Football and HGH

Football, it's big money for the United States. I am speaking of American Football.

So the long, long , drawn out lock-out is over, but it seems there is a little bit of tension surrounding one of the agreements.

HGH

Human Growth Hormone

Looks like the players have to be tested for this now. 

The new drug testing program includes provisions that all players will be tested for HGH at least once a year, and perhaps more. They may even be tested on game day.

This is a blood test, not the simple urine test they have been taking.

It's actually not a done deal, the players still want to have final approval on the testing method.

Last year it was initiated by Major League Baseball in the minors. Olympic athletes have been subject to this testing for 7 years now. 

I understand it is not a quick and easy test, the detection window can be as short as 24 hours, which means that the tests really need to be unannounced, something that the NFL hasn't been very good at adhering to with other testing.

It can take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes of laying completely still to take the sample, as physical activity can skew the results. Any medications being taken can change them too.  Before last year, the test had never produced a positive result, and now since February, 2010 it has produced half a dozen. We are years away from a urine test. People are not really trusting this test.

This may sound like I am against it, and I certainly am not, I just understand why the players, and even clean players may be a little worried.

But in the amateur league here, the world of Fitness, Figure and Bodybuilding, I think there  are many people taking HGH. People who will never be rich and famous, no matter how far they go in this business.

Why?  Is it worth it?

HGH increases lean body mass and decreases body fat. Exactly what someone in a physique based sport wants. 

I wouldn't consider taking it, but someone once asked me to put myself in the shoes of a football player (or other professional athlete) who was making millions of dollars. If their performance suffered, their livelihood would too. 

Knowing that everyday I had to put my body through physical torture and pain, and would no doubt retire at a very young age because my body couldn't handle the job much longer, and this might help.

Would I do it then? I might, but I am not in their shoes or anywhere near their level. 

I am aware that people in the Bodybuilding world take it, for what? To look good? yes, I think so.

Pretty stupid, and vain. And why do you suppose there is no drug testing at most bodybuilding competitions?

I imagine that is because there would be too many positive tests.

J.T. Thomas

So how would you like THIS guy to take you to a dance? Oh man, I would simply love it!


I don't often write flattering blogs about professional athletes, but J.T. is a different breed of athlete I think. He is a rookie linebacker for the Chicago Bears, he was the 195th overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft from West Virginia.


I read this story ion the San Francisco Chronicle on May 25th, really restores my faith in professional football players!



The Bears' rookie linebacker is a superhero - certainly in the eyes of Joslyn Levell and many of the people who heard his story on the radio (Tuesday's Jim Rome show), or saw it on the Internet.


Thomas' 7-year-old brother rides a Morgantown, W.Va., school bus with Joslyn, an 8th grader with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair.


Joslyn, a Bears fan, got to know Thomas, and told him of her rough week - all the boys she'd asked to the end-of-year dance turned her down. Thomas consoled Joslyn, giving her a hug and telling her everything would work out. He saw to that. 


After Thomas' stepmother got permission from the school, he asked her to the dance, she accepted (Thomas: "I was nervous that by the time I reached out, she might have had a date and would have to turn me down."), and then he did the night up right.


He rented a black Chrysler, bought her flowers and a corsage, matched his tie to her dress and escorted her to the ball through a crowd of her awestruck classmates.


 "This was Joslyn's night," Thomas said. "It wasn't about me."
Joslyn later called it the best night of her life. They made a connection. "She's not just my friend for that one night," Thomas said.


I think we can all learn a lesson from this. So often we are cruel to each other, and why? Why are we not more tolerant and giving to each other? Why don't we try to help each other or to make someone else's life better?


I have a strong feeling that those who treat others poorly have a poor self image and don't really like the person they, themselves are, so they externalize it. You can see it on their faces with their down turned mouth and angry eyes.


On the other hand, those who do go out of their way to be kind and bring brightness to others have a great deal of self respect and self love, and they want to share it with the world. You can see it on their faces too (take a look at J.T.'s smile in the picture above.)


I might just watch some Bears games this season (hopefully we all will).

Football and Kids

 

I LOVE this picture! Why? It is 6 teenage guys sleeping on the ground, they look like puppies don't they? You can only count how many there are after I told you!  

These are not football players, they are lacrosse players, but the picture is the closest I have to football! These guys were attending a weekend jamboree, and were just plain exhausted and tried to sleep in between games (I headed to to the one and only pub open on Treasure Island).

I read the sports page everyday, and today I read an article about the health issues former NFL football players are encountering. No, it's not new, but it is so absolutely sad.

The article I read is called "The impact of hard knocks" by Ron Kroichick, and it was in the San Francisco  Chronicle (I get two newspapers at home, San Jose and San Francisco).

It hits home because I have  a 16 year old (17 next month) and he plays lacrosse. Lacrosse isn't the contact sport like football though.

He has never been allowed to play football, it was never open for discussion in our home, it was a non-negotiable from day one.

We live across the street from his high school. At every single football game, without fail a player is injured and needs to be transported via ambulance. Why would a parent allow their child to be placed in a position such as that?

Think about it. You love your child more than anything or anyone in the world, yet you are allowing them to participate in a sport that is known for head injuries and lack of enforcement and knowledge to prevent and treat them properly.

Here are the players in their glory afterward (more than 6)

Mine is front, center with white t-shirt and mouth guard that has blackened front teeth...

I would never send him out on a football field to play the game. What will you do with your child? I suggest you get them involved in another sport, anything except football, before it's too late.