Hoots Corner

I'll leave this post to stand on its own - no need for any comment from me.

Don

Sports News - January 26th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

As the list of admitted users continues to grow every week, the spotlight has now focused solely on the few remaining baseball players accused of taking steroids a decade ago who have kept their lips sealed.

One of those players, Sammy Sosa, is one of the three highest-profile players from the era who has yet to fully endulge on the matter, and some believe he has not been totally forthright about his past.

Of that group, former Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks told the Chicago Tribune, via ESPNChicago, that he would like to see Sosa admit to using steroids in the late 90s, the era he rocketed to prominence with Mark McGwire during their famed 1998 race for the home run record.

McGwire has since admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in a televised interview with Bob Costas, and Banks said he would like to see Sosa follow suit.

"Come clean with it," Banks told the Tribune. "Explain it to them...Just say: 'This is what happened.' It's hard to do, to admit this. Just admit it and live with it and understand it. I am sure a lot of people will forgive him."

Sosa was already been implicated in the steroids scandal last summer when he was named in a 2003 survey conducted to estimate how many users there were in baseball. The test was given on the promise of anonymity as the MLB strove to determine if there should be mandatory testing at all, but public interest in the matter pushed the information to be leaked. Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were also named in the survey.

He was asked to participate in an interview with congress in 2005, alongside Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens and McGwire, but denied using PEDs, and evaded questions by responding in broken english.

Sosa became one of the greatest home run hitters of all time late in his career when, beginning in June of 1998, he swatted a single-month record 20 homers. He finished the year with 66, four behind McGwire, and that number stands as the third-highest single-season total. He is sixth on the career list with 609 home runs.

Banks insisted he had no ill feelings toward Sosa, who has since found sanctuary in his native Dominican Republic, and would like to see him return to the United States.

"I would like to see Sammy come back," Banks said. "Throw out the first pitch, sing 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame,' you know, meet some of the players and all of that. I was dreaming about it. I always thought that the way he left here and went to his demise here was quick. The lesson from that is that fame is fleeting. It can go in a minute."

As we've chronicled in his space over the past few months, steroid use is widespread.  It crosses all sports and all elements of society, including law enforcement.

This week, another role model is alledged to have used anabolic steroids - Michael Vick of the NFL.

Don

 

Plano steroids dealer said he supplied NFL's Vick

Saturday, January 23, 2010

 

 

By JASON TRAHAN and GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News
jtrahan@dallasnews.com;
gjacobson@dallasnews.com

Michael Vick has told federal investigators that he never used performance-enhancing drugs, but Plano steroids trafficker David Jacobs told The Dallas Morning Newsbefore his death that he was Vick's supplier when Vick played for the Atlanta Falcons.

The News did not publish Jacobs' allegations against the NFL quarterback because authorities at the time declined to confirm Vick was part of the Jacobs investigation.

But a newly released document shows that federal agents and prosecutors questioned Vick about steroids and human growth hormone while investigating his dog-fighting ring in the fall of 2007. Vick denied using the drugs.

Agents asked Vick about an alleged encounter at the Falcons' 2006 Christmas party. Details of that encounter relayed by an informant to the Drug Enforcement Administration are similar to what Jacobs told The News after he began cooperating with federal agents and NFL investigators.

Vick was never implicated in the Jacobs steroids case. Vick was released from home confinement in late July after being sentenced to nearly two years in prison for his role in a dog-fighting ring. He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Contacted Friday for this story, Vick's agent said he could not speak right then but said he would call back. He did not, nor did he return subsequent calls or a detailed e-mail.

Authorities said Jacobs ran one of the largest doping networks in the country before he was arrested in May 2007.

The new document, which summarizes Vick's interview with investigators, surfaced because of open records requests by media outlets.

Agents told Vick that a DEA informant said that Vick was talking about steroids and human growth hormone with someone at the Falcons party and that Vick was overheard saying he "liked his product."

