Maybe we are already fed up with the news about Tiger Woods on steroids. Accusation about his steroid use may not entice people to read more but talks about his mistresses may be more interesting to some. We seldom read in the news about pro golfers being involved in the use of performance enhancing drugs. It is a sport that is considered by many people as a clean sports. But the reality is, the use of steroids is not only confined in sports requiring physical contact, extra strength and stamina. It may not be rampant in golf but golfers are still tempted to use steroids aside from medical reasons like treatment of a certain health condition.

The report of the Daily Telegraph proves this assumption as one of the young and promising golfer of Australia was recently involved in steroid controversy. They reported that amateur golfer Daniel Nisbet will be facing a two-year ban for possessing steroids during his return to Australia after a competition late last year. The 19-year old golfer, who became part of the national team just last year, was apprehended by customs officers upon his return to the country. He represented Australia at an amateur tournament in Canada but was caught with steroids.

Nisbet’s case is currently on appeal with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA). According to Nisbet, the steroids were intended for another person. It is not yet clear what type of steroids were confiscated from the golfer since the golf association and the ASADA had made an agreement not to disclose any information to the public on the Nesbit’s case. “Our agreement with ASADA means that we can’t publicly comment on it in any shape or form until it’s made public,” said Stephen Pitt, Golf Australia chief executive officer.

Daniel Nisbet will be turning pro this year after his inclusion in the Golf Australia National Squad and Australian Institute of Sport squad members in 2009. But his steroid case will hinder his objective to become a professional golfer and compete in the PGA. Nisbet was also ranked number 26 on the world amateur golf rankings. His career may already end because of the sanction that will be imposed against him which will include banning him in amateur and professional tournaments. Golf Australia chief executive officer Stephen Pitt told the Daily Telegraph that Nisbet is no longer part of the Australian national squad and the Australian Institute of Sport golf squad because Nisbet’s 2009 term had already expired.

The performance of Nisbet in the amateur pleased some of sports officials in Australia. He was even commended by Golf Australia Director-National Elite Development Peter Knight when he was included in the squads. “Both of these squads are made up of our best amateur talent and the inclusion of Daniel Nisbet and Ryan McCarthy shows the quality of players who are not long out of junior golf,” said Knight. “The players who are beginning a career in professional golf do so after having been such great ambassadors for Australia and their respective states. They have our best wishes for long and successful careers as professionals”.

The recent admission of a national track and field athlete that she used steroids in the Athens Olympics is another blow to the reputation of the country in the field of sports. Crystal Cox admitted that she took steroids from 2001 to 2004. The track and field athlete was forced to admit to doping because of the BALCO investigation. Cox was part of the United States 4×400-meter relay team who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Her team won the gold medal in that event.

The US Anti-Doping Agency handed the 4-year suspension Friday on sprinter Crystal Cox. The suspension will not allow her to participate in any track and field competition. The sanction will definitely affect the career of Cox since the sanction will end in January 2014. Cox became a celebrity when she appeared on a TV reality show “Survivor: Gabon.” It is also definite that her medal in the Olympics will be forfeited and may even include her achievements in the track and field from 2001.

The question now is whether her teammates will also forfeit their medals. Cox ran in the preliminaries together with Moushaumi Robinson. But during the final relay, the team was composed of Monique Henderson, DeeDee Trotter, Monique Hennagan and Sanya Richards. Members of the team should worry because it may happen to them just like the teammates of Marion Jones who were also stripped off their medals when Jones admitted that she took steroids during the Sydney Olympics. Jones also spent time in jail for her steroid case. Jones’ teammates are still appealing to restore their medals.

Although in the case of another track and field athlete Jerome Young, his teammates were spared from the penalty. Young who also ran in the preliminary for the 4×400-meter team during that year was also penalized for involvement in steroid use. He was stripped off his medal in the relay competition.

In the interview of LA Times with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Travis Tygart, the chief executive welcomed the admission of Cox but he showed some concern on the issue since it shows how the problem with steroids affects the sports. “You’ve got to give her credit for accepting responsibility,” Tygart said. “Hopefully this sends a strong message that if you’re going to succumb to temptation, you have to remember the terrible position you’re putting your teammates in,” he added.

The reports did not specify what particular type of steroids that Crystal Cox took to enhance her performance in the Athens Olympics. But if the steroids came from Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO, it was absolutely a potent one.

The major league is dominating the headlines for a few weeks now because of the admission of Mark McGwire that he used steroids during the peak of his career. But other sports organizations are coming into the picture because of revelations of steroid dealers that it is not only the major league players but NBA players were also among those frequent customers of their steroid products. There are a few basketball players who were reported sanctioned by the association because of their involvement in banned substances but the number is minimal as compared to baseball, football and athletics.

The minimal number may be due to the effective anti-doping policy of the league or players were able to circumvent their existing policies. Last year, Dallas Mavericks owner commented that he personally favors steroids use in sports but only draws criticism. His statement was in connection with the suspension of Orlando Magic Rashard Lewis for testosterone use. Dwayne Wade was also accused of using steroids by business partners but the allegations stemmed from their business problems. Wade denied using any performance enhancing drugs and the NBA did not make any action to investigate the star player.

