I Know Why the Caged Rat Sings
Thursday 2 December, 2004

My reasons for being anti-Victor Conte are not personal. 

 

I love track and field.  I love track and field enough to know that when a rat infiltrates it and then holds it hostage for his own selfish causes, that he is to be despised ? and exterminated.  He has been at the center of the biggest controversy in track?s history, and perhaps in the history of all sports by the time it is all said and done.  Just today, Yankees? slugger Jason Giambi, whom I met through our common Oakley affiliation some years ago, now has been exposed by the San Franicisco Chronicle as a perennial steroid user, Conte being the source, of course, but worse than that is the fact that Giambi, a thirty-something year-old, now has serious health issues, likely as a result of his drug abuse. 

 

Let?s break down how we got here.  Quickly.  Victor, ex-everything, including band musician, finally finds his niche ? supplement peddler.  That goes surprisingly well for a while - until the supplements stop being legal.  Athletes in sports such as pro football, baseball and track, quickly start to consume his products.   His track client list, depending on whom you believe, includes Chryste Gaines, Dwain Chambers, Kelli White, Tim Montgomery, Alvin and Calvin Harrison, Michelle Collins, Kostas Kenteris and Ekaterini Thanou ? medallists and champions, stars in their sport.  He is on top of the world at that point, and cocky about it too, showing up at the US Trials as well as the World Championships in 2003, in full view of everyone, to ?service? his ?clients?.  They get cute black T-shirts printed.  ?ZMA: HOW YA LIKE IT?? and ?PROJECT: WORLD RECORD? Catch me, if you can, seems to be his (and their) motto now ? after all, his products can?t be tested by anyone, anywhere ? and he knows it.  They were designed that way.  There is no honor among thieves, though, so soon, he is ?ratted? out.  Pun intended.  Soon, there is a test for the illicit content, and careers, lives and reputations of many athletes are destroyed like highway roadkill.  With it, the credibility of the sport wanes.  Conte, the manufacturer, Remi Korchemny, the Bay Area coach whose whole sprint camp allegedly took the products, and Greg Anderson, the trainer to baseball MVP Barry Bonds, who was the ?baseball dealer,? are all indicted.  Victor uses his lackey, Elliott Almond, of the San Jose Mercury News, and the U.S. constitution be damned, because every secret document or testimony involved was used to make BALCO the top news story of 2004 in sports, easily.  Just keep Victor in the papers (and now on TV) and he is happy.  Despite the unceremonious crumble of his evil empire, he still is on every message board on the internet, mouthing off.  Few want to hear what he has to say, though, because they have tired of what he has put sport through since his arrival on the scene.  Others, like me, think a public lynching shouldn?t be out of the question. 

 

I have written previously on this site about how maddening it is to watch this farce, better known as the BALCO scandal.  Athletes and suppliers, who knowingly cheated to gain an unfair advantage on their competition, thinking they wouldn?t be caught, are now making themselves out to be the victims, not to mention lying through their teeth publicly while their leaked testimony to the grand jury contradicts them.  Sympathy from the public has been in short supply.  Victor will try to reverse that trend this Friday on ABC, and will fail miserably, as he did when he tried to take his case for immunity to the Bush White House. 

I expect, from watching the interview tomorrow, to gain absolutely nothing.  I have read the indictment, several times over, so I know what they were doing.  I can even believe that, perhaps, as is being revealed now, there were lines which the authorities crossed, which may have been illegal.  That makes none of the ?BALCO bunch? any less guilty.  It is called ?getting off on a technicality?.   If they do, in fact, get off.  O.J. did ?it?, but a lying, racist LAPD officer made sure that he wouldn?t ever be convicted in a court of law.  

 

It happens. 

 

Conte will attempt to portray himself as the victim, as best he can.  He will talk about saving sport by naming names, maybe even admit to the error of his ways, but he will reveal nothing that we don?t already know, and I believe that because he knows so many are watching, he will use the platform to attack Marion Jones, as well as Trevor Graham, simply because I think in his mind, he believes that both of the aforementioned have gotten off too easily, while he is still very much under the legal gun.  Victor Conte has never been a success at anything in his life, and the one thing he did in life that hinted of being successful was ruined by those who gave him up, not to mention the fact that his operation was as crooked as a San Francisco street.  He has absolutely nothing to lose at this point, and he will say anything.  Like it was in the beginning, lots of pro athletes are not going to sleep well tonight, for fear of what may come out of the rat?s mouth now. 

 

The test, I suppose, will be to see how much of it anyone will believe.  I will reserve further comment until after Friday?s broadcast, if it is necessary.  Forgive me if I note that ABC is also the network that lists Paris Hilton as one of the most intriguing people of 2004 in another upcoming special, so them giving Conte a place to give ?his side? is not surprising.  Heaven help us all. 

