Steroid Nation

Female nigerian sprinter Amaka Ogoegbunam tests positive for steroids at Berlin world championships

A Nigerian hurdler reportedly tested positive for an anabolic steroid at the Berlin world championships this week.  To the AP:

Nigerian hurdler Amaka Ogoegbunam has tested positive for steroids and has been suspended for the rest of the world championships.

She is the second athlete to fail a drug test at the worlds following steeplechaser Jamal Chatbi of Morocco.

Ogoegbunam was disqualified from the semifinals of the 400-meter hurdles Tuesday. Track and field's governing body says Ogoegbunam tested positive for the anabolic steroid metenolone after the race.

The 19-year-old Nigerian also was to have run in the 1,600-meter relay.

'Greatest athlete of all time' -- Usain Bolt -- sets world record time of an 9.58 second 100M in Berlin

Jamaica's Usain Bolt once again lowered the world 100M record by a full 0.10 seconds from his 2008 Beijing Olympics mark to an astonishing 9.58 in the Berlin IAAF world championships yesterday.  Bolt's startling times ignited world controversies about the legitimacy of his mark.  However, controversy is all naysayers have at this point.  Bolt has never tested positive for PEDs, had never been caught in a buy, and has never admitted to illegal drug use.  Nonetheless, obliterating world marks in the 100M with astonishing regularity is such an incredible feat, doubters are working overtime.  (from the Telegraph)

That's what athletic miracles do today. They bring as much suspicion as awe, as much skepticism as joy. Yet, while Bolt was being hailed by the head of world athletics Lamine Diack as the greatest athlete of all time, the subject of all the frenzy, last seen being pursued by screaming fans down Jesse-Owens-Allee outside the stadium, just ignored it all.

A breakdown of the Bolt run goes like this:

It is the "you never know" bit which he knows tantalises us. Yesterday, the biomechanical analysts from the IAAF produced a statistical breakdown of the final which suggested that what we saw in Sunday was Bolt's Bob Beamon moment, a barrier-shattering, never-to-be repeated annihilation of the sport's blue riband record. But you never know...

Eleven hundredths of a second slashed off the mark in one hit was sprinting's equivalent of the moment in Mexico City in 1968 when long jumper Beamon decided to bypass the 28ft barrier altogether as he took the world record to 29ft 2½in with one leap.

But the IAAF's split times confirmed that Bolt's astounding improvement on the 9.69sec record he had set exactly a year earlier in Beijing was due almost entirely to the fact that this time he did not showboat over the last few of his 41½ strides as he had done in China.

He was actually slower over the first 20m than in Beijing (2.89sec to 2.87sec) but what made the vast difference was his lack of concentration as he covered the final 40m in Beijing in 3.37sec. On Sunday, in contrast, he covered the equivalent stretch in 3.27sec, a whole tenth of a second quicker. Between 60m and 80m, he topped 46kph (28.58mph).

There was one quick look right and a glance left towards the clock, so perhaps he could even have gone a fraction quicker but, realistically, there looks to be no section of the race where he can in future trim off more than the odd hundredth of a second at a time. He has just made those $100,000 (£60,700) world-record bonuses hellishly difficult to annex now.

Until proved otherwise, the Bolt record must be considered legitimate.  The athlete apparently has the neuro-muscular development to produce stride frequency times stride length to generate sprint speeds never achieved in recorded history at sanctioned track meets.

 All the logical arguments in the world about doping hold no merit if the athlete maintains clean testing.  Other factors come into play -- a better track surface, improved shoes, perfect conditions,  high quality competition -- to push these world records into new territory.

There was a Roger Maris to beat Babe Ruth's single season home run record.  There was a Mike Powell to surpass Bob Beamon's long jump record.  It appears the thrust of DNA and technology to lower or lengthen previous marks in performance.  Thus, it is not impossible to go where no man has gone before in history.  Just damn tough to do it twice.

1996 Olympic gold medal winner and pro wrestler Kurt Angle arrested with HGH

Once an Olympic gold medalist, wrestler Kurt Angle appears to have been caught with HGH.  Angle has a little run in with the steroid cops in the past (here, and here); he also defected from the WWE, apparently after he needed time to withdraw from painkillers.

