McNamee and Clemens have been making a big ruckus in society as of these past couple of days. The two maintained polar opposite stories when it comes to Clemens’ so-called steroid and human growth hormone use. The story, as it was told, was it was the trainer who confirmed that the CY Young Award winner in New York is actually making use of illegal drugs to improve game performance and to boost up physical vigor.

Now, Brian McNamee is working the case in order to preserve his right to sue the player. He even told federal investigators that it is true that Clemens used performance enhancing drugs, which will soon become the reason to defame the pitcher who happens to be bag up several awards and nominations. McNamee opened up the whole issue to Majority Leader George Mitchell. In the summon that was filed weeks ago in Queens Supreme Court, it stated the right of McNamee to sue Clemens, said his lawyer, Richard Emery.

It is noted that Roger Clemens had already filed his own defamation suit against McNamee after the trainer confessed in Mitchell Report that he used to regularly inject the player with steroids as well as human growth hormone. However, Clemens denied the whole issue and told the congressional committee that never in his life had he taken any steroids.

In the federal case in Texas, one of McNamee’s attorney said that the trainer was only forced to confess everything that he knows to the investigator because he was under the threat of prosecution. And because of this, it renders him immune from any defamation lawsuit that may come along the way; hence, he is pretty sure that the complaint of the player will never personally affect him. On the other hand, a federal prosecutor backed up McNamee’s claim, although it still needs a judge to rule on his request to simply toss the case.

With this, the ball is again on the trainer’s hand and the player is again obliged to clear out his name and save his reputation. The ball will continue to roll on both camps and only time can tell who will win the case.

With all the intrigues about steroids, it is now clear that the said substance has uses beyond that of medical procedures. Use of steroids other than for medical purposes is illegal be it in the entertainment business or in sports. Steroid use will not help improve life, rather destroy the body in more ways than one. Take these suspended players for example.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham recently developed a new highly sensitive steroid testing technique using hydropyrolysis—the same technique used in oil exploration. The process involves using high pressure environments to investigate the make-up and chemical structure of a sample. This oil exploration process was refined and developed by the researchers to make an accurate drug test for detecting illicit anabolic steroids in urine. This new test procedure is in the process of being commercialized and is expected to be ready for use in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The hydropyrolysis technique was applied to geochemical studies and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council’s Ocean Margins LINK program. Researchers reconstructed the history of ocean basins, assessing if it was worth drilling for oil. The technique can detect the presence of oil or the first ‘charge’ by taking core samples over a period of time in geological terms.

The hydropyrolysis technique is also being used for archeological purposes. It is being used to refine current radio carbon dating processes. It measures the carbon 14 isotope of an archeological sample to determine its age. Professor Snape added that most of the samples use charcoal but the samples are often mixed in with later debris from the same site and thus harder to date accurately. The hydropyrolysis can easily and efficiently remove the debris so that the sample can be accurately dated. There is a fundamental research developing this technique for archeological purposes and he said that he hoped that the technique will be an acceptable model in the future for cleaning up radio carbon dating samples.

The same process can be applied to detecting illegal steroids in the urine of athletes, as well as racehorses. The sample is bombarded with high pressure hydrogen at very high temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius and pressures of 150 atmospheres. The process leaves cleaner sample molecules, which are in a less degraded state compared to other extraction techniques. The cleaner samples allow taking more accurate readings. The sample’s carbon isotopes are subsequently measured and the results will show the ratios of carbon 12 and carbon 13. The technique reveals the same outcome whether performed in biological or geochemical tests.

Colin Snape, professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology at the University of Nottingham, said that steroids that are naturally produced in the body have different carbon 12 and carbon 13 ratios than those that are introduced in the body illicitly. He said that by refining the measurements of the two isotopes, a very accurate test for detecting the presence of illicit steroids in athletes can be produced.

Professor Snape also said that he and his team are working with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the government body controlling and regulating the use of banned substances in major sports organizations, as well as the Olympics, to develop the technique for trial. He said that they are partnering with Strata Technology, a company based in London specializing in high pressure equipment, to prepare the technique for commercial use.

Using steroids and illegal performance-enhancing drugs in bodybuilding and the world of sports also entails a quest for a method to beat anabolic steroid tests and pass different drug testing methods to be qualified to compete. There are many kind of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned substances so steroid-using athletes employ various methods depending on what they use; some are successful, but most are barely effective. Below are some of the methods used by steroid-users to beat anabolic steroid tests.

