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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Saturday headlines: Steroids and birth defects

By Zach Arnold | November 3, 2007

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The negative effects of using performance-enhancing drugs and how it effects the children of users.

The Fight Network has reached a deal with K-1 and Fuji TV to air the 12/8 World GP Yokohama Arena event live.

Luke Thomas talks about Phil Baroni’s appeal with the CSAC board.

Kevin Iole has more comments about UFC not stripping Sean Sherk of his Lightweight title.

Mike Coughlin talks about the IFL show that will be airing live on MyNetwork TV tonight.

Max Kellerman is back to working for the “Boxing After Dark” series on HBO. In Dan Rafael’s column, he claims that Ron Borges (yes, that Ron Borges) auditioned for a role on the Boxing After Dark show.

Speaking of HBO, it looks like that boxing is on pace for a record year in PPV money. However, take note of the following report from Adam Swift: Bob Arum apparently doesn’t want PPV numbers released any more. Talk about going backwards.

Predictions for the Calzaghe/Kessler fight tonight.

Fedor is preparing for the World Combat Sambo Championships in the Czech Republic.

A profile article on Ken Kupsch, the President of King of the Cage Canada.

Catching up with Jose Pele Landi-Jons.

The lawyer of Din Thomas says that his client is not guilty of the accusations against him.

Topics: Boxing, Canada, IFL, K-1, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 30 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

30 Responses to “Saturday headlines: Steroids and birth defects”

  1. robnashville says:

    If Dana goes through with this keeping the belt on Sherk then im my book Sean Sherk becomes Sean Sherk*, just like 755 became 756*.

  2. SamScaff says:

    Yeah but even more so, because Barry Bonds never got caught for steroids. Sherk did!

  3. Taking steroids is the ultimate form of cheating in any physical sport. Sherk should be fired.

  4. David says:

    I do not understand how everybody in the MMA world is not guilty. Din Thomas did not promote unsactioned fights, Baroni never used roids, Sherk is clean as a whistle. Dana White is not a bullshitter but many fighers do not like him. You never heard Diaz talk smack about the NSAC accusations of him smokin ganj!

    Thank goodness The Fight Network is still working hard on making deals and promoting combat sports, especially K-1 🙂

  5. 45 Huddle says:

    For Sean Sherk.

    1. I do think that Sherk should be stripped of the title if his suspension stands. It sets up some sticky situations in the future.

    2. I understand Dana White’s frustration with the CSAC. This thing has gone on for almost 4 months now. That is completely stupid.

    3. I do think that Sherk never intentionally took steroids. His lie detector test and just the type of fighter he is has me believing this. Doesn’t mean that alone should get him out of a suspension.

    4. Either way, by the time of the end of 2008, we will have a very solid Lightweight Champion. By then Sherk’s suspension will be up and he will fight the winner of Penn/Stevenson. The champion by the end of 2008 will be #1 or #2 in the world at Lightweight.

  6. The Gaijin says:

    “3. I do think that Sherk never intentionally took steroids. His lie detector test and just the type of fighter he is has me believing this. Doesn’t mean that alone should get him out of a suspension.”

    How does someone unintentionally ingest enough supplements to put themselves at a 12:1 reading? Lie detector tests are not very accurate and are susceptible to manipulation – someone who is not above cheating probably wouldn’t be above manipulating a lie detector test either.

    Maybe if his reading was more along the borderline of what the acceptable levels are I’d be inclined to agree with you. But normal readings are 2:1, the IOC standards will accept 4:1, for some retarded reason AC allows 6:1 and he’s sitting at 12:1 – sorry but he’s a cheater.

  7. catch says:

    There are also some people who can naturally fool lie detector tests, although they’re typically compulsive liars, and Sherk doesn’t seem to be one.

