Former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens appeared in court for a brief hearing on conflict of interest issue brought out by the prosecution a few weeks ago. Federal prosecutors revealed that Rusty Hardin, the lead lawyer of Clemens, also represented Andy Pettitte, one of the government’s witnesses. They asked the defense to waive any possible conflict of interest that may arise if Pettitte will be called in the witness stand. The hearing was called by US District Judge Reggie Walton.

Clemens told the court that they will replace Hardin once the prosecution presented Pettittee to testify. The defense team will replace Hardin with another lawyer who is not connected with Hardin’s law firm. Defense lawyer Michael Attanasio will be assigned to cross-examine Pettitte.

According to Hardin, he only worked with Pettite for a short period of time. Clemens and Pettite, who were former team mates in the New York Yankees, asked for a legal advice from Hardin when their names were implicated in the Mitchell report. The congressional investigation was focused on the alleged rampant use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

“I’m not sure I gave him any advice, but we had about a six-day attorney-client relationship,” said Hardin. He assured the court that the defense team will not use any privilege information he had from that six days counsel-client relationship with Pettitte.

Andy Pettitte is one of the many baseball players who admitted to taking steroids and human growth hormone. Roger Clemens, on the other hand, denied that he took steroids or human growth hormones despite the claims of his former trainer. Brian McNamee claimed that he personally inject the pitcher with growth hormones several times.

Pettitte is a vital witness of the prosecution. He alleged that Clemens confided to him about the latter’s use of steroids and HGH. Clemens already countered this saying his former team mate “misremember” their conversation.

During the hearing, Judge Reggie Walton also told the parties about his short conversation with a former baseball player. He met retired major league star outfielder Ken Griffey Sr. a few months ago in their hometown. Griffey Sr. told him that Clemens is “a good guy.” The judge immediately cut their conversation and told the former baseball star that he can’t discuss the case of Clemens. “I don’t believe he was seeking to influence me,” said Judge Walton. However, he still informed the parties so that they can raise some concerns or objections.

But both parties were not bothered about that meeting. “We understand the court can be fair and impartial in all circumstances and we have no objections,” prosecutor Daniel Butler told the AFP.

Other issues were not discussed in the hearing like the motion filed by Clemen’s camp asking the court to dismiss the obstruction of Congress charge. They alleged that several charges were compiled in a single complaint which could lead to unfair conviction of Clemens.

What is Andro? Androstatrienedione or commonly known as andro is a hormone antagonist and modulator. It is a popular steroid used by professional athletes like baseball slugger Mark McGwire. The use of Andro is prohibited in the Olympics but its use in the US was only controlled in 2004 when it was included in the anabolic steroids list.

Sports organizations under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibit the use of Andro in and out of competition. So, there is no way an athlete can cheat without being caught by anti-doping officials. Just recently, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) announced that one of the country’s professional athlete was caught using the substance. Australian canoeist Michael Baker tested positive for andro during an out of competition test conducted in September last year at Challenge Stadium in Perth. Baker was given a 2 year suspension. Baker can return to the sports on October 2012.

According to ASADA, Andro has known side effects including osteoporosis, liver toxicity, and cardiovascular disorders.

Meanwhile, American tennis Wayne Odesnik returned into his sports with a win after his suspension for illegal importation of human growth hormones to Australia. Odesnik was suspended by the International Tennis Federation for 1 year and stripped of his ranking. As a consequence he has to start all over again. The former top-100 tennis player has to compete in the Futures circuit of the U.S. Tennis Association. “I really wanted to prove to everybody and myself I can do it again from scratch. And I will,” Odesnik told the Canadian Press.

The case of Odesnik is different. He never tested positive for steroids but his apprehension in an Australian airport cost him his ranking. Customs officers found HGH inside his baggage when he arrive in Australia last year for a tournament. He alleged that he purchased HGH for his recurring injury and intended to apply for a therapeutic use exemption. But his failure to follow the protocol leads to his 1 year suspension.

The tennis player has learned his lesson. “When you almost lose something overnight — that’s what I mean about being humbled by the experience,” said Odesnik. “This time around, I think I’ll appreciate tennis more and really enjoy it.” Odesnik was criticized by fellow tennis players for his purchase of HGH and trying to bring the substance illegally in Australia. HGH is a drug that is also banned by professional sports organization because of its performance enhancing effects.

“I realize I’m getting to do what I love for a living. Sometimes you take it for granted, but I see how many of my friends don’t have jobs, and I realize what it is to go sit in an office. It’s not that glamorous. For the rest of my career, I’ll always cherish the opportunity I have,” said Odesnik.

Odesnik was able to achieve his best rank in 2009 by winning a series of tournaments. He ranked 77th.

Professional cycling is one of the sports that is plague by the use of performance enhancing drugs. Actually, there are numerous doping investigations conducted that led to the suspension of some popular cyclists. We can also see that the problem of steroid use is still a major concern as more professional cyclists are investigated for using or distributing banned substances. In January, a Spanish cyclist who was accused of providing performance enhancing drugs to other elite athletes in Spain committed suicide. And of course, we have also covered in the past few months the case of Lance Armstrong who was accused of using EPO and systematic doping.

Joe Papp Sentencing Delayed

This month we have found interesting news about cyclists who were involved in PED’s use or distribution. American cyclist Joe Papp will be waiting for another 4 months before the court gives its verdict. Papp pleaded guilty last year to distributing human growth hormone and EPO but the sentencing was rescheduled many times. According to the report of ESPN, the sentencing was originally set June 2010 but postponed on September 2010 and January 2011.

