Steroids

Lance Armstrong Happy That Investigation Is Over

by Josh Dhani on February 9, 2012 · 0 comments

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AUSTIN, Texas — Lance Armstrong says he’s relieved by the end of a nearly two-year federal investigation into doping allegations against him, and that he always remained confident he would not be charged.

“It’s not a pleasant experience,” Armstrong told The Associated Press by phone on Thursday in his first interview since prosecutors in Los Angeles closed their investigation last Friday. After speaking with the AP, Armstrong participated in a teleconference with media covering this weekend’s triathlon in Panama City, Panama, where he is scheduled to compete.

“It was difficult at times,” the seven-time Tour de France winner said, “but I was confident that we would always end up in this place.”

And, for him, this is end of the doping questions. The federal government’s decision should put a stop to any allegations or rumors about performance-enhancing drug use during his career, Armstrong said.

“It’s over,” he said. “I’m moving on.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency this week urged U.S. federal authorities to quickly hand over evidence collected in the investigation that was aimed at whether the world’s most famous cyclist and his teammates joined in a doping program during his run of Tour victories from 1999 to 2005.

“I don’t want to get bogged down with that. I’m not concerned with that. I’m not going to worry about that,” he said.

Armstrong, who has been known to attack his critics in the media and on Twitter, had only issued a muted written statement in response to the end of the investigation when the decision was first announced.

He was reluctant to talk much further about it on Thursday, but said he had a quiet celebration with his family when the investigation was closed.

“I hugged my kids, hugged my girlfriend and went and opened a cold beer,” Armstrong said.

Although Armstrong was convinced that he would not be indicted, the cyclist said he was ready to fight a costly legal battle if he was.

“You had to consider all possibilities,” Armstrong said.

The 40-year-old Armstrong said he’ll turn his attention in 2012 to competing in Ironman triathlons and supporting the California Cancer Research Act, a proposal to increase taxes on cigarettes by $1 a pack to raise more than $500 million a year. He is also the founder of the cancer charity Livestrong.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Braun Over Brain’s — MVP?

by Chris Ross on December 11, 2011

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I’m going to jump to conclusions. I don’t need to wait for all the evidence to come out. Ryan Braun used performance enhancing drugs. Guilty until proven truly guilty. Right?

If it is indeed the case that Ryan Braun will be suspended 50 games for steroid use, a little black rain cloud is once again hovering over Major League Baseball. They will have big decision to make. Should Ryan Braun retain his MVP trophy? To strip or not to strip? That is the million dollar question.

The thing is, this million dollar question isn’t very difficult. It shouldn’t be a question. Ryan Braun’s MVP trophy must be taken away and given to its rightful owner – Matt Kemp.

No, Ryan Braun probably is not the only star player in the MLB currently using performance enhancers. At this point in time, with any brains and proper means to do so, the system can be cheated despite the much stricter system that has been implemented. However, Ryan Braun has been caught and having been caught so shortly after his stellar season raises a few red flags to say the least.

The effect of PED’s is no doubt different from individual to individual. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the potential effects that PED’s can have can be enormously beneficial for a player. Steroids may not hit the ball for the player or increase hand-eye coordination and athleticism, but to dismiss the effects of performance enhancers because of the unquantifiable nature of the issue is crazy.

Steroids help.

If proven guilty, I’m not sure how you can argue that steroids could not have played a role in inflating Ryan Braun’s numbers for 2011. He won the MVP race by a fairly small margin of 56 points. His .332 average, .397 on base, .994 OPS and 111 RBI’s are all skewed. By how much those numbers are inflated can never be determined but the grey area surrounding the figures is enough in itself to discredit Ryan Braun’s season.

For all we know, Matt Kemp is on the juice. The bottom line though is that he has not been caught. He is the deserving MVP because, for all we know, he has done it au naturel.

In an era supposedly free of performance enhancers, Ryan Braun gave himself a leg up on the rest of the competition. More like a giant Sasquatch leg but you get the idea.

In Ryan Braun’s case, we have no pre-steroid numbers to refer to when putting his 2011 numbers in context because, for all we know, Ryan Braun has been using steroids since he entered the league in 2007. As alluded to earlier, 2007 was the year after the MLB finally implemented a severe penalty for positive drug testing. He has put up similar power numbers in all of his 5 seasons in the bigs. Unlike Barry Bonds, Braun’s 2011 season stats do not feature a suspiciously colossal increase.