 

Anytime Oprah and Paris Hilton are on the same list, for anything other than being female, question the source.

 

Project 200
Saturday 20 November, 2004

Project 200 has been a success.  Project 200, if you are wondering, was my attempt to get to 200 pounds this off season.  Maybe attempt is not a good word.  NO more than you attempt to flunk out of college.  You just kind of fall into it.  Why?  Simply because, having literally run myself into the ground for the past twelve years, having to watch my diet constantly and be diligent and disciplined for most of the past 12 years and definitely the past ten as a professional athlete, I simply really wanted to see if I could in fact get my weight up to 200lb and what it would be like.  I remembered a saying that fat people are happier than skinny ones.  I wanted to find out for myself.

Well, at 200.0 was the highest I ever got my old bathroom scale to go, and perhaps that scale may have to be traded in now, because it may be suffering from some sort of shock.  That scale, after all, used to be my ?travel? scale - my constant barometer as to whether I needed to eat more or less while traveling the world for competition.  In a recent dream, I vividly remember that same scale looking up at me with utter disdain as if to say, man, what happened to you?  I remember when you would step on me and I could barely get to 175.  Don?t do this, man.  Stop!?

 

Project 200 was born out of several motives.  First, it is typical for track athletes, since we get barely two months off, to gain weight over our short off-season.  It has, in fact, proved beneficial to me when I have sensibly gained weight and then taken it off slowly once pre-season training began.  It?s for the same reason you don?t grow the same crops in the same soil all year round.  The body works very similarly.  Rest and recuperation is critical when it involves a sport like track and field where being ?in shape? means being in great shape, period.  This off-season, then, has only differed from a lot of others previous to it in that I simply was a bit more lax in watching my weight simply because, without a ?season 2005? to get ready for, I was never looking for the (refrigerator) light at the end of the tunnel to come toward me. 

The other motive was to see the physical changes.  When you are known for your physique and having your clothes off in front of the world for 10 years, it?s humbling when that ?six pack? goes on a hiatus.  Wild horses couldn?t make me take my shirt off now in front of a crowd.  Call it vanity, conceit whatever you want ? I prefer to have 6 pack abs than one big gut.  The surprise I guess is that at 200 which is where I am now, there isn?t a big huge change in my appearance.  If you saw me every day you would say yes I am heavier than 6 months ago, but no-one would look at me and call me over-weight.  Even though I am.  Make no doubt about it.  200lb on a 5 foot, 9 inch frame is just not how God intended for a black man to be.  Certainly not an ectomorph, such as myself.  If you are wondering what on earth an ectomorph is, a quick lesson.  I?ll leave you to ?google? the rest of it.     Kim Collins, Ato Boldon, Obadele Thompson ? Ectomorphs.  Quincy Watts  ? Mesomorph.  John Godina ? Endomorph.

The last motive was the most important, and I think, the most fun.  When atoboldon.com started, the most popular area was not the photos and it was not the guest-book area.  It was not the message board, as it is today, either.  It was an idea I had called ?TRAIN WITH ATO?.  To this day, at least once a week an email comes to the site asking when that section will be returning.  That section was where I put what workouts I had done that day and allowed the many of you who do track on a semi-pro or amateur level to follow along, and even emulate the workouts.  That was before the worlds eyes turned to HSI and our success and I realized that I was giving away for free what many pay very dearly for.  This is my way of resurrecting that area of my site, and it will be in time for the annual yearly upgrade of the site.  Essentially, I will let you see what 200lb looks like on my frame, and then start a plan of work and diet modifications to bring my weight back to what I think is acceptable for me.  Along the way, I will pass on some of the tricks I have learned over the years, and hopefully they will work for you, as well.  Project 200 is over, but project 180 is just beginning!

Discovery Lions
Sunday 22 August, 2004

If you watch the Discovery Channel as much as I do, then you know about those great "LION shows" as I call them.  They usually trace the life of a lion, from birth to death.  The birth part is beautiful.  There isn?t much that is cuter to watch than a lion cub. Then the lion learns to hunt, gets a pride of his own and so on.  The part that hurts to watch is when some other younger lion comes along, and the older lion is kicked out of the pride, and often, goes off to die.  I hate that part, but I always watched it knowing that young, bad-ass lions, get old eventually. 

Now, before you go off on the ?age is only a number? thing, hear me well - Mileage isn?t.  Age, as it relates to sprinters, is different than age as it relates to ?civilians?.  If I am was a 30 year-old who ran the 100 maybe a few times a year, then yes, I?d say ?don?t stop til you get enough?.  This is not one of those cases, as it relates to me.  At 18, in 1992, I won the 100 and 200 at World Juniors.  No-one had done that before.  There, my clock started ticking.  LION CUB. 

