[mike777]

jjbrr, on 2013-February-06, 23:13, said:

I won't comment on PEDs because I have nothing original to say, but I also read Simmons' NBA book and thought it was great so I have a lot of respect for him as a writer and sports thinker. I thought his message was pretty clear in this article, and he has a voice that I think very few sports writers are willing to take, but I understand the controversy of his speculations as well.

Dunno. Just found it interesting.

Ok so what is his one main point?


agree on your comments about Bill as a writer and thinker...Ijust found this article....well muddy.


I will go out on a limb and predict that Bill will use or want a loved one to use a drug that enhances the body's performance that is safe, cheap and effective. PED


To achieve that will be a trial and error process and some will want to jump the line.

My main point is to encourage those who are risk takers rather than those of us who are not and let us not harm others who who dont want to take those risks as much as possible. But let us not punish risk takers in a disrepectful way.


In fact we can respect indeed honor those who take on risk to themselves and limit risk to others?


BTw I say this knowing many who take on this risk will for one big reason and not a hundred reasons.

[ArtK78]

jjbrr, on 2013-February-06, 22:48, said:

I personally thought this is a great article. In general I think Bill Simmons is excellent, though, so I understand if I look retarded posting it.

Grantland PED Article

The Simmons article was as close to perfect as an article on PEDs could be.

[Mbodell]

ArtK78, on 2013-February-07, 00:16, said:

The Simmons article was as close to perfect as an article on PEDs could be.

I'm with mike777 on this, I like Bill Simmons a lot, but when I read that article last week it seemed quite all over the place and didn't address some pretty obvious points. Like what is really so bad about PED, if the PED in question might actually be good for you? For instance, one of the main complaints is about:

Quote

Ray Lewis's miraculous recovery from a torn triceps muscle? At age 37, not only did he recover in 10 weeks from an injury that usually takes 6 months minimum for recovery, but, upon returning, he played at a higher level than before he was injured.

Well, isn't faster recovery a good thing? Why is this any different from, say, Tommy John surgery (to name a pretty major development in treatment that has saved numerous baseball careers - and from which pitchers often come back pitching at a faster level than before the surgery)? The crack down and moralizing on the PED is more annoying to me than the PED usage.

[Fluffy]

mike777, on 2011-December-11, 03:42, said:

drugs/chemicals are great...

This is the end of the debate for me

[billw55]

Maybe the article wanders a little, but the main point (to me) is that we have reached a point where pretty much any elite athletic performance is automatically suspect. We have seen over and over that athletes can and do avoid detection, even when testing programs are present.

Regarding an athlete performing better after surgery: well duh. He/she was playing injured before the surgery! Of course performance was below potential.

And agree, it is very difficult to draw a line between performance enhancing drug use, and medical/recovery use.

[FM75]

kenberg, on 2011-December-11, 10:34, said:

Btw, my wife got an e-mail with the following observation (I will approximate the dates, I am unsure of the exact time or the truth of the statement):

The first protective cup was used in professional hockey in 1876, the first protective helmet was used in football in 1976. From this we conclude that it only took men a hundred years to conclude that their brains are also important.

Funny - Wikipedia has a helmet first being used in college in 1896.

[blackshoe]

"They told me 'you must not touch certain areas of your body'. So I grabbed my head!" -- Bill Cosby, on playing football for Temple University

[Flem72]

mike777, on 2011-December-11, 01:05, said:

Yet again it seems that an athlete is punished for taking chemicals that work that in his case worked.What next ban memory drugs that improve memory in bridge?

cutesy article: http://www.michigand...ue-drug-testing

but, say hey, now I have to wonder: is it possible that pros and/or high level bridge players use amphetamine derivatives in ACBL-land?[ no/ emoticon ]

[cherdano]

jjbrr, on 2013-February-06, 22:48, said:

I personally thought this is a great article. In general I think Bill Simmons is excellent, though, so I understand if I look retarded posting it.

Grantland PED Article

Haha, I always enjoy reading Simmons, and sometimes wonder whether that makes me retarded. Kind of a guilty pleasure. Then there comes an article like the one you link to, or the only sensible take on baseball steroids hall of fame voting that I have read, and my guilt is gone.