2008 Olympics: Update - Bolt Shatters 100-meter Dash Record and the Accusations Begin (What You Haven’t Heard So Far During the Games)
August 15, 2008
Update:
Maybe Time Layden of Sports Illustrated didn’t mean what he wrote. Maybe he couldn’t help himself. But unlike other writings about Michael Phelps or any other athlete so far in the Beijing Olympics, Layden let loose with his concerns as he watched Usain Bolt shatter the 100-meter dash record:
In the belly of the Bird’s Nest past midnight, Usain Bolt emerged from a room where drug testing is done, having delivered the samples that might someday say as much about his performance as his winning time. He stepped into a wide hallway where giddy Olympic volunteers beseeched his autograph and his picture. He scribbled again and again, attaching his name to scraps of paper and to shirts, to programs and to credentials hanging from lanyards and surely they would have stayed all night with him.
Here then was a change in the course of sprinting history. Records fall, and then they fall again. But never in recent history has a 100-meter record record fallen like it fell on Saturday night in China.
Layden didn’t stop there; it turns out he did mean what he wrote to begin his article:
Yet it was not just the time. And it was not just the margin. It was the manner in which Bolt did it, shutting down with at least 15 meters left in the race and celebrating in a sort of arrogant exuberance as he crossed the line (and then running another 100 meters around the turn, much like he did in New York on May 31, when he first broke the record). He did something that seems nearly impossible: Shattering the world record while leaving the impression that he could have done much more.
“That’s not important,” Bolt said outside the stadium, long after the race. “I came here to win a gold medal.”
Soon will come the inevitable innuendo about whether Bolt is free of banned performance-enhancing substances. Surely they have started somewhere already. Such is the nature of track and field and sprinting in particular. “I pray that everybody is above board [clean],” said four-time Olympic medalist and current NBC sprint analyst Ato Boldon. “Because this kid is like something we’ve never seen before. We’re seeing the future right here.”
It appears that it will be a cold day in hell before people awaken from their slumbers and recognized how racially biased they are. A cold day in hell before they stop saying, “You’re blowing everything out of proportion. It’s not about race.”
A cold day indeed.
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I‘m officially done with the Olympics. Well, not done, just jaundiced by what I have not heard so far.
After years of decimating a who’s who of black U.S. track and field stars by using the Department of Justice (now, that’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever head one) hounding them as they competed around the globe, busting a laboratory Branch Davidian style, disseminating lists of the athletes to a salivating press, making them do the public perp walk at every turn, pursuing further evidence of their guilt with a vigor that would normally be used for, say, prosecuting a national leader who knowingly used false information to declare war on a country that has never attacked us (”he-he-he tried to kill my daddy!), then using taxpayer money to the tune of the high eight figures to prosecute them the the fullest extent, you would think the public would be attuned to Olympic figures who perform extra-extraordinary feats during the Games.
But no.
As it would be said by some wiggers, “Niggaz be breakin’ swimmin’ records like brothas in the hood breakin’ Vanilla Ice CDs.”
From Marion Jones to -oh, how could I forget?! - Barry Bonds, the eye test, the speed test, the head size test, the ‘my gut feeling’ test, and every other test except the urinalysis and blood test have been used to, to use a “W” twist on proper wording, “guiltify” black athletes who obliterate all-time records and perform feats of glory for which there is no Great White Hope equivalent.
Now, Jones and most of her track compatriots eventually caved to federal prosecutor pressure and admitted guilt in using what are termed “performance-enhancing drugs” (Bonds has not and probably never will). The prosecutions and all the itinerant perceptions surrounding the athletes’ performances were sifted through with the intensity of Africans searching for diamonds for De Beers were disseminated allegedly so the public had ample ammunition to understand just how difficult it is to perform at a world-class level and then, within a time frame where that does not allow for improvement through conventional training, suddenly top that previous performance level by a wide margin.
All of this leads us to the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China….
And new world swimming records are being set nearly every race…. and there is not diddly-pooh being said about this fact. Sure there’s some whispering about Speedo’s LZR Racer suits (and others) that’s so nice even Phil Knight Nike reps are allowing swimmers to use them because they can boost swimmers’ best times in their chosen events.
But relay records obliterated by five seconds? 200 meter swim times shattered by over one second? Swimmers who, a little over one month ago struggled mightily to make their country’s Olympic squads winning gold and setting new world marks?
The eye, speed, and my gut feeling tests all point to something being drastically wrong, or right depending on your perspective, with what’s happening with swimmers at the “Cube,” as the facility where the swim events are taking place is called.
We all know - should know - by now that the PED makers are always ahead of the testers. And yes, athletes’ test samples for PEDs are now put into storage for the next eight years in case new tests arise that can suss out new PEDs.
But there is no urine or blood test for Insulin-like Growth Factor, commonly known as IGH-3. Only a muscle biopsy can demonstrate it in the human body. There are whispers of new procedures to mask EPO - red blood cell- boosting in the body.
