Tennis

[heart_attack_man]

I was just reading through some of the stuff around Sharapova, and then got onto Justine Henin's "shock" retirement (speculation clearly abound...)

Found this very interesting article from 2008.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wtatour/2300617/Why-Justine-Henin-quit.html

The article in itself is boring and a usual bullcrap piece about an "unexplainable" retirement, however of note were the comments on the Williams sisters by their father. LOL...

On the tour now, who knows how much longer Serena Williams, 26, and her sister Venus, 27, will keep playing for? Their father, Richard, once remarked that he wanted his daughters to retire young as he didn't want "a couple of gum-chewing illiterates" on his hands.

34 and 35 and still going strong.

 

[Maxiton]

Nudge, nudge, know what I mean? wink, wink:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3493208/Sam-Stosur-claims-victory-three-set-match-against-Christina-McHale-BNP-Paribas-Open-California.html

Looks like she's been taking lessons at the Tammy Thomas School of Tennis.

looks like he has been taking lessons in vascularity too.

She, blackcat, she. A bit vascular, I grant you, but pure, natural, athletic talent. Optimized by Tammy Thomas Tennis Water (tm).

 

[wansteadimp]

Nudge, nudge, know what I mean? wink, wink:-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-3493208/Sam-Stosur-claims-victory-three-set-match-against-Christina-McHale-BNP-Paribas-Open-California.html

Looks like she's been taking lessons at the Tammy Thomas School of Tennis.

looks like he has been taking lessons in vascularity too.

I want someone to ask Aggasi and Jonathan Edwards how they can benchpress 150kg, or 300lbs.

yeah, I know 300lbs=/=150kg, but I got it wrong last time.

These weedy bast@rds can benchpress thru the roof. and they have no right too, well, Andre had a power-lifter coach in Gil Reyes, so ofcourse it is right and natural he knows lifting technique and can do 300lbs, and Edwards was a Protestant Minister with Muscular Christianity god on his side and training his type 1 fibres, so perfectly natural a'course

Not true, God was never on Edwards side, he is omnipresent and knows all. Which includes Edwards becoming a quitter who doesn't believe. So Edwards was on something that overcame God's hatred.

 

[Brian Butterfield]

I predict Femke will be slapped with a lifetime ban, Sharapova...6 months max.

 

[the delgados]

Re:

I predict Femke will be slapped with a lifetime ban, Sharapova...6 months max.

I disagree.
Actually, I don't really care. I'm just using this as an opportunity to say Blue Jays fans miss you waving home runners down the third base line.
We'll even forgive for going to the Boston Massholes; you were that well-liked in Toronto.
Anyway, sorry to interrupt.
Please carry on.

 

[heart_attack_man]

Does anyone know if any of the Caster Semenya controversy flowed over into Tennis, and if not why not? Does anyone know if Serena has ever been subjected to Gender Testing? Now, this is not some type of body-shaming type of post - far from it - I'm just curious to know why if in one IOC sport an athlete is subjected to Gender Testing with all sorts of papers and discussion occurring in the background of this (Caster - IAAF) but with an equally muscular physique another athlete is NOT subjected to Gender Testing in another IOC sport (ITF).

Caster

Serena

Does anyone know if any Gender Testing has ever been performed in Tennis? I think it may have been, but not sure about for Serena.

Even more curiously, I wonder how Caster Semenya feels after having to reduce her testosterone levels so she could continue competing, but Dutee Chand challenged this and the policy has now been suspended.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/dutee-chand-back-from-the-brink/article8361091.ece

 

[Zebadeedee]

Sharapova states she was using the drug for sound medical reasons, endorsed by her doctor. That being the case, logically, you would think she and her team, in envisaging the forthcoming ban, would simply apply for a TUE. She was after all, so we're told, using the drug on medical grounds. However, that apparently didn't happen. This suggests that either she genuinely did overlook the change in status of the drug, as she claims, or that she was doping illicitly.

As many have pointed out, it's improbable that she or her team didn't know about the ban. One can conclude then that she was in fact deliberately doping for non-medical reasons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as she presents her case to the ITF doping panel. Her claim is known: a straightforward medical history followed by a personal lapse, highly regretted, on her part. I wonder to what extent the medical facts will actually be revealed publicly. Usually it appears that when personal data are aired, the player's name is anonymised. We saw this in the case of the supposedly anonymous Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her failed TUE appeal to the CAS. I don't know how they'll get round that one without suggestion of a fix or risking loss of credibility with their decision.

Can the drug be deployed via microdosing perhaps? Maybe her medical support miscalculated the level at which it would trigger a positive test. We don't really know all the facts surrounding this drug. Some say it's prescription only in Latvia, Russia etc, whereas some Sharapova propagandists claim that it's freely available as an OTC. The problem here is that she's been a US resident for many, many years where the drug is still non-approved.

 

[Benotti69]

Novak Djokovic: 'I do not read all emails sent by World Anti-Doping Agency'

Good to see an athlete at the top of his game taking anti doping very seriously.

