bing181

Interesting post over on the (closed) Essendon Board on Bigfooty. The following edits a couple of posts together from the same poster: "Got some insight today. We should be preparing for players being suspended. Not sure how many matches, but the reports and good vibes we have been fed are because of legal team being selective of information they have been feeding our players. Asada can prove drugs were on site, purchased by club and a non documented injection regime was willingly participated in. The drugs were purchased within timeline of regime. No evidence drugs were disposed of or not used. Players are preparing for suspensions. from the mouth of a parent Before anyone questions my credibility. Ask yourself a couple of things. 1. Why would a one eyed essendon supporter want this? 2. Why would I make a complete 180 turnaround? 3. For those that know me on here, know I have a connection to one of the "34" I have been staunch for 18 months until the hour long conversation that I had about it today. Question: So the lawyers for the players have told this parent that players will be most likely suspended? OP: No they have told the player"

And so it starts? "GEELONG has been dealt a preseason blow with Steve Johnson, Mitch Clark and Nathan Vardy suffering minor injury setbacks. The Cats yesterday revealed Johnson would be given time off to overcome soreness in his troublesome right foot, while Clark hurt his calf at training. ... Clark has had his training load reduced after suffering a calf strain, with the Cats acting conservatively with former Demon. The 27-year-old, who joined the Cats in last year's trade period after changing his mind on his April retirement, is on a modified program after sustaining the injury."

Good post. Just re soccer: My son was in a junior group for kids who were 5 and 6. At the end of the second year, many were left with no future path as the local clubs were very choosy - and demanding - about who they'd take. Even at that age they were creaming off the most talented, and leaving the rest by the wayside. (this is in Europe, where it's more dog-eat-dog, none of this "sport for fun" nonsense ...) Re age groups/DOB: Oh so true. Same son turned out to be a handy tennis player, but being born in Oct, has struggled the whole time against kids who are simply older and thus bigger, stronger, quicker etc. etc. It's not so much that at the end of the day he couldn't end up at the same level, but along the way he misses out on opportunities, and his confidence takes a whack, which then feeds back into him just not doing as well. (sorry .. somewhat OT ...)

He calls it as he sees it. Problem?

Hard to see why - Armstrong knew exactly what he was doing. Need one of those examples of someone who was banned for not checking on ingredients, or who took something their coach gave them without checking.

Not just some of, pretty well all of. But one of the impressions given is that it was mainly anti-Islam, but that's not the case. They just take/took on everyone, all the time. The front page of the Christmas issue was a send-up of the virgin birth. The current issue lampoons a leading French writer. Their main targets were/are politicians. From what I've seen, the references to Islam were few and far between.

You pull out an example from 6 years ago to illustrate your point?

FWIW, I live in France - though far from Paris. The tragedy of it all, the loss and brutality, the randomness of the killings of the policemen and of people who just happened to be in the building, has shocked and touched people deeply here. Even in the small town where I live, there have been gatherings, both organised and spontaneous. As well as affecting people on a personal level, the freedom of speech element can’t be underestimated. France is a place where discourse and argument is very much a valued part of the culture, and this feels like an attack on people’s very identity, the make-up of who they are. Difficult times, with a whole country in mourning and police with machine-guns in the railway stations.

Well actually, no. It's not truth that hurts, it's narrow-minded bigotry. #11

The Theory of Everything, the film based on Stephen Hawking's life/relationships is worth a look. Remarkable acting from the two main characters playing Hawking and his first wife, Jane Wilde, mutterings of Oscar nominations etc. etc.

Ahem, having lived in Belgium for a number of years, it's both. Almost. The official name of the town is Brugge: it's in Flanders, and "brugge" is the Flemish (i.e. Dutch) word for "bridge". Bruges is the French version of the name, and the one that is used internationally - at least for the moment. Which reflects the history of administration in Belgium, which was French-speaking until the Flemish had had enough around the time of WWII. The local first division football team there (not too shabby either), is Club Brugge. FWIW, the same situation applies to a number of Belgian towns/cities. Perhaps some here might have heard of the WW1 memorial in Ypres ... though if you go there, the only signs you'll find use the official, Flemish name, Ieper. Similar towns that might ring a bell are Leuven/Louvain, Liege/Luik, and some which get rather odd: Mons/Bergen. Think of it as a bit like Ayers Rock/Uluru, or even Mumbai/Calcutta - complete with all the political subtext and baggage that that implies.