Diuretics

Urine tests are the most commonly employed steroid testing method and thus a lot of athletes who are taking steroids use diuretics to increase their water excretion thereby diluting their urine in the process. Some bodybuilders use diuretics to accelerate the excretion of all the drugs in their system. However, it has been established that diuretics are not an effective way to beat anabolic steroid tests because drug testers have found a technique to counteract the use of diuretics before testing. Called the specific moment test, this technique looks at the specific centripetal force of the volume of water in the body. If a person dilutes his or her urine, the specific gravity will be abnormally lower than normal. But there are disputes as to what range is normal for the gravitation value for urine. Diuretics also do not work because a lot of sports federations have added diuretics to their list of banned substances.

Substitution

A common method used by drug users to pass a urine test is substituting their urine with another person’s “clean” urine during the drug testing session. There are reports that some female athletes hide a condom filled with “clean” urine inside their genitalia. Come testing time, they prick the condom, releasing the “clean” urine sample. To counteract most substituting techniques, drug testing officials implement a close quarters monitoring. An extreme form of substitution for males is the use of a catheter. It is a thin rubber tube inserted in the penis and passes through the urethra and bladder. With it, the athlete empties the bladder and refills it with clean urine. Done improperly, it can result to rupture of the bladder and hemorrhage. Furthermore, this is not a full-proof method as fluids adhering to the bladder’s walls can contaminate the refilled urine. Also, the kidneys constantly filter blood, excreting to the bladder and contaminating the urine.

Blocking agents

One of the most widely used methods for beating anabolic steroid tests is the use of blocking agents, which are drugs or medications that hide the presence of steroids, making them harder to detect in the system. These drugs inhibit the body’s release of steroids and are usually taken in small dosages. Examples of blocking agents include Probenecid and Carinamide. However, because these drugs have been found effective in blocking the presence of steroids, they have been added in the International Olympic Committee’s list of banned substances. However, they have not yet developed tests to detect some of these drugs such as Carinamide. Probenecid, on the other hand, is easy to detect.

Canadian researchers revealed in their new study that a set of steroids injections given once for pregnant women who are at risk of giving birth prematurely can eliminate major complications for the baby; although, the researchers also claim that more steroid injections do not also result to more benefit as stated in the report of Will Dunham of the Reuters.

BBC News similarly published the same report claiming that pregnant women who are at risk of giving premature delivery are not advised to take excessive doses of steroids. The current study conducted by Canadian researchers, which was first published in the Lancet Medical Journal, opposed the previous studies that say additional set of steroid injections to these pregnant women can save the baby from the risk of dying, breathing problems, or bleeding in the brain. The current study suggests that giving additional doses of steroids to these pregnant women, specifically every 14 weeks, do not show any improvement on the health of the babies. Worse, such practice is claimed to result to reduce in weight of the babies.

The report posted on the MSNBC.com stated in detail that the researchers find it more beneficial to prescribe one dose of steroid injection alone than giving multiple doses to pregnant women. Babies prescribed with more doses are observed to have smaller head and less weight.

The conclusion of the study was based on the response of 1,858 women who were observed in 20 countries. All of these women were given a preliminary course of injections. Then, half of their numbers were provided with extra injections every two weeks until they reach their 33rd weeks of pregnancy or delivery; while the others obtain placebos at similar intervals.

“The key findings from our study was that there was no benefit (from the frequent courses of injections) and therefore that repeated doses should not be used,” stated by Dr. Kellie Murphy of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and University of Toronto who led the study.
According to the Reuters report, the doctors have been used to in giving women who are at risk to deliver premature babies with more than one set of steroid injections for sometime already. This is because of the belief that this could provide great help to the development of the baby. Unfortunately, the value of this practice became unclear now.

Essentially, the practice of giving repeat steroid injections is performed because of the physicians’ certainty that it will significantly save women from the high risk caused by giving premature birth such as the following: diabetes; obesity; high blood pressure; problems with the placenta, cervix and uterus. Because of these risks, almost thousands of women are given with the shots in United States and Canada alone according to Murphy.

But again, the new study advises the doctors to stick to one set of treatment alone. Karen Simmer of Princess Margaret and King Edward Hospitals in Australia and John Newman of the University of Western Australia also supported the new claim by stating in a commentary that it is practical for obstetricians not to provide frequent injections of steroids to these women.

“Single-course therapy is of considerable benefit, but we should be aware of the potential dangers of giving too much of a good thing,” they commented. “There is a big difference between giving steroids every week and giving them once or twice,” Professor Andrew Shennan of St. Thomas’s Hospital in London also stated. Dr. Murphy advised doctors to be more careful even in prescribing patients with one added dose.

The University Interscholastic League (UIL) reported during the early summer, just after the academic year 2007-08 ended, that only two high school athletes were found out positive for anabolic steroid out of more than 10,000 randomly tested student athletes. But the recent report published by Enrique Rangel of Amarillo.com stated that there were actually four.

