De Villiers pleads innocence

The South African-born French rugby player, Tommy Conlon Pieter de Villiers, has pleaded innocence after being accused of using drugs.

Villiers accidentally ended up with a cocktail of cocaine and ecstasy coursing through his bloodstream after he and his Stade Francais teammates went out for a feed of drink after a win over Harlequins.

From Independent.ie:

"I might have fallen into a trap," he said last week, "but I have never knowingly taken cocaine or ecstasy."

Ah yes, "knowingly." No statement by any athlete caught with his or her steroids down is complete without the knowingly protocol. And these days it is met only with knowing nods of disbelief from all but the incurably innocent.

De Villiers would have played against England next weekend but at 30, his international career may be over.

If he was playing for Australia he might have had a better chance of getting away with it. In March 2001 the Australian wing Ben Tune took the banned drug Probenecid. Tune claimed he used it for a gash on his knee that was not responding to antibiotics.

Probenecid has powerful healing properties when used in conjunction with antibiotics. It is primarily used by power athletes as a masking agent for anabolic steroids. His medical advisers claim to have prescribed it and subsequently informed the Australian Sport Drug Agency. He played two Super 12 games before ASDA contacted the Australian Rugby Union.

If his statement is any thing to believe, Pieter de Villiers probably had received an unfair deal after receiving a ban of two years after a random test.

IOC to make further sample checks

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) would not hesitate carrying out further checks on samples given during doping tests in Beijing, according to an announcement.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said: "Our message is very clear. The IOC will not miss any opportunity to further analyse samples retroactively. We hope that this will work as a strong deterrent and make athletes think twice before cheating."

From Espnstar.com:

In a statement, the Olympic governing body said: "The IOC intends to further analyse the samples collected this summer during the Olympic Games in Beijing. Substances that will be analysed across all sports include EPO Cera.

"All samples are currently being repatriated to the WADA-accredited laboratory in Lausanne where Olympic samples are usually stored after the Games. The details of the procedure, such as the number of samples to be further analysed and the timeline, are currently being discussed with WADA."

EPO Cera is an enhanced version of the blood-boosting hormone EPO and is now detectable due to advances in technology.

Two competitors from this year's Tour de France, double stage winner Stefan Schumacher and Italian Leonardo Piepoli, have been caught since the advanced tests were introduced.

Despite early reports claiming every test result would be reassessed, the IOC have stopped short of making that pledge, however they have every sample in storage which means an entire review is possible.

Of the 4,770 tests carried out by WADA and Beijing Games officials during the Olympics, 3,801 were urine tests and 969 were blood tests.

Andy Parkinson, UK Sport's head of operations, appreciated the announcement.

Sports Council defends drug-testing procedures

The drug testing procedures of Irish Sports Council (ISC) that have come under heavy criticism after a Kerry footballer was detained until after midnight this week in order to produce a sample have been stoutly defended by the council.

Dr Una May, director of the ISC's anti-doping unit, said, "Managers can opt to have their players tested before training starts, we have put that in writing in our agreement with the GAA last spring."

From Independent.ie:

May said she did not know if the Kerry management had been given this opportunity, because the tester was abroad and uncontactable yesterday.

"But we will certainly remind our testers to be proactive on this issue," she added.

It took the player over three hours to produce a sample when he was randomly selected for testing after training in Tralee on Tuesday night.

Being detained until after midnight once again raised the thorny issue of GAA players, who are amateur, being subjected to the same stringent anti-doping policy as professional athletes.

May said delays in giving urine samples are inevitable.

"It is a matter of letting nature take its course. Delays are regrettable, but inevitable sometimes," she said.

May remarked, "Testing traditionally takes place at the end of training sessions in order to avoid disrupting athletes, but there is no reason why such tests can't take place before they start training, or during it. Managers can decide the timing of it."

Anti-doping office recommendation means ban for Luca

According to a recommendation of the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping office, a ban of three years will be imposed on Danilo Di Luca for two adverse test results during May's Giro d'Italia.

The rider also faces a criminal investigation by the Italian authorities.

From Espnstar.com:

The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping office have recommended Danilo Di Luca serve a three-year ban for two adverse test results during May's Giro d'Italia.

Di Luca finished second in the Giro to Russia's Denis Menchov, however he tested positive for the banned substance CERA - an advanced version of the blood-boosting product erythropoietin (EPO) - on May 20 and May 28.

His positive test results were first revealed on July 22, and so any ban would begin on that date.

CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, has also recommended Di Luca’s results to be annulled and he be fined.

Guernsey States To Introduce Licensing Of Steroids

The British government has made efforts to tighten the law around drugs with the 2012 London Olympics drawing closer.

People wishing to import steroids in Guernsey now must apply for a permit.

From BBC.co.uk:

People who want to import steroids into Guernsey must now apply for the appropriate licence.

With the 2012 London Olympics approaching, the UK government has tightened the law surrounding to the drugs.

The States has decided to follow suit and introduce licensing.

The parts of the government's local medicines law relating to the licensing of drugs were recently approved by the States and have now come into force.

Anabolic steroids can sometimes be abused by athletes in a bid to add muscle mass or improve their competitive performance.

The States has decided to follow suit and the licensing of launch.

I Have Never Used Steroids, Palmeiro Said

Baseball slugger, Rafael Palmeiro, who is accused of using steroids, recently said that he had never used performance enhancing drugs in his astonishing career.

The former player hopes this statement will be able to change voters' minds Hall Fame and honor him for his 3020 hits and 569 homeruns.

From Boston.com:

Rafael Palmeiro is sticking to his story that a tainted vitamin shot caused his failed drug test five years ago, and hopes Hall of Fame voters will overlook the mistake and honor him for his 3,020 hits and 569 homers. A week before the Baseball Writers Association of America announces its inductees, Palmeiro told SI.com he never used performance-enhancing drugs in his 20-year career. Palmeiro again insisted the anabolic steroid was in a B-12 vial given to him by Orioles teammate Miguel Tejada. One of only four players in big league history with 500 homers and 3,000 hits, Palmeiro’s once certain election to the Hall is in jeopardy. Baseball voters have denied Mark McGwire, 10th on the career list with 583 homers, four times and his election seems unlikely.

The slugger told Sports Illustrated that he never made use of performance enhancing drugs.

Cliff Odenwald resigns as UIL director of athletics

UIL has named Dr. Mark Cousins as the interim director of athletics to replace outgoing director Cliff Odenwald, who resigned Dec. 31.

The process for finding a replacement for Odenwald will be initiated in mid-March, said Dr. Charles Breithaupt, executive director of the UIL.

From Dallasnews.com:

"The timing being what it is, we've got every sport playing or about to be playing with the exception of football and volleyball," Breithaupt said. "To post the job right now just wouldn't be right, timing-wise. Mark knows the inner workings of our athletics department, as does the staff. We've got an outstanding athletic staff."

Odenwald's tenure at the UIL was marked by several sweeping changes, including a rules compliance program for coaches and central-site championships for all classes in football. He joined the league as an associate athletic director in June 2007, hired to oversee the UIL's newly created steroid program. He became the league's director of athletics in February 2009, after Breithaupt vacated the post in order to become the league's executive director.

The outgoing director worked in the North Texas area as a coach and administrator for 19 years before joining the UIL.