Baseball is not only famous in the US, but also in Latin American countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Incidentally, many baseball prospects come from Latin America. With so many issues plaguing Latin baseball prospects, from falsification of documents to doping, it is not a wonder that the league has become stricter. DNA testing and steroid testing is now regularly done for top prospects, especially those who will be signing million dollar contracts.

However, 16-year-old prospect, Wagner Mateo’s case differ from the rest. During a medical check-up, Mateo was found to have a 20/30 vision affecting his right eye.

In July, he was rewarded a signing bonus of $3.1 million with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was on his way to fulfilling his dream of pulling his family from an impoverished life. However, with the issue on his vision, the Cardinals made their decision Tuesday night. They decided to void Mateo’s contract. According to the Cardinals, the reason for the contract voiding was due to “physical defect”.

Adam Katz, an agent plans to file a grievance in behalf of Mateo against the St. Louis Cardinals for terminating his contract.

Right now, Mateo is looking forward to try-outs and showing people that his vision does not get in the way of making him the next big thing in baseball.

From Yahoo Sports:

Of course it’s not that simple, little in the Latin American baseball business being so. As signing bonuses have risen dramatically among teenagers primarily in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, so has scrutiny. Top prospects now undergo DNA testing to verify their age and steroid testing to ensure their coaches aren’t doping them. Almost a dozen scouts and executives have been fired in a bonus-skimming scandal that drew FBI interest.

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With news coming almost on a fortnightly basis about a professional sportsmen or celebrity using steroids for attaining lean muscle mass and/or staying ahead of the competition, things are surely under a dark cloud as far as the usage of steroids is concerned.

In the worlds of professional sports and bodybuilding, the use of steroids is not new. It almost seems that every one was doping until the steroid testing protocols came into the picture. Despite tall claims by doping testing, more and more sportsmen and individuals are using steroids to get that feel of ‘invincibility’ even today.

From SteroidTimes.com:

In a recent study done by Strahm et al at the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses not very reliable (1). They examined the T/E ratio and its variances between ethnic groups because of a testosterone over epitestosterone (T/E) ratio exceeding 4.0 is considered as suspicious of testosterone administration, irrespectively of individual heterogeneous factors such as the athlete’s ethnicity. Strahm and colleagues found that a deletion polymorphism in the UGT2B17 gene was demonstrated to account for a significant part of the inter-individual variability in the T/E between Caucasians and Asians. By estimation of the prevalence of the UGT2B17 deletion/deletion genotype (African: 22%; Asian: 81%; Caucasian: 10%; Hispanic: 7%), ethnic-specific thresholds were developed for a specificity of 99% for the T/E (African: 5.6; Asian: 3.8; Caucasian: 5.7; Hispanic: 5.8).

In other words the group at the Swiss doping lab found out that a blanket T/E ratio is not accurate enough for the testing protocol and that “significant differences have been observed between all ethnic groups.” There conclusion was “that an athlete’s endocrinological passport consisting of a longitudinal follow-up together with the ethnicity and/or the genotype would strongly enhance the detection of testosterone abuse.”

It is high time that either steroids be allowed or banned as a middle path just do not seem to work any more. Moreover, it will allow steroid users to “enjoy” a level-playing field.

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The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic association plans to expand it steroid testing for high school athletes after three consecutive years of low rates of positive test results.

No student tested positive for school year 2008 -09, and only 1 tested positive in each of the first 2 school years of testing.

According to Bob Baly, NJSIAA’s assistant director, he would like to see their testing program implemented throughout the school year.

Athletes might take steroids early in the season because they know that testing is only done before or during the state tournaments.

Baly believed that additional testing would add to the deterrent. However, their main concern lies with the additional expense. Currently, NJSIAA pays $50,000 from its own budget and $50,000 comes from the state.

Baly just hopes that additional funding would be provided. He already approached Senate President Richard Cody about requesting for additional funds from the state.

Only New Jersey, Illinois and Texas test high school athletes. However, due to budget constraints, Texas is planning to slash its testing this school year. Florida used to perform steroid testing among high school athletes but they also cut its program due to a tight budget.

From the Press of Atlantic City:

ROBBINSVILLE - The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic association wants to expand its testing of high school athletes for steroids, but it probably won’t happen because of a lack of funds.

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Following the state of Illinois’ steroid testing program, New Jersey and Texas also conducted steroids testing among high school athletes. The biggest program so far is that of Texas, with the Texas government spending almost $6 million on the program.

Texas spokesperson Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said that test results clearly showed that the program is effective in preventing steroids abuse among high school athletes, due to a few numbers who tested positive. Dewhurst was the one who pushed the plan through the Legislature in 2007.

The initial round of testing was conducted from September to December of last year. Out of the 10,000-screened athletes, only four were found to test positive.

The second round of testing involved 19,000 athletes this year. It resulted to about the same outcome as last year, with only seven athletes testing positive.

