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Martina Hingis denies cocaine charges, retires

She was the number #1 women’s tennis player in the world when only age 16. From AP-

ZURICH, Switzerland – Martina Hingis said Thursday she has been accused of testing positive for cocaine at Wimbledon, and then announced her retirement from professional tennis. Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon winner, denied using cocaine.

“I find this accusation so horrendous, so monstrous that I’ve decided to confront it head on by talking to the press,” she said. “I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely 100 percent innocent.”

Her voice broke as she fought back tears in reading the statement. At the end, she took no questions and left the news conference.

The 27-year-old Swiss player lost in the third round at Wimbledon to Laura Granville, 6-4, 6-2.

Hingis said the positive test, which could lead to a doping suspension of up to two years, led to her retirement because she doesn’t want to spend years fighting the case.

Mario Widmer, Hingis’ manager, said he did not know why she waited until now to make the announcement.

Hingis returned to the sport two years ago after a four-year absence because of injuries.

She won three straight Australian Open titles from 1997-99, and Wimbledon and the U.S. Open championships in 1997. She came within one match of winning the Grand Slam in 1997, losing only in the French Open final.

On March 31, 1997, Hingis became the youngest female player ever to lead the world rankings. She was 16 years, 6 months and 1 day at the time. She is currently ranked No. 19.

It is said Hingis career has to end the way it did. If she thinks retiring will make the cocaine use charge go away, it won’t. Sports fans have heard so many athletes deny drug use and then either confess later on or have the use definitively proved, that we automatically believe the allegations. I don’t follow tennis well enough to render a verdict but I do wish Martina well in retirement.

 

Rick Ankiel Used HGH

Rick Ankiel has been the feel-good story of the summer. Now, it looks like he’s just another cheater.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, who punctuated a storybook comeback from pitching travails by homering twice with 7 RBIs Thursday, joined the list of athletes linked to a Florida-based steroids investigation.

The New York Daily News reported Friday that Ankiel received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation, citing records its reporters saw. That Orlando outfit, Signature Pharmacy, has been implicated in a steroids investigation run by Albany County (N.Y.) District Attorney P. David Soares, which has resulted in 22 indictments and several Florida clinic raids.

Sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney on Friday that Major League Baseball has formally requested a meeting with Ankiel.

Hours after the report was made public, Sports Illustrated reported on its Web site that steroids were shipped to the address of Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus in 2003 and 2004.
“We will certainly look into this with both players,” MLB spokesman Rich Levin said Friday.

Ankiel’s HGH prescriptions, including Saizen and Genotropin, were signed by Florida physician William Gogan, who provided them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called The Health and Rejuvenation Center, or THARC, the Daily News reported. The drugs were shipped to the 28-year-old Ankiel at the clinic’s address, the paper said. The pitcher-turned-outfielder lives close by in Jupiter.

Another great sports story ruined.

UPDATE (Sept. 7):
Ankiel admits using HGH but says it was legit:

Rick Ankiel says any drugs he received in 2004 were prescribed by a licensed physician to help him recover from reconstructive elbow surgery.

Ankiel, whose comeback is one of the great stories of this season, initially acknowledged human growth hormone was among those medications during a brief session with reporters Friday, then refused to list his various prescriptions.

“I’m not going to go into the list of what my doctors have prescribed for me,” the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder said when asked specifically whether he had taken HGH as part of his recovery. “I’ve been through a lot emotionally and physically. There are doctor and patient privileges, and I hope you guys respect those privileges.”

The privilege merely means the doctor has to respect the patient’s confidentiality, not that the patient has the right to keep it a secret. Given the sensitivity of performance enhancing drugs, one would think Ankiel would have come clean with MLB officials from the beginning and gotten their input into how this would fit in with League policies. I have no problem with leagues granting waivers for legitimate medical use of these drugs; indeed, they probably should do so. But this sort of thing needs to be out in the open and carefully monitored.

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Re-thinking Barrry Bonds

For the most complete Barry Bonds smackdown read Right Wing Nuthouse’s Not about Barry Bonds.

I am not going to write about his tax problems, brought on by his unreported cash income from signing balls, bats, and anything that isn’t nailed down in a ballpark.

