I don't have a ton of knowledge on designer or undetectable steroids. Take for instance, the NFL... it's no secret that a relatively high % of players in the league are not natural. What kind of things can they be taking that get around the testing? How often do they test?

Also, does any major sports league (i.e. - MLB, NFL, NHL or NBA) do blood testing yet? Is that even feasible for a league with 100s, maybe 1000s of players?

I know there are a few guys on here who have some pretty good knowledge on steroids that can share.

-------------------

Why does MLB take all the heat? Is it a "perception is reality" type of thing where the NFL is such a cash cow that people don't want to know what is going on? Is MLB use just more rampant than any other sport? (that I ahve a hard time believing) My guess is that the MLB records are the most sacred records in America and that once they were threatened and ultimately broken, that was enough...

12/14/2007 11:39:21 AM

Tiger Woods

12/14/2007 11:40:59 AM

This isn't chit chat so don't shit on this section, fuckfist.

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 11:41 AM. Reason : x]

12/14/2007 11:41:20 AM

I'm dead ass

They brought it up on mike and mike in the morning the other day

12/14/2007 11:43:43 AM

Don't know about any other leagues, but the NHL wrote a clause into the new CBA in 2005 about steroids. Each player is subject to up to three random tests per year, and positive tests result in a 20 game suspension for the 1st offense, 60 for the second, and permanent suspension for the third. Sean Hill is so far the only player to have tested positive. Here is an article from a Red Wings oriented publication from yesterday about doping in the NHL: http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2007/12/chelios_no_drug_problem_in_nhl.html

12/14/2007 11:54:24 AM

Cycling

12/14/2007 11:56:53 AM

Few if any in basketball

You want to be quick and agile...not big and bulky

Think Dwight Howard and not Roy Hibbert

12/14/2007 12:04:48 PM

Exactly. Which is why

Quote :

"My guess is that the MLB records are the most sacred records in America and that once they were threatened and ultimately broken, that was enough..."

I kind of agree with this, but I also think steroids are just more useful for some sports than others. Baseball is one for hitters that just need a lot of raw power, and cycling is another obvious one because you need so much power and endurance. Certain positions in the NFL could apply here as well. For sports like basketball and hockey, it really isn't quite so much raw power and strength. Especially hockey I would say; some of the greatest goal scorers are tiny little bastards.

12/14/2007 12:07:26 PM

Well when the WWE has a tougher drug testing policy than your league, you know you are just asking for a steroid problem. The NHL, NBA, and NFL's drug testing policies are/were way more stricter and more comprehensive than MLB, or at least a few years ago they were. I remember that MLB revised their drug testing policy a year or two ago, but I think I remember a baseball analyst saying that it was still a joke when compared with the other 3 major professional sports leagues.

12/14/2007 12:09:53 PM

yeah, in baseball you are allowed to pay someone $500 to be a stand in and take the test for you

12/14/2007 12:49:22 PM

I thought the NFL already had steroid testing. There are plenty of other substances similar to HGH that can have the same effect but is not detectable. Wacky hormone levels can raise red flags, though.

12/14/2007 12:49:41 PM

I guess it my question comes down to this... Is there any reason for us to believe that the use of steroids/performance enhancing substances is actually any more widespread in baseball than it is is in.. say the NFL?

Is the accesbility of designer or undetectable substances great enough to render the NFL's harder testing and the proposed MLB harder tested irrelevant?

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 1:04 PM. Reason : more comprehensive might be a better word than harder]

12/14/2007 1:04:13 PM

Quote :

"Is there any reason for us to believe that the use of steroids/performance enhancing substances is actually any more widespread in baseball than it is is in.. say the NFL?"

i dont think there is

but i think it depends on the sport...i think in something like the NBA there is less benefit to just more brute strength...sure somebody get roid up and be better able to bang bodies in the paint...but its not necessarily going to help the touch of your shot...but i think the NFL certainly has the same issues as MLB

and as far as the testing...they cant detect HGH with urine tests...testosterone levels can be checked but technically you can get away with testosterone...so while they've cracked down pretty good on anabolic steroids, there are lots of other ways to still get big easy

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 1:12 PM. Reason : .]

12/14/2007 1:10:59 PM

in response to your question on blood teting, i dont see any unions allowing for random blood tests in the foreseeable future (especially the MLBPA's union which is one of the strongest unions in the nation)

12/14/2007 1:31:32 PM

if one of those little kids in spelling bees got busted for roids, it would be a lollercaust

12/14/2007 1:37:11 PM

The main benefit of these substances for basketball would be healing from an injury.

12/14/2007 1:40:16 PM

All of the major sports have athletes doping. Anyone who believe otherwise is a moron.

In the NBA you may not have the same number as in baseball, but c'mon, some of those dudes are obviously juicing. There are so many different kinds of steroids. Not all of them make you huge and bulky. NBA athletes could use certain steroids to make them more explosive, not to mention cut up. And the NFL? Well that's just laughable.

Baseball just gets the most attention because of the "sacred" records

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 3:15 PM. Reason : .]

12/14/2007 2:46:20 PM

MMA does piss testing (and thats only US sanctioned events really)...and alot of people throw around accusations of HGH but there aint a test for that

i think alot of fighters use that stuff

the biggest reason is that the training is so fuckin intense, you never come into a fight 100% healthy (i mean you hve to fight....to train...to fight) so its a big pressure cooker when about a month or so out from your fight and you....i dono....slip a disk in your back. Most fighters if anything need that check they get after the fight so they dont wanna pull out, or they are the headliner of the card or they really for other reasons dont wanna have to pull out of the fight

so if they get injured close enough to the fight...yea they may take a steroid or something to recover faster


but then of course there are those that took designer drugs (Tim sylvia) to try to make their bodies a little more pleasing to the fans since no matter how much they train and work at it they cannt get a chiseled look

and there are meatheads that take drugs to get bigger, faster, stronger...they usually get busted once they fuck up in their cycling schedule



the first two types are generally reduced sentences after theyve plead their case to the athletic commisssions (drug tests are always done after the fight)

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 4:18 PM. Reason : v]

12/14/2007 4:11:56 PM

no one cares about steroids in other sports. But you mess with baseballs "numbers" and people go insane. People know what numbers mean in baseball.. When I grew up if someone said "755" or "714" or "715" or "61" you KNEW it meant home runs. Most casual fans don't know how many rushing yards Emmit Smith had in his career, hell most casual fans wouldn't know he was even the career rushing leader in the NFL. I follow basketball but I have no idea who the point leader is in the NBA for career, I think its Kareem but I wouldn't know how many points he has. People KNOW how many games Lou Gerig played and what # it took for Ripken to break his streak. Most casual fans don't know what the record is for TD passes in a year is and it was just broken a few years ago.

12/14/2007 5:51:12 PM

figure skating

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 7:27 PM. Reason : when they can do a cinco toe loop you know it is the 'roids]

12/14/2007 7:25:49 PM