Are That Many High School Football Players Really Using Steroids?

This high school football season in Florida is going to be a bit different than past ones because of a bill signed into law by Governor Charlie Crist back in June. The law states that athletes and their parents must consent to the "anabolic steroid random testing program" before they can play any regular season games.

I don't have a problem with the program, but one quote from an Orlando Sentinel article on the matter caught my eye. This is from Nathan Keller, a senior middle linebacker at West Orange High School.

"I'm sure a lot of kids that are hearing about this today are pretty scared, because I think a lot of guys are juiced," said Nathan Keller, a middle linebacker entering his senior year at West Orange High School. "I think a lot of guys might not play football once they realize they could get tested."

"I wouldn't be scared or nervous, because I know I'm not on steroids," Keller said. "But there are probably five kids on every football team out there that are doing at least something to get bigger."

Five kids on every team that are juiced? There are 18 high schools in Orange County alone, so that would mean that close to 100 kids are using steroids. For some reason that number seems awfully high to me. Though, not all 18 of those schools have football teams. Hopefully the new bill can help eradicate the problem that seems to be so big in our area high schools.

PacMan Slated To Get Slammed This Thursday

In case you haven't heard about PacMan Jones' offseason plans, he's signed up to participate in events with TNA Wrestling. That's right, instead of playing on the field he'll be stepping into the squared circle for some involvement in one of the storylines(what? you mean wrestling is fake!).

PacMan is scheduled to make his debut this Thursday night, and it should be interesting to see just how involved he is. Though, he admits that he's a big wrestling fan so they'll probably try to use him as much as possible.

He signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and will make his in-ring debut on Thursday, the company said Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jones' first appearance will be for its iMPACT! show on Spike TV, and he'll appear in a pay-per-view show on Sunday. TNA films at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

"I am a big fan of wrestling, so I wanted to give it a try," Jones said in a statement. "I respect wrestling and I'm not coming in like it's just a show. I want to prove that I am the greatest team-sport athlete."

The greatest team-sport athlete eh? Riiight, because you're really helping your team right now. You remember, the Tennessee Titans, the team that drafted you to be their starting cornerback, but was forced to bring in some replacements due to your suspension. No matter what Jeff Fisher says, I have a feeling he wouldn't mind seeing PacMan get powerbombed through a table.

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - Jake Brown Badass Edition

Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.

This week's 5 o'clock somewhere post is brought to you by Jake Brown and his set of giant, steel balls. Seriously, when you're in first place, and still attempt a run like this you have to be equipped with 'em. I know that no matter how much alcohol I consume this weekend whatever hangover I wake up with will pale in comparison to what Mr. Brown must have felt like as he walked off the halfpipe. Jake, you sir are a badass.



Happy Friday!

If This Happened In The U.S. We Would Have No Sports To Watch

It seems that in recent times athletes being busted for DUI's has become somewhat commonplace(.08, that's like half a beer!). I'm not condoning driving under the influence, though I find that when most people hear about an athlete getting arrested for driving after drinking too much they usually shrug their shoulders and say something like "sucks to be him". However, maybe that's because a number of people I talk to shouldn't even be driving back to work on Friday after lunch, let alone at 1AM on Saturday morning.

Anyway, a figure skater in Japan by the name of Nobunari Oda was "suspended from international competition for five months on Thursday after police caught him riding his moped while under the influence of alcohol". And that's not all:

The 20-year-old, a descendant of the mighty 16th century warlord Oda Nobunaga, was also banned from domestic competition for three months by the Japan Skating Federation (JSF).

JSF officials imposed a further penalty on Oda by suspending all financial aid for his training, which only the federation's elite skaters receive, until the end of the year.

Sweet jeebus. Banned from domestic and international competition, and had his financial aid revoked? If Chris Henry played football in Japan he would probably have been executed by now. The craziest part is that Nobunari's ancestor "conquered most of the country before his death in 1582". His relative did all of that and he still gets slammed with suspensions and financial aid revocation. Jeff Bowden better be glad that Tallahassee isn't located in Japan.

"The Shark" Is Heading To The Smokies

Congratulations Tennessee Smokies, you just picked up Jeff "The Shark" Samardzija after his promotion to Double-A ball following his compilation of a 3-8 record with a 4.95 ERA.

Eventhough his opponents have been hitting .331 against him, everyone, even Daytona Cubs manager Judy Davis, sort of expected Samardzija to make the move to the next level sometime this season.