 To WPXI:

Professional wrestler Kurt Angle was arrested in Robinson Township on Saturday morning.  According to a criminal complaint, his girlfriend had filed a protection from abuse order against Angle, which was served at his home on Saturday morning.

The woman reported to police that she was at a Starbucks on the internet, when she claims she saw Angle stalking her.  She called 911, and police pulled over Angle in his girlfriend's car.

According to the criminal complaint, Angle was driving on a suspended license. Police also found a capped syringe and two vials of "Hygetropin," otherwise known as HGH.

Angle told police he had a legal prescription for the drugs.

The charges against Angle include: driving while operating privilege is suspended, prohibited acts-possession, harassment and prohibited acts.  Angle is currently the World Champion in TNA Wrestling, and was scheduled to wrestle in a pay-per-view match in Orlando on Sunday night. TNA Wrestling did not return calls for comment.The girlfriend mentioned in the complaint is also a wrestler for TNA.

Angle wrestled legitimately at Clarion, then as mentioned won an Olympic gold medal.  Now it's all downhill for him.

New Jamaican track doping case: Stimulant detected before World Championships

More Jamaican controversy.  Apparently Jamaican track athletes tested positive for a stimulant, however information is murky.  (AP)  This is the problem with athletes from the Island: murky procedures that keep the world doubting the athletes.

The world athletics federation is still awaiting information on a ruling that cleared five Jamaican athletes of doping and a decision on their participation in the world championships is likely to come close to Saturday's opening.

"We are following the matter. We are not saying anything today," IAAF secretary general Pierre Weiss said at the federation's congress on Wednesday.

The IAAF would have liked to have dealt with the issue well ahead of their biennial championships and has been sharply critical of the way the Jamaicans have addressed the situation and the lack of urgency with which it has been transmitting information.

"It is an amazing situation we are facing," said IAAF council member Helmut Digel.

Jamaica's Anti-Doping Commission said Monday it will appeal a ruling that had cleared five Jamaicans after a disciplinary panel appointed by the island's sports minister found there wasn't enough evidence to prove substance abuse.

The runners had previously been identified as Yohan Blake, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Allodin Fothergill, Lansford Spence and Marvin Anderson.

They reportedly tested positive for the stimulant methylhexanamine. The disciplinary panel cleared Brooks last week and she is on the provisional list to compete in the 100 meters on Sunday.

The IAAF had hoped to receive information from the Jamaican federation right after Monday's ruling, and has a review panel ready to assess the case on short notice. As long as no information is forthcoming, it cannot tackle the issue.

Reds Bronson Arroyo unapologetically takes banned supplements: Wastes money

Cincy Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo says he takes MLB banned supplements, and brazenly awaits the consequences.  (USA Today)

Unless Arroyo is taking nasty stuff with honest to goodness 'roids, he is simply wasting his money.  Caffeine may benefit his performance some, but really taking unproven, untested supplements that promise everything is simply foolish.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo reaches into his locker, pulls down a clear cellophane bag and slowly opens it.

He shakes out the contents like a kid on Halloween night. There are different-colored pills, powders, liquids, proteins, caffeine concentrates and ginseng, products such as creatine, Triflex and xelR8 found at local vitamin stores. Most of the products have not been approved by Major League Baseball for use by players, Arroyo says. Some of the items have the potential to trigger a positive test under baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy. Arroyo takes them anyway.

"I have a lot of guys in (the locker room) who think I'm out of (my) mind because I'm taking a lot of things not on the (MLB-approved) list," Arroyo says. "I take 10 to 12 different things a day, and on the days I pitch, there's four more things. There's a caffeine drink I take from a company that (former teammate) Curt Schilling introduced me to in '05. I take some Korean ginseng and a few other proteins out there that are not certified. But I haven't failed any tests, so I figured I'm good."

News for Arroyo: You may not be crazy for all those supplements, but you are foolish.  Most are not worth a damn thing.  Sorry to bring science into superstition.

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leland says fans don't care about steroids

The Detroit Freep carried an interview with Tigers manager Jim Leland.