Vick immediately denied to the investigators that the conversation ever happened and said he did not use performance-enhancing drugs.

Names, other than Vick's, were redacted from the government summary, so it's not clear whether the DEA informant referred to was Jacobs.

But in several interviews with The News that took place in the months before authorities say Jacobs killed himself and his girlfriend in June 2008, Jacobs said that at that 2006 gathering he was with Vick and other players who used his drugs.

Jacobs told The Newsthat he was invited to the Christmas party by friend Matt Lehr, a Falcons lineman at the time. "He introduced me as his brother," Jacobs told The News. "I was at the table with Lehr, Vick ..."

Lehr played for the Cowboys from 2001 to 2004. He was on the Tennessee Titans roster this past year. When The News first reported Jacobs' account of the party in April 2008, only the names of Jacobs and Lehr were published.

Jacobs also named two other Falcons and another player at his table who he alleged used his drugs. The News isn't naming them for the same reason it did not initially name Vick: They are not confirmed to have been part of any law enforcement investigation.

One difference in the two Christmas party accounts: Jacobs told The News that the party was at the Georgia Aquarium. The newly unearthed document says the party was at a nightclub.

Read More >>   

As we adults debate whether the sports records of steroid users should be marked with an asterisk, we tend to forget that these drugs can be deadly.

Here is a current story of a young man in the UK whose death has been attributed to his use of anabolic steroids as reported by the BBC.

Don

Dangers of Steroid Abuse by Teenage Boys, 1/19/2010, BBC

Steroid abuse is a growing health problem for teenage boys who are under increasing pressure to look good.

It is illegal to supply steroids in the UK but not to buy them. But the internet makes it relatively easy for young people to buy body building drugs.

BBC Inside Out found that many young boys trying to enhance their physique are exceeding the recommended dose of steroids to get faster results.

Steroid abuse can lead to serious side effects including mood swings, development of male breast tissue, shrinking of the testes, impotence and high blood pressure. If steroids are taken for a long time there can also be damage to the heart and liver.

Seventeen-year-old Matthew Dear paid the ultimate price for steroid misuse.

He started taking a course of steroids in March 2009 to boost his body size.

Matthew increased his use of steroids from one tablet to four tablets a day - and began to feel ill.

Four weeks after he started taking the steroids, Matthew died. The cause of death was given as the misuse of anabolic steroids.

Inside Out's David Akinsanya investigates steroid abuse by teenagers desperate for designer bodies.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8467443.stm 

Whenever a young, healthy athlete dies from an enlarged heart, my antennae go up!  Based on my personal experience, I am always prone to suspect steroid involvement at some level.

Sadly, Gaines Adams of the Chicago Bears died today and some journalists are already asking the question about the possible correlation between his death and anabolic steroids.

Thought question:  I wonder how many of our high school athletes that drop dead during two-a-days are suffering from anabolic steroid use instead of heat exhaustion or dehydration, two culprits that are normally blamed for these deaths . . . . hmmmm.  Since a steroid test is very rarely ever done during an autopsy, I guess we'll never really know, will we?

Don

-- 01/17/10 -- Laura Tucker, www.gathernews.com

Is it possible that Chicago Bears football player Gaines Adams died from steroid use? It shouldn't be the first thing we think of upon hearing the news of his death, but with more and more athletes admitting to steroid use lately, and reading how healthy Adams was in every other way, it's hard not to think that his death was as the result of steroids.

Adams death was confirmed by the Greenwood County deputy coroner today. He died in an emergency room, with the cause of death being cardiac arrest caused by an enlarged heart. The coroner also stated that Adams appeared to be in perfect health, but it will of course take a few months for toxicology reports to come in.

According to the American Heart Association, an enlarged heart "may be caused by a thickening of the heart muscle because of increased workload. (This increased workload can be due to heart valve disease or high blood pressure, for example.)" Well, he didn't have heart valve disease or high blood pressure if he appeared to be in otherwise perfect health. So what was causing this increased workload to Adams' heart? And if he had either of those, surely Bears personnel would have known about it.