Although the program showed as a deterrent in steroid use among high schools, several state officials think that the program is just a waste of money. Texas state Senator Dan Patrick referred to the program as a “colossal waste of money”. State lawmakers came to an agreement to slash the budget from $6 million down to $2 million within the next two years.

From The Eagle:

AUSTIN — The second round of steroid testing for Texas high school athletes found only seven positive results in nearly 19,000 tests, about the same outcome as the program’s debut last year.

The latest results, released by the University Interscholastic League on Friday, came from random tests on male and female athletes from September through December.

The initial round of testing in the nation’s largest high school screening program found only four cases of steroid use in 10,000 athletes. With such tiny numbers, some state lawmakers have questioned the value of the $6 million program. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has suggested it may need to be scaled down.

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The Breeder’s cup recently expanded its steroid ban to include drugs in two classifications for the two-day championships to be held at Santa Anita on November 6 – 7, 2009.

These drugs are broken down based on several criteria like its pharmacology, ability to influence the horse’s performance, and its therapeutic uses, if any.

Class 1 drugs include opiates and opium derivatives; synthetic opioids; psychoactive drugs; amphetamines and amphetamine-like drugs. There are 51 known drugs in this class of stimulants and depressant drugs.

Class 2 drugs include lidocaine, epogen, caffeine and snake venoms. There are around 350 drugs known under this classification.

These two classifications are an addition to the usual anabolic steroid testing, which only started last year, EPO testing conducted 10 days before the event and TCO2 or milkshake testing.

According to CEO and Breeder’s Cup president, Greg Avioli, these additions will help strengthen the preservation of integrity and protection of their athlete’s welfare at the world’s championships.

Trainers of horses found to test positive for these drugs will be suspended for a year from the 2010 event. Trainers who will commit the same offense three times will be permanently banned from participating in the Breeder’s Cup. The horses will also be ineligible to participate in the competition.

From The Canadian Press:

“The establishment of these new regulations strengthens our number one priority of preserving the integrity of our competition and protecting the welfare of our athletes at the world championships,” Breeders’ Cup president and CEO Greg Avioli said Monday.

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Marengo Democrat representative, Jack Franks recently sponsored a new legislation, House bill 272. It takes effect immediately and is set to expire on July 1, 2011. It was signed last Friday, August 7 by Governor Pat Quinn. The house bill states that random steroid testing will be conducted on high school athletes during their sports’ playing seasons. Students who will test positive or who refuses to subject himself to such testing will be banned from playing for a certain period of time.

The test outcome will not be divulged to the public. Only the student, his parents and his coach will be notified of the result. The law requires that at least 1,000 student athletes will be checked per season.

It also requires high school coaches to undergo an educational program about preventing steroids abuse or other performance-enhancing substances.

The Illinois high school association already conducts such testing during state championships. Other schools are also on board with the new law. High school coaches are fully supporting the new law because they think that it would be a good way to prevent high school kids from substance-abuse and making bad choices in general.

According to Murphysboroamerican:

High school student-athletes will be subject to random testing for steroids and other banned performance-enhancing substances throughout the school year under a new law that Gov. Pat Quinn signed on Friday.

While the Illinois High School Association already conducts such testing during state championship competitions, the new law spells out that at least 1,000 student-athletes will be checked during their sports’ playing seasons.

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A new method for detecting steroids was developed by researchers in Indiana and China. This method is said to be more efficient and produces results faster. Although there are effective methods for detecting illegal steroids through the urine, the new developed method only takes a few seconds and sample preparation is not time-consuming.

From Science Daily:

Amid growing concerns about sports “doping,” researchers in Indiana and China report development of a faster and more efficient method for detecting the presence of illegal anabolic steroids in urine.

Their new method, which takes only a few seconds and involves no time-consuming sample preparation, will be described in Analytical Chemistry.

The study notes that use of banned substances by professional athletes to build muscle and gain a competitive advantage is a growing problem in sports such as track and field, baseball, football and cycling. Although effective methods exist for detecting the presence of illegal steroids in urine, current methods are time-consuming and involve cumbersome preparation steps.

Zheng Ouyang, R. Graham Cooks, and colleagues developed a new steroid-testing method that combines two state-of-the-art testing techniques called desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) and tandem mass spectrometry. In laboratory studies, the researchers used it to analyze fresh urine samples for the presence of tiny amounts of seven different anabolic steroids. The new method accurately identified the steroids in only a few seconds using only a single drop of urine, they say.

The new steroid-testing method is a combination of two testing techniques called desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) and tandem mass spectrometry. This method was developed by the teams of Zheng Ouyang, and R. Graham Cooks who claimed that this method can detect steroid with just a drop of fresh urine.

The latest testing method was developed due to the growing problem of illegal use, especially in the world of sports.

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In Austin, Texas, lawmakers are having mix thoughts whether to continue or just abolish the steroid testing for high school student athletes. The various opinions are brought about by the large expenses incurred by this program.

In the steroid testing conducted during the first two years, only 11 high school students were tested positive for steroid use out of around 29,000 students who undergone the test.