"I've always thought when something was confidential and sworn to be confidential I don't know how stuff like that comes out," Leyland said. "I don't condone steroids or growth hormone or anything else... For the most part, I don't think fans (care.) The people that probably care about it are the people that probably don't like baseball. So they really got something to (complain) about baseball. I don't think the fans care that much. Or maybe they do, I don't know."

The entire ordeal disturbs him.

"It's gotten to be boring for me," he said. "It's an ongoing story for the media, as far as I'm concerned. They're not going to let it alone. Now it's Papi, a month from now it will be someone else. I could care less about it. If David Ortiz said he was not on steroids, I believe him."

Hey, Leland, if managers like you -- and management, trainers, and doctors -- actually paid attention to the integrity of the game, you would not have the daily scandal that has turned your sport into the summer version of pro wrestling.  But that fact escapes your train of thought.

    "You get sick of it," he said. "To me it's like the nosy neighbor. Everybody knows there's been some     involved, so what's the big deal about it. Everybody knows there's a great program in place."

If the program is so great, Jim, then why have your biggest stars -- ARob, Bonds, Clemens, Ortiz, Rodriguez, etc. -- cheated the game, the other teams, and the fans?

Leland's hometown paper doesn't let the manager keep  his head in the sand:

Jim Leyland said Sunday that most people who care about the steroids issue probably don’t like baseball. Kind of harsh or is he spot-on?

Well to start with, he’s dead wrong.

I like baseball a lot. It’s my favorite sport, by far. And I care about the steroid issue. I’m pretty sure Bud Selig likes baseball (although he doesn’t act like it given his decisions sometimes) and I know he cares about the steroid issue. Albert Pujols likes baseball and he cares so much about the issue, he’ll tell anyone who will listen that he’s clean.

The Freep says Leland simply retreats to jockdom's no brain answer.  Obviously, the no brain answer has resulted in a taint so odoriferous, it stinks up 2 decades of baseball.

    Leyland used a classic jock-ocracy strategy. “You simply don’t get it.” When someone in sports is proven wrong, doesn’t have the answer or simply wants something to go away, he says, “you just don’t understand.

Dubai Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum bin a winny horse doper

The ruling shaikh of Dubei will serve a six month ban from horse racing following proceedings examining his role in horse doping.  Sheikh Mohammed's horse tested positive for some doping substance, which isn't named in the article below.  The Mrs. --  Princess Haya of Jordan -- was head of the horse regulatory agency.  (friendly looking fellow)

To the New York Times:

Dubai's ruler was given a six-month ban from long-distance horse racing after his horse tested positive for banned substances, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum's horse Tahhan ran in two endurance races in January and February and "in both events, the horse was ridden by Sheikh Mohammed ... who is the person responsible," said FEI in a statement on its website. He was also fined 4,500 Swiss francs (2,500 pounds).

Most endurance races are up to 160 km (100 miles) long.

In the statement, the Dubai ruler, who is also the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, said he had no knowledge of any illegal substances being used. He can appeal. Trainer Abdullah bin Huzaim was also fined and banned for a year after admitting to doping the horses. FEI said it had detected prohibited substances, a drug with calming and analgesic effects and a steroid.

Sheikh Mohammed's wife Princess Haya of Jordan, who presides over FEI, stepped aside in this case, Malina Gueorguiev, spokesperson for the FEI, told Reuters by telephone from Geneva.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of conglomerate Dubai World, one of the emirate's largest companies, had previously been suspended for six months and fined. He had said he was unaware of any doping.

The Sheikh's horse tested positive for two substances, one of which was Winny:

Sheikh Mohammed accepted that his horse, Tahhan, tested positive for guanabenz and steroid stanozolol, the FEI said on Monday. His wife, FEI president Princess Haya of Jordan, is leading a clean-sport campaign, and Sheikh Mohammed stood down from competing in April when the test results became known.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Extensive coverage of Boston Red Sox steroids scandal

The Boston Dirt Dogs blog has incredible coverage of the expanding BoSox steroids scandal.  The more they dig, the more doped dirt emerges.  (The link is to the general site, and this may be outdated soon).

Fans and writers think Ortiz may be a bigger fraud than Manny (where is that logic?), Johnny Damon speaks out, El Duke spouts off, The Red Sox clubhouse boys exude steroids....