The basketball association is firm on its stand that steroid use is not rampant among their players. But the reputation of the association could become questionable if the accusations of former steroid dealers and whistleblowers were true. During an interview with ESPN’s TJ Quinn, Curtis Wenzlaff said that his customers were not confined in baseball and football but it also include basketball. Wenzlaff was convicted for selling and distributing illegal steroids to professional athletes. Some of his clients were Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. According to Wenzlaff he worked with “25 to 30″ college and professional athletes, from Major League Baseball, the NFL and NBA. He personally prepares “steroid recipes” to these athletes for them to achieve better performance in their field of endeavor. “When I took on a client, not only did I write them workouts; I worked out with them. I wrote them a diet to the point where it was so refined that I wrote what to eat and what time to eat,” he says. “If I took you on, you agreed to do what I said. You came to me to become bionic,” Wenzlaff said.

When asked to name these players, Wenzlaff replied that he is not ready to reveal their names. Instead he told Quinn that the details will be included in the book which he planned to write.

Kirk Radomski, another steroid whistleblower aside from Jose Canseco, also wrote in his steroid book that he sold performance enhancing drugs to an NBA player for several years. Radomski also added that based on his information, numerous NBA players were also into steroids. Radomski was one of the key personalities who helped the congressional inquiry regarding the rampant steroid use in baseball.

In the statement given to ESPN, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said refutes the claims that they are facing the same dilemma with the major league. “We have no comment about an allegation that an unnamed player bought steroids,” he said. “But we have a comprehensive random-testing program for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. A handful of NBA players have been disciplined for failing tests for what the NBA calls SPEDS (steroids or performance enhancing drugs). But by and large it has been assumed that the League does not have this problem -even as players have been getting bigger, faster and stronger,” Bass added.

Baseball sluggers Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds were accused of using steroids to improve their performance. These players both achieved home run record in the league. McGwire already confessed about his steroid use but denied that he used it to gain competitive advantage while Barry Bonds still refutes in court his alleged steroid use. Other players who were also linked to PED’s like Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and many others showed impressive performances in the field. Many sports writers and other baseball experts made quite a lot of discussions on the pros and cons of using performance enhancing drugs in baseball but they rarely provide scientific proofs of its benefits to the players.

How can we say that using steroids and performance enhancing drugs could help the players hit the ball faster, stronger and more accurate? What percentage of improvement does steroid gives to the athlete? These questions were all answered by a physics professor who shed light on the issue. Roger Tobin, a physics professor at Tufts University discussed how steroids contributes to the increased home runs in baseball. In a lecture entitled “Sox and Drugs: Baseball, Steroids and Physics”, the professor compared the statistics before the steroid era and the 1990’s where baseball players broke home run records.

Victoria Boggiano of The Dartmouth News detailed the findings of Professor Tobin. In her article, Tobin was qouted saying that several players hit between 20 and 50 percent more home-runs for the top players of the past century. That is between 1995 and 2003 where it was considered as the steroid era in baseball. “Babe Ruth’s record of 60 [home runs] was set in 1927,” Tobin said. “Over 71 years, this record changed by one. And then in 1998, Mark McGwire hit 70,” said the professor.

The professor considered the player’s number of home runs per balls in play rather than the strength in hitting the ball. “First you have to hit the ball, which means you have to bat and you have to not strike out and not walk. The reason for dividing it up this way is that whether or not you hit the ball has really rather little to do with how strong you are,” Tobin said. There was an increase in the percentage of home-run balls hit by top baseball players. From 10 percent in the 1980’s, there was an increase of 5% based on statistics. “But then you look at, say, McGwire – his average was 18 percent. There were two years when he was close to 20 percent. Think about it: if you actually hit the ball, one out of every five was a home run,” the professor explained.

According to Tobin, if the player is already good at hitting the ball, the strength he gets from the steroids would increase the bat’s motion. He further explained that a 10 percent increase in muscle mass will lead to 3 percent increase in a batted ball’s speed. Although the percentage of increase in speed is small, it can raise the proportion of home run balls by 30 percent. “Home runs are particularly sensitive to these small increases in muscle mass,” Tobin said.

The professor believes that the use of steroids in baseball gives more benefits to the players as compared to other form of sports like swimming and track and field. Shot putters have been caught constantly using steroids, but the record there has only gone up by a little over 4 percent, according to Tobin. “You don’t see 20 or 30 percent effects,” he added.

The study only proves that steroid is one of the possible reasons why baseball players achieved better performance especially in breaking home run records. The physics professor concluded in his lecture that his study is plausible.

Requiring Manny Pacquiao to undergo random blood testing to test for steroid or any banned substances was the primary concern of the Mayweather camp. It was actually the cause of the cancellation of their big fight on March 13. But their real intention may be questioned by the public if Floyd Mayweather will be fighting Shane Mosley, a former steroid user.

