Non-cycling EPO

by JeffD on Jan 18, 2008 6:53 PM EST

Bit off the cycling topic, but I was reading the ESPN article this afternoon about former NFL player Dana Stubblefield pleading guilty to lying to investigators in the BALCO case. What caught my eye was this section:

'The records state Stubblefield lied when he said:

He had neither seen nor ingested the designer steroid known in the case as "the clear."
He had neither seen nor injected the oxygen-boosting drug EPO.
He had never received either item through BALCO.

Stubblefield was suspended by the NFL in 2003 while playing for the Oakland Raiders, after testing positive for THG, also known as "the clear." Also, according to the documents, he tested positive in 2002 for EPO, as part of BALCO's screening process to research whether performance-enhancing substances would be detected. The NFL, which has come through the past several years largely unscathed by a stream of steroid scandals in other sports, did not test for EPO at the time.

This year, the league announced it was adding EPO to its list of banned substances.'

Maybe I've missed some, but this is one of the first times I've seen EPO connected to any of the major american pro sports.

Do the leagues test for EPO? If not, this could be the tip of the iceberg. If a defensive lineman is using it, who else is?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3202950

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Hm

I wonder what sort of performance boost they'd get. More endurance, of course, but it's pretty expensive and hard to come by. If it's only of marginal benefit to non-endurance athletes, whose activity consists more of short bursts, I wonder why they'd bother?

by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 18, 2008 7:28 PM EST reply actions

Hard to come by?

Nah. Maybe now that they've started cracking down on the Chinese importers and whathaveyou, but it's pretty easy to find EPO if you want it. It's also not especially expensive. Just dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Recovery between efforts would be the main reason. A short burst effort is obviously anearobic, but you have to recover and do it again. Mo' blood cells means mo' oxygen means faster and more complete recovery for the next big sprinty. Imagine doing an interval workout where you recovered faster and more completely between intervals. Your last sprint would probably be as good as your first, eh?

by Jen See on Jan 18, 2008 7:54 PM EST up reply actions

I guess

Although Stubblefield was hardly known for his consistency. Or excellence. Or for being worth even a fraction of his salary.

by Chris Fontecchio on Jan 18, 2008 7:57 PM EST up reply actions

Stubblewhowhat?

I so don't know anything about football. I mean, so don't.

Even with really good dope, you still have to train. Maybe he forgot about that part.

;-)

by Jen See on Jan 18, 2008 8:10 PM EST up reply actions

Big fat guys

on EPO seems like a really bad idea.

by JeffD on Jan 18, 2008 8:18 PM EST up reply actions

Outside article

It may have been someone here on Podium Cafe who posted about the Outside magazine article where the author tried performance enhancing drugs, including EPO, HGH, testosterone, a steroid, and his account of what they did to him is very interesting. It does a good job of explaining how these drugs help and what exactly they do for these guys. Check it out and you will see how pretty much any athlete could benefit from them. Check it out...

http://outside.away.com/outside/bodywork/200311/200311_drug_test_1.html

by Jimbo... on Jan 18, 2008 11:43 PM EST reply actions