I am not going to write about his personal trainer Greg Anderson, languishing in jail on a contempt charge because he refuses to testify against Bonds and confirm that he and Victor Conte of BALCO helped Bonds bulk up.

I am not going to write about Barry Bonds because Barry Bonds is a cheat, a scoundrel, a woman abuser, and a tax dodge.

In the end though, he lets some ambivalence show through.

No, I won’t write about Barry Bonds. Tomorrow. Today, I, like anyone else who loves baseball, can’t think about anything else.

For a diametrically opposed view of Bonds read John Sickels.

I don’t understand why everyone picks on Bonds. Did he use stuff he should not have used? Probably. So did the pitchers he was hitting against. It probably made him stronger, yes, but it did not improve his strike zone judgment, or his hand-eye coordination, and those were the things that have made him such an exceptional hitter. And it helped the guys he was hitting against just as much as it helped him. And he was hitting in San Francisco…you think that the steroids helped him more than the park hurt him the last few years?

This is really ridiculous I think. If Bonds were more personable, this wouldn’t be a controversy. The press has hated Barry Bonds way before the steroid thing, just like they hated Ted Williams. Because he doesn’t put up with their crap.

This is important. Gaylord Perry was known for scuffing balls, something that had an immediate impact on the game, for it caused a pitched ball to move in unpredictable motions. No matter how long Barry Bonds took steroids he still had to work out to build up his muscles. And it likely had no impact on his coordination.

But even Sickels accepts the premise that Barry is a bad guy personally. Still it’s hard to get past some of the evidence otherwise. Consider for a moment what Bonds has done for some of pitchers he’s victimized. He’s given them autographed bats. And not just Hensley, he also did this for Kip Wells who gave up 600.

And then there’s Cal Ripken

It was a joint effort by Barry and me. I like Barry a lot. I think he’s got a heart the size of a lion, and a lot of people might not recognize that or might not see it. I just thought that commercial had some potential to go beyond what had been written into it. Not that we’re writers or anything. We actually didn’t write it. Someone else did. But we talked it through, and I guess I gave them my permission to make a fool out of myself.

(The context of Ripken’s remarks were about a commercial he and Barry Bonds had made for Franklin batting gloves. The two player were compared. Then finally the announcer says “Barry Bonds has an earring.” As I recall the final scene has Cal sporting an amazingly garish earring with Bonds observing with a bemused look. Cal asks – something like – “You think my Dad will like this?” It’s a classic.)

There’s no getting many of the negative things Right Wing Nut House wrote about Barry Bonds. However I think his biggest problem wasn’t his surliness, but rather that he was surly towards the press corps. Thus he’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt in the media, assuring that he’s never going to get the benefit of the doubt.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

 

Chris Benoit, WWE Wrestler, Kills Family, Self

Professional wrestler Chris Benoit apparently murdered his wife and son before killing himself.

Chris Benoit Photo In this undated photo released by World Wrestling Entertainment, pro wrestler Chris Benoit is seen. Benoit, his wife and 7-year-old son were found slain Monday, June 25, 2007, at their home in Fayetteville, Ga., authorities said. (AP Photo/John Giamundo, WWE) WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son were found dead Monday, and police said they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

Detective Bo Turner told WAGA-TV the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, but said that couldn’t be confirmed until evidence was examined by a crime lab. The station said investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. The bodies were found in three rooms.

World Wrestling Entertainment said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received “several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning.”

Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department told The Associated Press the deaths were being investigated as homicides, and that autopsies were to be performed Tuesday. Pope said the bodies were discovered about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.

The house is in a secluded neighborhood set back about 60 yards off a gravel road, surrounded by stacked stone wall and a double-iron gate. On Monday night, the house was dark except for a few outside lights. There was a police car in front, along with two uniformed officers.

Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles during his career.

Tragic.

UPDATE: The story keeps getting worse.

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Authorities also said they are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths of Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son. Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behavior or angry outbursts known as “roid rage.”

“We don’t know yet. That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at,” said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard. He said test results may not be back for weeks.

Ugh.

