http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3041948 Barry Bonds was randomly tested for steroids Friday, according to the Contra Costa Times and Major League Baseball's official website. Bonds was reportedly tested before the Dodgers-Giants game in San Francisco. "I'm glad this is finally happening," Bonds told MLB.com. "They'll get the results and it will clear my name. It'll show that there's nothing behind what I've been doing (on the field) all year." However, in an interview with The Times, Bonds spoke with what could be construed as a different attitude. "My name ain't dirty," Bonds said. Bonds, a six-time National League MVP, has 703 career home runs, 11 behind Babe Ruth and 52 behind Hank Aaron's all-time mark. His most recent home run came Sunday when he hit his 45th of the season in a 7-4 loss to Los Angeles. It is important to note that test results aren't made public unless or until a player tests positive twice. A first positive result means a player is to receive treatment. But a second positive test results in a suspension or fine and the player's name would be revealed to the public. Bonds was not charged, but was one of 10 players to testify before a grand jury during an investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) for alleged tax evasion and the illegal sale of drugs. Greg Anderson, a close friend and personal trainer to Bonds, was one of the men indicted.
He won't have any problem passing. I doubt he would be that stupid to be juicing up with all the contervesy that was already surrounding him during the pre-season.
man, i hope you're right! i would LOVE to see these records of his vindicated and shut up his critics. is he the nicest guy on the planet? no. he is the best baseball player of my lifetime? absolutely.
To be honest i think he might have juiced sometime during his career. but if they can't prove it then they can't say anything and put a stupid asterik by his name or anything. As far as the best in our lifetime i agree with you, but i really wish Griffey Jr. could have just been healthy all these years. He was my favorite players since his rookie year and i really think he would have given Bonds a run for his money if it wasn't for injuries. Really a shame cause the guy was as close to a natural as you can get.
They need to test Sosa. Here's a guy who got caught cheating with a corked bat, impacted a pennant race last year, and grew into a mammoth. There's some cause for concern. But I hope for baseball both come up negative.
Sosa hasn't done much since the corking incident, has he? Meanwhile, even with all the scrutiny surrounding Bonds, he's still playing at nearly the same level as he was when the suspected doping took place. You know he's not doping this year.
Well of course he's not juicing now. He'd be a moron if he did, with all the speculation around him. However, that doesn't mean he didn't juice when he hit 72 homeruns. The world may never know, and his name will never be 100% clear. The fact that he was even remotely associated with BALCO puts grave reservations about his "records" in my mind.
How would a positive test this one time vindicate anything? All it proves is that he wasn't doing steroids at the time of the test. Not to mention we don't know if he knew he was going to be tested- it says 'randomly', but that could mean a number of things.
Gotta agree here. He may not have hit 72 home runs this year, but he's still the most feared batter in the league. Had his game declined dramatically, and then he passed a test, you could knock...but as it stands, you pretty much have to give him his due.
Something I never understood about steroids: Does the muscle mass gained from doping go away if you stop using? If not, then it'd always be possible to assume that even if he does test negative now, at one time he could have been using to increase muscle mass, and no longer has the need. It's still cheating.
