Steroids Ok in the NFL?

Steroids are not allowed in the NFL but it sure seems that way.  Defensive rookie of the year Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans was recently suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season by the league after violating its steroid policy.  In addition the Associated Press decided to re-vote for the defensive rookie of the year award and was once again given to Brian Cushing.  Once he was stripped of the award for cheating by taking steroids you would think he would have been left off the ballot on the re-vote.  I think the NFL is sending a bad message here.

Floyd Landis Finally Admits to Doping and Accuses Lance Armstrong.

After four years of denying his positive test for synthetic testosterone following the 2006 Tour de France Floyd Landis came clean with ESPN.com yesterday and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs for most of his career.  During his years riding with the U.S. Postal Service and Phonak teams he tried everything from testosterone, human growth hormone, red blood cell booster erythropoietin, blood transfusions, female hormones and insulin.  Landis also confirmed several emails he sent to cycling and anti-doping officials over the last few weeks accusing dozens of other athletes including Lance Armstrong.  The World Anti-Doping Agency will open an investigation into these allegations but the International Cycling Union said these allegations were "scandalous and mischievous."

MLB Pitcher Edinson Volquez Suspended After Positive PED Test

Major League Baseball suspended Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez last month after he tested positive for a performance enhancing drug.  The drug was not disclosed but Volquez claimed it was a prescription fertility medication he took in the Dominican Republic.  Volquez was an All-Star in 2008 with a 17-6 record and 3.21 ERA but was sidelined last year after seven games due to an arm injury that led to Tommy John surgery.  He will be allowed to serve his suspension while on the DL but will lose his salary during this time.

China Stripped of 2000 Olympics Gymnastics Medal

In a follow up to our March 26, 2010 post China has been stripped of the women's team gymnastics bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.  Gymnasts must turn the age of 16 during the year of the Olympics to be eligible.  Chinese gymnast Dong Fangxiao was found by the International Olympic Committee to be 14 at the time and therefore ineligible.  The team bronze medal will be reallocated to the U.S. women's team.

More NASCAR Infractions

Driver Brad Keselowski was docked 50 points after his Nationwide Series victory at Talladega last weekend and his overall series lead dropped to 10.  He was docked 25 points each for an unapproved right front shock and an unapproved left front spring.  His crew chief was fined $20,000 and the car owner was also docked 50 points in the owner standings.

Lance Armstrong Teammate Suspended

Team RadioShack cyclist Li Fuyu has been suspended by the International Cycling Union after testing positive for the banned anabolic agent Clenbuterol during a Belgian race last month.  Li is suspended until the results of his B-sample are determined in the coming weeks.  If the B-sample is positive as well he will be removed from the RadioShack team that also includes Lance Armstrong.

Michael Waltrip NASCAR Racing Team Penalized

NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) drivers Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann along with closely affiliated drivers Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose this week.  All four teams were found to be running non-approved radiator pans and each fined $25,000.  The crew chiefs of Papis and Ambrose were additionally fined $50,000 each and both lost 50 driver and 50 car owner points for unapproved added weight.  Those points may prove costly in car owner points as both are trying to maintain a top 35 guaranteed qualifying spot.  As long as NASCAR has been around drivers and owners have been trying to cheat the system with illegal adjustments to gain an advantage.

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal - Where it all Began

Before Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal came to Las Vegas there were no sports books.  Rosenthal was a sports gambling pioneer who had inside information to just about anything in the sports world.  He learned his trade in the bleachers of Wrigley Field and soon had a reputation as a leading sports bettor and handicapper.  He was arrested several times for illegal gambling and bookmaking which led to his departure to Las Vegas.  He was the first to operate a sports book in a casino and secretly ran the Stardust, Freemont, Marina and Hacienda casinos in Las Vegas.  Rosenthal was eventually denied a gaming license due to his connections to the Chicago Outfit and subsequently forced out of Las Vegas when he was added to the notorious Black Book.  He later ran a sports betting website and was a consultant to offshore sports betting companies.  If you're reading this blog you have probably already seen the blockbuster Martin Scorsese film based on Rosenthal named Casino.  This is a great movie and does a good job capturing the rise and fall of Rosenthal, played by Robert De Niro.