The information released by Rangel is based on the recent report given by the UIL to the members of Texas legislature. The UIL serves as the governing body that is responsible to oversee the $3 million steroid testing program for each year, which the Legislature permitted during the session held a year ago.

Currently, there are 22 “protocol positive results,” wherein students who declined to take the test or failed to show up during the test will be required to take the test for anabolic steroid. UIL athletic coordinator Mark Cousins also confirmed that 26 high school athletes were presently traced to test positive for anabolic steroids for all practical purposes.

UIL’s report provided to the members of the Legislature is welcomed with a positive note specially by Rep. Dan Flynn, co-author of Senate Bill 8, R-Van, and steroid-testing legislation. “This shows that the program is working,” Flynn uttered. “The testing is a deterrent. The students know they could be tested and stay away from steroids.” However, some of the legislators who are against the bill—three from the Senate and four from the House—expressed their strong disagreement.

“This is one of those issues that sounds good but has no real impact except wasting taxpayer dollars,” commented by Sen. Dan Patrick to the Houston Chronicle the first time UIL report was released. “I don’t want to diminish the seriousness of steroids, but you can’t take a sledgehammer to kill a gnat. Spending $1.5 million per kid is ridiculous.”

The Los Angeles Times released a report last April saying that Texas is the first state to conduct a random testing for high school athletes to track the regularity of steroid use among the youths. And this step is regarded to be the most dramatic step taken to fight the plague of muscle-building drugs, which have crept to several locker rooms in United States already.

Now, the UIL is planning to publish a report that will include the entire students who tested positive for the illegal drugs during the first semester of the present academic year according to Cousin. He also said that the complete report for the whole year will be released this coming summer. “We tested more than 3,000 football players because our testing is for all sports, whether in season or out of season,” Cousins claimed.

Flynn also said that the purpose why the bill is proposed is to significantly lessen the number of student athletes who are involving themselves to steroid use. Now, the Texas program is deemed to be the leading steroid testing program in the world. In fact, Texas program is about to break the record of 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, where only 3,667 professional athletes were randomly tested. For now, Texas program is deemed to perform a random testing that will range between 40,000 to 50,000 high school athletes out of more than 70,000 this year end according to the UIL.

Rangel reported that the reason behind this program is to battle the steroid use among the students of high school and college, which have been considered as a major concern in the state for the past years. This incident is viewed to be the influence of the involvement of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Jose Canseco, Andy Pettitte, and Mark McGwire to the usage of performance enhancing drugs that apparently provided them competitive edge over the other players in the field.

The MMA always stands to its reputation of having clean athletes. The recent drug testing conducted earlier this month showed all negative results for steroids. The 12 fighters of the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale who underwent steroid testing were all clean for steroids and other drugs of abuse. The Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer provided the test results last Wednesday.

It is part of the NSAC rules to test fighters for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Other substances included in their drug testing are drugs of abuse such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin. All of the competitors tested negative for both classifications of drugs.

It is customary for the NSAC to tests all main-event fighter including all winning competitors. Fighters who have previously failed drug tests are also required to undergo drug testing.

The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale championship was contested by two teams, Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. For lightweight, it was Efrain Escudero who was declared as winner while Ryan Bader got the title for light heavyweight. The respective runners-up: Phillipe Nover and Vinny Magalhaes were also tested.

In the undercard matches, the winners are Anthony Johnson, Wilson Gouveia, Junie Browning, Krzysztof Soszynski, Eliot Marshall, Tom Lawlor, Shane Nelson and Roli Delgado. These fighters were also tested and the results were all negative.

The main card is between Efrain Escudero which defeated Phillipe Nover via unanimous decision. Ryan Bader defeated Vinny Magalhaes via TKO in round 1. Anthony Johnson defeated Kevin Burns also via knockout in round 3. Winners via submissions are Wilson Gouveia who defeated Jason MacDonald and Junie Browning who defeated Dave Kaplan.

In the undercard event 3 matches were under submissions. These are between Krzysztof Soszynski who defeated Shane Primm, Eliot Marshall who defeated Jules Bruchez and Roli Delgado defeated John Polakowski. Unanimous decision was also given in favor of Tom Lawlor who defeated Kyle Kingsbury while Shane Nelson defeated George Roop via split decision.

The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale event took place last Dec. 13 at the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas and Spike TV covered the event.

With this result we can conclude that MMA fighters are all concerned with their health and reputation. Most of MMA fans are giving their praises to these players. One comment states that he was certain that none of these fighters were on any drugs or steroids. It would make the sport look bad if they had tested positive for drugs or steriods. Most of these fighters have respect for the sport, so they would not be stupid enough to do that.

The event earned $405 thousand in gate revenues which drew 1,496 paid attendees and it was also estimated that the Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale was able to attract more than 1.9 million viewers.