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No 'witch hunts': Gene Upshaw firm that only positive blood tests will boot
2007-03-25 16:34:00
NFL Players Association boss Gene Upshaw says no positive test, no steroid problem.  Despite other evidence. Upshaw responded to questions regarding the recent Operation Netroids busts, where players names link to Internet pharmacies, however without positive blood tests. Story in the Charlotte Observer. As the NFL awaits information from law enforcement officials that could incriminate players as having illegally obtained steroids and human growth hormone over the Internet, players association executive director Gene Upshaw says he won't endorse suspending players unless they tested positive. "We are not going to get into a witch hunt," he told the Observer in an e-mail.Upshaw responded to inquires following comments by WADA's Dick Pound suggesting athletes linked to Netroids require consequences.Pound questioned Upshaw's commitment to anti-doping. "If he wanted his sport and the NFL to be drug-free, he would not say that," Pound said in an e-mail. &...
More About: Hat , Blood , Will , Test , Only

Dwain Chambers football skills: All speed, no catch
2007-03-25 07:12:00
Steroid Nation follows the career of Dwain Chambers with some interest.  Chambers, a world class sprinter form  UK, found himself caught up in BALCO, using THG.  Consequences included fines, and a several  year banishment from track and field. Chambers decided to become a football player; American football.  He trained and tried out for NFL Europe.  Following camps in Europe and Florida, Chambers 'caught' on with the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL-Europe.  Story here in the UK's Telegraph.  It appears Chambers struggles catching the football.Dwain Chambers' new job title is wide receiver for the Hamburg Sea Devils, and therein lies the problem. The 'wide' part he can handle, using his speed to evade opposing corner backs and find open space on the flanks, but receiving is a different story. As Jack Bicknell, Hamburg's veteran head coach, put it: "If he could catch the ball consistently he could go to the NFL. But he just can't catch...
More About: Cat , Football , Speed , Skill , Skills

Confirmed: Pakistan cricket coach murdered
2007-03-24 15:25:00
Newspapers following the World Cup cricket games in Jamaica confirm that controversial Pakistan i coach Bob Woolmer was murdered (SLAM, Canada).  Various stories indicate an arrest was made, that there may be multiple perpetrators (iol.co.sa), and that Woolmer was going to write a book documenting the team's many problems. An on-going problem was the on-again, off-again steroid suspension for 2 of Pakistan's best cricket players.  An excellent review is carried in theage.com.au.   Could a game-fixing ring be responsible for the coach's murder?  Was it related to the steroid scandal?  The cricket world faces a dirty scandal at the heart of this seamy episode.  Welcome to the world of prefessional sports.Closed-circuit television cameras in the Kingston hotel recorded him last Saturday night as he stood between two oil painting...They featured two of the finest aspects of the game he loved - one of its greatest players in action, and the popular e...
More About: Cricket , Murder , Rick , Coach

Baseball HOFer Wade Boggs to induct Curt Hennig to pro wrestling hall of fa
2007-03-24 14:50:00
In a happening soaked with irony, former MLB great Wade Boggs will introduce his deceased friend Curt Hennig – a.k.a. Mr. Perfect, into the WWE 'Hall of Fame'. Link at HOF.com. Boggs is the great MLB hitter and MLB Hall of Famer with a serious flaw -- sex addiction.  Boggs traveled with his mistress during his baseball career.  Not only that, he planned on blackmailing his teammates to keep his affair a secret. Boggs friend, Curt Hennig was a WWF pro wrestler, who died at age 44 of cocaine, and allegedly steroids (as so many pro wrestlers). Boggs and Hennig met in 1983 in Rochester, New York and maintained a close friendship for many years. They often enjoyed hunting and fishing trips together, and on one occasion Boggs credits Hennig with saving his life. During a hunting trip in 2001, Boggs became entangled in a barbed wire fence and badly lacerated his leg. Hennig carried the injured Boggs a mile to their truck and transported him to the hospital. While Boggs giv...
More About: Baseball , Wrestling