Even so, Ryan Braun cheated. He may have been voted the most valuable player in the league but he was assisted. Whether the assistance was more similar to that of a clumsy intern or a trusted employee shouldn’t matter.

Marion Jones forfeited every one of her medals earned after September of 2000. Ben Johnson was forced to give back his gold medal that he “earned” at the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Ryan ought to return his MVP award as well.

20 yr old UBC Student. Live and breathe sports. My writing is edgy. Not the typical stuff you find. Hit up my blog – Painting the Black – you won’t regret it.

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Ryan Braun Tested Positive for PEDs

by Josh Dhani on December 10, 2011

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National League MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, a case still under appeal to an arbitrator under Major League Baseball’s drug program, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke Saturday night on condition of anonymity because the appeal is still ongoing. The positive test was first reported by ESPN.

If Braun’s appeal is denied, the Milwaukee Brewers star would be subject to a 50-game suspension.

Braun tested positive for elevated testosterone, ESPN said, adding that a later test determined the testosterone was synthetic.

If suspended, Braun would be eligible to return for Milwaukee’s May 31 game at the Los Angeles Dodgers, barring any postponements. He would miss the first 57 days of the major league season, losing about $1.87 million of his $6 million salary

“There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan’s complete innocence and demonstrate that there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program,” Braun’s representatives at the Creative Artists Agency said in a statement. “While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident that he will ultimately be exonerated.”

Under Major League Baseball’s drug program, if a player appeals a first positive test for a performance-enhancing substance, an announcement isn’t made until after a decision. Appeals usually are heard by Shyam Das.

The person familiar with the situation said Braun and others involved in the appeals process have known about the positive test since late October.

The 28-year-old outfielder hit .312 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs this year and led Milwaukee to the NL championship series, where the Brewers lost to the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Braun already was signed through 2015 when the Brewers gave him a new deal running through 2020 that added $105 million and guaranteed him a total of $145.5 million over a decade.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Ex-NHL Enforcer Georges Laraque Says NHL Has Steroid Problem

by FeedCrossing on November 26, 2011

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Georges Laraque, a former NHL tough guy who spent a dozen years in the world’s best hockey league with the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Phoenix Coyotes, recently said it has a steroid problem. Laraque spent his 12 years fighting the league’s other “goons” or tough guys as well as his own personal battle against performance-enhancing drugs. He has come out in the open with his personal story and other details in his autobiography called “The Story of the NHL’s Unlikeliest Tough Guy.”

He said that many of the NHL’s fighters used performance-enhancing drugs when he broke into the league and he asked the NHL Players’ Association if they could take any action against it. He said players would take the drugs to become physically bigger and so they wouldn’t feel as much pain during on-ice fights.

Laraque said his job was hard enough as it was, but things were even tougher when he had to fight against guys that were juiced up and bulked up on steroids. He said the NHLPA listened to what he had to say about the problem, but didn’t do anything about it at that point due to political reasons. He said the association wanted to keep mandatory drug testing out of their collective bargaining with the NHL.

The 34-year-old Laraque definitely has the experience to be taken seriously since he fought a total of 131 times during regular season games and served 1,126 minutes in penalties. He said some of the league’s enforcers used illegal drugs as a way to numb their pain. He added that it was easy to tell who was using them because the signs were quite recognizable.

He said that it wasn’t just steroids that were being taken as other drugs were also going around. He said he was clean and fighting against drug users was very dangerous for all of the fighters who didn’t take illegal substances. Laraque said a drug like ephedrine would basically desensitize a player during a game and he wouldn’t feel any physical pain. He said during warm-ups he would take a look at the other team’s tough guy and if he noticed that his eyes were bulging and his arms were trembling then he was on something to numb the pain.

He said fighters usually cover their faces with a coat of Vaseline the same way boxers do so the punches will hopefully slide off their faces. But Laraque said it wasn’t just the tough guys that were taking performance-enhancing drugs. He said some of the league’s top-skilled players also took them, but he wouldn’t mention any names. He said you could tell who used them because every four years they’d suffer a weight and efficiency loss, since the Olympics were held every four years.

He said this is because players would stop taking the drugs before the Olympics because of the strict testing policies and would then start up again when the Games were over and they’d gain weight and start playing better. Laraque feels that most of the players knew who was taking drugs, but nobody would break the code of silence about it. He feels the league must continue fighting against the use of illegal drugs and be more proactive, especially since several former enforcers have died in the past few years.

Laraque said the NHL introduced a clear-cut policy against illegal substances during his last few years in the league and noticed how quickly some players lost weight immediately after it was implemented.

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