JUST SAY NO, MAC

Mcgwire Is Cheating With Substance-Aided Assault On 61 Homers

Mark McGwire is a pharmaceutically enhanced marvel whose home run
heroics should not be measured against those of Roger Maris.

That's evident to anybody prepared to look at the situation honestly -
which doesn't apply to anyone involved in Major League Baseball.

The bottom line is that McGwire is using an artificial aid in his
pursuit of Maris' mark. That makes comparisons between the two unfair
to Maris.

McGwire has admitted to regular use of the substance androstenedione
for more than a year.

Androstenedione is not banned in baseball, but is outlawed by the
International Olympic Committee, the National Football League and the
NCAA, all of which classify it is an anabolic steroid.

Whether androstenedione should be categorized as an anabolic steroid
is a matter of great debate in the scientific community, but one fact
is not - androstenedione converts to testosterone in the body.

Elevated testosterone levels help an athlete train harder and recover
more quickly. This, in turn, enables an athlete to build more muscle
and increase his power.

The scientists and doctors argue about the efficacy of
androstenedione, but they rarely understand the effects of these
substances like the athletes who are ingesting them.

McGwire obviously believes it works. Otherwise why would he be taking
it for more than a year? And are we to believe it's just coincidence
that he's been on target for Maris' record of 61 homers the past two
seasons at the same time he discovered this strength-building drug?

Is it also mere coincidence that fellow androstenedione user and
former teammate Jose Canseco is enjoying a rebirth this season with
the Blue Jays after having started to use the stuff six months ago?

McGwire said it's reduced the number of injuries he incurs in a
baseball season. Undoubtedly, it also helps combat the fatigue of a
long season - and a pressure-filled record chase.

Bet Maris could have used something like that when he was chasing Babe
Ruth.

One need only look at the physiology of Maris and McGwire to
understand we're not talking about apples and apples here. We're
talking apples and watermelons.

According to Total Baseball, Maris was 6 feet tall and 197 pounds,
while McGwire is 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds. Maris was no imposing
physical specimen, while McGwire looks as if he could bench press an
ocean liner.

It's not just a matter of better nutrition through the years, although
the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. lists androstenedione as
a ``nutritional supplement.''

But androstenedione is the same substance used with great success by
the East Germans. These guys knew a thing or two about
performance-enhancing drugs and usually had a lot of research to back
them up.

Let's face it. Physically, Mark McGwire is a monster. The Dr.
Frankensteins, in this instance, are the sporting mores of the time.
He has been created, in a sense, by all of us. This is a societal
issue as much as it's a sports issue.

Pro sports has not been held up to any ethical standard, particularly
when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs. That's why every pro
sport has a laughable drug policy. They've never had to worry about
it. There's been little to no scrutiny by the media or the public.

And now look what happens when there is some scrutiny. Everyone in
baseball wants to shoot the messenger - the Associated Press reporter
who looked into McGwire's locker and wrote about what he saw.
Supercilious St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa whines that AP should be
banned from the locker room.

They're missing the point - or rather trying to deflect attention away
from it. The issue is whether what McGwire's doing is right. Sure,
it's not against baseball's rules. But then baseball really doesn't
have any rules that have any teeth when it comes to
performance-enhancing drugs.

What really must be examined is the culture that is being created in
sport.

Athletes should not be expected to fulfil the job of role model -
that's a parent's responsibility - but what goes on at the top level
in a sport does filter down. Kids watch these pro athletes. Many want
to emulate them.

In McGwire's case, one of the main messages youth will get is that
bigger is better. Many will look at McGwire and figure that if
androstenedione does the trick for him, then that must be the way to
go.

Where does it stop? NFL linemen are typically 300-pounds plus these
days. Hockey players are outgrowing the rink. Smaller, skilled players
such as Paul Kariya are facing extinction.

Size is becoming such a factor in sports. How many times do you hear
about an athlete who has to ``bulk up'' in the off-season in order to
compete. We'd have to be naive to think that androstenedione is being
used exclusively in baseball. So many of these athletes from different
sports go to similar strength trainers, all of whom are aware of
everything that's on the market. If McGwire's a big fan of this stuff,
you can bet there are a lot of pro athletes similarly enamored.