According to Oscar Dela Hoya, the head of the Golden Boy Promotions, there are already on-going talks with Shane Mosley. In an interview with Fabforum, DelaHoya answered the question whether the fight will really happen. “I’m confident it will,” said Dela Hoya. The promoter previously lost to Mosley who admitted publicly that he used steroids. The negotiation is being handled by Golden Boy Chief Executive Richard Schaefer who was also part of the Mayweather-Pacquaio negotiators.

The Mayweather camp said that a boxer who wants to fight Floyd will be required to undergo steroid testing. “I believe Mosley will raise his hand, and say, ‘Take me to the lab,’” De La Hoya said. He also added that his company will be pushing for a more stringent steroid testing policy in the State Athletic Commissions like the procedures being used by USADA. “You know what’s happening out there: all these athletes are taking steroids,” De La Hoya said referring to his former opponents (Mosley and Fernando Vargas) who were on steroids. “It’s dangerous,” he said. The promoter wants testing to be USADA-like and mandatory. “It’s crucial. This is not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. It’s two guys bashing their heads in,” he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the USADA, Travis Tygart, also shared the same concern with Dela Hoya. He believes that the state athletic commissions were not effective in catching those steroid users. When asked during an interview about the case of Shane Mosley, Tygart replied that the current state of drug testing done by state commissions is a joke. “They don’t test for EPO. They don’t test for designer steroids. They test for a basic, simple menu that anybody with a heartbeat will escape,” Tygart said.

Tygart also added that he hates to hear that Shane Mosley used a sophisticated method of doping. He believes that Shane Mosley will be caught under their steroid testing program. But this was contradicted by Zak Woods of WathcKalibRun.com. According to Woods, Mosley used an advanced type of steroid which the doping agency did not know until Coach Trevor Graham informed them of the drug.

The steroid which Mosley took came from Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO. Conte is famous among the professional athletes for his designer steroids. Mosley was alleged using the Clear and the Cream. According to Woods, the “clear” acts as the anabolic steroid while the “cream” acts as a masking agent. “The “clear” is actually a steroid called THG, tetrahydrogestrinone, which was unknown to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency until June of 2003, when track coach Trevor Graham anonymously mailed a syringe of THG to the Doping Agency,” Woods said.

The head of the anti-doping agency did not consider the purpose of Conte’s products, that is to beat normal steroid tests. Using “the cream” and “the clear” together will make it a powerful and effective steroid cocktail according to experts since the products were designed to be undetectable in standard drug tests. THG, a clear liquid taken in droplets under the tongue, likely would have all of the effects of any anabolic steroid which include promoting muscle growth according to Woods. This is one of the reasons why many athletes use these steroids.

The clamor for baseball players involved in steroid use to come clean will not end soon as people inside the sport becomes very vocal on the issue. In the recent interview of the Tribune on Ernie Banks, the Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer said that Sammy Sosa should also make a confession like what Mark McGwire did. “Come clean with it,” Banks told the Chicago Tribune. “Explain it to them … Just say: ‘This is what happened.’ It’s hard to do, to admit this. Just admit it and live with it and understand it. I am sure a lot of people will forgive him,” Banks said.

During the 2005 congressional hearing, Sammy Sosa was among those baseball players invited to shed light on the alleged rampant steroid use in the league. Sosa denied that he used steroids but last year, the NY Times reported that he was one of the 104 players who were tested positive for a banned substance during the MLB’s 2003 survey testing. This report agitated some of the lawmakers and even planned to file a case against him for lying before the Congress. But again Sosa is keeping mum on the issue.

The Cubs representative Ernie Banks even traveled to the Dominican Republic last year just to contact Sammy Sosa. That effort did not return positive result since Sosa was in Brazil that time working as a representative for his country. Sosa worked with the Cubs in 2004 but his performance was not impressive during the final game of that season. Banks will not easily give up on the baseball slugger. He told the Tribune that he still want to talk to Sosa about the steroid issue. “I will just explain it to him and how the people are,” Banks said. “I don’t think he really understood that. People are for you; they want to see you do well. They are forgiving people. We haven’t won in over 100 years, so this audience here is pretty special,” the Hall of Famer said.

Banks want Sammy Sosa to comeback in the game and he is optimistic about it. “Throw out the first pitch, sing ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame,’ you know, meet some of the players and all of that. I always thought that the way he left here and went to his demise here was quick,” said Banks. “The lesson from that is that fame is fleeting. It can go in a minute,” he added.

Now, would Sosa listen to what Banks suggests? The admission of Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire and other baseball players may be the deciding factor for Sosa. Whether he makes an admission or not, it will still be a guessing game as of this moment.

Meanwhile, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada were reported signing for another 1 year contract with their teams. These two were also one of those controversial players since both of them were also involved in steroid use. Giambi will be signing again for the Colorado Rockies probably as a pinch hitter because of his previous performance and Tejada will return to the Baltimore Orioles as a shortstop.