From Chron.com:

AUSTIN — State lawmakers, skeptical about continuing to spend $3 million a year to test high school student athletes for steroids, are considering abolishing the program or at least scaling it back.

The Senate and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is the main supporter of a random testing program for steroids, want to maintain the current program.

The House wants to abolish it.

“It’s not needed. House members think that we should not do the test at all,” said House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. Pitts will lead House members in their negotiations with Senate counterparts.

The tests revealed that most male student athletes in football or wrestling were the ones positive for steroid use. Few of those who want to continue the program are Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Rep. Dan Flynn, who proposed the program two years ago. On the other hand, the House wants to stop the steroid testing program.

Since there are various opinions on the program, the Senate and the House will discuss on the budget including the scope and the pace of this steroid testing because some believe that it is a failure and just a waste of money. Meanwhile some believe that steroid testing on high school student athletes must be continued to protect the health and lives of these young people.

Finally, every concerned individual including Lt. Gov. Dewhurst is willing to have the program be scaled-down or adjusted.

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Linda McMahon is not only Vince McMahon’s wife. She is the CEO of the World Wrestling Entertainment, and she had also been called for questioning by the  U. S. Congress with regards to rampant anabolic steroid use in professional wrestling. Linda McMahon’s interview was far more useful than the highly criticized Vince McMahon testimonial. In fact, Linda gave a very interesting comment about Ted Turner, one of America’s most prominent businessmen.

From AOL Sports:

“(W)e had put into place a pretty significant drug policy which he refused to put into place,” Linda McMahon told the investigators, “so (Turner) had a lot of opportunity with some of our top stars, Hulk Hogan being one of them who went with him at that time.”

Later, an investigator asked, “Do you think their lack of drug policy had anything to do with talent moving to WCW?

McMahon answered, “I think it could have, yes.”

Obviously, gone are the days when the then-WWF strongly showed their support for steroid testing policies. From what Linda McMahon pointed out, Turner didn’t openly promote the use of steroids in order to gain more wrestlers. He just kept a blind eye on wrestlers using steroids. It’s no wonder that Turner was able to lure a lot of individuals into joining professional wrestling in the mid-90s. It wasn’t just the smell of money that attracted them; it was the opportunity to get away with steroid use in a profession where you’re looked upon as the next action hero.

Maybe the congress didn’t waste its time getting Linda McMahon’s testimonial, but the question really is: Why didn’t they get one from Ted Turner himself? With such an obvious lead Linda had given then, it makes you question the committee’s efforts in getting behind the steroid action in the world of wrestling.

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Their job description may not state that they have to look lean and mean, but police officers know that to have that look is to have an advantage over the criminal elements. To some officers, anabolic steroids are a means to get that advantage.

However, those at the top echelon believe steroid abuse is causing too many negative repercussions, and thus the fight against the trend of steroid abuse.

At the recent International Association of Chiefs of Police conference held in San Diego, Phoenix police Cmdr. Kim Humphrey talked about the trend and the dangers of the anabolic steroid use. The Phoenix Police Department is considered to be the pioneer in steroid-testing program in the law enforcement. PPD updated its drug-testing policy in 2006 to include anabolic steroids.

During his talk at the conference, Humphrey said steroid abuse is now being practiced among officers and yet only a handful of departments are implementing test for the said compounds.

From the San Diego Union Tribune:

…top law enforcement brass around the country are learning that the implications of a police force on steroids are far more frightening, Phoenix police Cmdr. Kim Humphrey said.
Aggressive outbursts, excessive use of force, poor judgment and serious health problems have been associated with steroid abuse among officers. Not to mention the fact that the drug is illegal.

“It’s gone far beyond the sports field,” said Gary Green, a leading steroid researcher at UCLA’s Olympic testing laboratory and a consultant to Major League Baseball. “And it has big implications for law enforcement. This is someone who has a firearm, who is entrusted by the public. We certainly want them to be as healthy as they can be.”

The San Diego Police Department does not test for steroids in pre-employment screens or random drug tests, but officers could be tested if they are suspected of abusing steroids.
Bob Kanaski, San Diego assistant police chief, said steroid use was an issue in the department in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“I haven’t seen anything of that nature since then,” he said. “Which is surprising, too, because we are very close to Mexico, which is probably one of the largest providers of steroids.

“I think we’ve done pretty good education on what steroids can do – what they can do to your body and to your future,” Kanaski said.

Since PPD’s implementation of steroid testing in 2006, five Phoenix police officers and one firefighter recruit have tested positive for the prohibited compounds. And authorities believe the number of users is much higher, but it’s proving to be difficult to determine since officers sometimes resign when questioning or testing is imminent.

Disciplinary actions vary, ranging suspension to termination from the job.

“Clearly, doing the test is not designed to catch people,” said Humphrey in early October.
“It’s designed to be a deterrent,” he said. “It’s not like in a sport where you just say, ‘You can’t play anymore.’ This is a career. It’s their job.”

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