Reds Minor League catcher suspended

Jose Raga, the Reds Minor League catcher, was recently suspended after he tested positive for a banned steroid.

Raga tested positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

From Web.minorleaguebaseball.com:

Raga, a 17-year-old from San Felipe, Venezuela, had appeared in six games for the Rookie-level Reds, going 3-for-13 with two RBIs. This was the 5-foot-11 backstop's first season in the Minors.

Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that is used by body builders as well as with animals to promote muscle growth, increased bone density and red blood cell production. In baseball, it has previously been linked to Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Roger Clemens, among others.

Raga is the 30th player to be suspended in 2011 under the Minor League program, his ban coming two days after Braves pitcher Matt Suschak was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for amphetamines.

The catcher with Cincinnati's Venezuelan Summer League affiliate has received a 50-game suspension, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball.

Most steroid users are not athletes

A study has suggested that contrary to popular belief, most users of anabolic steroids are in their 20s and 30s, well-educated, and don't even play sports.

The majority began using the hormones as adults, and most were not motivated by sports according to a survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. men who used anabolic steroids.

From Reuters.com:

On average, the study found, steroid users were 31 years old, and three quarters were college graduates. Most had "white-collar" jobs and relatively high incomes.

When asked about their motivation for using steroids, most said they wanted to boost their muscle mass, strength and physical attractiveness.

Only 6 percent said their steroid use was driven by bodybuilding or sports. In fact, most said they had never been in organized sports, even in high school.

The results suggest that most efforts to prevent steroid abuse, by focusing on young athletes, have misses the mark, according to the researchers. "The targeting of athletes through drug testing and other interventions does little to address use among non-competitive users," they write.

Steroid abuse, the researchers point out, has held steady, if not increased, in the U.S. This, they add, may be related to the fact that the largest segment of steroid abusers -- adult non-athletes -- has been "virtually invisible."

"In total, our findings belie the images of (steroid) users as mostly risk-taking teenagers, cheating athletes, and a group akin to traditional drug abusers," according to Jack Darkes of the University of South Florida, Tampa, and co-investigators.

Major doping scandals on the Tour de France

The world of cycling has taken a backseat while the relationship between cyclists and anabolic steroids has taken the front-seat these days.

Big names such as Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador have been accused of doping in sports.

From Reuters.com:

* 2010 - Alberto Contador, winner of the 2010 tour, tests positive for the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol during the race. He is cleared by the Spanish cycling federation (RFEC), but the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal. Contador's CAS June hearing is postponed, allowing him to enter this year's race.
-- If found guilty, Contador, who has denied any wrongdoing, would face a possible two-year ban and be stripped of his 2010 Tour title.
2011 - Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong is again accused of taking banned substances. His former team mate Tyler Hamilton tells the U.S. television program "60 Minutes" he witnessed Armstrong inject himself with a blood-booster during the 1999 Tour de France won by Armstrong. Armstrong has always denied taking banned substances and has repeatedly had to fend off accusations despite having never failed a drugs test.

The list of names linked with performance enhancing drugs does not end here and includes big names like Richard Virenque, Floyd Landis, Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Alexandre Vinokourov, Riccardo Ricco, and Bernhard Kohl to name a few.

Sex lives of young men killed by sleep loss

According to a new study, young men who slept less than hours a night for a week have considerably lower levels of testosterone than when they had a full night's sleep.

"Low testosterone levels are associated with reduced well being and vigor, which may also occur as a consequence of sleep loss," said Eve Van Cauter, professor in medicine.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Cauter and his colleagues found that skipping sleep reduces a young man's testosterone levels by the same amount as aging 10 to 15 years.

The investigation was conducted on 10 men recruited from the University of Chicago campus area. The participants, who were 24 years old on an average, lean and in good health, underwent a series of psychological and physical tests to screen for endocrine or psychiatric disorders.

For three nights, the men slept up to 10 hours, and then eight nights sleeping less than five hours.

The researchers obtained blood samples every 15 to 30 minutes for 24 hours on the last day of each experiment.

They found that the effects of sleep loss on testosterone levels were apparent after just one week of short sleep.

The finding appears in the June 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Japanese Wrestler banned

The Japan Wrestling Federation has disclosed that the 25-year-old Japanese Greco-Roman wrestling champion Katsuya Kitamura has been banned for two years.

Kitmura was banned after testing positive for a muscle-building anabolic steroid.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Japanese Greco-Roman wrestling champion Katsuya Kitamura has been banned for two years after testing positive for a muscle-building anabolic steroid, the Japan Wrestling Federation said on Monday.

Kitamura, 25, tested positive for drostanolone in two tests after triumphing in the 96-kilogramme category at a major national competition on April 29 and will be stripped of the title, the federation said.

He has represented Japan at two world championships, without winning a medal. He lost to Germany's Mirko Englich in their opening match at the worlds in Moscow last September.

Kitamura tested positive for drostanolone in two tests after posting a win in the 98-kg category.

Alex Wilson says his team is not a drug cheat

East Perth chief executive Alex Wilson has defended his club's culture and remarked that there is not a widespread issue with illicit drug use despite a second player facing a possible ban of two years over a positive test.

The positive test issue is bound for the WAFL tribunal if the footballer's B sample confirms the results.

From Au.news.yahoo.com:

It is the second time in the space of 12 months that a Royals player has returned a positive drug test. Dean Cadwallader was suspended for the maximum two years.
Wilson said the club was disappointed at the positive test but refused to concede the two cases were linked to an inherent culture problem at East Perth.
"We've had close to 100 players on our list from time to time and you take two out of that, that's the situation," Wilson said.
"I wouldn't prefer to say that this club's got a drug culture at all. It's just a matter of two people and let's face it, if the B sample comes up (negative), it's one."

The unnamed senior player is believed to have tested positive to both an anabolic steroid and cocaine.

Sex therapy could reverse ageing in men

The testosterone treatment, which is being used by pop star Robbie Williams, has been supported by a new study.

The study revealed that this form of treatment could really help reverse the ageing process in men.

From Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

The chart-topping singer, 37, had admitted injecting himself with the sex hormone twice a week in a bid to boost his sex drive and slow down the march of time.
Loss of muscle tissue, which is a typical symptom of ageing and is also associated with diseases such as aids and cancer, can be treated using anabolic steroids but these can have unwanted side-effects, making testosterone replacement a healthy alternative.

Testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, is promotes lean muscle mass and development of male sexual characteristics.

Giambi offers details on steroid use

Baseball star Jason Giambi, while testifying at the perjury trial of home run king Barry Bonds said he made use of illegal anabolic steroids that were obtained from the personal trainer of Bonds.

The American League Most Valuable Player in 2000, Giambi explained how he initiated the use of steroids after meeting trainer Greg Anderson at an all-star baseball game in Japan.

From Reuters.com:

"I was picking Greg's brain as to what kind of training Barry was doing, was he lifting weights, what was he doing in the gym," Giambi said. "Barry was a great athlete. I just wanted to continue my career so I wanted to get information from him."

He said that Anderson subsequently sent him packages containing steroids he called "the clear and the cream," explaining that the cream was testosterone, and the clear was epitestosterone. The package included a syringe with injectable steroids, which Giambi said he used.

Giambi said Anderson told him Major League Baseball tests were designed to detect the ratio of these two hormones and by raising the levels of both, he could increase their testosterone level without testing positive for illegal steroids.

Bonds has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to a grand jury about whether he knowingly used the same substances. His case is the latest in a years-long U.S. investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports.

Giambi said he made use of drugs for a few months before abandoning them.