  8. robnashville says:

    IMHO the best way to handle the situation would be to strip Sherk and make Penn-Stevenson for the vacant ltweight title. When Sherk comes off suspension have him win a fight or two before giving him a shot at the belt again, let him prove he can win and do it clean. I never thought much of the way they handled the Sylvia steroid suspension. He was slotted immediately right back into a match for the championship against Mir. And much like the build up to the Sylvia- Mir match-up, the fact that the former champ is coming in off of a steroid layoff will be verboten.

    “3. I do think that Sherk never intentionally took steroids.”

    oh the Bonds/Gary Sheffield defense. let me guess, someone told him to rub this flaxseed oil on himself, huh?

  9. The Gaijin says:

    “There are also some people who can naturally fool lie detector tests, although they’re typically compulsive liars, and Sherk doesn’t seem to be one.”

    Lie detectors are used to find elevated levels of stress that are present in when a person lies (i.e. increased brain activity, breathing rates, sweat secretion, heart rate changes) – its entirely possible for someone to “train” themselves so that they don’t “spike” on questions where they’re lie.

  10. Preach says:

    “How does someone unintentionally ingest enough supplements to put themselves at a 12:1 reading?”

    Gaijin, a few months back when Sherk was busted i wrote about the so-called “Kölner Liste” (Cologne List) released by the Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln (German Sports University Cologne). They’re one of the worlds leading facilities when it comes to studies on doping, and they have tested literally hundreds and hundreds of supplements on steroids, fungae, medications and poisons that might be in them. They came to the conclusion that 17% of all american-made supplements (11% of all german, a whopping 24% of all dutch) were contaminated with anabolic steroids, and that an unknowing recipient of these supplements could test positive for them (after the IOC standards).

    Most supplements sold in the US are either american or dutch, which means that (theoretically) every fifth or fourth supplement could be containing steroids. So yes, theoretically Sean Sherk could have gotten a ratio as high as his through unintentionally taking steroids via supplements. Mind you, the guy was taking more than a 100 different steroids a day, just using the dutch ratio alone he could have taken 25 per day, which could add up to such a T/E ratio.

    So, did he intentionally or unintentionally take steroids? To be honest – i don’t know. But i’m willing to give him the benefit of a doubt here. Not because of the lie detector test (because, like you pointed out, it can be beat), but because of the studies of the DSHK.

    But still, i’m for stripping Sherk of the title. Innocent or not, the whole situation has tainted the lightweight title, so for the sake of salvaging what little is left, take it off him. He can always contend for it again somewhere down the line.

  11. The Gaijin says:

    ^ WOW…that’s pretty mind blowing!!

    What the hell would be the reason for “contaminating” them with anabolics? To actually make them work?

  12. Preach says:

    Actually, it’s much more simple: good old fashioned Greed

    A question: do you ever read the ingredient list on the things you eat? Have you ever noticed something like “may contain traces of peanuts” or “may contain traces of shrimp” ? On a yoghurt? Or gummibears? Back in the days most companies were specializing simply on one field. They did dairy products or pasta for example. But nowadays even small companies are “cross-producing”. But instead of using different machines, they’re sharing them for different products. For example in the morning they’re filling shrimp-creme, in the afternoon yoghurt. Every normal person would say “Well, clean that damn thing up then afterwards”, but like they say “time is money”, and so many companies just push the other product through, and instead just put a little warning on the packaging for all the people who might be allergic.

    With pharmaceutical companies it’s just the same. They’re manufacturing diet-pills, supplements, vaccinations, steroids (for medical use)… and they just don’t clean the machines they’re using to press the pills in, without giving too much thought to it. Hey, it’s all to make people healthy, right?

    Another possible explanation can be the ingredients they use. In order to maximize their financial gain, many companies have started to rely heavily on ingredients from asia, mostly China, Thailand and Vietnam. And these countries don’t take it too strict with health restrictions. It’s not only that they’re using insecticides that have been outlawed over here for at least 30 years on their fields, they’re also throwing everything they have in the mix. Who hasn’t heard of (true) stories of people dying from drinking chinese diet-tea, because it was mixed with Arsenic? Or toddlers dying from poisonous pacifiers? (We recently had a bunch of deaths because of poisoned toothpaste over here!) The companies importing stuff from asia are required to do tests – but they are only required to do sporadic tests (they can’t possibly test everything, though they should be), and who says that they really do it?

