Larry Brown Sports

Say what you will about Curt Schilling and his blowhard attitude, but at the time being we have no reason to believe he wasn’t one of the clean guys during a tainted generation. Schilling dominated throughout much of his career and had his fair share of injuries toward the end, but his name has not been linked to steroid use. According to the three-time World Series champion, it would have been if the Boston Red Sox had their way.

During an interview with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio on Wednesday (via WEEI.com), Schilling said that members of the Red Sox organization encouraged him to use performance-enhancing drugs when he was recovering from an injury in 2008.

“At the end of my career, in 2008 when I had gotten hurt, there was a conversation that I was involved in in which it was brought to my attention that this is a potential path I might want to pursue,” Schilling said before noting that the people involved are no longer with Boston. “It was an incredibly uncomfortable conversation. Because it came up in the midst of a group of people. The other people weren’t in the conversation but they could clearly hear the conversation. And it was suggested to me that at my age and in my situation, why not? What did I have to lose? Because if I wasn’t going to get healthy, it didn’t matter. And if I did get healthy, great.

“It caught me off guard, to say the least. That was an awkward situation.”

Read The Rest of the Story…

Ryan Braun’s name was listed in Biogenesis clinic records, but the former NL MVP says that is only because his team used Anthony Bosch as a consultant during his suspension appeal last year.

Yahoo! Sports reported on Tuesday that Braun’s name was listed three times in Biogenesis records they obtained. They say his name was not listed next to any PEDs, but that numerical notations “RB 20-30K” appeared by his name, which may be the amount of money he owed the clinic.

Biogenesis documents also reportedly mention Chris Lyons, who was one of Braun’s attorneys when he appealed his PED suspension for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2011. Braun escaped the suspension because the sample collector did not follow the proper chain of command. Braun never explained why his sample contained elevated levels of testosterone.

Braun released the following statement in response to his reported connection with Biogenesis:

“During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a consultant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples.

“There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch’s work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under ‘moneys owed’ and not on any other list.

“I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch.

“I will fully cooperate with any inquiry into this matter.”

Braun’s explanation is about as solid as it gets, though there is plenty of circumstantial evidence against him.

Yahoo! Sports reports that Braun’s name appears on a list that includes Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and Cesar Carrillo, all of whom received PEDs from Bosch, per the Miami New Times. Cabrera failed a drug test last season.

Braun reportedly was road roommates with Carrillo, who is a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers’ organization, for three years at Miami. Braun’s strength coach for three years at Miami was Jimmy Goins, who was listed as a PED supplier by the New Times.

There is no concrete evidence proving Braun has used PEDs, but he is facing an enormous amount of circumstantial evidence.

Photo credit: Jerry Lai, US Presswire

Alex Rodriguez is denying allegations that he received performance-enhancing drugs from Anthony Bosch’s Biogenesis company, but the evidence against him is mounting.

On Tuesday, the Miami New Times reported that A-Rod was one of many MLB players who ordered performance-enhancing drugs (in many cases testosterone) from the now-defunct Biogenesis company. Their report was based on conversations with former Biogenesis employees and customers, plus written records and patient files. The evidence from the Miami New Times seemed very solid.

Rodriguez, through his publicist, denied the report.

“The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true. Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch’s patient, he was never treated by him and he was treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story — at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez — are not legitimate.”

ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” reports that Rodriguez received injections from Bosch, which meshes with the New Times’ report which said Rodriguez received personal attention from Bosch.

ESPN says Rodriguez would send Bosch text messages telling him to come to his mansion to inject him with performance-enhancing drugs. These visits reportedly would occur every few weeks. They even shared a detailed anecdote about Bosch having difficult locating a vein to inject A-Rod, leaving the Yankees DH/3B angered and bloody.

Rodriguez has not tested positive for PEDs since MLB began drug testing, though he did admit to using steroids from 2001-2003 after his PED usage was exposed in 2009 Sports Illustrated story.

Three of the MLB players mentioned in the New Times report — Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, and Yasmani Grandal — failed drug tests last season and received 50-game suspensions. Other proven PED users like Manny Ramirez and tennis player Wayne Odesnik have ties to the Bosches/Biogenesis. We know who we’re believing in this situation, and it isn’t the self-admitted former user.

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday feels that the current penalties for performance-enhancing drug users are not deterring players from cheating, therefore harsher penalties are needed to help clean up the game.

Holliday appeared on MLB Network Radio’s “Inside Pitch” with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden Wednesday, the day after several top MLB players were implicated in an alleged drug scandal.

“I’d go first time (you get caught) you miss a full season, 162 games you’re out,” Holliday said, via The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And then the second time I think you are suspended for a lifetime with the eligibility after two years maybe to apply for reinstatement. That’s what I would do. I feel like that’s pretty harsh but I think that’s what we need. I think we need harsher penalties. I think that would be a good start.”

Holliday said he was surprised that so many players risk getting caught despite the current suspensions in place.