The cold fact is the PED makers are probably 15 to 20 years ahead of the testers. Always have been, a;ways will be. And the not-so-funny thing is that the members of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and members of all its offshoots in nations around the world, know this.
When you watch Michael Phelps of the U.S. or Stephanie Rice of Australia crushing records, you might become absorbed in and enamored with their efforts.
But think about all the questions you asked of this baseball player, black or white, think about the new disregard for the Tour de France due to it’s proclivity for fielding a PED-laced roster of cyclists, and think about how you applauded the Feds and jeered all those the U.S. track stars when their PED use was divulged.
And think about why you are not doing the same now.
Nadal Get Drubbed by Djokavic but Becomes the New #1
August 3, 2008
Rafael Nadal was supposed to become the number one tennis player in the world this week. But that was only if Roger Federer lost before the semifinals and Nadal won the Western & Southern Financial Masters Series tournament.
Nadla was drubbed in the semifinals by his nemesis, Novak Djokavic, 6-1 7-5. The loss was blamed on Nadal’s “fatigue” because of the ATP tournament schedule and not the play of Djokavic (oddly there was no mention of fatigue and Nadal the round previous). Actually, the Spaniard does not frustrate Novak and is a little psyched out having to play someone who grew up a better player on the junior world stage than Nadal and who will match him gamesmanship tactic for gamesmanship tactic. Nadal eschewed most of the world’s biggest junior tournaments and for players his age like Djokavic it is a sign of weakness that Nadal did so.
Andy Murray, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, and Djokovic to name a few of the top juniors who grew up with Raffa are at once mystified by the Spaniard’s sudden rise yet have little respect for the Nadal due to the whispers that have surrounded Nadal since he was 16 with the body of a weightlifter but swore and swears he has never lifted weights (where is ESPN on this one? Oh, too busy shoving Chris Fowler and his inane uninformed commentary down our throats and too busy forcing Brad Gilbert to conform or be replaced - but that’s another story in itself).
Notes: Gang Signin’ in the NFL; Camby was a Chess Piece; More Goods on Roger the Rapin’ Roider; Jennings Signs with Italian Team
July 16, 2008
Crip signin’… right?
The NFL is concerned about its image - again. The league has hired “experts” to review and identify “hand signals” thrown up by NFL players during games:
“There have been some suspected things we’ve seen,” said Milt Ahlerich, the league’s vice president of security. “When we see it, we quietly jump on it immediately, directly with the team and the player or employee involved to cease and desist. Period.”
Ahlerich says the league has long warned its players about the influence of gangs and other forms of organized crime, but that those admonishments have intensified since the 2007 killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, who was gunned down after an altercation involving known gang members.
The issue of athletes flashing signs gained national attention in April when Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making “menacing gestures” as he walked toward the Atlanta Hawks’ bench during a game.
While acknowledging that he wasn’t “into the etymology of gestures,” NBA Commissioner David Stern took immediate action after league officials examined video of the incident.
“And our decision is that there were two menacing gestures,” Stern said at the time.
Notes: On the Obamas New Yorker Cover; Raffa, Manuel Beltran, Lance and Dr. Fuentes; Matt Jones’ Daddy Gets in the Act; Brett Favre; Lute Olson on 1-and-Done’s; Mauricia Grant Mention
July 14, 2008
So what’s been happening lately?
Scoop Jackson mentioned Mauricia Grant in a meaningful fashion - a first for MSM - on ESPN’s First and 10 segment of its First Take morning show.
Claps for Scoop, boo for the WWL for bitching up in its coverage - lack of - of the lawsuit.
High school basketball point guard phenom Brandon Jennings chose Europe instead of the University of Arizona. Lute Olson reacted by saying he would never again recruit a potential “one-and-done” player.
Hey Lute, maybe Brandon looked down the list of your point guards who have performed well in the NBA and found that list severely lacking. Mike Bibby is the only one I can recall and Jason Terry is a tiny combo guard who cannot lead a team consistently from the PG spot. In fact, all the ‘Zona point guards were/are of the score first variety, right Jason, Mike, Damon, Salim…. Miles Simon, anyone?
Brett Fav-ray has dominated the sporting news so much that he had a personal space on ESPN’s news crawl last week. The “Cherished One” has apparently decided that the pull of the locker room and its camaraderie and the sights and sounds and smells of the NFL, plus his name in lights after leading yet another touchdown drive are just too much for him to stay away from the game.
Jacobs’ Death Ruled a Suicide
June 6, 2008
The death of David Jacobs, the convicted steroids manufacturer who was found shot along with friend Amanda Earhart-Savell was ruled a suicide:
The death of convicted steroids dealer David Jacobs was ruled a suicide today, according to a preliminary report from the Dallas County medical examiner’s office.
