great guidance. 

Glaus and Greene testified before a federal grand jury that they were referred to Scruggs by their agents, Mike Nicotera and Gene Casaleggio, according to people with knowledge of the testimony who insisted on anonymity because the information is sealed by a court order.

Here is the way Scruggs worked:

There was a buzz about Scruggs’s name at the Texas Rangers’ spring training facility when Valdez, the pitcher, arrived after signing as a free agent before the 2002 season.

Valdez told the investigators he had pain in his shoulder and knee, and contacted Scruggs, who mailed him syringes filled with steroids.

Mail order medicine...

Lance Armstrong accused of violating anti-doping protocol

Although it's is a tempest in a teapot in a way, the charge does hold importance.  The AP says a French doping agency accuses Lance Armstrong of breaking protocol when an agent paid a visit to the multiple Tour de France winner last month.

Armstrong blew off the anti-doping physician for a time, showering etc. while the tester waited.  The tests (urine, blood, hair) turned up negative, which is the teapot part.   However as any enterprising athlete knows a 20-30 minute break can enable all kids of shenanigans to thwart dope testing...and this is well practiced among professional cyclists.

Lance haters will pile on; Lance defenders will scream in anguish.  The rest of us will likely stay nauseated.

France's anti-doping agency says seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong violated its rules and that it could punish him.

French doctors say they tested Armstrong's hair, urine and blood March 17. They say they found no traces of drugs.

However, the agency, known as AFLD, said in a statement Thursday that a doctor charged with testing Armstrong last month claimed Armstrong "did not respect the obligation to remain under the direct and permanent observation" of the tester.

The AFLD says it is can impose sanctions on the American rider, but didn't indicate what they would be.

Armstrong is in training to ride in this year's Tour.

Sheikh Mohammed's rides horse with whinny -- or is that 'Winny'

One of the biggest names in horse racing, Sheikh Mohammed, rode a horse with more than just whinny, but also tested positive for Winny.  The horse -- Tahhan -- tested positive for two illegal drugs one of which was the anabolic steroid  stanozolol or Winstrol, Winny.

Sheikh Mohammed, one of the biggest names in horse racing globally, has been embarrassed by a doping scandal involving a horse he has ridden in endurance races in Bahrain and Dubai. The horse, Tahhan, which the Sheikh owns, was found to have two banned substances in its system after testing by the Sheikh's own staff.

On being told of the results, the Sheikh informed the International Equestrian Federation, which has launched an investigation. He began his own internal inquiry and has waived his right to have back-up samples tested. In the meantime his wife, Princess Haya of Jordan, who is president of the IEF, said she will defer the presidency on "all matters related to this subject".

A bit embarrassing because the Princess is the high commissioner of the International Equestrian Federation which monitors horse doping.

Backlash on Cushing, Matthews, and Raji failed drug reports...which appear to be untrue

Various sites berated NFLdraftbible.com for a report last week that NFL draft prospects -- including USC's Brian Cushing -- failed drug or steroid tests at the NFL's combine.  The Examiner hits the site hard.

The Bleacher Report talks about 'defamation'. 

 NFLDraftBible is shaking in their boots at the moment, after "reliable sources" allowed them to break the story, and now they could possibly face charges for defamation, since there are still going to be some people out there that will attest to the fact that Raji has a drug problem.

Someone should check the definition of 'defamation' of a public figure.  Those are tough criteria.

Somethings getting hairy with Lance Armstrong: Report sent to WADA and UCI

The Hartford Courant says WADA and UCI received a report on Lance Armstrong's recent haircut.
A hair sample? That's what France is banking on in its report to the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

A sample of Lance Armstrong's hair, taken during an out-of-competition test in Beaulieu-sur-Mer in southern France, was sent to be analyzed. Testing of hair samples is allowed under French law, but is not recognized by WADA or the UCI.

French Doping Agency chief Pierre Bordry declined to disclose details of the report. "I sent [the report] in order to get an opinion on the matter. I am not making any judgments," Bordry said.