 ?93 - 10.23 and attempted double at Worlds (100 and 200), 94 Commonwealth Games 10.07 also got to 200m semis. 

 95 Worlds - Youngest ever 100m medalist - LION GETS HIS OWN PRIDE. 

96 - 00 LION?S PRIME.  I did my damage in those years.  World 200m champ, 100m and 200m same-day doubling, world?s fastest times in 100m/200m in 98,etc. 

?01 - 4th at Worlds, unable to run the 200m with a back injury - LION BEGINS TO WEAKEN. 

 02-04 LION MEETS HIS END. 

It is very simple for me to understand the rise and fall, and most athletes can trace a very similar path.  People talk about Maurice and I as though the 6 month age difference between us is proof that I have lots more left in me, but when I was running the 100 and 200 in Atlanta he was in the stands.  When I was getting 3rd in 1995 he didn?t make it past the 2nd round.   In ?92, amonth after the Games in Barcelona, I was in Seoul, Korea beating every junior in the world.  In 2 events.  He was in high school.  The number of races at 100 and 200 that I have run since 1992 is the reason why I know now that to try to get ?blood? from my ?rock? is pointless. 

Here in Athens, I see other examples of people, my age, who, I guess, are facing their mortality as well.  Stacy Dragila was Olympic Champ in the pole vault 4 years ago - the event?s first star.  She didn?t get out of qualifying here.  The UK?s Denise Lewis didn?t survive the heptathlon.  She, too, was a defending Olympic Champ from Sydney 4 years ago.  U.S. Shot putter, John Godina, my former UCLA teammate, also had an awful Games.  There are many of us 30-somethings who had a rude awakening here.  UK sprinter Darren Campbell, 2nd to me at those same World Juniors in 1992, didn?t get out of round 1 in the 100. Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, arguably the greatest distance runner ever, was 5th here at 10K, to his younger fellow Africans (insert great lion analogy here).  It is difficult to watch my generation of sprinters/track athletes on the way out, but that is the way it goes.  Do all you can when you have the chance, but have the sense to move on. 

Before I end, Frankie Fredericks and Gail Devers come to mind.  Gail, I think, made a huge miscalculation (again) in running the 100m , in which she failed to advance to the finals, and now she goes semi-tired into a hurdle race loaded with young ?lionesses?.  Canadian World Champ Perdita Felicien eliminated Gail last year in the semi-finals, after Gail ran the 100 and was last in the ?03 final.  I want my fellow Bruin to win her long-awaited Olympic 100m hurdle gold medal badly, but I can?t understand why she thinks running the 100m first at a championships is the way to do it, when her similar attempt in Paris was such a disaster last year.  Only she knows, and maybe she knows something I don?t. 

As for my good friend and long-time rival Frankie, who, despite being a ?doubler? like myself, at 36, is still competing - people forget that he is on the comeback trail. He missed 2000 and 2001, still had a taste for it and came back.  Good for him.  He, too, is out of the 100, but he has a good chance of being in the final in the 200, and I?ll cheer for him over all others. 

Merlene Ottey, a long-time ?doubler?, still going, at 44? Well, she should run til she is 50 if she is competitive.  She hurts no-one in that.  Just don?t ask me to be running for 14 more years.  I have other things to do.  If the 2 remaining thirds of my life are as good as the first, then I have a lot to look forward to.

As for the men?s 100 tonight, well it doesn?t matter if you are the greatest lion of all time (which he is, despite what Bob Costas and his ridiculous on-air comparisons of long jump medals to sprint medals say), a younger lion inevitably will succeed you.  I?ll go out on a limb and say POWELL, then MO and CRAWFORD, but I?ll root for the lion in my pride, MO.

 

Athenian Rant
Wednesday 18 August, 2004

Ah, you have to love those Greek stars, don't you?  How noble of them.  They turned in their accreditations wilfully, to better the sport.  Just don't ask them to run clean.  Just when you thought the idiot circus was over, here come these two.  Thanou and Kenteris, potentially the two biggest stars of the Greek Games, who happen to be Greeks, have pulled out.  The real reason?  Because their years of ducking and dodging tests are finally over.  No Hollywood writer could have written a better ending.  The frauds get exposed, at home, in the Olympic Games.  MOST POPULAR became most wanted, most hated, overnight.  Thanou even said she "still had the love of the Greek people."  Apparently, she is still under the influence of whatever it is they gave her while in hospital.  In the real world, Greeks are not as fond of those two as they seem to think.  Trust me, I am here, and have been for two weeks. Oh, by the way, the 'accident' that happened to them, they're still trying to find a shred of evidence on their bodies, the road, or even a single witness.  Surprise, surprise. 