“… I thought (a 50-game suspension) was pretty harsh,” Holliday continued. “I thought that might be enough with 50 and then, I think it was, 100. But it clearly is not enough. There are guys getting caught and there’s a paper trail and all this stuff going on now. It’s clearly not enough to deter guys from trying to find ways around it, trying to find ways to beat the system or whatever they’re doing. So I’m all for making it harder.”

The current penalty for a positive test or proof of PED possession is 50 games for a first-time offense, 100 games for a second, and a lifetime ban for a third.

Holliday used Melky Cabrera as an example of players having a lot to gain from using drugs.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Ray Lewis almost always gives credit to God and Jesus for everything positive that happens in his life and his NFL career. His religious preaching has become particularly unbearable during the final stretch of his career — so much so that even “SNL” recently decided to rip on Lewis for his obsession with drama.

If all the good things that happen in the Ravens linebacker’s life are the work of God, than the obstacles must be the work of the devil. When asked about the report that surfaced on Tuesday about his involvement with a banned substance found in deer antler spray, Lewis blamed the devil for trying to knock him down.

“That’s the trick of the devil,” Lewis said according to Pro Football Talk. “The trick of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy. That’s what he comes to do. He comes to distract you from everything you’re trying to do.”

Lewis added that you have to trust God to build you up when the devil is trying to tear you down. At this point, I can honestly say I don’t even care if Lewis used a performance-enhancing substance to recover from his torn triceps. The only thing that matters to me is that he’s (hopefully) hanging it up in just four short days. I can’t take anymore crying or hyperboles.

Photo credit: Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE

Miami New Times dropped a bombshell report on Tuesday in which they exposed Dr. Anthony Bosch (pictured) of running an anti-aging clinic that also doubled as a performance-enhancing drugs supplier to many athletes.

Bosch’s company, Biogenesis, sold PEDs ranging from HGH to steroids. Biogenesis’ client list reportedly included sluggers like Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and Nelson Cruz, among others. Biogenesis operated on a similar scale to BALCO, the company formerly run by Victor Conte, that supplied drugs to athletes like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Marion Jones.

Miami New Times reports that Bosch has a history of racking up bad debts and stiffing ex-wives over support payments. His company reportedly was not paying employees. They would often supply patients (non-athletes) with steroid cycles and diuretics.

Miami New Times went through several documents and Bosch’s personal records to determine which athletes were mentioned and listed as customers. They found several baseball players, a boxer, and tennis player listed, many of whom have already been caught using PEDs.

The list includes:

- New York Yankees DH/3B Alex Rodriguez, who admitted to past steroid use after being busted by Sports Illustrated in 2009.
- Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was busted for using PEDs during a breakout 2012 season. His name appeared in Bosch’s records 14 times.
- Oakland A’s pitcher Bartolo Colon, who tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2012.
- San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, who was suspended in November for elevated levels of testosterone.
- Tennis player Wayne Odesnik, who was caught transporting HGH across international borders and was suspended a year by the ITF.
- Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, who has belted 108 home runs in the last four seasons. He was mentioned in a July, 2012 customer sheet under the code name “Mohamad.”
- Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who won 21 games last season.
- Boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa, who is 22-0,

As you read, the first five names listed have either tested positive in the past year, or have been busted in the past for PED use/association.

Bosch was also the doctor who prescribed Manny Ramirez HCG when he tested positive for the female fertility drug while with the Dodgers in 2009.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Lance Armstrong is scheduled to record an interview with Oprah on Monday where he reportedly will confess to doping and using other performance-enhancing drugs throughout his cycling career. Armstrong spent the past several years vigorously defending his reputation against all cheating allegations. At one point a few years ago, Armstrong was so intent on proving he was clean that he and his Astana racing team planned to hire Dr. Don Catlin’s Anti-Doping Research lab to constantly test him. Armstrong’s team was planning to post all the testing results on the Internet for transparency purposes. The deal fell through for several reasons — logistics and financial issues are a few of them — and Armstrong’s plan was abandoned.

On Saturday, Larry Brown Sports spoke with Dr. Catlin about Armstrong’s impending confession. Catlin, who is one of the founders of modern drug testing in sports and has provided testing for the NFL, NCAA, MLB, and Olympics, said he’s not surprised to learn of Armstrong’s usage and planned confession.

“It wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Catlin told LBS when asked about Armstrong’s cheating. “I think [a confession] would be good for him.”

Armstrong used to boast that he had never failed a drug test. Catlin says he still had some suspicion about Lance as he would with any top cyclist.

“You can’t help but have suspicion when somebody is so accomplished and so over-the-top as one of the key members of the sport of cycling. Cycling and doping go together and they have for 40 years,” Catlin said. “You have to think very seriously about [whether a cyclist is cheating].

“You don’t like to think that way; you’d like to think that Lance and others are clean, but in reality, that’s not the case.”

Catlin believes Armstrong is only confessing as a last option.

“I think he’s cornered. He can’t go anywhere now. I always advise athletes — particularly ones I test and caught and if I get to know them — get it out fast, confess, turn the page and go on. If you try to fight it, you’re almost certainly not going to win. Fighting a drug test and trying to show that it’s not a positive doesn’t work.”

When asked how Armstrong got away with doping for so long, Catlin indicated it’s not that difficult.

Read The Rest of the Story…