Dan's+page

The Ramble: Steroids are worse than Gambling, Drug Free Olympics Impossible, Trevor Graham Trial Fallout, Horses on Steroids and the Dog Days of June 

For anyone willing to pay attention and who is interested in learning about the issue of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sports, these are very interesting times (judging) . New aspects of this story are revealed daily and as a result the sports world will never be the same, and will never be viewed in the same way again. ( Inference ) Pete Rose’s sins pale in comparison to what Jason Giambi, Eric Gagne, Paul LoDuca, and friends have done. (judging)  The actions of these drug cheats sent a ripple effect throughout the game that affected pennant races, award recognitions, and salary negotiations. Baseball is desperate to avoid any more revelations, as more instances of drug use will serve to further erode the legitimacy of any statistics compiled over the past 20 years. ( Inference ) Without steroids, growth hormone and amphetamines, baseball players will continue to struggle more than ever, and watch how guys at certain positions like catcher and other middle infield spots whither and wilt as temperatures rise (inferring) . Have any of you noticed there haven’t been quite as many stories telling us about how so-and-so keeps up with a killer workout program under the watchful eye of his personal trainer during the season? Keep looking for the signs of baseball players struggling without their PEDs, as things will get worse as we enter “the dog days of June.”(  Inference )
 * Steroids Are Worse Than Gambling ** (judging) .  I’ve been saying and writing this for years, but replace the word “steroids” with the word “gambling” in any of the news accounts dealing with Major League baseball’s pernicious problem and there would be universal dismay resulting in total chaos. Players on steroids, human growth hormone (HGH), and other PEDs have done more to alter the product on the field than any gambling scandal has, or ever could (judging) . The 104 players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003, and every player who has used for the past 20 years, have done immeasurable damage to the game. (fact/opinion)
 * Drugs-Free Olympics/Sports Not Possible **. There’s been a lot of talk about the new [|anti-doping pilot program] (inferring) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">being conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that is drawing blood regularly from volunteer athletes in order to conduct a longitudinal study and create an athlete’s “passport.” The thinking is that if the authorities can see a long-term picture of an athlete’s levels based on blood and urine tests they will be able to see fluctuations that will reveal PED use. Nice try. It’s a great idea and the only way to catch drug cheats, but this approach will never be implemented, as it is personally invasive and will never stand up to scrutiny in court. There is no way the authorities will be given the responsibility to collect this kind of sensitive information <span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">(judging) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> . And as athletes looking to get an edge use the next generation of drugs and therapies, there’s no guarantee that this longitudinal testing would be effective.( Inference/bias )
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Trevor Graham’s Trial **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Major League baseball’s troubles are nothing compared to what track and field is going through as a result of Graham’s trial (judging) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. So far we’ve learned: drug tests don’t catch drug cheats, <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">[|as one world record holder admitted to using almost every PED in the book] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> throughout his illustrious career but never got caught; PEDs are the only way <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">[|sprinters can break certain time barriers] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">; and that Graham seems to have presided over the largest group of drug-using athletes in the free world (inferring) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. As a result of the testimony the case can be made that athletes using drugs have set every existing track and field world record.( Inference )
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Horses On Steroids **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Big Brown, favourite to win horse racing’s Triple Crown, is a steroid user (inferring) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. In light of the tragic end of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby the anti-steroid forces have been working at full-throttle to get steroids banned from use in horse racing, despite the fact that there’s no indication that Eight Belles used steroids. What’s interesting about this case is that steroids do have a therapeutic purpose - for both humans and horses - and perhaps Big Brown is healthy precisely because his handlers are using the drugs in the correct manner. After all, Eight Belles is the horse that broke down. When discussing this issue I think we should keep in mind that the physiology of a horse is vastly different than that of us human folk and that it’s //possible// that Winstrol and Equipoise are appropriate to use for competitive horses if properly administered. I’m not saying that //overdosing// horses on equine steroids is a good thing, but wouldn’t it be something if horses started breaking down after a steroids ban goes into effect? Talk about unintended consequences (inferring) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">.( Inference )
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">The Dog Days of June **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. “The dog days of summer,” is a phrase used to describe the tough time that baseball players and teams have when the weather warms up and there is still half the season to play. These “dog days” are the times where the early leaders – both teams and individuals – come back to the pack as the grueling pace of the season starts to have an effect on performance. Since the 2008 season has been one big slump we’re seeing guys struggle earlier than ever, and it’s still only May. Which leads me to believe that things will get worse for a lot of these guys when the warm weather kicks in.( Inference )

[]