Anyhow, moving on to real issues - Crete was great, trained every day in the heat, Mr. Aaron Aviani got me ready to run fast, I walked more than I probably ever have ( I am not the walking type) and now, with 2 days to go until I start, I have gotten what I have prayed for - a body which will not fight back when I push it - that's NOT what it has done earlier this year.  It seems to be almost saying - ok, boss, I'll give you this week, I'll hold up for you because I know you want this one badly.  I do.  I want to be able to go to battle, as I have in every Olympics, since I was 18. 

I went to swimming tonight, to see Mr George Bovell qualify for the 200 IM final, behind Phelps, in 3rd.  It is historic for someone from Trinidad to be in a Olympic swim final (or semi-final), so I had to be there.  I saw Cathy Freeman there, easily one of the nicest human beings I have ever known in my life.  She just happens to be a legend and an Olympic and Aussie star.  Good on ya, Cath!  She looks very good, got that weight back under control.  Looks like she could be running again soon, but I doubt it.  Well, I guess those back home who (ridiculously) would try to make an issue of me NOT being/staying at the Village when I come to the Olympic Games over the years will have to find something else to whine about.  I have been at the Village almost every day and I was at the swimming venue to cheer on the OTHER best hope we have of a medal.  As Bill Cosby said, the best way to fail is to try to please everyone. 

Also of note is the fact that 4 Trinidad/Tobago sprinters made the 'A' standard for the Olympic Games 100m dash this year.  Most Trinis were too busy arguing who should actually be allowed to run to grasp that, I am sure.  Darrel pulling out with injury saves the trouble of that decision, and it's ironic that the people who will run in Athens are those that were 1-2-3 at the Olympic Trials.  NEAT, like it should be.  But four men qualified to run in the 100m is truly amazing, moreso when you consider that Trinidad and Tobago's population is only 1.3 million or so people.   Think of most superpower countries, some with 100 times the population, save for the US, and I guarantee you that they couldn't make that claim.  I'm almost certain that not even track powerhouse Jamaica could ever, in their history, make that claim.  I am proud to have been a part of this.  Sleep on us in the 4x100m relay at your peril.  Darrel can run - his withdrawal is precautionary.  Soooo, here we go.  People want to know what I do with my days.  Lots.  I will go to the track on Friday and watch the first two rounds of the women's 100 I suppose.  It will get my competitive juices going, as going to the swimming did.  Thorpe is a monster!  Flippers for feet!  

BORN TO DO IT, for sure.

 

Cleaning House
Sunday 18 July, 2004

The title of one of my most recent AB LOGs was ?BUST ?EM ALL?.  I wasn?t kidding.  By saying that, I know that includes myself, if it came to that.  I read and I listen to people talk about who is ?clean? and who isn?t.  I am not ?clean?.  No track athlete is.  Many have been waiting to hear that from a pro athlete for a very long time.  Well you?ll hear it now.  I wonder if anyone out there has a real clue as to just how careful one has to be as a track athlete to remain "clean". 

 

Jamba Juice ? ooops be careful man, that stuff has ginseng in it ? don?t want to turn up positive!

GNC ? Watch out for supplements that may be tainted ? it?s happened before!

Rehab ? What exactly is in that gel you?re using for the ultrasound?  No, that?s illegal, you have to use another gel.

Social ? Man you know I can?t be around you weed-smokers, I?ll get a contact high and that?ll be right when they come to test me.

Starbucks ? Better not get that double ? you know caffeine is on the banned list...why chance it?

Colds ? That Nyquil is what will cure me quickly, but what do you have that doesn?t have pseudo-ephedrine in it?

 

These are a few examples of everyday things that track athletes are always having to be careful of.  Thankfully, the caffeine and cold medicine drugs have been taken off the list ? as I have said in previous blogs, no one ever ran better on cold medicine ? and I should know.   SO some of the old threats are gone, but new ones show up every day.  You?ll never see me drink from an open bottle of anything.  Hand me even a closed bottle and I?ll check the seal.   Some people get a bit irritated, or look at me funny if they?ve just taken off the top, but this is my life and my reputation.  In track and field, everyone suspects everyone, and the faster you run, the more the suspicion grows.  Sad, but true. 

It was revealed this week that Torri Edwards, my HSI teammate, failed a drug test in May for nikethamide, which is a stimulant, found in coramine glucose.  We, of course, were well aware, and we?ve seen Torri struggle through the worst depression when it was revealed.  On this matter, I don?t have to ask anyone?s opinion or speculate.  I was there for all that led to the incident in Martinique.  I blame it on Torri?s being insecure, as she can be sometimes when she knows all eyes are on her.   Torri would have blown away everyone at that meet, despite the fact that she was feeling lethargic.  Instead, herself and Chris Vincent, our physio, who has since been fired, decided that glucose would get her ready to run the way she wanted.  There was no way for her to tell that the GLUCOSE she took was CORAMINE GLUCOSE, which is contains this banned substance.   There is actually a precedent for Torri?s case.  In 1994, the entire French fencing team had to hand back their gold medals at the World Champs, for exactly this reason ? a member of the medical staff gave the entire team this substance thinking it was regular glucose.  It?s not a coincidence that both of these situations occurred in France and its territories ? the only place anyone could ever buy this substance in error is Vietnam or France.  It?s the only place on earth it?s still sold.  Do a Google search on CORAMINE GLUCOSE for reference.   

Having said all this, don?t get me wrong.  This is her fault, as she knows, though certainly some blame goes to Chris Vincent for not being 100% sure as to what he was administering.  Her timing also could not be worse.  The U.S is fixated on bringing its drug cheats to justice, and it?s about damn time.  Also, a year ago this would have been a public warning and that would be that ? this year, due to rules changes, she?s looking at 2 years.  Torri Edwards will be at the mercy of her arbitration panel, and their decision will stand.  It?s tough, but it?s the way it SHOULD BE.  The rules don?t change because she is my friend.

I am proud of Torri for not hiding behind her lawyer, for not refusing to comment, and further, for not dropping out of the Trials.  I expect that she will win the 200m.  As I well know, her case is unfortunate, and let?s see how it turns out.  She?ll accept her fate ? as she should.

 

In the meantime, the HSI haters are up in arms.  This is the ?smoking gun? they have been waiting for.  No club which such glowing history could possibly be drug free!  I?ve taken some of the rumors and tried to address them in my next blog.

HSI - the Truth Hurts
Sunday 18 July, 2004

When an athlete joins HSI, the improvement is because they are immediately put on a drug program.

HSI has had many members come and go, mostly go.  How is it, even with the ones who were unceremoniously dumped or kicked out, that no-one has ever come forward to hint or suggest that that?s what goes on?   Are we ?THE FIRM? like the Tom Cruise movie?   ?Death to anyone who speaks of the details of HSI??  Hardly.  I can tell you that now that Jon Drummond is gone, I am the senior member in terms of HSI longevity.  Ten years, this year.  Drugs have never been offered or suggested.   It?s the reason why not a soul on earth has never nor can ever say anything about selling or administering any substance to any of us.  In my 10 years, not one.  Like John Smith said, ?Many come to HSI now thinking maybe there?s a chance they?ll get ?something?.  They get 'something' alright - some hard-ass work!?

 

HSI is protected and is covered for by the powers that be.

I always liked this one.   HSI is so protected, by the ?powerful people? that we can?t even get a caffeine or cold medicine test covered up.  That makes perfect sense.  I ran with a prohibited substance in my system once, at the Mt Sac Relays in 2001.  It?s the one time I tested positive for anything.  Further to that, I always think it?s funny when you consider that I am not from the US!  My tests don?t even get to HSI before they get to my federation.  Who?s going to cover for my Trini behind?  My federation, who hates me like I hate them?  Then again, people prefer sometimes to believe the rumors.  They?re more interesting. 

 

HSI uses the UCLA drug lab to ensure things are? clean?.

Don Caitlin, who heads the UCLA lab, and who discovered THG - the real star of this Performance enhancing drug saga, is one of the most committed men I have heard of, in any field.  He?d find his mother positive if she were.  He?s not compromising his life?s work for anyone or anything.

 

People who leave HSI run poorly because they?re off of ?the stuff?.

I wonder at what point people will give John Smith his due.  Perhaps if they paid attention, it would be obvious.  Perhaps if they noticed that the drive phase, in its current, much-copied form, is something he developed.  Perhaps if it were seen that HSI athletes have better form, are better conditioned, more often do both sprints - things like that, that it would be easy to see why people who leave do not succeed, and if so, not for long.  Anyone who has ever spent a day at HSI practice knows why people in that group succeed.  It is a family atmosphere that is supportive, combined with a coach who actually knows what the hell he is doing.  Check the facts.  From the 400 hurdles to the 100m; people from Europe, Asia, the US and the Caribbean.  That?s not luck and it?s not in pill form.  People who leave HSI don?t run worth a damn after because the environment of success and the best coach alive has been taken away from them.  Period.  The Chicago Bulls don?t win much, either, lately, do they?  Why did that happen, you think?

 

HSI operates in secret.

HSI has never taken any off-season ?vacations? to go train where they can?t be found (and tested).  In 10 years, I have driven the same route to practice almost every day, and practiced on the same track, at the same time, with the same coach.  The random drug testers are on a first name basis with my household.  HSI practices are open to the public and have been, from since before I came.  Most who witness a practice are not surprised when the results happen.  It is not for the faint of heart.  We?ve had guests from Laila Ali to P. Diddy and Chris Tucker, but we?re far from a Hollywood club.  ANYONE can come to UCLA?s DRAKE STADIUM at 11am weekdays in off and preseason and watch practice.  In season, we?re in Europe kicking ass.