Armstrong said it was the first time he had to provide a hair sample. He said the test "butchered" his haircut.

Cycling Weekly says the report discusses Armstrong's behavior.  Gee, that's news.

The French Anti-Doping Authority (AFLD) has filed a report on Lance Armstrong's behaviour during a recent out-of-competition drug test. Both the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have received the report.

The exact nature of the report has not been revealed, but it is likely that Armstrong was not happy to have an impromptu haircut.

The seven-times Tour de France champion was visited in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, on Tuesday, March 17, whilst training for July's Tour de France. AFLD inspectors requested the usual blood and urine samples, and also removed a sample of hair for analysis.

"Yet another 'surprise' anti-doping control," wrote Armstrong on his Twitter site a day later. "This one from the French authorities. Urine, blood, and hair! Classic..."

Armstrong had to get his hair cut short after the sample was taken as the testers had left it "butchered".

No wonder Armstrong wanted his own unique Catlin-testing protocol.  That would retain his flamboyant hairstyle, seen at the left (um, pretty droll).

Australian cyclist Jobie Dajka found dead

An Australian cyclist Jobie Dajka -- 27 -- was discovered dead today.  Young cyclists appear to die more frequently than one would expect.  Not saying this was involved here, but one thinks of the morbid effects of EPO, either alone or added to all the other drugs these guys ingest.  (The Age)

Australian cyclist Jobie Dajka has been found dead at his Adelaide home, it has been reported.

The body of Dajka, a world and Commonwealth Games champion, was discovered late Tuesday, the Nine Network reported.

A cause of death has not been released, Nine said.

Dajka, 27, was dumped from Australia's team for the 2004 Athens Olympics just weeks before the Games for lying to a doping inquiry.

In 2005, he was given a three-month suspended jail term for assaulting Australia's head track coach, Martin Barras - an offence that also led to a three-year ban from professional cycling.

Following the suspension, which was lifted in late 2006, Dajka admitted having alcohol related problems and to have suffered depression.

Dajka won a Commonwealth Games gold medal at the Manchester Games in 2002 in the teams sprint, and was the 2003 world championships kierin winner.

The ink between doping and depression, doping and alcohol and other street drugs has yet to be explored.

More here on the cylist.  Obviously depression was a problem.  Don't underestimate the effects of doping on mood.

More on caffeine as performance enhancing

Well written article, originally from the New York Times, but reprinted in the Arkansas Times-Democrat on the use of caffeine as a PED.  Notable was the opening paragraph discussing an episode where 'Let's Run' founder Weldon Johnson discovered the benefits of caffeine in running.

Weldon Johnson first tried caffeine as a performance enhancer in 1998. He was not a coffee drinker but had heard that caffeine could make him run faster. So he went to a convenience store before a race and drank a cup of coffee. For the first time in his life, he ran 10 kilometers in less than 30 minutes. "I remember being really wired before the race," he said. "My body was shaking." From then on, he was a convert. Johnson, co-founder of racenews aggregator letsrun.com, would avoid caffeine, even in soft drinks, for a few weeks before he competed in a race, wanting to have the full stimulant effect. "It may have been a huge placebo effect, but I swore by it," Johnson said. "Having a cup of coffee exactly one hour before the race was part of my routine." Or maybe it wasn't a placebo effect.

Caffeine, it turns out, actually works. And it's legal, one of the few performance enhancers that is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Is caffeine a PED?

Exercise physiologists have studied caffeine's effects in nearly every iteration: Does it help sprinters? Marathon runners? Cyclists? Rowers? Swimmers? Athletes whose sports involve stopping and starting like tennis players? The answers are yes, yes, yes and yes and yes and yes.

Caffeine is a anatagonist of adenosine A₁ and A₂ receptors and a phosphodiesterase inhibitor (we originally said xanthene oxidase inhibitor, which is incorrect; caffeine is a xanthine compound, if anyone cares about that), which acts as a mild stimulant.  And why do we remember this obscure fact from school, although we can't remember 90% of anything any more?  The compound may act on dopamine receptors to produce stimulation.