 

[arcus]

Sharapova states she was using the drug for sound medical reasons, endorsed by her doctor. That being the case, logically, you would think she and her team, in envisaging the forthcoming ban, would simply apply for a TUE. She was after all, so we're told, using the drug on medical grounds. However, that apparently didn't happen. This suggests that either she genuinely did overlook the change in status of the drug, as she claims, or that she was doping illicitly.

As many have pointed out, it's improbable that she or her team didn't know about the ban. One can conclude then that she was in fact deliberately doping for non-medical reasons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as she presents her case to the ITF doping panel. Her claim is known: a straightforward medical history followed by a personal lapse, highly regretted, on her part. I wonder to what extent the medical facts will actually be revealed publicly. Usually it appears that when personal data are aired, the player's name is anonymised. We saw this in the case of the supposedly anonymous Bethanie Mattek-Sands and her failed TUE appeal to the CAS. I don't know how they'll get round that one without suggestion of a fix or risking loss of credibility with their decision.

Can the drug be deployed via microdosing perhaps? Maybe her medical support miscalculated the level at which it would trigger a positive test. We don't really know all the facts surrounding this drug. Some say it's prescription only in Latvia, Russia etc, whereas some Sharapova propagandists claim that it's freely available as an OTC. The problem here is that she's been a US resident for many, many years where the drug is still non-approved.

In the current climate, I doubt she'd get a TUE for this drug, especially based on the medical conditions she mentioned in her press conference. On balance, I suspect she was genuinely ignorant of the drug-ban, due to poor due diligence on behalf of herself and her team. This doesn't change that fact that her AAV still constitutes an ADRV, or the fact that she was probably using it for performance enhancement all along.

The tribunal will hinge on the credibility of her medical evidence, I think. I suspect that they'll accept that she didn't know it was banned, and the period of sanction will depend on whether they believe she was taking it in January for valid medical reasons, or if they conclude it was more likely for performance enhancement.

Despite the fact that the WTA have a vested interest in getting her back on court asap, I could see the ITF take a relatively tough line in this situation, given their recent PR woes re: match fixing, and the alteration of public attitudes in the context of the recent IAAF, RUSADA and FIFA scandals. They just cannot be seen to show undue leniency or favoritism towards a big star at the moment (things would have been very different a few years ago, I suspect). Also, they might deduce that they can choose to look tough in the knowledge that Sharapova will be taking this to CAS, who have happily reduced sentences for tennis players in the past. If that were to be the case, it would be a win for them.

 

[The Hitch]

Re:

Novak Djokovic: 'I do not read all emails sent by World Anti-Doping Agency'

Good to see an athlete at the top of his game taking anti doping very seriously.

The amount of doping Djoker has been doing recently, I think he is scared of failing tests simply by reading the Wada emails.

 

[arcus]

Nike Is Hinting That Maria Sharapova Could Return to the Fold

“Each time those situations happen, you are saddened and disappointed. At the same time, there are many athletes that inspire us.” “At the end of the day, athletes are humans just like the rest of us, and they have the same frailties that the rest of us have. And sometimes those moments become teaching moments.”

http://fortune.com/2016/03/17/nike-maria-sharapova-bounce-back/

Quotes are from Travis Edwards, NIke's global brand head, and a man tipped to become its CEO one day. This is not surprising, given the egregious resurrection of Nike's commercial relationship with Gatlin, but it still saddens me.
He may be giving their stance a veneer of conciliation, forgiveness and humanitarianism, but I sense it to be much more Machiavellian at its core. The message is that "We don't care how low you stooped to achieve extraordinary things in sport, we just care that you did excel. We can get richer on the back of your fame, and you can get richer along with us"...
You would think that blue-chip brands would not want to be endorsed by individuals lacking integrity. That was certainly the case with Armstrong. If all athletes found to have cheated to succeed became unendorseable, it would constitute a powerful disincentive to dope, since sponsors are the source of the majority of famous athletes fortunes. Nike are bucking that trend, and sending athletes the message that integrity is irrelevant, and the end justifies the means.

 

[Maxiton]

What should by now be pretty clear, though, is that with the Sharapova situation we have, once again, an example of "anti-doping" being used as a cudgel; in this case not against an athlete, per se, but against a whole nation (Russia), and for geopolitical reasons that have nothing to do with integrity in sport.

Does anyone really still believe that WADA is genuine, or that professional sports bodies give a fig about doping? They are concerned about doping, but only insofar as its use keeps the game entertaining, and only insofar as they can use it as a cudgel for political purposes.

In keeping the focus and the fury on Sharapova, we are missing the forest entirely as we drive into the trees.

 

[Benotti69]

Re:

What should by now be pretty clear, though, is that with the Sharapova situation we have, once again, an example of "anti-doping" being used as a cudgel; in this case not against an athlete, per se, but against a whole nation (Russia), and for geopolitical reasons that have nothing to do with integrity in sport.

Does anyone really still believe that WADA is genuine, or that professional sports bodies give a fig about doping? They are concerned about doping, but only insofar as its use keeps the game entertaining, and only insofar as they can use it as a cudgel for political purposes.