The medical examiner’s initial report shows he died of two self-inflicted gunshot wounds to his stomach and head. The office has not yet determined Ms. Earhart-Savell’s cause of death. The investigation continues.
Plano police also said today they see no conflict of interest in investigating the death of Mr. Jacobs, who publicly accused an officer of stealing from him. Mr. Jacobs never followed through by filing a formal complaint.
“The Plano Police Department will handle this investigation as we do with all of the others,” Plano Officer Andre Smith said Friday. “The bottom line is there’s no reason to conclude that we shouldn’t investigative this.”
*Breaking* Convicted Steroids Dealer and Friend Found Shot Dead… One of the Largest Steroids Makers in the U.S.
June 5, 2008
David Jacobs, 35, who on May 21 talked to NFL officials about players he supplied with steroids, was found shot to death in his Plano, Texas home late this morning:
Police received a missing-person call this morning shortly after midnight from Ms. Earhart-Savell’s family, said Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald. The family said she might be at the house on Honey Creek.
The body of Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell, 30, and a gun were also found at the home. Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Earhart-Savell had been engaged in the past, and had broken off and re-established their relationship several times.
Police arrived to find Mr. Jacobs, 35, and Ms. Earhart-Savell dead inside from gunshot wounds. Authorities were not saying whether this was a murder-suicide.
Why Trevor Graham Now?
May 23, 2008
Like steroid distributor, Angel Heredia, Justin Gatlin, according to Jeff Novitzky, worked undercover for the government in 2000 and recorded phone calls with Trevor Graham. The testimonies of Heredia and Gatlin are particularly damning to Graham’s claims of altruism in conjunction with anonymously sending a syringe full of a designer performance-enhancing (PED) growth hormone drug, THG, to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) allegedly created at the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) for testing:
In an 2004 interview with federal agents, Graham downplayed his relationship with [Angel] Heredia and denied being involved in banned drugs. Two years later, after Heredia became a government informant and secretly tape-recorded phone calls and a meeting with Graham, the coach was indicted on three felony charges of lying to federal agents.
Graham’s lawyer, William Keane, says the coach told the truth when he denied providing drugs to his athletes. In court, he accused Heredia of testifying falsely about Graham to avoid being prosecuted for steroid dealing himself.
Notes: Will Leitch v. Chris Carter; Greenie Hearts Kobe?; Melo to the Nets?; Trevor Graham’s Lies; Mary Tillman Interview
May 22, 2008
Chris Carter calls himself out
Former NFL wide receiving great Chris Carter was, apparently, not so nice to Deadspin’s Will Leitch. Now, I’ve been widely critical of Leitch, but this type treatment of him is totally uncalled for. Plus, it provides some insight into how some media members are more than willing to lump all bloggers into the same category. It also illustrates the bully mentality of many, many football players, current and former:
But I found a better example of what life as a blogger is like backstage, in the greenroom. All sorts of sporting bigwigs were there, from Joe Buck to Mitch Albom to John McEnroe to that guy from New York who’s always screaming on the radio. Somehow, I ended up being introduced to Cris Carter, formerly from HBO Sports (and the Minnesota Vikings) and now on ESPN. I shook his hand.
“Hello, I’m Will.”
Cris frowned, and even sneaked in a scowl. “Are you the blog guy?”
I smiled. The best way, I’ve learned, to deal with the hostility is just to smile. They’re not expecting that. I suspect they all think we look like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons or, more sinister, like a member of the thrash metal group GWAR. “Yes, sir, I do write a blog.”
Of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds and Falls From Grace
February 28, 2008
On February 13 Roger Clemens walked out of the Capitol in trouble. In one key moment of that day, he testified that he was never at Jose Canseco’s home on June 9 1998 and even produced a receipt from a public golf course from that date. Clemens’ attendance at this party was an important point of contention between the pitcher and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee. One of Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin, used the golf course receipt to debunk McNamee’s story and attempt to destroy his credibility, a tactic Hardin hoped to hammer home in front of Congress through his famous client.
Twelve days later we now know that a photo of Roger Clemens at Jose’s Canseco’s home is purported to exist. We also know that a former major league baseball player has indicated that Clemens often joked about a conversation from Canseco’s party about breast augmentation between his wife Debbie and Canseco’s former wife Jessica.
More Clemens!: Did Roger Joke With Teammate About Wife’s Chat With Jessica Canseco?
February 26, 2008
I heard it on the news. I received an email and was told the same (thanks, Miranda). According to a New York Daily News article by the “bust ‘em crew” of Teri Thompson, Christian Red, Nathaniel Vinton, and Michael O’Keefe, an anonymous MLB player informed congressional investigators that Clemens joked often in the clubhouse about an incident during the party on June 9, 1998. The scene at Canseco’s was a conversation between his wife, Debbie Clemens, and Canseco’s ex-wife Jessica comparing the results of their surgical breast enhancements:
