Following Up On Previous Stories

Bonds Trial Continues

It ain’t over `til the fat lady sings … or at least until the jury decides whether or not Barry Bonds lied to a grand jury several years back. Over at SBNation.com there’s an article which gives the latest rundown on the trial. Seems that the trial is getting into some familiar territory — testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

Part of proving Bonds lied would be to prove that he actually used certain drugs. And to do that, the government needs to produce test results that show the presence of those drugs. Even doing proving that, though, is not enough to prove that Bonds knowingly lied to the grand jury. It’s conceivable (though accounts I’ve seen of the testimony up to now make it not too likely) that Bonds trusted Greg Anderson to get him legal supplements and that what his friend gave him were on the up-and-up. (It’s also conceivable that I own tonight’s PowerBall winning ticket, but I wouldn’t guess on which of these has better odds of being true.)

So here’s where the trial gets really interesting. Do the tests show that Bonds tested positive for certain banned substances? And, if the test results do point in that direction, was the chain of custody such that the jurors can be absolutely certain (or certain enough) that the samples belonged to Bonds? And, can the testing procedures and the science behind the testing withstand the scrutiny that Bonds’ defense team will most likely put to them?

Time will tell. Meanwhile, the sports soap opera “As the Bonds Turns” continuesin a San Francisco courthouse.

UCI Appeals Contador Decision

It was bound to happen. The only questions were “Who would appeal?” and “When?” Well, now we have the answers. The UCI filed its appeal six days ago (it should be noted that the UCI action came shortly before the deadline for filing an appeal), and today WADA has joined in. None of this should be a surprise, really. As Bonnie D. Ford noted on ESPN.com:

It would have been far bigger news had the UCI elected not to challenge the dubious ruling by the RFEC, which came amid apparent political pressure in Spain and had every appearance of being a negotiation rather than an objective consideration of the facts. Allowing the ruling to stand would have made it impractical to pursue any future case involving clenbuterol, a stimulant with steroid-like effects.

Yep, it sure would have been big news if the UCI and WADA declined to appeal. According to an Agence France Presse article, the UCI took their action to make sure that the outcome in Contador’s case is “fair” and that they aren’t trying to “wage a war” against the Spanish cyclist.

UCI officials stressed they had decided to pursue Contador because they want the fairest possible outcome in the case.

“The UCI’s principal goal in this case is not to wage a war against Contador,” a UCI spokesman told AFP here on the fringes of the world track cycling championships.

“It is to make sure that the final decision concerning Contador is taken by a completely independent body whose credibility has never been questioned.”

As Larry commented on the previous post:

[T]he UCI has decided to appeal the RFEC decision, not because they have determined that the RFEC was wrong, but because they are looking for a more authoritative decision that everyone can respect. Problem is, the CAS is not an independent investigative body, they are a dispute-resolving body. Contador and the RFEC says that there’s no doping violation here. UCI does not say anything one way or the other. Where’s the dispute?

Indeed, what is being disputed? That Contador tested positive? That he knowingly took clenbuterol? That his “excuse” doesn’t wash? It will be interesting to see how the UCI plays their hand.  Meanwhile, in his comment on the previous post, MikeG offers a link to an interview with the German journalist credited with breaking the Contador story. I’ve only had a chance to glance at the story, but it promises to be an interesting read.

So, bottom line, when can we expect a ruling? From at least one report, it appears that the Court of Arbitration for Sport is looking to have a decision by some time in June. An Associated Press report on the ABC News web site says:

CAS says it told all parties it’s “ready to establish a procedural calendar allowing for the settlement of the dispute before the end of June.”

That, of course, would dovetail nicely with Contador being able to defend his Tour title (or not, depending on how the decision goes).  Will Contador get to race the Grande Boucle? Or will he be relegated to watching the race on television as his “friend” Andy Schleck takes home the trophy?

Tom Zirbel Free To Race Again

Looks like Tom Zirbel, the former Bissell rider and almost Garmin team rider for 2010, is free to race again. Zirbel’s suspension has been reduced by USADA, taking into account his assistance with a couple of other cases.

VeloNation.com, quoting Zirbel’s blog, recounts the story of how his new-found freedom to race came about.

“[It] turns out I can race this year due to a string of random events that played out starting last October,” he wrote on his website. “Remember when I lamented on this blog a few months back about Di Luca because he got a reduction in sanction for providing details of his doping practices? And then I said something to the effect of “if only I had actually doped or had knowledge of dopers, I too could get a reduction”.

“Well, at some point after that rant I met with a person who had incriminating knowledge of a suspected doper and I eventually helped convince that person to approach USADA with that information. USADA found that information so useful that they decided to reduce my sanction because of it.”

Zirbel received assistance from the University of Colorado Law School’s new sports law clinic. Apparently, this was the second time Zirbel passed information to USADA about possible doping in the peloton. On the second try, however, the sports clinic helped Zirbel get some payback for coming forward.

Zirbel doesn’t consider himself a hero, or particularly courageous, even if USADA may have painted that picture to some extent. As Zirbel says on his blog:

In citing the reasons for my reduction, they [USADA] said that coming forth with information took ‘courage’. I was a little offended by that. Every clean rider that I know of wants nothing more than for all of the cheaters to get caught and the punishment that they deserve. There is nothing courageous about wanting a clean sport. It’s actually a selfish endeavor. I don’t want anyone who is taking shortcuts to beat me or any of my friends. The reality is that I would have given them the information regardless of whether it directly benefited me or not – the same as any other athlete out there who is doing things the right way would do.

It’s a crazy world. I’m going to make the most of this opportunity. The 2011 season was previously taken away from me so now anything positive that happens from this moment on is a gift.

That it is. As of this writing, Zirbel doesn’t have a team contract. Perhaps some team — like Bissell or Garmin-Cervelo — will pick up the newly-available rider. We’ll see.