 

HSI snitched on BALCO

I guess this is another case of fiction being more interesting than the truth.  Yes, we knew something was going on.  I?ve talked in here about athletes suddenly losing their necks and getting deeper voices and having amazing finishing ability and sprinters over 30 running PRs in September.  Bu that?s all over now.  You notice how many of the officially accused have made the U.S. Olympic team this year.  ZERO.  And no, it?s not because of the media on their backs either.  That would be my favorite quote of the Trials though.  Trevor says John told him to tun in the syringe.  Sure he did.  No-one has asked where Trevor got THG from in the first place to turn it in though, huh?  They?re fixated on John telling Trevor what to do, because it makes a conspiracy theory they have concocted sound better.  Then again, I read that Trevor asked his almost-teenage son, what he should do about cheaters.  What a joke.  The insinuation that HSI was floundering and took out their competition is nonsense.  Anyone who is truly knowledgeable about the BALCO case knows that it didn?t even start as a hunt for track athletes.  It started as a hunt for the source of Barry Bonds new-found size and strength.  N.B. ? HSI does not have control over the federal government or soon to be retired feds who hate Barry Bonds!

 

HSI and Victor Conte are in cahoots.

Victor Conte is a has-been, careless, jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none egomaniac who was bold enough to think, recently, somewhere in his mind, that he could call on the George W. Bush White House and get immunity for his testimony.  After all, he?s got it like that.  The White House could not have shown less interest in his request.  He leaks documents and information to his good friend Elliot Almond of the San Jose Mercury News, who in turn, like a good lap-dog, writes as he is told.  Conte lurked on internet message boards, including the one at hsi.net, proclaiming the ZMA gospel before he was brought down by the feds, and despite the fact that the jig is up now, HE STILL DOES.  You can find him everywhere, still trying to cling to what is long gone.  I call it Ben Johnson syndrome.  You better believe that if Victor Conte had anything REAL on HSI, or any of its members, it would have been long-ago leaked and revealed.  A drowning man will grasp at straws, and you know it.

 

HSI has always come out strongly against anyone who has tested positive, regardless of the situation. 

People remember what they want to.  When Europeans were failing drug tests for nandrolone, including Merlene Ottey and even Linford Christie, with whom I had a checkered past, it's documented that I came forward and said that I didn?t believe that any of these people were intentionally doping, merely because anyone with a brain could figure out that no-one would cheat with nandrolone ? you simply are not going to get away with it ? it?s the most detectable substance around.  As it turned out, the supplements a lot of Europeans were taking were tainted with this steroid.  Have HSI?s prominent members been vocal about BALCO?  Well, I certainly have, right here sometimes, and maybe because I know so many of the people involved, so it?s a double disappointment.   Worse, instead of being forthright about it (I actually give Kelli White her props for at least admitting to it all, regardless of what caused/forced her to), they?ve tried to drag the sport through the mud while trying to turn themselves into victims.  That has to be addressed, and I have done so in my little way.  I have enough friends.  If I lose friendships ? I?m sorry - make that acquaintances, over what I?ve said about Balco and those who made that choice, do you think I will lose any sleep? Please.   Refer to what I said above about having enough friends.  I?ll continue to speak my truth, right here. 

 

 

BUST THEM ALL
Saturday 26 June, 2004

I wonder if any of you have a clue what it is like to be a track athlete right now.  With so many of my track athletes grabbing headlines/TV airtime for all the wrong reasons, everyone from my grocer to my carwash guy wants to know ? who?s next?  Well, I can tell you who isn?t next, but that?s about as far I?ll go.  Bust ?em and ban ?em all, I say, and not for my sake ? not some sort of petty ?revenge on the ghosts of steroid-fueled competitors past?, either.  Rather, I want to see all those who have danced to the BALCO music pay the piper now for the sake of every person that someone who cheated caused to leave the sport, who went back to a day job or some other path other than their track and field dreams, forced out of a highly competitive sport because someone with a synthetic aid had an edge.  

The good news for me is that I believe, despite the cynics and the critics, that the ATHENS 2004 Olympiad will be the games of the clean athlete. 

The American sports fan would have you believe that track is the poster child for all that is wrong with sports, drug-wise.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  If Track and Field was a family, we would be the neighbor on the block who beats their children out in the street for everyone to see, embarrassing some, no doubt.  The problem is, so many of the other major sports in this country (football, baseball) are the families that NEED to beat their children, openly or not.  They, I guess, want to take the ?time out in the corner? approach.  I don?t believe in that method.  Meanwhile, unless you can hit 74 home runs in a season, forget about being home-run king.  The baseball is not that juiced.  Something else is. 