 

Giambi Believes Apology To Fans Overdue

Duh! But, is it too late? I for one can’t watch drug enhanced players breaking long standing records of truly Great players. An apology does not fix this. Damage has been done. The question is, can we learn from these mistakes?

New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi , saying he’s likely tested for illegal performance-enhancing drugs more often than anyone else, believes Major League Baseball should have apologized years ago for its widespread drug problem.

Here is what he had to say before the game.

“I was wrong for doing that stuff,” Giambi told USA TODAY on Wednesday before playing the Chicago White Sox . “What we should have done a long time ago was stand up – players, ownership, everybody – and said: ‘We made a mistake.’

“We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. — Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it.”

Here Giambi goes on to say, “That stuff didn’t help me hit home runs”. But, it sure did give him the power to get the baseball out of the park.

“Unfortunately, (the rumors) are going to be a part of it. But that’s OK. I’m probably tested more than anybody else. I’m not hiding anything,” said Giambi, hitting .273 with five homers this season. “That stuff didn’t help me hit home runs. I don’t care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball.”

I believe they should start opening up a little more. If they want the healing to begin.

When asked, “So why did you take steroids?” Giambi said: “Maybe one day I’ll talk about it, but not now.”

source: aol sports

 

Steroids and Baseball’s Unintended Consequences

Baseball’s get tough steroids policy approved by owners and players before the beginning of last season put into place much tougher punishments for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs. In addition, baseball instituted rules governing the discipline of players who are found guilty, plead guilty or plead no contest on charges related to performance enhancing drugs. With the developing investigation of a Florida Pharmacy that allegedly supplied these drugs to a number of athletes, the conviction clause of MLB’s drug policy may come into play. That presents an interesting new problem for Gary Matthews Jr.

In addition to a 50-game penalty for a first positive test, baseball’s drug policy mandates a suspension from 60 to 80 games following a first conviction for “possession or use of any prohibited substance.”

The clause is triggered when a player is convicted or pleads guilty or no contest. However, Matthews could receive immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony in a possible trial.

“If he has immunity, he’s out of the woods on that clause,” said Brian Hennigan, a former federal prosecutor now with the Los Angeles law firm Irell & Manella.

Matthews Jr. may face that more stern penalty. But it is more likely he takes what he knows, offers it to help prosecutors in exchange for a grant of immunity, that keeps him from being charged.

That won’t fly in the court of public opinion, nor will it fly for Arte Moreno. (via Baseball Musings)

“He needs to make a statement to the fans,” Moreno said, clearly still unhappy 48 hours after Shapiro’s statement. “Our feelings were the best way was to be pro-active and talk to the fans immediately.”

Moreno issued his own statement Saturday night.

“Both the Angels and I have strongly encouraged Gary to cooperate with any authority investigating this matter,” Moreno said. “Specifically, the Angels have asked him to come forward and fully answer all questions surrounding the recent allegations against him. The organization continues to expect that this matter will come to a quick conclusion.”

Moreno said Monday he expected the Matthews matter to be resolved by Opening Day. But what that meant, he refused to say.

“That is one thing I won’t explain,” Moreno said firmly. “My frustration, or I should say all of our frustration, is the fact that we expected this to be handled very quickly.

“My expectations were that he would make a statement. I’m very disappointed.”

Moreno, speaking as both an owner and a fan, wants Matthews to speak unequivocally. But as is obvious, it is in Gary Matthews’ best interests to exercise his Miranda rights and remain silent. He well knows that anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of law.

For baseball’s policy to be successful, there must be stern punishments to discourage violation, but there must also exist a means by which players can be forthright regarding what they have been done. The integrity of both America’s judicial system and their national pastimes requires both fairness and transparency. Baseball’s system, despite its good intentions, encourages obfuscation over openness, stonewalling over straight talk and therefore fails.

 

Truth? You want the truth about Steroids?

You can’t handle the truth! But George Mitchell is going to try to find it, and handle it, and then present it to the public.

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell is confident his investigation into steroid use in baseball will yield the truth of what went on, even though players aren’t rushing to cooperate.

Speaking in Augusta, Maine, Mitchell said his investigators have talked to hundreds of witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents. He said the investigation, while proceeding “at full steam,” is being slowed down because he does not have the power to subpoena witnesses or documents, making its work “extremely difficult.”