Happenings at Reid House
2007-03-23 21:13:00
Sons of Philadelphia Eagle coach Andy Reid waived formal readings in their legal cases, at the same time as their father returned to work (Baltimore Sun).  This means the Reid boys plead 'not guilty' to charges.  Trials will be scheduled in the future. The Times-Herald reports that Garrett Reid is charged with possession of narcotics as well as anabolic steroids and the weight-loss drug phentermine (among other things):Garrett Reid allegedly is responsible for the Jan. 30 two-car accident in Plymouth that resulted in injuries suffered by the other motorist, 55-year-old Harrisburg-area resident Louise Hartman, according to the criminal complaint... Following the collision, Garrett Reid was found to be in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to the complaint. Garrett Reid is charged with misdemeanor criminal charges that include driving under the influence of drugs, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, four charges of drug possessio...
More About: House , Happenings , Ouse

WWE: steroids, premature death, and women in dental floss and tuperware
2007-03-23 13:52:00
An Orlando sportscaster body slammed wrestling mogal Vince McMahon. Yesterday Vince McMahon and his wrestling circus announced some kind of wrestle mania in Orlando at the Citrus Bowl.  During the press conference, a question came up about the recent anabolic/steroid news about pro wrestlers. Local 6 in Orlando reports (with video):"I don't think it sends a negative message," McMahon said. "It would be one thing if that were brought out and promoted in our events and things of that nature. We are talking about a minority of individuals that do things like this and you are going to find it everywhere."Then McMahon chastised the reporters, according to the sports anchor:After the interview, McMahon said bringing up the subject of performance-enhancing drugs at the event was in poor taste, Lewis reported.Which led to these classic on-air comments by the sports director:"Vince, you have your employees dying prematurely due to health problems from steroid...
More About: Women , Dental , Men , War , Ware

Vials found at world swimming championships
2007-03-23 00:11:00
Preliminary reports indicate somethings amiss at the world swimming championships in Victoria Aus.  There are reports of a vial found containing an illicit substance.  From the Olympian Online: MELBOURNE, Australia - Australia's anti-doping agency will test a clear liquid found in a hotel hosting a number of teams in the world swimming championships. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority will use its powers to investigate the clear liquid in the vials, given that the swimming worlds are under way and the hotel is hosting a number of competitors, ASADA spokesman Simon Tidy said today.A small box containing vials of a clear liquid was found Tuesday in a common room at Melbourne's Parkview Hotel. Police said small traces of illicit drugs were found in the box, but not in the vials.And this from the Herald-Sun:The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority was yesterday notified by Victorian police of drug-related equipment found at a city hotel on Monday. The anti-dop...
More About: Championship , Swimming , World , Champions , Ships

US Drug Enforcement Report to Congress
2007-03-22 20:02:00
The administrator of the DEA reported to the US Congress today.  From her report:I would like to begin my testimony by sharing two pieces of good news with the Committee: First, teenage drug use is down; and second, DEA is hitting the world’s drug traffickers harder than ever before.For our interests she reported the following: Immediately suspending the DEA registrations of 13 pharmacies that used their DEA registrations to fill controlled substances orders for rogue Internet pharmacies. Eight of the 13 suspensions were issued in February 2007. The pharmacies suspended were responsible for distributing  more than 75 million dosage units of controlled substances in 2006, the vast majority of which was distributed based on invalid prescriptions originating with rogue Internet pharmacy websites. Ten of the pharmacies  together purchased 45 million dosage units of hydrocodone, which is 64 times the amount ten average pharmacies would annually dispense. Overseeing the...
More About: Men , Report , Port , Force

Death in the ring
2007-03-22 13:55:00
Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle writes an excellent piece today looking at the mortality figures of pro wrestlers.  The article addresses the issue that some in the pro wrestling crowd (the entertainment fans) want to sell anabolic use as a 'personal choice' rather than cheating, or illicit substance abuse. Significant morbidity and mortality follow these drugs.  Although anabolic steroids likely remain the most popular choice among this group (much bang for the buck) HGH, insulin, anti-estrogens, thyroid hormones, and possibly IGF-1 and other peptides --for the cutting edge crew-- course through the veins of these physical specimens. Many fans pull statistics out of thin air, making the number of pro-wrestling deaths, all of which are wrong.  Knapp gets it right.Three years ago, not long after the first indictments were handed up in the BALCO case, USA Today ran an exceptionally thoughtful article about the hazards in pro wrestling. The paper found th...
More About: Death , Ring

