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5060. wabbit - 7/31/2006 5:42:34 PM  On Saturday, Justin Gatlin acknowledged he had been informed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that he had tested positive for testosterone or other steroids after a relay race in Kansas in April. The revelation came just two days after Tour de France champion Floyd Landis' victory was thrown into question for allegations of similar doping violations. Gatlin said he did not know why the test came back positive and promised cooperation with USADA, as it continues with the case. While his coach claimed Gatlin's positive drug test was a result of sabotage, the leader of the World Anti-Doping Agency on Sunday called for the American sprinter to be banned for "up to life" if the results are confirmed. Gatlin's coach, Trevor Graham, said in an interview on Jamaican television that the Olympic and world champion and co-world-record holder in the 100 meters was victim of a setup. Gatlin's connection with Graham is viewed as problematic. Gatlin has long positioned himself as a champion of drug-free competition in a sport dogged by problems, while Graham is a key figure in the BALCO investigation and has coached several athletes who have tested positive for steroids.
The test on the cyclist measured the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in his system and found an imbalance. Gatlin's test was different. Called a carbon-isotope ratio test, it is essentially a test that looks only at testosterone, not epitestosterone, and can determine whether the testosterone in a person's system is natural or unnatural. The results of both athletes' tests point to the same type of violation of illegal-substance policy.
We should know the results of Landis' "B" test later today.
5061. wonkers2 - 7/31/2006 7:02:08 PM Just look at Gatlin. He didn't get that way on Wheaties (Breakfast of Champions). 5062. wabbit - 7/31/2006 8:17:16 PM John Eustice of ESPN is reporting that Landis's high ratio was caused by a low epitestosterone level, not a high level of testosterone. I read somewhere that this is possible if one has drunk a lot of alcohol, which might change the ration of excretion. What are the odds that Landis went on a bender the night before or the evening of that really bad day? 5063. iiibbb - 7/31/2006 8:24:32 PM The results of that carbon isotope test is the one I'm looking for. That test is supposed to be able to detect foreign testosterone. If whatever in his system was produced by his body then I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
When the press is in such a frenzy it is too difficult form a true picture. 5064. wabbit - 7/31/2006 8:39:12 PM From ESPN: [...] This month sprinter Justin Gatlin failed the carbon-isotrope test that shows whether testosterone in the body is natural or unnatural. Dr. Don Catlin, who runs a famed UCLA doping center that has developed testing protocols, thinks that test was probably already performed on Landis' sample.
"If you have a high t/e ratio in our lab, we do a carbon-isotope ratio right away," Catlin told the San Diego Union-Tribune for Saturday's edition. "We don't report a high t/e ratio without a carbon-isotope test."
The Paris lab that tested for the Tour is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which calls for a carbon-isotope test if a urine test reveals an elevated t/e ratio... Which sounds like the carbon isotope test either has been, or should have been, done already. Why not release those results, since the "A" cat is out of the bag.5065. alistairConnor - 7/31/2006 8:46:45 PM What are the odds that Landis went on a bender the night before or the evening of that really bad day?
That is exactly what Landis claims... a couple of beers and four whiskies. In which case, the isotope test will clear him, and everyone will breathe a sigh of relief. 5066. wabbit - 7/31/2006 9:02:28 PM Aha, I hadn't heard that.
I just read that the "B" test has been officially requested by Landis. I thought that testing the "B" sample was automatic if the "A" sample was positive. 5067. wabbit - 8/1/2006 12:59:59 PM From today's NY Times: Tests performed on the cyclist Floyd Landis’s initial urine sample showed that some of the testosterone in his body had come from an external source and was not produced by his system, according to a person at the International Cycling Union with knowledge of the results.
That finding contradicts what Landis has claimed in his defense since the disclosure last week that he had tested positive for an elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone during the Tour de France. [...]
The French national antidoping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry performed a carbon isotope ratio test on the first of Landis’s two urine samples provided after Stage 17, the person, who is in the cycling union’s antidoping department, said in an interview yesterday.
That test, which differentiates between natural and synthetic testosterone, was done after Landis’s ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone was found to be more than twice what is allowed under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the person said. Regulations limit the ratio to four to one. The range for an average person is between one to one and two to one.
Landis’s personal doctor, Dr. Brent Kay of Temecula, Calif., said he hoped that the results of Landis’s carbon isotope ratio test and of the initial T/E test were false positives. He did, however, acknowledge that the initial test found a ratio of 11 to 1 in Landis’s system. He and Landis are seeking an explanation for that high level... Not looking good.5068. iiibbb - 8/1/2006 1:30:40 PM Bummer.
Will seem an empty victory for Oscar. 5069. wabbit - 8/2/2006 11:51:45 AM 
5070. arkymalarky - 8/2/2006 4:01:09 PM No one here can probably relate, but Paul Eells died Monday night in a head-on collision. Razorback sportscasts will never be the same. 5071. wonkers2 - 8/2/2006 5:53:37 PM Thanks, wabbit. I wonder what the number for our hero were. 5072. wonkers2 - 8/2/2006 5:54:33 PM Gibson blew .12 I read somewhere. 5073. wabbit - 8/2/2006 6:40:23 PM wonkers2, I haven't seen any CIR numbers yet, but Landis' personal doctor, Brent Kay, had this to say: The carbon isotope was only mildly elevated. We know, from a statistical standpoint, that the first result could have been a false positive. I guess we'll see what numbers are released on Saturday.