I'm in the same position, i.e. OS. Nothing to add, covered above, but as Redbeard points out, can be done through the club as part of membership. Just to reiterate, all games remain viewable, it's not just a live stream. Be aware though, they only broadcast the games themselves, with a short lead-in (10 minutes or so). If he wants full pre-post game coverage (for example), he'll have to look somewhere else.

My understanding is that if at the end of the trial they're suspended, they remain suspended (i.e. ineligible) during the appeal process (as with other sports). This from the AFL doping code: "Decisions made under this Code may be appealed as set out below. Such decisions shall remain in effect while under appeal unless CAS or the Appeals Board orders otherwise."

Agreed. And ah, the parochialism of it all. I don't know that anyone at Essendon, from the bigwigs down through to the supporters, have any sense of just how small a pond they're swimming in. WADA know that outside of Melbourne/Australia, all that anyone's interested in here is that the process is followed and that if there has been an infraction, that appropriate penalties are applied. No-one sitting in Lausanne or Montreal knows who James Hird or Jobe Watson are. Or cares.

Get over it people. Neeld has the runs on the board as an assistant. It was only a matter of time before someone picked him up. No shame in trying and failing.

Pot. Kettle. Black etc. etc.

If the players get off on a technicality, or the penalties are too light, WADA (or ASADA, with WADA backing) will take it to CAS. As they've done many times in the past. It's central to what WADA is about, making sure that local affiliates toe the line - if not, the drug laws become a mockery. Plenty of international eyes on this.

Imagine what it could have been with a full pre-season. (The only way to use Tyson or any player as evidence in this, would be to compare performance with and without a pre-season. In Tyson's case, we don't have the former.)

See above: Dank is also a defendant, along with the 34.

And to add to that, Dank is also a defendant here. If he doesn't show (likely it seems), then the "adverse inference" rule comes into play for him, the consequences of which would presumably flow on to Essendon. (e.g., if he's found guilty of possessing TB4). Charter has already said that ASADA's evidence from him is mainly documentation, and that they have all they need anyway. Hard to see how it makes a difference to ASADA's case.

THE JUDGES David Jones QC (chair, retired judge) John Nixon (retired judge) Wayne Henwood (former Sydney player, barrister)

For those who think that we've seen everything ASADA have ... http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-afl-doping-saga/story-fnca0u4y-1227158596462 " THE AFL doping scandal is wider than previously revealed, with ASADA accusing Essendon players of taking a second banned substance and sports scientist Stephen Dank of trafficking peptides to club officials at the Gold Coast Suns and Carlton and covering up doping by a Gold Coast footballer. An outline of ASADA’s case and other documents currently before a specially convened AFL tribunal allege that Dank supplied banned substances including human growth hormone to a Carlton coach and provided the banned peptide CJC-1295 to more than one official at the Gold Coast Suns. Dank is also accused of covering up the use of CJC-1295 — the substance at the centre of the Cronulla doping case — by Gold Coast defender Nathan Bock. ASADA has not initiated proceedings against Bock, who retired from the AFL earlier this year. Despite ASADA’s belief that Essendon footballers were given Hexarelin as well as the banned peptide Thymosin Beta-4 during the 2012 season, doping charges against 34 current and former Essendon players relate only to Thymosin Beta-4. The charges involving Carlton relate to a high-profile coach no longer working at the club. ASADA alleges that Dank provided one or more of human growth hormone, SARMs, Hexarelin, Mechano Growth Factor and CJC-1295 to the coach between March and October 2012. The charges involving the Gold Coast Suns predate the Essendon scandal. ASADA alleges that in December 2010, when Dank and high-performance coach Dean Robinson were employed by the AFL franchise club, Dank covered up “the use or attempted use of a prohibited substances, namely CJC-1295, by a player at the Gold Coast Suns”.

The mechanism is not necessarily all that different, but it's accurately calibrated in watts, and sessions can be uploaded to a computer. With this, there are a number of software applications for analysis of load, work etc. etc., and you can accurately monitor and control training (loads) in a way that you just can't with an "ordinary" exercise bike. It basically takes on-bike watt technology and analysis, the same that professional cyclists use, and applies it to an exercise bike. There are easier, cheaper alternatives, but Wattbike have positioned themselves well in the market, especially as an all-in-one solution.