Today we've had a couple questions on the board about blood doping...etc...
Sooooo to take it a little further....

1.Do you think PHE is are commonplace in the NHL?what about major junior?...NCAA?

2.Is the NHL turning a blind eye like Major League Baseball did?Will this ineviatbly lead to a collapse and government intervention ( like the congressional hearrings in the US)

3.Should an organization like the World Anti-Doping Agency (whos power base is in Europe-like the IOC)become involved?

...Thoughts?
Joe..true Bettman doesnt wanna go before congress-but theres another issue in itself-the NHL is head offices are located in Toronto..hence my feeling is any investigation involving gov't would have to at the very least initiated in Canada...
Steve-the NHL does test-a minimum of 2x yearly (''surprise'' tests)...
Nearmiss-true about Mac..ditto with Barry Bonds-his head swelled up and it wasnt just his ego...
Bob,,,lol- my bad on the typo:$

l agree its not as common in the NHL-but l think its a little more common than 2-3% -I'd say more likely 6-7%...mostly enforcers and guys who sit right on the cusp of staying in the league...fringe players near the end of the road who is next stop is the east coast league and then retirement...e.g-guys without much to lose if they get caught...

Steroid use was pretty common for a long time in MLB-l dunno if you can stand Michael Landberg on TSN..but on his OTR show a year ot two ago he had Bill ''Spaceman'' Lee claiming that during the 70 is while he was recovering from a sore arm he was shot full of so much junk(not counting his ''mind-expanding'' goodies)..that he claimed ''l could pitch in the American league-but l would have failed the piss test given to horses for the Kentucky Derby''

As for Nazarov...blahhhh...sounds like sour grapes to me.,..
Interesting read on Kordic there too(Y)...no rules,no league,.can protect a guy like that from himself

1. l am not sure on this one.

2. l think what happened in MLB & what has happened in professional wrasslin has opened the eyes to many around sports & not just hockey.It would be pretty naive of us to think that it is never happened & it never will but l know the NHL & Bettman do not want to have to go in front of Congress & explain why 2 current NHL stars died prematurely from an irregular heart because of steroids or such.

3. l do not think we need that Agency over here.The problems happened in the KHL & not the NHL..If we see a problem then maybe but l do not see it as a problem right now.

1. Without a doubt there has to be PHE in the NHL, because there is no testing that l know of. For sure in Junior and NCAA as well. They are trying to make it to the big leagues.

2. Yes, the NHL is turning a blind eye. Remember John Kordic. He was a goon for the Canadiens and Leafs. He died in a hotel room from a roid rage incident.

3. No! The NHL must create their own rules and govern themselves. Soon!

1. l think that roids r involved in just about every kind of competition u can think of even at a high school level u can take them.. even if it is just to get over an injury more quickly. so l say yes most definitely there is someone at every level mentioned taking them

2. If u look at the baseball players that were using it was pretty obvious that they were on it & abusing it l do not see anyone on the ice with a watermelon HGH melon (do not know what l am taking out? check out mark McGuire is noggin in proportion to his body some time)

3. No! b/c then people start getting in trouble for their recreational habbits & that just aint fair.

What does PHE is stand for? Performance ...Enhancers? (LOL) l dunno.

1. No! Not commonplace in any of the aforementioned leagues. Hockey players r a different breed from NFL & MLB players. Do not get me wrong, l am sure the odd heavyweight has used them & a handful probably still do.often times those guys r gym rats so they may be experimenting with it. l would guess 2 or 3%.

2. No. MLB was aware this was going on ( l guess that is turning a blind eye..LOL) & they neglected it because ratings were soaring with the Sosa & McGuire HR derbies. The NHL is not aware of a problem because there is not one. Some of the stories that arose from MLB r shocking.candy bowls in clubhouses but instead of candy it was muscle candy. Pretty crazy.
Obviously no need for intervention without a problem.

3. It is none of their business & l would not have it & as l said, l do not believe they need it but l have no opinion on it other then to say Dick Pound is a tool.

l do not think alot of MLB players woke up one day & decided they were going to juice... l think it snowballed..players started seeing the guy at the locker next to them using it & became curious & started himself & with it being readily available, it snowballed even more & so on & so on.
Also, l read a book that said that Barry Bonds saw the success of McGuire & became jealous & that it what got him started so it really became an epidemic..pitchers had to start to keep up.

l do not think l am just being naive either. l think the biggest issues in hockey have been booze(lol)....although l do believe alot of players were/are using sudafed..beyond that, maybe the occassional deadly Red Bull.

1. There was only ONE NHL case for performance enhancing drugs and they test just as rigorously as any other sport.

2. See above.

3. With a name like ''Dick Pound'' involved, no.

1. l do not know about 'commonplace' in the NHL, but they r certainly used by some.

2. Absolutely. Kordic did not die from roids but he was known to be a user. He should have been an eye opener but instead the league pooh-poohed it & implied he was the exception not the rule. MLB has been busted, but l think the worst league for this is the NFL.they bust a token number of players each year so they look like they r doing their job.but turn a blind eye in a lot of other situations.

3. l hope not, anything associated with the Olympics to political & bureaucratically bloated. The four major sports in North America should look at finding a way to have a reliable, independent third party handle all testing.