Here is the science: Anabolic steroids are drugs that resemble androgenic hormones (sometimes called male hormones) such as testosterone. Athletes consume them in the hope of gaining weight, strength, power, speed, endurance, and aggressiveness. They are widely used by athletes involved in such sports as track and field (mostly the throwing events), weight lifting, and American football. However, in spite of their tremendous popularity, their effectiveness is controversial. The research literature is divided on whether anabolic steroids enhance physical performance. Yet, almost all athletes who consume these substances acclaim their beneficial effects. Many athletes feel that they would not have been as successful without them. There are several possible reasons for the large differences between experimental findings and empirical observations. An incredible mystique has arisen around these substances, providing fertile ground for the placebo effect. The use of anabolic steroids in the "real world" is considerably different from that in rigidly controlled, double-blind experiments (in a double blind study, neither the subject nor experimenter knows who is taking the drug). Most studies have not used the same drug dosage used by athletes. Institutional safeguards prohibit administration of high dosages of possibly dangerous substances to human subjects. Subjects in research experiments seldom resemble accomplished weight-trained athletes. Under these conditions, we must assess the results of sound research studies, as well as clinical and empirical field observations, in order to obtain a realistic profile of the use, effects on performance, and side effects of these substances. How Anabolic Steroids Work Male hormones, principally testosterone, are partially responsible for the tremendous developmental changes that occur during puberty and adolescence. Male hormones have androgenic and anabolic effects. Androgenic effects are changes in primary and secondary sexual characteristics. These include enlargement of the penis and testes, voice changes, hair growth on the face, axilla, and genital areas, and increased aggressiveness. The anabolic effects of androgens include accelerated growth of muscle, bone, and red blood cells, and enhanced neural conduction. Anabolic steroids have been manufactured to enhance the anabolic properties (tissue building) of the androgens and minimize the androgenic (sex-linked) properties. However, no steroid has eliminated the androgenic effects because the so-called androgenic effects are really anabolic effects in sex-linked tissues. The effects of male hormones on accessory sex glands, genital hair growth, and oiliness of the skin are anabolic processes in those tissues. The steroids with the most potent anabolic effect are also those with the greatest androgenic effect. Steroid Receptors Steroid hormones work by stimulation of receptor molecules in muscle cells, which activate specific genes to produce proteins They also affect the activation rate of enzyme systems involved in protein metabolism, thus enhancing protein synthesis and inhibiting protein degradation (called an anti-catabolic effect). Heavy resistance training seems to be necessary for anabolic steroids to exert any beneficial effect on physical performance. Most research studies that have demonstrated improved performance with anabolic steroids used experienced weight lifters who were capable of training with heavier weights and producing relatively greater muscle tension during exercise than novice subjects. The effectiveness of anabolic steroids is dependent upon unbound receptor sites in muscle. Intense strength training may increase the number of unbound receptor sites. This would increase the effectiveness of anabolic steroids. Anti-Catabolic Effects Of Anabolic Steroids Many athletes have said that anabolic steroids help them train harder and recover faster. They also said that they had difficulty making progress (or even holding onto the gains) when they were off the drugs. Anabolic steroids may have an anti-catabolic effect. This means that the drugs may prevent muscle catabolism that often accompanies intense exercise training. Presently, this hypothesis has not been fully proven. Anabolic steroids may block the effects of hormones such as cortisol involved in tissue breakdown during and after exercise. Anabolic steroids may prevent tissue from breaking down following of an intense work-out. This would speed recovery. Cortisol and related hormones, secreted by the adrenal cortex, also has receptor sites within skeletal muscle cells. Cortisol causes protein breakdown and is secreted during exercise to enhance the use of proteins for fuel and to suppress inflammation that accompanies tissue injury. Anabolic steroids may block the binding of cortisol to its receptor sites, which would prevent muscle breakdown and enhances recovery. While this is beneficial while the athlete is taking the drug, the effect backfires when he stops taking it. Hormonal adaptations occur in response to the abnormal amount of male hormone present in the athlete's body. Cortisol receptor sites and cortisol secretion from the adrenal cortex increase. Anabolic steroid use decreases testosterone secretion. People who stop taking steroids are also hampered with less male hormone than usual during the "off" periods. The catabolic effects of cortisol are enhanced when the athlete stops taking the drugs and strength and muscle size are lost at a rapid rate. The rebound effect of cortisol and its receptors presents people who use anabolic steroids with several serious problems: (1) psychological addiction is more probable because they become dependent on the drugs. This is because they tend to lose strength and size rapidly when off