Because of the morning Red Bull.  Caffeine also affects the muscles too.

For many years, researchers thought the sole reason people could exercise harder and longer after using caffeine was that the compound helped muscles use fat as a fuel...(however) caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium that is stored in muscle. The effect can enable athletes to keep going longer or to go faster in the same length of time. Caffeine also affects the brain's sensation of exhaustion, that feeling that it's time to stop, you can't go on any more. That may be one way it improves endurance, Tarnopolsky said.

Be careful though, too much java and you may experience negative effects.

Jose Canseco says A-Rod a "Canseco copycat"; Manny Ramirez "most likely 90%" steroid user

Jose Canseco spoke on the USC campus this weekend.  Always ready to unload some new juice Canesco bashed a few more fellow ball players.  (LA Times source)

About his retirement from baseball:

1998 has made him reconsider things. After long telling anyone who'd listen that he might not have made the big leagues without steroids, maybe the year in Canada shows he could have become a star without drugs. He holds tight to this new notion.

"I have regrets," he says. "The way people look at my career was compromised by using. Then the whole thing fell apart. . . . I was cut off. Not being able to play at 36. That's how old I was when baseball colluded to keep me out. They were sending a message to all the other players: 'Stop using, or you will be like Jose.' "

On Alex Rodriguez, A-Rod's 'roid use:

What about Alex Rodriguez, the audience wants to know? Canseco calls the Yankees third baseman a Canseco copycat, from the steroids to the dalliance with Madonna. He scoffs at the notion Rodriguez is telling the whole truth about his drug use.

On Manny Ramirez:

What about Manny Ramirez? someone asks.

Canseco laughs and offers his theory. A-Rod was exposed only when his name was leaked from a list of 104 major leaguers who in a 2003 test showed up positive for steroids. Because the test was anonymous, those names were not supposed to be made public. But in Canseco's mind, baseball's power brokers know who is on it: players he is sure will be seen as toxic if the truth comes out.

He says this, despite the fact that A-Rod isn't being treated as toxic, nor are other players who were caught up in the steroid scandal but publicly apologized, including Miguel Tejada, starting shortstop for the Houston Astros, and Andy Pettitte, a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees.

Why didn't Ramirez get a long-term deal? Canseco asks. Why were owners gun-shy about signing arguably the game's best hitter?

Never mind that Ramirez was asking for a mega-deal at age 36. Or that he was negotiating in a sickly economy, while weighed down by the heavy baggage of a surly reputation. Canseco will have none of it. To Canseco, the drawn-out negotiation, the lack of a long-term deal, the lack of interest all raise red flags, and so he tells the Bovard crowd that Ramirez's "name is most likely, 90%," on the list.

Canseco admits later that he has no way of knowing. But it makes sense to him, so he threw it out there -- kaboom! -- swinging for the fences, still.

Interesting that Canseco didn't bash USC linebacker Brian Cushing while he was at it...Canseco just doesn't give it up does he?  Also noted in the article was that Canseco continues to take testosterone, although therapeutic at this point...if you believe that.

Study reports 50,000 Finns may have doped with PEDs

Interesting story out of Finland today.  Uutiset reports up to 2% of Finnish men may have used a PED over their lives.  Although doping is not illegal, the Ministries of Sports and Education seem to be concerned about health consequences.  That prevalence would not be shocking in other Western democracies.

Little is known about the use of sports doping substances in Finland, but the Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into the matter. Estimates are that up to two percent of Finnish men may have used a doping substance sometime in their lives. This would amount to more than 50,000 Finns.

According to an article in Sunnuntaisuomalainen, a Sunday supplement of a number of Finnish provincial newspapers, the ministry wants to launch a counselling service, where users of doping substances can anonymously ask for professional help form a health care worker.