So what route is a youngster who wants to compete for a job in pro
sports going to take? If Joe Blow is earning big bucks as an enforcer
in the NHL and using substances like androstendione to add brawn, then
that puts the new kid on the block who has to go toe-to-toe with him
in a difficult position.

And the thing about the NHL, Major League Baseball and the NBA is
those athletes don't have to stick to such substances as
androstenedione. It's probably pretty benign compared to what some
athletes are using. John Kordic fueled his NHL career with steroids.
Because they're not tested, these players can just go ahead and use
the granddaddy of anabolics - straight testosterone.

One has to wonder whether there's some correlation between the use of
these drugs and what seems to be a rising incidence of violence away
from the sporting arenas among athletes. The drugs are known to
increase aggressiveness. It's one of the reasons NFLers value them so
much.

Then there's the question of future health risks. No published
research has been done on androstenedione. The way the Food and Drug
Administration is set up, androstenedione doesn't come under any
regulations in the U.S. There is no requirement for research before
such a product hits the market and it is not subject to any food
labelling laws.

McGwire says he trusts the people who supply his ``nutritional
supplements'' and he's sure they're not harmful. But he doesn't know
that for sure. No one does.

The jury is also still out on another popular muscle-building
supplement, creatine, which is being hailed by many as a legal, safe
alternative to steroids and is used widely by high-performance
athletes - including McGwire. Creatine is not as controversial as
androstenedione and not banned by the IOC because it does not convert
to testosterone.

The Association of Professional Team Physicians, made up of 120 team
doctors across sport, has recommended that androstenedione be taken
off the over-the-counter market and banned in all competitive sports.
They consider it to be an anabolic steroid.

Dr. William Straw, team doctor with the San Franciscio Giants and a
member of the association, said he's even more concerned about the
potential effects on youth than he is on pro ballplayers.

``Unfortunately, every little kid who sees Mark McGwire and sees this
will think this must be good and they're going to want to get to their
local health food store to get it,'' said Straw.

``They're going to want to be like Mark. For young people to take
anabolic steroids is even more serious.''

The people who run this country's anti-doping program, the Canadian
Centre for Ethics in Sport, say that the people who run professional
sport have to decide if they're in the sports business or the
entertainment business. And that if they're in the sport business,
they'd better get serious about the drug issue.

They've got a point.

Because when you look at what McGwire and Canseco and others are
doing, you have to wonder if it makes them that much different from
the artificially pumped-up pro wrestlers.

In some ways, the only difference seems to be the costumes. We seem to
be heading more and more down the path of American Gladiators.

Looking at pictures of American shot putter Randy Barnes in USA Today
and the one of McGwire in The Star yesterday, one couldn't help but
notice McGwire's awesome arms were of similar shape to the big pipes
on Barnes.

Yet use of androstenedione has Barnes facing a lifetime ban from his
sport. He tested positive for the substance recently, his second
positive drug test. Two strikes and you're out in Olympic sport.

The Barnes parallel is a good one. Barnes and others of his ilk have
over the years created an environment where it's believed you have to
use drugs to win medals in the throwing events in track and field.

Canada has two brilliant young talents in Jason Tunks (discus) and
Brad Snyder (shot put). They're left to wonder whether they have any
chance of making it on sheer talent and hard work alone. They
shouldn't have to be asking themselves that question, but more and
more athletes in more and more sports will face the dilemma unless the
current crisis is faced. In the meantime, the merits of McGwire's
quest for home run history should continue to be debated.

When pressed on the issue this past weekend, McGwire insisted:
``Everything I've done is natural.''

Of course, that all depends on your definition of natural.

``The word natural is a misused term in that it seems to imply
wholesomeness and that it's good for you,'' said Dr. Straw. ``It
(androstenedione) is natural in that you could find it in nature. But
arsenic is also natural. And it's a poison. There are a lot of things
that are natural that aren't good for you.''

Nor good for sport.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry