http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/blue...120-F1-01.html
Quote:
Berard tests positive for banned agent
Pre-Olympic screening won’t affect NHL status
Friday, January 20, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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Blue Jackets defenseman Bryan Berard tested positive for a banned substance during pre-Olympic screening, his agent said last night.
The agent, Tom Laidlaw, said the positive test has no bearing on Berard’s NHL status, which began a drug-testing program this week. A league source confirmed this.
"(The United States Anti-Doping Agency) will be making a statement on the matter (today)," Laidlaw said. "Bryan will also make a statement. I’m not trying to be evasive, but that’s about all I can say about this right now."
Berard did not make the roster for Team USA, which will compete at the Turin Olympics in February. He was, however, randomly tested because he was a candidate.
The Canadian Press reported that Berard tested positive for 19-norandrosterone and, according to unnamed sources, he apparently took it in a nutritional supplement in the spring. The substance is an anabolic agent that can help a player build muscle mass and recover more quickly after exercise.
For failing the test, Berard is suspended from international competition for two years. He accepted the ban Jan. 3, USA Today reported.
Berard, 28, was the first overall pick in the 1997 draft. The Blue Jackets last summer signed him to a free-agent contract worth $2 million this season and $2.5 million in 2006-07. Currently, he is the team’s third-leading scorer with 29 points.
The NHL began its own drugtesting program Sunday. It’s a three-strike system, with a 20-game suspension for a first offense, a 60-game suspension for a second offense and a lifetime ban for a third offense. Banned players can apply for reinstatement after two years.
When World Anti-Doping Agency leader Dick Pound suggested last year that onethird of the league’s players take some form of performanceenhancing substances, he angered players, coaches, managers — and even league commissioner Gary Bettman. The consensus reply was that the league was clean. The players, in the main, have taken a "bring it on" attitude toward the NHL’s new testing policies.
In a recent anonymous poll of 11 Blue Jackets players, 10 responded that between 0 and 5 percent of players use steroids. Only one put it at 5 percent.
Many of the players are already tested in advance of international competitions, such as the annual world championship.
Indications are that Berard, of Woonsocket, R.I., is the only potential Olympian who failed his test.
Blue Jackets spokesman Todd Sharrock said the team and its president and general manager, Doug MacLean, would not comment until the USADA made an official announcement.
marace@dispatch.com
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according to guys on hfboards.com this stuff is in 14% of the over the counter supplements and you can test positive 12-18 months after
http://dispatch.com/bluejackets/blue...120-F3-01.html
Quote:
Malhotra could return next week
Jackets center has missed six weeks because of injury
Friday, January 20, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--> <table class="phototableright" align="right" border="0"><!-- begin large ad code --> <tbody><tr><td> <table align="center"> <tbody><tr><td align="center">  </td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">Blue Jackets center Manny Malhotra, right, has skated for 14 straight days and might be able to return to the lineup Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table>
Center Manny Malhotra peeled off a yellow practice sweater yesterday and tossed it to a member of the Blue Jackets’ equipment staff, hoping he’ll never wear one again.
After missing six weeks because of a dislocated shoulder joint — and two weeks wearing a no-contact sweater — Malhotra has been cleared for contact and will join the Blue Jackets for a morning skate today in Nationwide Arena.
If all goes well, he could play as soon as Tuesday, when the Jackets play host to Vancouver.
"The first part is physical, and the doctor seems pretty good with that," Malhotra said. "The other part is mental. Is my mind-set right so that I can go full bore and not shy away from anything?"
Yesterday, Malhotra was on the ice with a handful of other Jackets, but in terms of contact, he did little more than "bump and nudge."
"It feels good so far," Malhotra said. "But once you get in game situations, there’s always unsuspecting hits."
Malhotra has skated for 14 straight days. Because it was an upper-body injury, he has been able to keep his legs close to game shape.
The hardest part, he said, has been keeping his mind sharp and his spirits up.
"I really don’t like watching hockey," he said. "It’s really frustrating having to sit back and watch and not be able to do anything.
"It’s almost like you’re not part of the team, especially when they go on long road trips and you’re here by yourself. I’m ready to play. I can’t wait."
Malhotra, a third-line center and a good penalty-killer, had two goals and 13 assists in 25 games before the injury, already matching a career high in assists.
The Blue Jackets play host to the St. Louis Blues tonight. It’ll be the 21 st game Malhotra has missed since the injury — and the 23 rd overall — but he’s still eighth on the Jackets in scoring.
Really blue
The Blues arrive in Nationwide tonight as the worst club in the NHL.
They went back and forth with the Blue Jackets for that distinction early in the season, but the Jackets have left them behind with their 11-11-2 record since late November.
For St. Louis, the losing is tough to take.
The Blues, who played last night in Washington, haven’t missed the playoffs in 25 seasons, and they’re on pace for the fewest points in franchise history. The 1978-79 Blues had 48 points.
"It’s just tiring and it’s ridiculous, and I’m not putting blame (on anybody)," center Doug Weight told reporters in St. Louis. "We do have to be positive, or it’s going to get worse. "But it’s incredibly hard."
Slap shots
Most of the Blue Jackets did not skate yesterday, instead working out off the ice and getting rehabilitation on various bumps and bruises. Tonight will be their fifth game in a stretch of six in nine nights. . . . Defenseman Bryan Berard has a bruised heal after blocking a shot in the third period Wednesday but is expected to play tonight. . . . Captain Adam Foote returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing nine games because of a hip/groin injury. He played 20 minutes, 33 seconds and reported no ill effects.
aportzline@dispatch.com
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01-17-2006, 01:35 PM
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Monday, January 16, 2006
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Detroit’s Tomas Holstrom (96) celebrates with teammate Pavel Datsyuk after scoring his second goal of the game. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Mark Hartigan of the Blue Jackets gets caught in a squeeze along the boards between Mathieu Schneider of the Red Wings, an unidentified Red Wing and teammate Trevor Letowski. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Bryan Berard
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