"I think they pretty much felt like next year he was going to be (at Double A) anyway so why not give him five or six starts there and let him get all the media stuff out of the way," Davis said in a cell phone interview late Wednesday night. "If he can go up there and have three or four good starts, that will be more important than what he did here."

I'm sure that his $10 million/5 year deal with the Cubs is also a strong factor in keeping him moving up the ranks.

Hopefully he has more success in Kodak than he had in Daytona Beach.

Bill Belichick Does Not Approve Of This Injury Suspension

Bill Belichick has often been accused of not being 100% honest(what coach really is?) when it comes to listing players on the weekly injury report, but I don't think that even he has ever had a player miss a game then get caught playing another sport.

Mongolian firebrand Asashoryu has been banned for the next two grand sumo tournaments for playing football while supposedly injured.

The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) said on Wednesday that Asashoryu would receive a 30 percent pay cut for four months on top of his suspension, both firsts for a "yokozuna".

The 150-kg Asashoryu sparked dismay in Japan's ancient sport by turning out for a charity soccer match in his native Mongolia despite having withdrawn from a regional sumo tour with a back injury.

Asashoryu was shown on television playing football alongside former Japan international Hideotshi Nakata after claiming he had a stress fracture in his lower back.

Asashoryu probably should have gone with some a little more lowkey than a stress fracture in his back. Though, I can totally see Tom Brady missing a game with a supposed stress fracture in his shoulder, and getting caught playing cornhole.

It's Like He's 16 All Over Again

For some reason I love it when an athlete gains notoriety for some level of failure in their sport of choice outside of the professional setting. For instance, like if Peyton Manning broke some poor person's nose with an errant throw while playing catch.

In my real world example it involves Nelson Piquet and his poor everyday driving skills. Piquet won three Formula One world championships('81, '83, '87), one of only eight drivers to win that many. During the 80's he was considered one of the top Formula One racers, but nowadays he'll have to call a friend for a ride. That's because he's had his license revoked, and it's not just for speeding.

Piquet, one of just three Brazilians to win the Formula One world championship, lost his license in June after receiving a slew of speeding and parking tickets. His wife, Viviane, also had her license taken away for bad driving and joined her husband in the mandatory driver awareness course.

"I think we have to pay for our mistakes," Piquet, 54, told local news agency G1. "It's not even just a speeding problem. I got tickets for all kinds of reasons, for things like parking where I shouldn't."

I could understand getting a few speeding tickets since he did used to race Formula One cars, but it sounds like he's been busted for an array of offenses. And how hard is it to lose your license in Brazil? It seems to me that he's probably racked up quite a few points. Add to it that he used to get paid to drive a car, and it just makes the whole situation that much funnier.

Drive In A Busch Race On Saturday, Get Mugged On Sunday

Is it just me or does there seem to be quite a few robberies involving athletes these days? Just in the past few months, Antoine Walker, Eddie Curry, and now Steve Wallace, son of Rusty Wallace, have been accosted. Fortunately for Wallace, his thieves weren't as successful as the ones in the other incidents.

The younger Wallace was attacked Sunday by at least three people outside a convenience store following the race, according to a statement on Rusty Wallace's Web site Tuesday.

Steve Wallace, who was 17th in the Kroger 200 Busch race Saturday night at nearby O'Reilly Raceway Park, remained in Indianapolis to watch the Nextel Cup race on Sunday.

Steve Wallace said the men jumped him as he left the store and tried to take a wrist watch he received from a sponsor after his second career pole position at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

The robbery attempt was unsuccessful, and one of the suspects was caught later that night, the team said.

Geez, what happened to the good 'ole days when all athletes had to worry about were extortion, blackmail and paternity tests?

Goodbye Fan Attic!

I'm not an Orlando Magic fan, though I don't hate them either, but I did like the Fan Attic building in downtown Orlando that sold their merchandise.

I remember seeing that building whenever my parents took my sister and I to the themeparks. Passing it meant that we were almost there. I also remember my friends who were Magic fans purchasing jerseys, hats and posters that they couldn't find anywhere else(yes kids, this was before the Internet became a global marketplace).

I'm sad to see it go, but downtown Orlando's traffic is a nightmare, and the Fan Attic's demolition is just another project that hopefully helps alleviate some congestion(good luck with that).

The Orlando Sentinel has pretty good coverage on the whole thing.

That's Definitely Not Proper Form

Anytime I ever hear or read something related to weightlifting someone always ends up addressing(or preaching) proper form. It's too bad that they didn't educate this guy in time.