This scandal needs to be either covered up better, or fully explained.  Now which way will the MLB and the MLBPA go?  (any bets?)

Are any championships out there untainted?  Remember the outrage when Congress looked at steroids in baseball?  OMG, just grandstanding.  Now it looks like massive sports fraud at the higest level.

Doping in track is alive and well: Five Brazilian track athletes named as drug cheats

A number of Brazilian track athletes will receive an early exit from the world championships in Germany, reported as doping suspects.  To the AP:

Brazilian officials say five athletes preparing for the upcoming world track and field championships in Germany have failed doping tests.

The Brazilian athletics confederation says Bruno Lins Tenorio de Barros, Jorge Celio da Rocha Sena, Josiane da Silva Tito, Luciana Franca and Lucimara Silvestre presented "adverse results" in out-of-competition tests conducted by the confederation on June 15.

The athletes, who were already in Germany for this month's competition, requested their B samples be tested and are returning to Brazil to present their defence.

Three of the five athletes were at the Beijing Olympics last year - Barros helped Brazil finish fourth in the 4x100 metre relay, Silvestre competed in the women's heptathlon and Tito was in the women's 4x400 relay.

A number of Beijing 2008 Olympians included in this group.  One would not expect them to have suddenly become dopers in the past year...if you catch our drift.

The photos of Franca and Tito appear a bit strange....androgen influence?

Red Sox fired 2 employees for steroids possibly linked to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz

Links turned up in Boston that may be revealing about Manny Ramirez' steroid use, the AP reported`.

Johnny Damon said he recognized one of two Boston Red Sox security guards who were fired in September for alleged association with steroids, but he knew no more about them.

Police confiscated steroids from the car of Nicholas Alex Cyr, 27, in July 2008 during the guard's late-night return trip from a charity event hosted by Josh Beckett.

Cyr fingered fellow guard Jared Remy, the 30-year-old son of Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy, as the supplier. After an investigation by the team and Major League Baseball that the men claim was superficial, both were fired.

Damon, who spent the 2002-05 seasons in Boston, only recalled seeing Cyr.

Interesting that Damon said he was unaware of the steroid use outside of the locker room?  Huh?  Gamloing?  I am shocked gambling in Casablanca.

Both Cyr and Remy said they had close relationships with Manny Ramirez, while Remy said he talked steroids with a former personal assistant of Ortiz's. Ramirez served a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug policy earlier this season and both sluggers, according to a report Thursday, were to said to have used performance enhancers in 2003.

As was the case when Thursday's report was released, Damon wouldn't comment on the potential steroid usage by his former teammates. Any steroid use, he said, was "outside" of the locker room.

"That's what those guys decided to do on their time, I had too much other stuff to deal with," Damon said. "Play baseball and play with my kids."

"I was totally unaware of everything," he added.

Links to Manny:

Cyr and Remy, who have worked together since 2004, both said they told MLB they did not have direct knowledge of steroid use by the Red Sox. Remy denied that he gave Cyr the vial of Anadrol police found, but acknowledged he is a steroids user.

Cyr said he sometimes would shop for Ramirez in the slugger's car. Remy said he would sometimes serve as the lone guard for Ramirez's early-morning workouts at Fenway Park.

Senator John McCain wonders "Where did you go Joe DiMaggio" after recent Red Sox steroids scandal

A nation turns it's lonely eyes to you...yes you John McCain.

Senator John MCCain, the recent 2008 Republican candidate for POTUS comments on the MLB steroids revelations last week.  (Taragana)

Sen. John McCain is lamenting the latest report of a baseball player linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

Last week the players’ union confirmed that Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was among the 104 major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

In response to the revelation, McCain sent a message on his Twitter account that read, “David Ortiz tested positive for steroids, ‘where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?’”

McCain says the situation in baseball makes him sick. Even more bothersome, he says, is the idea that someone in a laboratory somewhere is trying to develop a substance that tests can’t detect.

McCain has long been a critic of the MLB steroid policy.

The Arizona Republican spoke to CNN’s “State of the Union” for its Sunday broadcast.