Tennis
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<p>Some background on athlete use from the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</p>
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2016/03/08/meldonium-use-by-athletes-at-the-baku-2015-european-games-adding-data-to-ms-maria-sharapovas-failed-drug-test-case/'>http://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2016/03/08/meldonium-use-by-athletes-at-the-baku-2015-european-games-adding-data-to-ms-maria-sharapovas-failed-drug-test-case/</a></p>
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<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Background: </strong>The aim of this report was to estimate the prevalence of meldonium use in athletes competing in the Baku 2015 European Games to contribute to the surveillance of substances on the 2015 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Monitoring Program. Meldonium is reported to be used by athletes to potentially enhance personal performance and shorten the recovery period after physical activity.</p>
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<p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three sources of data were reviewed to determine the prevalence of meldonium use during the Games including: 1) athlete self-reported declarations of drug and supplement use; 2) declarations from National Olympic Committee medical teams of the list of medicines that they imported into Azerbaijan as part of their stock of drugs for administration; 3) results from the anti-doping laboratories reporting the detection of meldonium.</p>
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<p><strong>Results: </strong>Meldonium was declared as imported into Azerbaijan by 2 of 50 National Olympic Committee medical teams at the Games, but athletes from 6 countries declared the use of meldonium. Only 23 of the 662 (3.5%) athletes tested between 8 – 28 June 2015 declared the personal use of meldonium, which included 13 competition winners. However, 66 of the total 762 (8.7%) of athlete urine samples analysed during the Games and during pre-competition tested positive for meldonium. Meldonium use was detected in athletes competing in 15 of the 21 sports during the Games.</p>
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<p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study highlights the widespread and inappropriate use and prescribing of this prescription drug in a generally healthy athlete population. Subsequent to these findings, WADA has included meldonium as a prohibited substance on the 2016 List of Prohibited Substances.</p>
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<p>This bit is interesting -</p>
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<p><em><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study highlights the widespread and inappropriate use and prescribing of this prescription drug in a generally healthy athlete population. Subsequent to these findings, WADA has included meldonium as a prohibited substance on the 2016 List of Prohibited Substances.</em></p>
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<p>IE "We are not sure its of any use - in theory it might be, but quite a few people are using it so we should ban it."</p>
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<p>Kinda highlights the massive lack of resourses WADA has. They are down to banning stuff they don't really know enough about & only find out about via declarations</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="563764" data-time="1457610636">
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<p>Well, do you expect them to spend $100M on a full on clinical trial?</p>
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<p>"Meldonium, though, has been the subject of recent clinical work in several countries"</p>
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<p>There's a lot of detail re what it does, WADA just don't have the muscle to access it nor the money to pay someone to access their results. WADA don't have to do a trial, they just have to access trials.</p>
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<p>But WADA's budget for 2016 is $28m (feck all of which has actually been handed over to them) & they have all the muscle of a 5 year old girl / Billy Vunapola.</p>
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<p>So WADA are limited now to banning stuff they don't know the effect of - or OKing it because they don't know the effect. Or even - as was the case with this stuff, not even knowing it existed till it popped up on disclosures. Sharapova & co were not hiding the fact they used it, that disclosure is the only way WADA even knew to think about banning it.</p>
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<p>This wasn't like Armstrong & EPO where they had to try find athletes using it, the athletes were filling in forms <em>specifically saying</em> they were using it (tho' its not clear Sharapova disclosed ahead of the Aussie Open).</p>
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<p>Maybe they are better off just blanket banning literally everything. And if someone wants it in they can submit a clinical trial explaining what it does. Mo Farah chugged 2 expressos 20 minutes before his Olympic final in 2012. Ban that shit barring a full clinical trial on caffine</p> -
@Rocky-Rockbottom that is without a doubt the best tennis commentary i have ever heard. bravo sir
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@mariner4life said in Tennis match fixing?:
@Rocky-Rockbottom that is without a doubt the best tennis commentary i have ever heard. bravo sir
I agree -- RRB has a unique style, but damn it's interesting. Keep writing the magic good sir
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A bit bizarrely the bookies have now apparently installed Roger as the favourite. I'd think his old legs would struggle to get past Raonic or Stan, but stranger things have happened - and he doesn't yet have to play either.
He's only got to get past Murray's conqueror Zverev to make the semis - and you'd tend to think he should do so. This is big bro Zverev, not the more dangerous little bro, who pushed Rafa to five sets.
In any case, all sorts of people will be getting excited about their chances now that Andy and Novak are on the plane out.
In other news, I just watched Hingis and Paes win at mixed doubles. Hingis is probably as mad as a cut snake, but she's wearing well!