“I believe that despite my lack of subpoena power . . . that we’ll have a comprehensive report,” Mitchell said yesterday. “What the lack of subpoena power means is it will take longer, not that it will significantly alter the result.”

Mitchell’s probe is the attempt of Major League baseball to put the issue of steroids in the game to bed, for the last time. And if it gets up wanting a glass of water it’s grounded. Forever.

Mitchell not only lacks subpoena power. If he believes that his probe will get to the truth he lacks a firm grip on reality.

The truth of the steroids era will come out someday off in the future. When players feel like they can speak freely about what went on without damaging the collegial relationship of the clubhouse. People like Jim Bouton and Jose Canseco became pariahs in baseball. They broke the code. What’s the code, you ask?

Simple. What happens in our clubhouse stays in our clubhouse. Darn right, we’re not here to talk about the past. And we hope that our colleagues succeed, except when they are playing us. Let’s recall important words of wisdom for the mentor of Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh.

CRASH
Learn your cliches. Study them.
Know them. They’re your friends.

Crash hands Nuke a small pad and pen.

CRASH
Write this down.
(beat)
“We gotta play ‘em one day at a
time.”

NUKE
Boring.

CRASH
Of course. That’s the point.
(beat)
“I’m just happy to be here and
hope I can help the ballclub.”

NUKE
Jesus.

CRASH
Write, write–”I just wanta give
It my best shot and, Good Lord
willing, things’ll work out.”

NUKE STARTS WRITING them down.

NUKE
“…Good Lord willing, things’ll
work out.”

It’s not now, nor has it ever been about the truth. Mitchell’s probe will point to a few obvious examples, but without cooperation from players and the real power to get the truth out of people, (guarantees of immunity and subpoenas) no new ground will be broken. The complicit media will dutifully report this “truth” but it will not be over.

This scandal will hound baseball as Bonds chases Aaron through the summer. And it will come back with McGwire second time on the ballot. The announcement that executives will be drug tested won’t make this go away. The sunshine of true disclosure will disinfect the festering mess that plagues baseball. Don’t expect sunlight to break through the clouds of obfuscation anytime soon.

 

Steroids and Gary Matthews Jr.

Gary Matthews Jr. may be feeling the intense scrutiny of the American Sports Media’s obsession with steroids in baseball. Because this doesn’t sound too good.

The Times Union has learned that investigators in the year-old case, which has been kept quiet until now, uncovered evidence that testosterone and other performance-enhancing drugs may have been fraudulently prescribed over the Internet to current and former Major League Baseball players, National Football League players, college athletes, high school coaches, a former Mr. Olympia champion and another leading contender in the bodybuilding competition.

The customers include Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Sources also said investigators from the New York Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which is part of the state Department of Health, recently interviewed a top physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers about his alleged purchase last year of roughly $150,000 of testosterone and human growth hormone.

The revelations about the Pittsburgh Steelers is very troubling. But Matthews is the biggest name, and having just signed a five-year $55 million contract, he is subject to a lot of scrutiny. A sabermetrician friend of mine who goes by the nickname of Valentine was curious enough about Matthews career performance that he looked into the numbers.

Matthews ISO [Isolated Slugging or Slugging Percentage-Batting Average] over the past three years has been remarkably steady at .186, .181, .182. His secondary average (includes BBs) has been in decline at .318, .295, .281. His OPS jumped last year PURELY because he hit more singles, and that is more likely a random fluke than the result of strength training. I would expect his BA to return to the .260-.275 range this year (even without taking park effects into account), which should return his OPS to the .750-.800 range. Steroids or no, he’s not going to be able to keep up last year’s pace.

The real surprise in looking at Matthews career is the jump in power between 2003 and 2004. His BA was steady, but his SLG jumped 80 points! Yes, he moved to Texas (and a good HR park), but that alone doesn’t explain such a large change. Especially not for a player whose early-career power was so thoroughly mediocre.

It is completely reasonable to assume that Matthews used something. Whether it was the then legal HGH or a banned substance is in question. Matthews himself was non-committal when talking to reporters yesterday.