steroids. To stave off deconditioning, athletes may want to take the drugs for long periods of time to prevent falling behind. (2) Long-term administration increases the chance of serious side-effects. (3) Cortisol suppresses the immune system. This makes steroid users more prone to diseases, such as cold and flu, during the period immediately following steroid administration. Psychological Effects Some researchers have speculated that the real effect of anabolic steroids is the creation of a "psychosomatic state" characterized by sensations of well being, euphoria, increased aggressiveness and tolerance to stress, allowing the athlete to train harder. Such a psychosomatic state would be more beneficial to experienced weight lifters who have developed the motor skills to exert maximal force during strength training. Diets high in protein and calories may also be important in maximizing the effectiveness of anabolic steroids. Anabolic Steroids and Performance The effects of anabolic steroids on physical performance are unclear. Well controlled, double blind studies have rendered conflicting results. In studies showing beneficial effects, body weight increased by an average of about four pounds, lean body weight by about six pounds (fat loss accounts for the discrepancy between gains in lean mass and body weight), bench press increased by about 15 pounds, and squats by about 30 pounds (these values represent the average gains for all studies showing a beneficial effect). Almost all studies have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect on maximal oxygen consumption or endurance capacity. Anabolic steroid studies have typically lasted six to eight weeks and have usually used relatively untrained subjects. Most changes in strength during the early part of training are neural: increased strength is mainly due to an improved ability to recruit motor units. Anabolic steroids affect processes associated with protein synthesis in muscle. Studies lasting six weeks (typical study length) would largely reflect neural changes and could easily miss the cellular effects of the drugs. The gains made by athletes in uncontrolled observations have been much more impressive. Weight gains of thirty or forty pounds, coupled with thirty percent increases in strength, are not unusual. Such case studies lack credibility because of the absence of scientific controls. However, it would be foolish to completely disregard such observations because the "subjects" have been highly trained and motivated athletes.Please see the articles on pharmacology of sport and sports medicine in the countries of the former Soviet Union for more information on anabolic steroids.
They take steriods during the offseason ~ most of the bulk remains throughout the season with their regular (non-drug) workouts.
As you can see, anyone who stops using the steroid would be impacted adversly. Especially if they had been using a long time. Bonds has shown no real decline in size or ability. The only evidence aganist him is that he got bigger and hit more HR's. Which really isn't evidence at all. His link to Balco, meaningless. Balco has lots of clients for many different reasons. Anything is possible, but there are no indications that he used in my opinion.
How do you explain Bonds' extreme muscle hypertrophy after his early 30's. That just doesn't happen naturally even with hard work. I assume he was stacking HGH and steroids. They'll never detect the HGH. The fact that baseball essentially condoned the use of steroid like compounds long ( Mark McGuire and others appeared in ads for stuff that would get Olympic athletes banned) after other sports banned them speaks for itself.
He's always been a great home run hitter. He's always had a good eye for the baseball, meaning he walks alot and strikes out very little. Now, he's just dialed in and better than ever. Does steroids help your vision? Fans like to hate because he's not nice to the media... he thinks the media is fake and doesn't like to cater to them. Does that make him a bad guy? A normal fan can go up to him and chat about anything... he's super friendly... but he's not nice to reporters.
From playing baseball myself i can say this. No matter how big you are and how strong you are doesn't mean your going to be a good hitter or hit home runs. Regardless if he used steroids to become stronger or not he still has to have the ability to hit the ball. Your bat speed combined with your strength and ability to hit the ball are going to lead to homeruns. Yes he might have gotten stronger from Steroids IF he took them. BUt that is not going to make you a home run hitter all of a sudden. You got to be able to plain hit the ball and have some major bat speed.
Wrong - he has not always been a great home run hitter. If what you said was true, then he would have not hit his 100th homer when he was 26, but much earlier, right? Woofer said pretty much what I think (and also agree with TheFreak). Bonds is a phenomenal player, but I will always have questions in my mind why he is "peaking" now instead of playing like this when he was in his 20's.
Of course, he didn't even make his MLB debut until he was 22. If he hit his 100th HR when he was 26, he was averaging 25 a year. That's a pretty good HR hitter. His lowest HR totals for a season have been 19 and 16 (I'm not counting his 18 HR total in '94, since it would've been closer to 30 that year), and the 16 was in a year when he didn't start playing until late May. Before his record-breaking season, he had six seasons of 30+ HR and four of 40+. http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bondsba01.shtml
EXCLUSIVE!!!1! before before hgh after hgh Who else has EVER upped their HR totals by 30 to 40 homeruns from the age of 30 to 40? /obviously juiced