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That forehead might be the least of your worries. RRB would struggle to come up with this.
Martina Hingis and her mother 'beat up her estranged husband and threa
Thibault Hutin said Hingis and her mother, Melanie Molitor, beat him and scratched during a dispute at their apartment in the Swiss village of Feusisberg
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I know everyone kinda wants the retro final of Rog v Rafa, but there's no way that can happen can it? Surely they are too old to get past Raonic, and especially Wawrinka.
Rocky there is a chance that the two womens finalists will be bigger than the two mens finalists, with the Williams sisters raping and pillaging their way through the draw. Surprisingly, despite having 90% of the field, there isn't an -ova left. Wait, no, there is one. My mistake.
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@mariner4life said in Tennis match fixing?:
there isn't an -ova left.
If that was an abbreviation for ovaries then I think that is Rocky's point.
Or her - Plíšková. Didn't know who she was so googled and this is what I found...
Don't open that @Virgil your wife may be looking in the window again.
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Serena and Wozniacki at the beach.
M4L - Theoretically, there's a 1/8 chance of a Roger/Rafa final - though my bet would be Stan vs Raonic.
Surprisingly, though, Roger's got a massive win/loss advantage over Stan and even in their more recent matches it is 5-2 to Roger - and Stan has only ever beaten him on clay. So Roger certainly can't be discounted.
Tougher to see Rafa making it - he had all he could handle with Zverev the Younger and Raonic has even more power.
Rog vs Rafa though - I'd bet on Rafa. He's done much damage to Rog over the years.
p.s. The Pliskovas are twins.
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@Chris-B. said in Tennis match fixing?:
Rog vs Rafa though - I'd bet on Rafa. He's done much damage to Rog over the years
I know that's the accepted narrative, but is it more about being 5 years younger than anything? While Rafa is undoubtedly the best clay court player (shit he won the French Open 9 of the 10 years between '05 and '14, of course Roger won the other one) he didn't win on the other surfaces until 2008. By that time Roger had won 12 Opens (and 4 tour Finals) and his Open runs were coming to an end. Federer won 2 in 09, and one each in '10 and '12, and none since (once he crossed 30 really).
I just get the impression that the Rafa over Federer thing gets over done because of the age difference, and short-term memories. Both their peaks appear to be in 22-26 age bracket.
Novak seems to have peaked a bit later in life.
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Federer's problem in recent slams has been facing Djokovic so if he gets past Wawrinka I think he's a really good chance to win it all.
Raonic is playing well and has a huge serve so I wouldn't be surprised if he beats Rafa. And Dimitrov could be the dark horse on that side of the draw.
I'm really hoping Fed gets his 18th title.
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@mariner4life said in Tennis match fixing?:
@Chris-B. said in Tennis match fixing?:
Rog vs Rafa though - I'd bet on Rafa. He's done much damage to Rog over the years
I know that's the accepted narrative, but is it more about being 5 years younger than anything? While Rafa is undoubtedly the best clay court player (shit he won the French Open 9 of the 10 years between '05 and '14, of course Roger won the other one) he didn't win on the other surfaces until 2008. By that time Roger had won 12 Opens (and 4 tour Finals) and his Open runs were coming to an end. Federer won 2 in 09, and one each in '10 and '12, and none since (once he crossed 30 really).
I just get the impression that the Rafa over Federer thing gets over done because of the age difference, and short-term memories. Both their peaks appear to be in 22-26 age bracket.
Novak seems to have peaked a bit later in life.
Don't think the age difference was too much of a factor. It's more that Rafa worked out that he could beat Roger by just pounding his backhand at every opportunity. Everyone else with sufficient weaponry has followed suit.
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Well, the mens semifinalists are in and it's going to be Roger vs Stan and Rafa vs Dimitrov.
Career Head to Head records are:
Rafa 23 Roger 11
Rafa 15 Stan 3
Rafa 7 Dimitrov 1Roger 18 Stan 3
Roger 5 Dimitrov 0Stan 2 Dimitrov 4
Based on that, you'd have to say that a Roger-Rafa final is quite on the cards (and that Rafa will kick Roger's butt again).
I thought Raonic might overpower Rafa, but the first set that I watched Rafa had it well in hand. I'd say his dogged determination will be pretty hard to overcome from here.
TAB now have Rafa as favourite and it's hard to disagree.
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@Bovidae said in Tennis match fixing?:
I'm really hoping Fed gets his 18th title.
If he wants to stay ahead of Rafa, he might have to.
If my prediction above comes true, Rafa would move to 15 and it would be a bold move to bet against him at the French.