Other Nordic Countries already have such a service. Sweden’s service has operated for 15 years. The use of performance-enhancing hormones and other substances by amateur athletes is seen to be a serious public health problem.

The typical Finnish user of doping substances is a young man working out at a gym hoping to increase muscle mass. A few months using anabolic steroids can help add muscle that might take years of training to acquire, even though the impact on health can be serious.

In addition, users of doping substances are more likely than others to use illegal intoxicants. Researcher Mikko Salasuo, who is conducting the study for the Ministry of Education, says that the increase in the use of doping by amateur athletes reflects a change in attitude toward chemical manipulation of the body.

Possession and use of doping substances is not a crime under Finnish law.

Finland’s Minister of Sport and Cuilture Stefan Wallin is not enthusiastic about the criminalisation of sports doping substances, because he feels that the law would be difficult to enforce. However, he would like to see new initiatives to keep doping substances out of Finnish gyms.

So Finland wakes up maybe...link here to Finnish dope scandal.

New Brian Cushing steroid controversy: Site claims positive test at NFL combine

Brian, Cushing the USC monster linebacker who will be eligible in the upcoming NFL draft, needed Pete Carroll, his USC college coach to defend him this weekend.  Carroll -- who has a reputation for closely monitoring things like Reggie Bush's cool house -- defended Cushing and his other monster linebacker Clay Matthews after a report of positive tests were reported on one unverified web site.

The NFL rumor mill is at full tilt this time of year.

So much so that USC Coach Pete Carroll apparently thought it necessary to quell the attention sparked by a blurb that linebackers Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews tested positive for steroids at the NFL scouting combine in February.

A one-sentence report from NFLDraftBible.com, which is not affiliated with the league, started the buzz. The agency representing Matthews apparently responded to the report.

Here's what Carroll had to say in a statement released on USC's website.

"These rumors are absolutely false," Carroll said. "If they were found positive, Clay and Cush would have been notified three weeks ago, which they weren't and all of the NFL teams would have been notified too, which they weren't."

Carroll said he spoke with the NFL testing service and verified that both players tested clean.

"They're both men of outstanding character and they never tested positive for anything here," Carroll said. "This is an [sic] major example of irresponsible reporting, and the site that published this report should be ashamed of themselves."

A (sic) interesting comment from an (sic) Carroll.  Who knows how often athletes are dope tested in the NCAA?  It could be another Tony Mandarich case where steroid use is denied until the player needs a book deal.  Again this report is hearsay.

Cushing addressed this issue:

"I don’t understand where it is coming from," Cushing told me. "I was tested last December at USC and passed, one of several tests I have passed. I was tested this morning here at the combine and those results should be out in a couple of weeks to a month, I believe. I think people are trying to find something, anything, that would detract from what I have done on the field. You learn in life if it’s not one thing, it’s the other. I hope once I pass the test here that this will be put behind me. I’m really hoping for that."

Barking Carnival and Hornfans carried threads on the Cush.

Austrian doping scandal blowing up: More arrests

The doping scandal in Austria appears to be blowing up.  Police now are pursuing the source of the illicit drugs.

Prosecutors confirmed today (Fri) there had been five more suspects in the Austrian doping scandal.

It was announced that some of those arrests dated back to February. No names have been revealed, but investigators of the "SoKo Doping" special group said those people were from the provinces of Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Carinthia and Vienna. Doping substances worth 200,000 Euros have been secured in house raids.

Vienna prosecution spokesman Gerald Jarosch revealed one of the suspects was Slovak Alexander N., 39, who is regarded as a member of criminal circles in the bordering country. Another person put under arrest was "Austrian businessman Gerhard D., 51 years old," Jarosch added.

Jarosch said: "We may have demolished a criminal structure of dealers and consumers – from production to supply. Some of the suspects were active in the fitness and bodybuilding community."

The individuals are suspected of having breached Austrian anti-doping law by doing business with doping substances.