According to WebMD, steroid use can lead to an enlarged heart, hence the increased workload. That could very well be why Adams heart was working so hard. It's the off-season for Adams and the Chicago Bears. With their dismal record this year, they didn't even come close to the playoffs, instead watching division rival Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings battle it out with the Dallas Cowboys today. What was Adams doing today that was causing an increased workload to his heart?

Adams was new to the Bears. Last October they traded away a 2010 second round draft pick to the Tampa Buccaeers to obtain his services. He didn't see a whole lot of action this fall while wearing a Bears uniform, but with the reorganization of the team during the offseason, he was expected to figure in prominently.

We are proud to be associated with NFL Legend HOF player Dick Butkus.  We appreciate his partnership in our important quest to drive steroid use out of our high schools.  He issued a statement today regarding this weeks revelations.

Don

-- 01/15/10 --

Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who is a vocal advocate of playing clean, issued the following statement about steroid revelations this week.

"Mark McGwire's admission of taking illegal steroids was disappointing. But even more disappointing was the assertion that the steroid era is behind us, now that several of baseball's biggest names have come clean. That's like believing your home doesn't have termites because you swept a couple off the front porch.

"The steroid problem will continue unless we recognize this is still a serious problem, and deal with it where steroid use begins. The latest university data last month indicated a half-million teens admit to experimenting with steroids. What's worse, an Old Spice survey a year ago indicated that 85 percent of teens had never received formal education about steroids. Ending the steroids era will require everyone working together to help our next generation of athletes choose to Play Clean, using their natural talent along with training hard, eating well and playing with attitude.

"A few years ago, my son Matt and I began a grassroots educational campaign called I Play Clean(TM). I am humbled by the thousands of former players, current players, coaches, parents, teachers, fans and companies who are stepping up to carry the I Play Clean message to teens.

"Specifically, I ask everyone connected to teens and sports to take the I Play Clean pledge at www.iplayclean.org and to use the educational materials you'll find there. By doing so, you'll help protect the long-term health of our teens, and the future of organized sports."

The I Play Clean program is a project of the Butkus Foundation.

Over the past few weeks, I've used this column to spotlight the widespread use of anabolic steroids.  All of our readers need to know with certainty that steroid use is not limited to big league baseball players.  These drugs have found their way into most corners of our society.

Today's news article addresses an accusation of steroid use by the wife of Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, Erroll Southers.  Southers is a career law enforcement man, but like we've read in other articles preceeding this one, law enforcement personnel are not immune from using this illegal drug.

Of course, Southers denies the behavior . . . . .

Don

Divorce on steroids

By Matt Potter | Published Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

President Barack Obama’s choice to head the Transportation Security Administration, currently stalled by GOP senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, may face even tougher sledding if sensational steroid-use allegations made by the nominee’s ex-wife in a San Diego child custody case are true. Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent, now the Los Angeles World Airports Police Department assistant chief for homeland security and intelligence, has already admitted he misled Congress about illegally accessing FBI background records regarding his then-estranged wife Nancylee’s new boyfriend during the late 1980s. In October, Southers told the Senate’s homeland security committee that he’d used a San Diego police employee to pull the information. But a month later, Southers acknowledged he personally searched the FBI database and turned the results over to San Diego cops. When the FBI found out about it, Southers was internally censured.

“During a period of great personal turmoil, I made a serious error in judgment by using my official position with the FBI to resolve a personal problem,” Southers wrote. “This incident was over twenty years ago, I was distraught and concerned about my young son, and never in my career since has there been any recurrence of this sort of conduct.” Documents filed here in December 1997 show a couple caught up in a bitter, long-running custody fight over their son James.

Southers voiced concern about drug use by his ex-wife’s sister-in-law: “The fact is that she was addicted to drugs. I hardly felt it was appropriate then or now for her to reside in James’s home.”

