Ski Posted October 30, 2005 Report Posted October 30, 2005 Bode has become a great example of why parents need to set examples and be role models for their kids, rather than relying on superstar athletes...last season's "Bode on the Bus" series showed him doing shots the night before races. Is that a tragedy? No, and neither was former Florida Marlin Manager Jim Leyland chain smoking in the dugout, but could they possible set a worse example for kids? I've heard the arguement that if you drink, then that's just you being you. But I'm pretty sure that Bode gets laid and not many people argue that "Bode on the Bud" should have a segment featuring him on his girlfriend. In other words, people that have a wide influence on kids should use some degree of discretion. I sure wouldn't care if Poconoceancity rolled a blunt at home, but imagine the effect if he did it during class...my apologies for envoking your name, POC, but teachers have a higher level of responsibility with their public image than most other professions, because of their direct influence on kids. Like Bode. The entire integrity of Major League Baseball records is now gone. Maris' record of 60 homers was broken by a cheater: Mark McGwire. Aaron's career HR record of 755 will be broken next year by another cheater: Barry Bonds. A simple receipe: take steroids and you increase muscle mass and your bat speed. And then comes the domino effect: pitchers juice up to keep pace; second level players juice to keep up with juiced pitchers; then minor leaguer's juice to step up to second level Major Leaguer's. College players are juicing and even high school players are juicing. It's out of control at every level of baseball. So the US Congress threatens Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig with proposed mandatory legal penalties if baseball doesn't clean up. Congress even points to the strict International Olympic Commitee policies as a model of "near perfect efficiency". What's this have to do with Bode? Dangerous performance enhancing drugs have become nearly epidemic in some American sports and there's finally a move to begin the clean up, when along comes Bode with his brain dead push to relax the rules. With no apparent forethought to the big picture---that these drugs are actually killing teenage kids and otherwise destroying young lives---Bode gets on his soap box to proclaim performance enhancers no big deal. The "medical community" has determined that steroids as performance enhancers ARE unsafe. Period. They have determined what pain killers are safe and legal: the FIS provides athletes with a complete list. I think it's terrible that British skier Alain Baxter was stripped of his Olympic bronze medal for using a Vick's Inhaler. The product he normally used manufactured in Britain didn't contain the banned drug, while the one he bought in the US did. That doesn't mean you don't have the rule; you just have to use discretion while enforcing it. Anyway, here's the latest from Bode: "I caused a furor in Europe this month after Ski Racing magazine quoted me saying I favored the legalization of doping. There's such a stigma right now about drug testing that you can't bring up anything without people trying to jump on it the wrong way and twist it. I'm going to keep pushing my viewpoint. I think our drug-testing policies are ridiculous and need to change. Just like a cocktail of vitamins you take to help improve your health, I think the medical field should determine what substances are safe and unsafe for people, using amounts at the low end of the spectrum to err on the right side. Don't ban substances that are not unhealthy. If it's going to hurt an athlete or a person, it should be illegal, period. If they come up with safe levels for different drugs, there's a good chance that would help athletes live a better life, be more healthy, prevent injuries and have a better physical condition when they're 50 or 60. I see athletes at that age, and they're totally beat up. They talk about the long-term effects of all these steroids, but they ignore the long-term effects of sport. The long-term effects of being a ski racer are blown-out discs, blown-out knees, blown-out hips. You need to minimize that stuff. If you have to balance it with the long-term effects of steroids, I think that is a legitimate argument. The current system is hypocritical and ineffective. My team and all the other teams are jumping behind this ineffective message that the World Anti-Doping Agency and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency are pushing. It's frustrating to see them do it because of the political correctness of the whole thing. They don't want to stir the pot, and they want to come off as ultra-clean." Quote
Ski Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Posted October 31, 2005 But sorry for the long-winded rant. Bode needs a PR person to just tell him to keep certain thoughts...uh...thoughts. Saying that performance enhancing steroids used in moderation is a good thing in the long term is nuts, according to the doctors that have published real study results. I actually thought he was joking. Quote
VTmark Posted October 31, 2005 Report Posted October 31, 2005 i never liked bode. and yes i do watch FIS races and i have a lot of respect for them Quote