One more cylist may be hearing footsteps:

Media reports recently had it that cyclist Georg Totschnig, who came in seventh in the Tour de France in 2005, was also under investigation. The 37-year-old, who retired in 2006, dismissed any allegations – as did cross-country Olympic winner Christian Hoffmann, whose name had also been mentioned.

More on the Matschiner Austrian doping scandal: Kohl, Rasmussen, Vroeman, and more

From Earthtimes comes news of the latest in the burgeoning Austrian/Bulgarian doping scandal. The scandal extends now into cycling (Tour de France contestant Bernhard Kohl), skiing, and track.

Vienna - Austria's cycling doping scandal widened Thursday as three more people were detained, according to media reports. The reports come on top of four arrests of alleged doping suppliers in March.
 
The latest development came after Stefan Matschiner, the former manager of disgraced Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl, was detained Monday night for allegedly supplying athletes with a range of performance-enhancing substances and blood transfusions.

Prosecutors in Vienna did not comment on the reports by Austrian press agency APA and the daily Die Presse, which attributed its story to unnamed investigators. According to the reports, at  least one of the arrests took place Wednesday. Earlier in March, police detained Austria's former cross-country ski coach Walter Mayer on charges of having bought the blood-booster EPO from a pharmacist. The pharmacist and a professional cyclist were also taken into remand but have since been released. Their names have not been made public.

From OE24.at comes a graphic of the athletes involved with the trainer Matschiner.  The group includes the pro cyclists Kohl and Michael Rasmussen, and the triathlete Lisa Hutthaler.  Also note Simon Vroeman, who tested positive for doping last year, was a client of this 'manager'.

 Meanwhile, public attention was focused on the Humanplasma laboratory in Vienna, where Kohl said he went three times to receive blood transfusions before buying a transfusion machine together with other athletes.

The laboratory said it could not confirm or deny Kohl's presence on its premises, but claimed it had never "approached, invited or received" athletes for blood doping.

The Austrian cross country skier Christian Hoffmann, as well as Danish cyclist Michel Rasmussen have denied reports that they also paid for and used the machine that was allegedly set up in Matschiner's home.

This article failed to mention Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova, who is linked to Matschiner too.

Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova denies doping charges

The Austrian press yesterday implicated Bulgarian sprinter Ivet Lalova in doping sponsored by the Bulgarian manager Stephan Matschiner.  LaLova answers the critics.

Another Bulgarian athlete was involved in a doping scandal. In the center of the problem was the sprinter Ivet Lalova. According to publications in the “Courrir” newspaper the manager of the Bulgarian Stephan Machiner has regularly given to his athletes forbidden substances. 

The newspaper’s publications are based on the triathlon athlete Lisa Huthaller, who claims that the agent has made a special calendar with the specific substances  and when they should be taken. Machiner has denied Huthaller’s accusations.

Ivet is in the committee of the European association athletes where she was elected not only  because of her sport qualities but also for her personal ones. The bad thing is that the involving in this scandal is coming in a moment when she is recovering from a new injury”, said Lalova’s coach Konstantin Milanov.

Ivet’s sister – Ani was also surprised with the accusations. “Ivet is impeccable”.
Ivet Lalova made an official statement. “It is highly unpleasant to me that exactly in this moment my name is involved in a scandal.  In a moment when my returning to the sport is the most important of all, the media cite an Austrian newspaper that is involving me in a scandal.

My relations with Stephan Machienr have only been as between a manager and an athlete. With which other sports people he was working and what were their relations I am not aware of and I haven’t been interested professionally.

After the first doping scandal with his cyclist in the end of 2008 I announced my intention not to work with him anymore. As a result after the end of the last winter season I canceled my contract with him. I don’t want to bare responsibility for the actions of someone else. I am attacked by an Austrian journalist whom I have “allegedly” refused an interview.

This is absurd. I haven’t even been contacted for a comment from that newspaper. For nearly 5 years I am in the list of 24-hour checked athletes. I have more than 15 controls every year.