Nancylee denied that narcotics were present in her Poway residence and in turn alleged she had “first-hand knowledge” that Southers “used steroids in the past.” According to the declaration, her former husband had been “very involved with body building” and asked her to “inject him during our marriage,” which Nancylee said she refused to do.

Southers responded that his wife “disliked the attention (magazines, photo shoots, etc.) bodybuilding brought, and her statement is a feeble attempt to discredit what I accomplished through years of hard work and dedication. The thought that I would risk my career and my health by using a controlled substance as an FBI agent is simply absurd and without foundation.”

My phone rang this afternoon and it was Mark McGwire calling.  He was calling to tell me that he had used steroids and wanted to apologize to me and my family personally for what he had done.  He went on to tell me that a press release would be hitting the wires in about a half hour, and that he wanted me to hear about his admissions and apologies directly from him and not from the front pages of this afternoon's sports headlines.

I'm glad he called - it took a real man to make that call.  It's taken a long time, but I think we all knew in our hearts that this day would come sooner or later.  I especially appreciate the sincere tone in his voice and the genuine contrition that I heard in his words.  And while I could easily pile on with those critics that wished he would have done this sooner, the reality is that he is doing it now, and from everything I've heard on the air waves this afternoon and this evening, it feels to me like he's coming completely clean.  Finally.

There are at least two stark lessons in all this for me:

• First, this should be a strong reminder for all of us that the steroid topic is still very much alive and that we should never assume that our battle is over - because it's NOT OVER, especially with our kids.  I will stand on the highest point and scream to the world that Commissioner Selig and his management team have done a superb job in driving steroids out of Major League Baseball.  But, with way too few exceptions, we still have yet to turn any meaningful energy at driving these drugs out of our high schools or out of our universities.  Many of our education leaders and coaches are afraid to admit that there was ever a problem in our schools in the first place.  Well, I've got news for them - Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drug use is widespread and is just as prolific as it's ever been!
• The lesson for our kids is pretty straightforward.  Steroid use is like so many behaviors (like drugs, cheating, alcohol, stealing, lying, etc.) that our parents taught us about all of our lives, behaviors that will give you a victory (or the illusion of victory) in the short run, but will cost you dearly in the long run.  You always lose when you do the wrong things.

Rather than jumping into the to and fro on this topic by speculating, let's read what others are speculating about on this topic.

Don

Shirtless Tiger Woods photos may fuel steroid speculations

1/5/2010, Primewriter.com

 

In the new February 2010 issue of Vanity Fair, a buff, Tiger Woods is seen on the cover, shirtless and with well defined abs. The issue will be available nationwide on January 12, 2010.

The photo reveals Tiger holding dumbbells and the photo shoot was meant to portray the athlete’s strength and determination. Unfortunately, the photos might cause more speculation that the athlete has been using steroids.

The rumors were also fueled by Los Angeles Times Sports Columnist Bill Plaschke suspicions that Tiger might be guilty of doping.  Plaschke first made the allegations approximately two years ago and stated that he felt that Tiger Woods looked like Barry Bonds from the back.

He said that his neck was oddly wide and his shoulders were ‘absurdly’ broad. He even described the golfer as ‘busting’ out of a tight shirt. Though many have wondered if Tiger was using steroids, the rumors have not been confirmed. However, many have stated that Tiger’s physique is not what they expect a golfer to look like. There is no doubt that as the Vanity Fair photos stir up controversy regarding Tiger’s image as a ‘bad boy,’ they will also stir controversy regarding whether or not Tiger is guilty of using steroids to get his buff physique.

Bill Plaschke spoke of the link between Tiger Woods and Dr. Anthony Galea who is being investigated for providing athletes with performance enhancing drugs and supplements. He said, “The report that links Woods with a doctor who promotes human growth hormone would have been silly two months ago but makes scary sense today.”