In keeping the focus and the fury on Sharapova, we are missing the forest entirely as we drive into the trees.

Anti doping appears to be a money catcher as well as a vehicle to control the sports athletes. Diack made millions out of Russians and others. Verbruggen made allegedly half a million dollars from Armstrong in 99. Was McQuaid negotiating with Contador until Seppelt made it news about his Clen positive?

I think we can stop calling it sport. It has long been more of a commercial enterprise and less anything to do with sport.

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Re:

What should by now be pretty clear, though, is that with the Sharapova situation we have, once again, an example of "anti-doping" being used as a cudgel; in this case not against an athlete, per se, but against a whole nation (Russia), and for geopolitical reasons that have nothing to do with integrity in sport.

Does anyone really still believe that WADA is genuine, or that professional sports bodies give a fig about doping? They are concerned about doping, but only insofar as its use keeps the game entertaining, and only insofar as they can use it as a cudgel for political purposes.

In keeping the focus and the fury on Sharapova, we are missing the forest entirely as we drive into the trees.

Anti doping appears to be a money catcher as well as a vehicle to control the sports athletes. Diack made millions out of Russians and others. Verbruggen made allegedly half a million dollars from Armstrong in 99. Was McQuaid negotiating with Contador until Seppelt made it news about his Clen positive?

I think we can stop calling it sport. It has long been more of a commercial enterprise and less anything to do with sport.

Agreed. Although I still think it was Verdruggem, or one of his agents, who slipped the word to Seppelt; the abortive attempt to "cover it up" was just for show.

Anyway, it's all the sport we have to watch, so we should keep holding their feet to the fire, and expose their disgusting treachery and corruption. Just for the sheer satisfaction of it.

 

[ice&fire]

Meldonium sales through the roof after Sharapova admission
"The doping scandal was a very good advertising boost for meldonium," says CEO of DSM Group, which monitors the pharmaceutical sector

http://en.as.com/en/2016/03/18/other_sports/1458329815_251704.html

 

[Benotti69]

Wonder when 1st cyclist will test positive........

 

[blackcat]

Re:

Nike Is Hinting That Maria Sharapova Could Return to the Fold

“Each time those situations happen, you are saddened and disappointed. At the same time, there are many athletes that inspire us.” “At the end of the day, athletes are humans just like the rest of us, and they have the same frailties that the rest of us have. And sometimes those moments become teaching moments.”

http://fortune.com/2016/03/17/nike-maria-sharapova-bounce-back/

Quotes are from Travis Edwards, NIke's global brand head, and a man tipped to become its CEO one day. This is not surprising, given the egregious resurrection of Nike's commercial relationship with Gatlin, but it still saddens me.
He may be giving their stance a veneer of conciliation, forgiveness and humanitarianism, but I sense it to be much more Machiavellian at its core. The message is that "We don't care how low you stooped to achieve extraordinary things in sport, we just care that you did excel. We can get richer on the back of your fame, and you can get richer along with us"...
You would think that blue-chip brands would not want to be endorsed by individuals lacking integrity. That was certainly the case with Armstrong. If all athletes found to have cheated to succeed became unendorseable, it would constitute a powerful disincentive to dope, since sponsors are the source of the majority of famous athletes fortunes. Nike are bucking that trend, and sending athletes the message that integrity is irrelevant, and the end justifies the means.

Thuycidides on morality - “Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

 

[Maxiton]

Re: Re:

Thuycidides on morality - “Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”

I love that quote. Thank you for quoting it.

 

[blackcat]

does anyone know how Benotti got such a large avatar? Are you avatar doping Benotti? Or did you buy off the mods. Get the NSA to rig the forum function codez and alliterationz

 

[Benotti69]

Re:

does anyone know how Benotti got such a large avatar? Are you avatar doping Benotti? Or did you buy off the mods. Get the NSA to rig the forum function codez and alliterationz

Avatar size is directly in proportion to the size of one's lunchbox, IQ and MCE

 

[Catwhoorg]

Re:

Wonder when 1st cyclist will test positive........

Already happened

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/02/news/katusha-suspends-vorganov-for-doping-test-failure_394764

 

[thehog]

Re: Re:

Wonder when 1st cyclist will test positive........

Already happened

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/02/news/katusha-suspends-vorganov-for-doping-test-failure_394764

New clean old generation

 

[sniper]

vorganov was found to have taken meldonium for recreational purposes only

 

[Maxiton]

Raymond Moore, CEO of Indian Wells tennis tournament, on women's tennis:

. . . "they ride on the coatails of the men. They don't make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky. If I was a lady player, I would go down on my knees every night" . . . .

Very attracive, Raymond.

#SexismDoping

#RepressedSexualityDoping

 

[blackcat]

Re: Re:

does anyone know how Benotti got such a large avatar? Are you avatar doping Benotti? Or did you buy off the mods. Get the NSA to rig the forum function codez and alliterationz

Avatar size is directly in proportion to the size of one's lunchbox, IQ and MCE

#priapus avatar.


still avatar doping.