The American cyclist is expecting for a lesser penalty because of his cooperation with the US Anti-Doping Agency and other federal agencies. He provided the authorities information about his previous clients especially fellow cyclists. According to online reports, Papp sold EPO and HGH to at least 180 customers via the Eposino website. He gained an estimated $80,000 profit from those transactions.

Papp was caught using EPO during the 2006 Tour of Turkey. He received a two year ban and all his record starting from 2001 was struck off from the sport. The end of his cycling career prompted him to engage in the distribution of performance enhancing drugs with Chinese as his main suppliers. Papp also testified in the Floyd Landis case. His testimony proves that testosterone is effective in faster recovery from the sport which contradicts Landis’ claim that testosterone was not helping professional cyclists.

Riccardo Ricco Comeback

After serving his suspension for 2 years, Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco is hoping for a great comeback. He will be doing two races this spring, the Milano-Sanremo and the Giro d’Italia. But Ricco is more enthusiastic about his participation in the Race to the Sun, Paris-Nice tour. “This year, I will finally have the chance to prove myself in the biggest races, and I thought it would be appropriate to take advantage of it. I picked Paris-Nice over Tirreno-Adriatico because it is a race that I’ve never done, and I am sincerely attracted by the opportunity to do it,” Ricco told the media during a press con.

He is optimistic that he can perform well in some stages in the Paris-Nice. “Despite my ambitious program for the spring, I already hope to perform well in some interesting stages of Paris-Nice that suit my characteristics.” The Velo Nation reported that Ricco has no plans yet if he will compete in the 2011 Tour de France. Ricco tested positive for CERA-EPO at the 2008 Tour de France. “At the moment, my plans stop at the Giro d’Italia, everything else, I will carefully assess at a later date,” the Italian cyclist said.

Alberto Contador Leaving Saxo Bank Team

It could be the end of the career of the 5 time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador. The Velo Nation website reported that the champion leaves his training camp in Mallorca, Spain. The Saxo Bank team might be forced to let go of Contador because of the expected 1 year suspension recommended by the Spanish Cycling Federation. Contador tested positive for anabolic steroids after the 2010 Tour de France competition. Anti-doping authorities found traces of Clenbuterol in his system.

The Spanish cyclist denied that he was doping. He claimed that the elevated levels of steroids could be due to a contaminated meat but anti-doping officials were not convinced on this alibi. Until now, Contador is still firm that he is not a dope cheat. “I disagree with this decision, and I will, if necessary, defend my innocence.”

The $15 billion estimated budget deficit of the state of Texas will certainly affect its primary services. Lawmakers are now finding ways to find possible sources of funds and identify expenses that can be scrapped from the previous budget. The steroid testing program for high school student athletes is one of the hot items in the budget that could be slashed. In the House of Representatives, the draft budget already removed appropriations for steroid testing. This could end the controversial program of the state.

During its first year implementation, the state spent at least $6 million for the program. However, the expected number of students caught using anabolic steroids was not as many as what they expected. Lawmakers decided to slash some of the allocations in the succeeding year. Out of the 50,000 tested under the program, more than a dozen students tested positive for steroids. Critics say that this is a waste of taxpayer’s money. The statistics showing the rampant use of steroids in high schools may not be really true because of the low turn out of steroid positives.

Rep. Susan King is one of those lawmakers who feel that the steroid testing program should be halted already. “When it first started, there was a really large appropriation for it, but last session we recommended that it be removed just because the number of positives were not really in line with the amount of money that was being spent,” said King. “It was put back in, though, in conference committee, so it did go ahead and go through. But I guess in this case it was really low hanging fruit to be able to be removed again,” she told the Abilene Reporter-News.

The representative is not against steroid testing but she believes that more studies should be conducted on the issue. “I think if we had funding available for this, I wouldn’t be opposed to having some additional long-term studies on it. But at this point in time, I don’t think it merits it based on the numbers that have been positive and the expense,” she said.

Lawmakers believe that the funding for steroid testing could be used in other services that need more funding. “It’s just like any other misuse of a drug, is the benefit of (testing for) it going to outweigh the cost to the state?” said King. While the House of Representatives removed the budget for the program, the Senate version still includes funding.

Coaches and other school officials interviewed by Abilene Reporter News have a mixed reaction. Some coaches are not worried because they believe steroid use in high school is not rampant as what others want to portray. Other also suggest that instead of spending millions on steroid testing, the fund could be used to pay for the benefits and salaries of teachers and use to hire more educators.

“(Cutting the program) doesn’t surprise me because of the budget situation we have at the state level, because it didn’t have the effect that was expected,” he said. “I think a lot of people were worrying that we’d catch 300 or 400 kids on steroids, but it just wasn’t that way,” said Abilene High football coach Steve Warren. Mike Spradlin of Coopers High is not against steroid testing but argued that steroid is not a widespread problem.

“It was a big flop. In the big picture, I don’t think that steroids were that big of a problem in athletic programs,” said Brent West of Cisco. The millions spent on the program only caught less than two dozen kids he said. “In these times, with us having to cut school budgets as much as we’re having to cut them, we might be able to cut this program and save some teachers their jobs. That would be more beneficial than catching a few kids who are taking steroids,” West added.

However, there are still some coaches who are in favor of the steroid testing in high schools. For them it is an effective deterrent for students to engage in the use of performance enhancing drugs. “I like the program because it gives the kids a reason to say no. That was the purpose of the program,” said coach Chad Rogers of Snyder. According to Rogers, it gives the students a reason to say no to steroids.

If the funding for steroid tests is totally removed from the State’s budget, schools have no other option but to intensify their steroid education programs.