Arky, SI has a nice article about Eells.5074. arkymalarky - 8/3/2006 4:58:17 AM Thanks Wabbit!
He was a super nice man, even for the occasional fair weather Razorback fans like Stan and me. It's a shame that another woman was killed when he hit her head-on. She's the aunt of my SIL's cousin and a relative of someone Mose works with. I think she had three teenaged kids. 5075. arkymalarky - 8/3/2006 5:00:24 AM In basketball, the thing he used to say that always tickled Bob and me, especially when someone went for a 3-pointer: "He eyes it, skies it, and buys it!" 5076. alistairConnor - 8/3/2006 11:24:52 PM Zidane, the game
Use the cursor and mouse button... how many Materazzis can you take out? 5077. wabbit - 8/5/2006 1:21:37 PM Tour de France champion Floyd Landis' backup urine sample confirmed high levels of testosterone, cycling's governing body said Saturday, raising the prospect that he could lose his title.
Following the results of the "B" sample, Landis was fired by his Swiss team, Phonak. He also faces a two-year ban from USA Cycling, which is responsible for sanctions against the American rider.
The confirmed test sets off what could now be months of appeals and arguments by Landis, who claims the positive finding was due to naturally high testosterone levels. He has repeatedly declared his innocence and vowed to fight the allegations -- and did so again Saturday.
If found guilty, Landis would become the first winner in the 103-year history of cycling's premier race to lose his Tour crown over doping allegations. The title would go to Spain's Oscar Pereiro, the runner-up.
Oh well. Maybe this will help clean up cycling, and even trickle into other sports. 5078. wabbit - 8/5/2006 1:56:56 PM  Tiger Woods birdied three straight holes to take the lead in the suspended second round of the Buick Open, then Brett Quigley birdied the 18th hole after the horn sounded to move into a tie. Woods, 13 under for the tournament, was 7 under with three holes left in his second round before play was stopped because of darkness. He will finish his round early Saturday morning and will start his third round in the afternoon after a break of about 4 hours.
Michelle Wie believed she matched Inkster's even par round of 72 at Royal Lytham but it was turned into a 74 after officials ruled the 16-year-old star made contact with moss in a bunker on her backswing. Juli Inkster's 6-under total of 138 gave her a three-stroke lead over unheralded Silvia Cavalleri of Italy, and halfway to her 31st career title and eighth major. By contrast, Wie seems to have little chance of winning her first pro tournament at the Weetabix Women's British Open. The American teen came into the tournament with high hopes after a second-place finish at last week's Evian Masters, and top-five finishes in her previous four majors. Two rounds of 74 meant a halfway score only three inside the cut and a tie for 37th. Of the other leading contenders in the field, Annika Sorenstam shot a 71 and is five off the lead at 1 under after 36 holes, while Mexico's Lorena Ochoa is 3 over after a 73. Karrie Webb, winner of last week's Evian Masters, had a disastrous 82 and missed the cut by a long way on 14-over 158.
5079. wabbit - 8/5/2006 1:57:20 PM  Chase Utley knew his hitting streak would end sooner or later. He just would have preferred later. Utley went 0-for-5 Friday night in Philadelphia's 5-3 victory over the New York Mets, ending a 35-game hitting streak that tied him for 10th longest in major league history. Utley's hitless night overshadowed home runs by David Dellucci and Ryan Howard that carried the Phillies to their fourth straight win and ninth in the last 11 games. Utley struck out twice and was robbed on his best chance for a hit when Mets second baseman Jose Valentin ranged to his right in the seventh inning, backhanded his grounder up the middle and threw him out.
Jorge Posada's 14th homer broke a ninth-inning tie, and New York rallied for its fifth straight victory, 5-4 over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Chris Ray (1-4) retired Jason Giambi before Posada connected against Baltimore's closer on a pitch that went awry. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 27th save. By finishing his 114th game over two seasons, Rivera guarantees his $10.5 million option for 2007. Scott Proctor (4-2) worked the eighth to earn the win for New York, which had 13 hits and stranded 13 runners.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays employed a shift twice against David Ortiz that had four players in the outfield. The Boston Red Sox slugger beat it both times by hitting the ball over the outfielders. Ortiz had his 25th two-homer game and Curt Schilling threw seven solid innings as the Red Sox beat the Devil Rays 3-2 on Friday night. Ortiz has four hits - all homers - in seven at-bats against Seth McClung (3-11). Schilling (14-4) gave up two runs and nine hits, walked two and struck out four. He became the major leagues' second 14-game winner, joining Detroit rookie Justin Verlander. Boston is without several injured players, including catcher Jason Varitek and outfielder Trot Nixon. Earlier Friday, the Red Sox obtained catcher Javy Lopez from the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named or cash considerations, as Varitek had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Thursday. Lopez entered in the third inning as a pinch hitter for catcher Doug Mirabelli, who twisted his left ankle in the first inning.
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