Ultimate Fraud Championship (UFC) 112

Did anyone else pay for UFC 112?  What the hell was that?  I have been waiting months for this event and it was a disaster.  Can't say for sure if anything was fixed but the outcomes sure seemed unlikely.  Maybe the three main bouts had lots of money on them that they wouldn't go to the late rounds and therefore they all did in shocking ways.  In the first main bout Matt Hughes had plenty of opportunities to take out Renzo Gracie but continued to knock him down with leg kicks and strikes only to stroll to the other side of the octagon and let Renzo get back up time and time again finally ending in a late third round stoppage.  In the second fight BJ Penn was looking for the knockout punch the first two rounds.  I then commented to friends and also heard his own trainers tell him to take it to the ground.  One of the best BJJ specialist in the world and he does not listen to his trainers and did not even attempt one take down in five championship rounds.  Something was definitely not right about Penn or this fight which led to Frankie Edgar stealing the lightweight title from Penn in a unanimous decision.  I'm pretty pissed by now and expecting Anderson Silva to put on a show against Damian Maia for the middleweight title bout.  Silva certainly put on a show.  We have all seen him egg on opponents before but this was out of control and made him look like an disrespectful goof to Maia, UFC, Dana White and all us of poor saps that paid for this event on television.  Once he was warned late in the fight for taunting he then decided to run around the octagon and waste time to get his unanimous decision.  Maia made a late charge with the upset crowd chanting his name at this point but the damage was already done.  I'm a huge MMA and UFC fan but tonight they were KO'd!!!  Check out the video above of Dana White in disgust of this event.  My advice to him for the next few days is to not check his twitter account as there are quite a lot of vulgar complaints.

Sports Fix Flashback - UNLV and The Fixer

In 1991 UNLV basketball players from the 1990 championship team were linked to convicted sports fixer Richie "The Fixer" Perry.  The picture above shows the close relationship Perry had with those players.  Perry a basketball junkie and coach denied any wrong doing.  His involvement in a Boston College basketball point-shaving scandal and harness racing superfecta scandal in the 1970's along with his connections and insider sports information brought great scrutiny upon the UNLV team.  Inquiries into recruiting violations, insider information, giving money to players and access to coach Jerry Tarkanians own seats ultimately led to the coach resigning and Perry being put in the Nevada Black Book.

Memphis Basketball to Forfeit 2007-08 Season

The Memphis men's basketball team must vacate its 38 wins and forfeit tournament revenues from the 2007-08 season.  During that season Memphis used an academically ineligible player believed to be Derrick Rose.  Memphis appealed the decision but the NCAA ruled against it on March 22nd.  The result will be an asterisk next to Memphis' 38 win NCAA season record and forfeiture of roughly $615,000 in tournament revenues.  This just goes to show what the top schools will do to get the best players resulting in wins and revenues that are not fairly earned.  Turn a blind eye to the truth and hope for the best.  If they don't get caught they get tournament winnings and larger booster contributions.  It's all about money people.

Age Fixing in Olympic Gymnastics

Chinese Gymnast Dong Fangxiao was recently found to be 14 years old when she competed in the all-around event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.  The minimum required age is 16.  Evidence of her age was found on her blog and for her work with the Chinese team in Beijing.  The International Gymnastics Federation has recommended that China be stripped of its team bronze medal.  If the International Olympic Committee disqualifies Fangxiao the United States would inherit the bronze medal.

Super Bowl 44 Still in Question

Fans are still questioning if Super Bowl 44 was fixed for the New Orleans Saints.  Check out comments from this article at Fanhouse.  For a Quarterback so in control and accurate to throw that game ending pick you have to question it.  Reggie Wayne didn't even come back for it and allowed the pick and Tracy Porter of the Saints knew it was coming his way.  Other receivers were open as well so how did this play break down so badly?

NASCAR Driver Carl Edwards on Probation for Intentional Wreck

Last Sunday NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were in an early accident at the Kobalt Tools 500 Race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Later in the race Edwards came for revenge and deliberately wrecked Keselowski who dangerously went airborne.  NASCAR has put Edwards on probation for three races.  Not only do these intentional wrecks pose the risk of serious injury to drivers and fans it can also impact or fix standings and earnings for the drivers.  Racing can see its share of fixing by intentional wrecks for standings and race restarts, illegal blocking and illegal car modifications so don't think this sport is any more clean than others.