"I don't know any Anthony Bosch. What's that? Oh, Tony Bosch? Why didn't you say so?"

I kid, I kid but he's a mighty unlikely name to appear in the notebook by accident or as part of a forgery. But then I can imagine there are a few Danny Valencias in Miami.

“When I first found out, when I first got the phone call, I knew I was going to be in the clear

Just admitted to using The Clear. Burn him.

POS: 3B
AB: 1017
HR: 25

I believe him.

Ray, very effective channeling of Francesa absolving Cervelli, as well.

But then I can imagine there are a few Danny Valencias in Miami.

There are probably a lot of Alex Rodriguezes too, for whatever that's worth.

But then I can imagine there are a few Danny Valencias in Miami.

There are probably a lot of Alex Rodriguezes too, for whatever that's worth.

The star pitcher on my LL team is a 14 YO named Jose Lima. Our league also has a Tyler Walker and a Billy Butler. One of my daughter's best friends is named Alex Gonzalez.

Caffeine is a PED, by the definition most people are using. Players drink coffee and other energy drinks loaded with caffeine in order to stay alert during games.

Or I don't see people ######## when high schoolers or college students abuse Adderall so they can study hardcore for tests.

#7 It's true that caffeine is a PED. Thing is that the most recent work shows that it's most definitely not a case of "more is better".

I'm not talking about the "stay alert" side. The right amount of caffeine at the right time will make a workout more effective.

Also, the Australian institute for sport has recommended it for (among other athletes) cricketers -- obviously a decent comp for baseball. They've said it offers a small but useful boost for a wide variety of sporting disciplines. (Australian boxers, rugby players have also used it in accordance with a "best practices" document provided by the institute. Gives details as to when and how much to take)

Ron, have you said in the past that there are PED scandals involving bridge championships? I think that was you. Was it caffeine, or amps?

Ray, very effective channeling of Francesa absolving Cervelli, as well.

Yes, the long awaited PED denial is out:

"Francisco Cervelli denies PED use"

I must say though, this is the first time I've heard a player mount a defense on the basis that he can't be using, because he sucks:

"Look at me," Cervelli said, indicating his wiry physique. "You check the numbers. I know it doesn't matter, but if you check the numbers and everything, I don't use that stuff."

Is anyone else a little surprised by how many of these players are claiming they don't even know Bosch? If you're going to lie, saying you don't even know the guy seems a lot dumber and easier to disprove than admitting you know him but didn't take PEDs.

It seems odd that so many of the implicated players would go that route if it was untrue.

But then I can imagine there are a few Danny Valencias in Miami.

There are probably a lot of Alex Rodriguezes too, for whatever that's worth.

The star pitcher on my LL team is a 14 YO named Jose Lima. Our league also has a Tyler Walker and a Billy Butler. One of my daughter's best friends is named Alex Gonzalez.

My dry cleaner is Van Lingle Mungo, and my podiatrist is Razor Shines.

#9 There was concern about a caffeine positive test in the first event that had full testing (European championship) but the people running the event were able to tell the competitors that an adult male would have to drink roughly 3 cups of expresso in an hour to trigger a positive test.

Now if you know bridge players, that's not implausible.

The first testing controversy came in Montreal, 2002. Disa Eythorsdottir refused to take a test (knowing she could not pass) and was stripped of a silver medal. Controversial for a number of reason. She wasn't scheduled to take a test in the first place, but one of the players on the winning team informed the tester that she could not (not would not, was physically unable) to provide a urine sample. So to make the numbers up they picked somebody from the team that lost in the finals.

Eythorsdottir was taking a diet drug (so, yeah amp) -- something she could in theory have gotten a therapeutic use exemption (since it was part of the treatment for a back condition), but ... well it was the first event with the protocols in place and there were snags (precisely who was really to blame is unclear, but with strictly liability rules it didn't matter if there was an administrative screw-up.

We've talked about PEDs for bridge on the bridge laws mailing list. Obviously, most of the things standard tests look for are not enhancing in bridge. The consensus was that the most likely candidate for an effective bridge PED is a relatively small amount of insulin. All kinds of amps and/or caffeine could be very important near the end of a long event though. Something like the Bermuda Bowl is very much a test of stamina as well as skill.

The other thing about testing in bridge is that at the top level a very high percentage of the field is elderly, obese or both. IOW a huge chunk of the field is going to have TUE for something that renders the testing process useless.

My rabbit is named Shooty

Is there any talk of adding a like button to posts?

The star pitcher on my LL team is a 14 YO named Jose Lima

Does he have a wife?

The star pitcher on my LL team is a 14 YO named Jose Lima. Our league also has a Tyler Walker and a Billy Butler.

Aren't you a little old for Little League? I can see why the kids might feel the need to 'roid up to compete. :)

Does he have a wife?

Or a mom?

Ron, have you said in the past that there are PED scandals involving bridge championships? I think that was you. Was it caffeine, or amps?

So what you're saying is, even finesse players benefit from the juice?

Ron, thanks for the explanation.

Yeah, I can see the problems here:

The other thing about testing in bridge is that at the top level a very high percentage of the field is elderly, obese or both. IOW a huge chunk of the field is going to have TUE for something that renders the testing process useless.

Number of positive tests per 1,000 test (UK 2004-2008)

Body Building 57.5
Power lifting 43.8
Basketball 31.2
Weightlifting 18.6
Snooker 17.7 (yes, snooker)
Welsh rugby union 15.6
Rugby league 13.8
Boxing 7.9
Cycling 1.9
Athletics 1.1

These are the top 8 by rate, and I know the FA was testing in that time frame.

Couple of points. Snooker obviously doesn't test as much as other sport -- at least not back then (they've introduced out of competition testing though!). There were 4 positive tests in that time period. As I understand it, all recreational drugs. I have seen reports of a snooker player testing positive for steroids and have to say I wonder why anybody would care, but it doesn't seem to have happened in that time frame.

Second, I don't think anybody believes that Cycling or athletics catches close to everybody getting chemical help. It's reasonably clear they're the most sophisticated when it comes to avoiding detection.


(Source: An article in FT magazine. They in turn cite UK Sport 2004-2008)

The star pitcher on my LL team is a 14 YO named Jose Lima. Our league also has a Tyler Walker and a Billy Butler. One of my daughter's best friends is named Alex Gonzalez.

My middle name is Vaughan...though spelled differently I always suspected I could pass for Greg Vaughn.

EDIT: Or if it was a loud room, Gregg Zaun.