I am a Bonds fan, and have been since his days in Pittsburgh.  I think he and Ken Griffey have the best swings in baseball.  He now plays for the San Francisco Giants, the only baseball team I have ever supported.  But I also have eyes.  Bonds? power has probably doubled in the past 5 years.  His going from a 50-something homerun hitter to a seventy something homerun hitter is the equivalent of me taking my 100m personal best from 9.86 to 9.66.  Where on earth could I find that much improvement at this stage, naturally?  Also, let?s not forget Bonds? age.  What Conte and co. gave him doesn?t make him see the ball better, doesn?t make him more technically proficient at swinging a bat, but when he connects with a ball - well, you saw the 73 home runs.  No, I don?t believe for a second that his home run record is clean.  However, in baseball, I think that makes him the rule, not the exception.  Which brings me back ? why on earth would anyone think that track is so loaded with drug users, while other sports are not. I would submit that track is one of the cleanest sports in the world, comparatively.  Now, those sports whose drug testing policies are non-existent (NHL) or laughable (Major League Baseball) - those are the ones people need to be up in arms about.  But they don?t ?beat? their ?kids? out in the yard, like track does.  More busts does not equal dirtier sport, at all, any more than fewer busts equals cleaner sport.  Has major league baseball EVER had a star fail a drug test?  Is that because none have ever been dirty?  Hardly.

Then we have some of my American track counterparts.  Under oath to the grand jury, they tell of drugs that they have taken ? EPO, growth hormone, THG ? serious stuff.  Publicly, though, they have ?no idea what the hell any of you reporters are talking about.?    So here we go, exactly two weeks until the U.S. Olympic track and field Trials.  I wouldn?t miss the drama for the world.  The races will be good, too.  Forgive me if I don?t shed a tear for some of those who are currently involved in the daily drama, no more than the man on the street would feel sorry for an ENRON executive now living on the street?.ill-gotten gain never lasts. 

To those of you who insist on engaging me about the inherent danger of ?non-analytical positives? - do not forget, for a second, that Kelli White, before she broke down and admitted to systematic doping for almost four years, would have had you believe during her denial phase that she was the victim of a witch-hunt, an unfair crusade against her, when in fact all she had ever been guilty of was trying to take her sleep disorder medicine, a disorder which existed in her family.  She never failed a drug test of any real consequence, either.  Do not forget that CJ Hunter was going to go to the length and breadth of the earth to prove his innocence after Sydney.  It never happened.  Do not fall for it, people ? and if you do, don?t ask me what I think, since apparently most of you are not ready to hear the response.   Do I think that an athlete should be banned based on someone?s speculation?  Of course not.   How much more proof do you need for some of these people, though?  I guess what I require as proof is simply less than what some of you do.   And that?s ok, really ? but consider this - let?s remove the non-analytical positive angle, just for a second.  If you had a daughter with Golden Olympic dreams who was going up against Kelli White this summer in Athens, she?d more than likely lose.  Kelli White never failed a steroid test, and she recently admitted to taking them from since George W. Bush took office ? 2000!  Maybe if there is overwhelming evidence of drug use then the athlete should be banned, or is it only when your child gets beat by a drug cheat on a drug that is not going to register a positive? 

 

Oh, by the way, CARL LEWIS aka TWO-FACE, shut up already.  I have personally witnessed this man bash track and field in Europe since 1996, call every top sprinter not named Carl Lewis a drug user, and even comment that he doesn?t even watch the sport anymore, so sure is he that no current performance is legit.  If you watch the BEST DAMN SPORTS SHOW on FoxSports, you?ve seen him yourself, perhaps.  He only goes there to bash track and field.  Then, recently, came the revelation that he himself had some positive drug test issues, minor though they were, in the past - several of them.   Rush Limbaugh comes to mind.  Now, lo and behold, Carl is speaking out FOR the American track athlete AGAINST the head of the drug-testing agency.  Excuse me?  Did I miss something?  Who asked him to?  But then, as you read, here?s Carl?s reason ? maybe Dick Pound, a Canadian, is jealous/angry that Carl got the gold when (Canadian) Ben Johnson was busted in Seoul.  Sixteen years ago.  What?!  Look, I am no Pound fan, but to hint that he has taken on the American track athlete due to some personal vendetta over a race in 1988 is absurd.  Then again, in his mind, Carl had to be the reason behind all of this scandal now.  After all, this planet rotates on the Lewis axis, in case you didn?t know.  Many may have missed Carl?s comments this week.  I didn?t.

 

If you think, for a second, I am a Carl Lewis hater in any way, think again.  Despite what I have ever said about him or his singing, acting or comments about track, I highly respect his accomplishments on the track, and I FULLY understand that I can be a professional sprinter today because of the road he paved prior to my career.  That, however, does not mean that his lunacy should go unchecked.