    And that’s where facilities like the DSHK come in, who (thankfully) have taken it on them to actually test supplements. Sure, even they will never be 100% correct (Who says that a company doesn’t change it’s practice or supplier? Though, the list is being published annually, and everything gets re-tested), but they can make it safer for athletes (if they use the list).

    And on a somewhat related side-note: Do you like chocolate? Did you know that almost every chocolate bar contains cow blood? Yup, you read that right – cow blood. In chocolate. They’re using it in a thickened state as an emulgator, so that they can keep the product cheap and don’t have to use too much actual chocolate. And you’ll never find it listed in the ingredients, as the manufacturers are only required to do so, if the amount of blood exceeds 49%! Like i said – greed…

  13. Preach says:

    And for those interested in the first story, here’s something else concerning doping that you migh find interesting (and disturbing).

  14. Michaelthebox says:

    Preach: If that were true about cow blood and chocolate, I would think that someone, somewhere, would have written about it.

  15. […] facts about steroids. In the ongoing Sean Sherk steroids case, I found this post over at fight opinion […]

  16. Preach says:

    Michael, not everyone uses it. The higher the percentage of chocolate, the less is in it. Dark chocolate for example (the one that’s tasting more bitter) is completely free of it. It also differs from country to country, always depending on it’s rules and regulations.

    It’s just like with beer. German breweries brew following the “Provisional German Beer-law” (which is the successor of the “Reinheitsgebot”, the purity law of 1516), that dictates which ingredients can be used. Only water, barley, hops, wheat malt and cane sugar are allowed, whereas other countries, such as the USA are using saccharin or other artificial sweeteners, as well as artificial flavors.

    Sometimes you just don’t want to know what’s in your food. A good example for that are bread rolls and other assorted pastries (like baguettes). Many bakeries use a substance called “cysteine” (it’s an amino acid) to make the dough more smooth and flexible. And “cysteine” used to be made out of – hair ! The hair of asian people to be more precise. Yummy, right? 😉 Thankfully “human”-cysteine has been outlawed for use in the European Community in 2001, but i can’t say how it is in the states.

  17. StreitigKaiser says:

    Why are people so quick to assume that Sherk is guilty? His testorone level was not an abnormal margin among common athletes, his opponent Hermes Franca had a significantly higher margin that could in no way be sbsolved. Sherk has reasonable doubt in this case. His appeal has not even been heard, thanks to the incompetence of the CSAC. Let Sherk present his case; he denies these allegations therefore he must provide evidence to support himself. The final judgement against him will decide his name in the sport.

  18. Michaelthebox says:

    Preach, I’m not saying its not possible. I’m just disinclined to believe its the case, considering that no combination of cow, blood, chocolate, and emulsifier results in any google search result that even talks about what you’re saying, much less verifying it.

  19. Preach says:

    Well, i can only talk about how it is over here, like i said, i don’t know how it is in the US (though it would surprise me if it wouldn’t be common too, given that the US has much loser food laws).

    But i think that we really strayed away a lot from the steroid discussion (though i gotta admit that i’m at fault here, haha), which reminds me that theres something else going on in that direction right now:

    Kazakh cyclist Andrei Kasheshkin, who got busted for blood-doping while on vacation with his family, has filed a lawsuit against the International Cycling Union (UCI). He claims that being tested while vacationing violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He hired belgian attorney Luc Misson, who was responsible for the Bosman ruling back in 1995, which ended the then existant laws for the transfer of football players. Should the lawsuit be successful, the whole anti-doping system could collapse…

  20. Anyone see the Horodecki/Pasg;wlkerlkaki rematch?

  21. Grape Knee High says:

    Not only is Preach talking about an urban legend, he is recounting it incorrectly.