Matthews, speaking to reporters at the Angels’ spring training camp in Mesa, Ariz., said he wasn’t “in a position to answer any specific questions.”

“I do expect it to resolve itself here in the near future. … Until we get more information, I just can’t comment on it,” he said Wednesday.

Matthews clearly can comment on it. In fact, he can clear up this whole mess by saying simply, yes, I used them. Alternately, he can vehemently deny that he did. But he can and should address the issue. Chances are he’ll keep himself clean, keep his mouth shut and let his numbers say what he is unwilling to.

Writers in the blogosphere are not generally as excitable about the steroid nonsense as the more enlightened scribes in the professional ranks of print journalism. And frankly I am not too vexed if Gary Matthews Jr. used HGH or other performance enhancing drugs. What irks me is that Matthews and the other accused dopers are unwilling to acknowledge or even speak forthrightly about what is going on. Two of the prominent athletes who have failed drug tests have accused their teammates of wrongdoing. Some have blamed confusion about supplements. Others have thankfully acknowledged their guilt and gone about their careers or in some cases concluded their careers. Admitting guilt, like Matt Lawton did, effectively ended his career.

Athletes are not obligated to confess to any indiscretion that appears in print about them. However, when athletes play the game of deny what is deniable for as long as it is deniable, it damages the credibility of the clean players. The responsibility to root out the miscreants lies with the Union. The players are demonstrably affected by the misbehavior of a few in their midst. They have the most motivation to police the clubhouse from within.

Until athletes are frank about what they have done, and until MLB management is forthright about what they knew, the sports credibility will remain damaged irreparably. That such stories cannot gain traction against the NFL is mind-boggling. But MLB seems to have a special place as the press’ steroid whipping boy.

Closing on a note of levity, the indispensable Deadspin contributes this comment:

More names are expected to come out in the coming weeks. The investigation focuses on an Internet copy, which means somehow, Jay Mariotti’s gonna figure out a way to blame this on the blogs.

Indeed.

 

The Incredible Growing Bonds

Barry Bond’s attorney has gone after everything about the book Game of Shadows except for the facts laid out in the book. Now Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada have their book in paperback with a new afterword.

But as the book is released this week in a paperback edition with a new afterword, the most important constant in the 12-month wake of Shadows is this: Bonds has not challenged a single fact in the book. It stands as an encyclopedia of this doping era in general and of Bonds’ massive doping regimen in specifics.

But by far my favorite part of this afterword, that lays out in a simple terms (that can be made into a table) information that makes you go, “That just can’t be natural.”

Measurement
Jersey Size
Hat Size
Shoe Size
1993 Giants – Age 29
42
7 1/8 (w/ hair)
10 1/2
2006 Giants – Age 42
52
7 1/4 (bald)
13

And as the authors write:

“The changes in his foot and head size,” they write, “were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of human growth hormone could cause an adult’s extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly**.”

The book (if true) leaves one believing Bonds is the biggest doper in the game and a idiot with the flaxseed oil story. I wonder if Bonds wanted to defend his good name why he wouldn’t sue the pants off the authors, much like Lance Armstrong did successful with every accusation of doping against him. Maybe Bonds doesn’t because they are right.

**Acromegaly is a rare disease that causes giantisam and facial distortions, eventually leading to death if untreated. Andre the Giant died from it in 1993.

 

Steroid Tall Tales

I am always amazed at the stories athletes come up with when they fail drug tests. From throwing a teammate under the bus to claiming they just eat things mailed to them. Well we have a case of a girlfriend throwing herself under the bus around it in one of the most bizarre “sex made me fail my steroid test” excuses yet.

AC Milan soccer star Marco Borriello failed a drug test in November when he tested positive for cortisone and has since blamed it on an ointment he rubbed on his willy. Beyond that his Argentine model girlfriend Belen Rodriguez took responsibility stating she had given him the cream after she had passed an infection to Borriello by making love. Unfortunately for the couple, Italian doctors claim that quantities found in Borriello’s samples are high enough to suggest that he ingested a substance, as opposed to using an external cream or spray. Well rumor has it they have come up with a new version of the excuse involving the ingesting of said ointment cream.

 
 


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