 

Read Carl?s comments for your selves?.

 

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/040624/3/4lxo.html

It Takes More
Tuesday 1 June, 2004

It?s been a long time since I made a blog entry, mainly because I don?t like to write when I am injured, but also because I need the right motivation, at times, to sit down and let my thoughts come out through my fingers.

Usually, it?s by someone/something that I can?t figure out. In that way, I suppose this area is very therapeutic.This month?s inspiration comes from Elliott Almond. Elliott is a writer for the SAN JOSE Mercury News, who, I think, decided that Mo Greene had taken too much of a anti-drug stance a couple weeks ago in NY, and decided to writing a story showing a ?LINK? between HSI and the embattled BALCO labs.

This ?link? was what certain people had been waiting for ? after all you couldn?t have the most controversial (decorated, talented, interesting) track and field group in the history of the world not be involved in the most scandalous track story/scandal ever, could you?

By the way, Mo?s stance is the right one, and if it was truly adopted by more (AMERICAN) track athletes, we wouldn?t be in the current position in which we are. Yes, I said it. Prove me wrong! - Most of Victor Conte?s clients, now being busted for years of drug use, are from the U.S. Look at the list. Dwain Chambers aside, almost everyone has a US passport.

Back to this article. Almond, I guess, came upon some documents. Scratch that. He had already seen them, is my theory. Among these documents seized was a confidentiality agreement between myself and a guy known as Victor Conte. Who?s he? Conte is now known worldwide as the man at the center of a steroid scandal involving baseball and track and field. Many prominent athletes have been accused, some have already been banned.

It Takes More PART 2
Tuesday 1 June, 2004
Lord have mercy! BOLDON LINKED TO BALCO. OK, let?s try to mix in some facts with this nonsense, for flavor. Firstly, I never knew that it was a secret that I had a phone conversation with Victor Conte 3 years ago. I've told anyone who would listen. Seven months before Elliott?s supposed ?outing? of my contact with VC, I myself wrote about it, in this very same space, quite openly. Look at my November 17th entry from 2003! Victor Conte headed up a supplement company called SNAC. Is it so preposterous to think that this was someone who would cross paths with me at some point? My convo with Victor Conte went like many I've had, with other persons, over the past ten years. THEY think they've re-invented the wheel, so they don't want you knowing their top secret 'wheel idea'. THAT is why most of these conversations only begin after you sign a confidentiality agreement, and not because you're going to do underhanded stuff. Elliott, in his article, uses this agreement as a sort of a smoking gun, proof that at one time I had ?secret? contact with a man who is now on trial for steroid dealing to pro athletes - the obvious inference being that I had to have been a user of his now infamous products. The problem is that not everyone, and certainly not me, could have possibly known back then that VC, as the head of what, to everyone, seemed a reputable establishment, would be viewed as the BALCO devil incarnate in 2004, as many have made him out to be. To attach some sort of cover up or guilt to our conversation is the worst form of irresponsibility in journalism I have ever been victim of. Look, I get daily correspondence from all sorts of people from all over the globe asking me to test/try/buy everything from cylindrical tracks that you can store in your backyard and run on like a hamster to parachute trainers to audio tapes that guarantee you a faster race just on newly-acquired mental strength.

It Takes More PART 3
Tuesday 1 June, 2004
The one consistent thing about most of these aids is that they offer little or no true help. As I once heard, these people always want to come to the most genetically gifted people on the planet and think their product/invention/snake oil is the reason for an athlete?s success/performance. You take the guy eating Ruffles on the LaZBoy chair and give him your product and if HE improves drastically, THEN come see me. It the equivalent of me massaging Aretha Franklin?s back and taking credit for her hitting that high note later when she performs ? NO! It?s not me ? the Queen of Soul would have sung her ass off anyway. SO back to the article which, when you read it, is so sensationalized that it attempts to make what is par for the course between people hawking a ?revolutionary product? seem like such underhanded dealings. A confidentiality agreement ? that is the basis of the whole LINK. The problem with this is twofold, and it?s why I say shame on Mr Arnold, because if he?s seen as much of these secret documents as I believe he has, then he KNOWS that the contact I had was one time only. In the 30,000 pages of documents, never is there any follow up on my part, or on VC?s. It?s why you haven?t seen my name in any article concerning the current scandal, save for this contrived one ? and there still is no genuine link. I?m not linked to COLIN POWELL because I am black, no more than I am linked to an organization I never had any business with because I had a conversation with someone affiliated with it. It?s why I have not been called to testify for the grand jury ? anyone notice that? It?s why my club has totally been absent from all of these proceedings. Instead of seeing that this must be an indication of people making the right choice, already-acknowledged meetings are being used to "prove" just the opposite - and that is the most shameful part of this obvious WITCH HUNT.

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