Ski Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Posted October 31, 2005 My wife has forced me to listen to numerous passages from his book (actually written by someone else)...he just doesn't understand steroids. He says that he realizes steroids are a benefit for competitive weight lifters, but doesn't see any benefit for the world ping pong champion, who was banned from the sport for two years after testing positive. He believes that was a travesty. Steroids help the quick-twitch muscles...a ping pong player on steroids would be lethal. That's why it's not just home run hitters on juice, but also shortstops. Just BTW, Bode's one sister's name is Genesis Wren Bungo Windrushing Turtleheart Miller. That's her LEGAL name. His folks used to grow a lot of pot. Quote
Papasteeze Posted October 31, 2005 Report Posted October 31, 2005 I think this is funny. I do to. Time for that blog plug in I would say. Is Red Bull legal? Quote
Ski Posted October 31, 2005 Author Report Posted October 31, 2005 I do to. Time for that blog plug in I would say. Is Red Bull legal? Just FYI for anyone that buys Red Bull and weren't really sure what's in it: Carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, sodium citrate, taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, niacin, D-pantothenol, pyridoxine HCL, vitamin B12, artificial flavours and colors. Carbonated water= water with bubbles Sucrose= sugar Glucose= sugar Sodium citrate= salt Taurine= caffeine enhancer, also a nutritional substance for cats which can help prevent blindness Glucuronolactone= sugar metabolizer Caffeine= stimulant Inositol= sugar Niacin= converts food to energy Pantothenol= vitamin B5 Pyridoxine HCL= vitamin B6 Vitamin B12= vitamin B12 A Red Bull is is equivalent of taking a couple of vitamins and washing it down with a huge glass of Hawaiian Punch with extra sugar and a dash of salt, followed by a cup of coffee. It will make you have to pee; get fat; make you nervous; and, if you put some in your cat's water bowl, keep it from going blind. Not exactly how it's marketed, though. Quote
skimom Posted November 7, 2005 Report Posted November 7, 2005 ummm, redbull. Love it. There are a few medical studies showing redbull improves focus and attention a bit. But, that's relative to placebo - it's not been tested against caffeine. Having raced with and without the redbull influence, I'd agree that any effect it has is generally not worth its negative bladder impact. Anabolic steroids are associated with major negative health risks, Redbull isn't. Also, you can blow away the competition with steroids - not too many people blow away the competition with redbull. I'd hate to see a world where an athlete needs to subject themselves to the risks of steroids to compete. Quote
poconoceancity Posted November 7, 2005 Report Posted November 7, 2005 Redbull and Vodka...make the average drinker a drunk A-hole. In a related story, both times I was at Eagle Rock redbull was there sposoring a big air competition and handing out free drinks at the lift. Quote
Ski Posted November 7, 2005 Author Report Posted November 7, 2005 Redbull and Vodka...make the average drinker a drunk A-hole. Ha, that's one of the really bad signs I look for when covering a frat party. Quote
DHarrisburg Posted November 7, 2005 Report Posted November 7, 2005 I'm anti-drug testing. If an athlete wants to kill themself with performance enhancing drugs, let them. That'd be fine if certain drugs didn't give you an unfair advantage. I don't think athletes should be looked at as role models for kids. I think parents and teachers should be. Regardless of how athletes want to be viewed, kids still look up to them for different reasons. Quote
Ski Posted November 7, 2005 Author Report Posted November 7, 2005 I'm anti-drug testing. If an athlete wants to kill themself with performance enhancing drugs, let them. It's a free country and Bode has the right to his own opinion. If he wants to smoke a joint after a race he should be able to? I don't think athletes should be looked at as role models for kids. I think parents and teachers should be. As I said in the first line in my rant: parents need to be the role models. But you're kidding about steroids, right? If steroids were legal, then all records in all sports would be wiped out. Ever see any old Olympic footage of Eastern Block countries? The women had 5 o'clock shadows and were cut like Schwarztenagger because of steroids. You just wouldn't have real sports anymore; everything would be like professional wrestling and athletes would be dropping dead at 45. And if Bode wants to light a water bong after every race, I couldn't care less. After many, many years of thoughtful testing, I can assure you that they just haven't come up with a performance enhancing MJ, so pot sure as hell isn't cheating. Right or wrong, it is, however, against US Federal law and against the laws of most countries where the FIS stops. But, IMO, doing shots the night before a big race doesn't belong on a show geared for kids. Quote
Ski Posted November 8, 2005 Author Report Posted November 8, 2005 Scary thing is, 'Mom, that I'd have taken them IN A MINUTE if they'd been available to us in college. As would most of the guys on my teams. Quote
Ski Posted November 8, 2005 Author Report Posted November 8, 2005 Ha, not quite, but for just a little more bat speed? We wouldn't have had a second thought. Quote
LineSki Posted November 8, 2005 Report Posted November 8, 2005 it really is amazing what a little needle can do. Quote
skidude Posted November 8, 2005 Report Posted November 8, 2005 Link the Bode's inteview (video) mms://vipeurosport.yacast.net/eurosport/2005/10/24/millerdrugs_21989_4_48_0_384x288.wmv Quote
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