LPGA releases list of banned drugs
2007-03-22 04:00:00
As noted in the Casper Star-Tribune today, the Ladies Professional Golf Association begins an anti-doping program this year with the release of their banned list.  Rather than follow the WADA banned list the LPGA developed their own.  The tour said Wednesday that it will test for 33 anabolic steroids, 29 stimulants and 20 beta-blockers, among other substances. The list is not as comprehensive as the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list, but LPGA Tour general counsel Jill Pilgrim said the tour wanted to target drugs that would enhance golf performance.The National Center for Drug Free Sport in Kansas City, which handles testing for the NCAA, consulted with the LPGA in defining their banned list.  The tour will not test for HGH because it doesn't appear to be problematic.  The Nation isn't sure any of the anabolic substances are problematic.  Anabolic steroids would increase strength, however participants on the tour don't sport muscular appearances....
More About: Drugs , List , Release , Rugs

Guess who's back: Victor Conte
2007-03-21 18:02:00
Guess who's back?  Not Jack Nicholson but that lovable rascal Victor Conte.  Story here at Reuters. Conte, who positioned himself at the heart of the sophisticated anabolics (steroid) ring called BALCO discusses his motivation.  It wasn't fame, money, or chicks.  It was fun. "It had nothing to do with money," said Conte, owner of the defunct BALCO lab. "I was simply having a lot of fun. It was exciting to be in the trenches, to be at these world championships and Olympics and Super Bowls and travel all over the world," he said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday."Some people may view this as being reckless and taking enormous risks, but it was very exciting, it was very fun."Conte was the founder of BALCO.  Documented in many articles, mostly in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury, and ultimately in the 'Game of Shadows' by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, this story will not go away.Conte mentored Ba...
More About: Guess Who , Back , Guess

BALCO DAs email revealed trouble in the US Justice Dept. Controversy reach
2007-03-21 14:26:00
Law.com adds to the controversy surrounding the dismissal of several US District Attorneys including BALCO AD Kevin Ryan.  Email s between the DAs and the Bush Just ice Dept reveal troubles in the halls of power.By the time he was fired late last year, former San Francisco U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's stock seemed to have dropped so low among Justice Department officials that even routine communications were met with dismissiveness and sarcasm.Seems Washington protested the sentencing recommendations Ryan put forth for Victor Conte and his BALCO buddies.  It even got profane. As early as last March, e-mails show, Justice Department officials were annoyed with Ryan for issuing a press release that crowed about the U.S. Sentencing Commission's new guidelines for steroid offenses -- a pet issue of Ryan's, since he prosecuted the BALCO steroids case. "After our conversations, I am fairly surprised that you would not consult with me or anyone else in Main Justice before i...
More About: Mail , Controversy

Sticky wicket for Pakistani cricket
2007-03-21 14:09:00
The Pakistan i cricket roller coaster continued a wild ride at the world games in the Bahamas this weekend.  Coach Bob Woolmer died suddenly, found in his room in blood and vomit.  What was thought to  be an ironic swing in the Pakistani drama then turned ugly as rumors of murder swirled around the cricket world. British papers like The Sun report Woolmer's death is suspicious.  Indian new says Woolmer's demise was murder.BOB WOOLMER'S death is being treated as suspicious by police in Jamaica. The Pakistan coach, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room on Sunday morning and was pronounced dead after being transferred to hospital. Woolmer's team had suffered a shock World Cup defeat to Ireland the previous day which ended their chances of reaching the Super Eight stage in the West Indies.Indian news says Woolmer's demise was murder.Or so we thought. But the death of Woolmer, which is now suspected as a murder, must surely disabuse us of our fervent hope...
More About: Cricket , Rick , Stick