    The “real” urban legend is described here.

    It is about cow’s blood in chocolate milk, not in chocolate.

    And, no, neither story is real.

  22. 45 Huddle says:

    David Terrell has to withdraw from another UFC event. This guy might be the most unreliable fighter of all time. I think it is time for the UFC to cut him from the roster.

  23. 45 Huddle says:

    I justed watched the Bart/Horodecki fight on my TiVo. it was a really good fight. I thought the right guy won. I had Chris winning the first and third rounds.

    I thought the IFL telecast was kind of piss poor. Even for it being live.

  24. mdhan says:

    I’m surprised that there are so many people who are so sure that Sherk is innocent “because he has an amazing work ethic and doesn’t strike one as a person who’d be dishonest.” It’d be sad if these are the same people who accuse Wanderelei and Shogun of juicing because Juanito Ibarra says so and accuse Crocop, Gomi, and other PRIDE fighters because they choked on American soil. BTW, the people I’m referring to are usually guys who post at other forums(non-Sherdog, of course, or else I wouldn’t have even bothered), not anyone from this site in particular, so I hope no one’s offended here.

    In many cases, with all things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one as in Occam’s razor. So in this case, Sherk should be considered guilty until his appeal proves otherwise. The only “real” evidence we have right now is his positive test result. Yes, there may be incidences of contaminated supplements and so forth, but until Sherk can prove that he’s a victim of such things, it’d be foolish to refute the test results. Sherk may be innocent like he says but I just don’t understand how so many people are so sure. He’s getting his chance so IMHO, people need to sit back and see how everything turns out instead of making assumptions and excuses for him.

  25. Croatian Strength says:

    Yeah, Terrell is so unreliable, severely injuring his ankle.
    He should just shoot up some painkillers in the dressing room – didn’t hurt Mark Kerr.

  26. 45 Huddle says:

    If this was the first time he pulled out of a UFC event, it would be one thing…..

    But this is literally like the 5th time he has pulled out of a fight since. The guy is made of glass….

  27. The Gaijin says:

    “Why are people so quick to assume that Sherk is guilty? His testorone level was not an abnormal margin among common athletes, his opponent Hermes Franca had a significantly higher margin that could in no way be sbsolved.”

    Regular adult male levels – 2:1
    IOC upper threshold – 4:1
    Athletic Commission upper threshold – 6:1
    Sean Sherk – 12:1

    I’d call that abnormal levels.

  28. mdhan says:

    “Regular adult male levels – 2:1
    IOC upper threshold – 4:1”

    I’m pretty sure the IOC’s limit is 2ng/mL, and that a regular adult male has A LOT less than 1ng/mL. If I’m not mistaken, the IOC’s upper threshold was determined with factors like strenuous exercise and nutrition in mind. The CSAC’s limit of 6ng/mL is considered extremely generous compared to the IOC’s. I don’t know why some people think 12ng/mL is low.

  29. This post and the comments inside it should be considered essential reading for anyone commenting on nandrolone:

    http://fightlinker.com/?p=531

    if only because I don’t feel like having to re-write everything in it every time someone says something incorrect regarding nandrolone

  30. Preach says:

    Actually no, GHK. I’ve never heard of the story that blood is in chocolate milk before. But there’s even a patent on the use of blood for chocolate (patented in the former GDR if i remember correctly), and the famous italian “Sanguinaccio” (which is a chocolate/blood cream; sangue= italian for blood). There are many urban legends, but the food world is filled with many rather unappetizing things. Campari and certain brands of yoghurt are being colored with “cochenille” (which are scale lice), most strawberry-yoghurts have never even seen a strawberry and are made with wood shavings (wood shavings get mixed with water and alcohol, and through a complicated procedure build an artificial strawberry flavor), Kopi Luwak coffee is made out of coffee beans that have been eaten and passed out by cats…

    And on a side-note: 3 australian and 2 american children were hospitalized after chewing on their chinese-made toys – because they contained GHB !!!

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