ALTHOUGH THE FULL DETAILS of the murder-suicide of 40-year-old Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and young son, Daniel, are still unknown, two words have come to the forefront: 'Roid Rage.
While some wrestling insiders have dismissed such a premise, the abuse of anabolic steroids has actually dealt severe blows to the solar plexus of not only Vince McMahon's fiefdom, but also the credibility among football, baseball and even track and field competitors.
Baseball and commssioner Bud Selig have put on blinkers with only New York Yankees' designated hitter, Jason Giambi, reluctantly agreeing to appear before steroids investigator George Mitchell some time in July; this despite red-flag warnings being constantly raised.
However, for nearly half a century the influx of artificial muscle-builders has had a detrimental effect on not only athletes in the prime of their careers, but well after their playing and performing days have ceased.
As someone with a first-hand knowledge of the subject, I wrote the following in summarizing "Counterfeit Hero," a 1994 docu-book once known as "The Rassler Papers":
"In the convoluted world of pins and needles, the name George Zahorian became almost a generic word, as if you could go into your corner drugstore and order a "Zahorian" off the shelf.
Dr. George Zahorian III was a familiar figure in the World Wrestling Federation-based arenas. He was a regular Doc Feelgood, to all.
However, McMahon's WWF and its parent organization, Titan Sports, tried to disassociate itself from the medic, particularly in late June 1991.
The Doc had been indicted in February 1991 on 10 counts of distributing or intending to distribute steroids, five counts of distributing substances and two counts of using his offices to distribute the drugs. The indictment alleged that between Nov. 18, 1988 and March 27, 1990, Zahorian supplied anabolic steroids to the wrestlers on "diverse occasions."
The five were Hulk (Terry Bollea) Hogan, Rowdy Roddy (Roderick Toombs) Piper, Rick (Richard Vigneault) Martel, Brian Blair and Dan Spivey along with powerlifter, Bill Dunn, who would be the government's informant in the case.
Martel, Piper, Spivey and Blair admitted they bought steroids and painkillers from Zahorian, ordering them over the phone with the Doc shipping the packages via FedEx.
Also testifiying during the 1991 trial was Superstar Billy Graham, a.k.a. Wayne Coleman, who hobbled into court, crippled by a degenerative bone disease. He admitted he bought steroids from Zahorian, but he didn't get any medical advice from him.
On Thursday, June 27, 1991, after three hours, the Harrisburg, Pa. court found Zahorian guilty on 12 of 14 counts -- eight counts of distributing steroids and four counts of illegally distributing prescription painkillers. He was sentenced to three years in prison, fined $12,700 and ordered to undergo two years of supervised release."
In 1994, promoter Vince McMahon went on trial in a Long Island courtroom, and after days of what could only be termed as an entertainment "circus," including an appearance by Hulk Hogan, McMahon was acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to distribute steroids to wrestlers in order to improve their physiques and, therefore, sell more tickets to wrestling matches.
Steroids abuse has been cited as the cause of depression, paranoia, extreme aggressiveness and other serious maladies later in life, but it's also been blamed for the early deaths of Curt (Mr. Perfect) Henning, Davey Boy Smith, Richard (Ravishing Rick Rude) Rood and Flyin' Brian Pillman.
Henning's father claimed a combination of steroids and painkillers caused his son's death while Bruce Hart, the brother-in-law of Smith, said the British Bulldog "paid the price of steroid cocktails and human-growth hormones." During the 1994 McMahon trial, Rude said he had used anabolic steroids while Pillman died of an undetected heart condition in 1997 "while taking painkillers and human-growth hormones."
During the BALCO trial concerning sports doping in San Francisco, 'roids were blamed for the following among men: Shrinking of testicles; reduced sperm count; impotence; hair loss and enlarged breasts. Among women: Facial hair appears; voice deepens; breasts shrink; menstruation disrupted; and male-pattern baldness.
In addition, the following affected both men and women: Acne; high blood pressure; increased cholesterol level; jaundice; aggressiveness; weight gain; blood clots; increased body hair.
Among the health risks: Heart disease caused by the increase in cholesterol; liver damage; tendon ruptures.
While most would expect pro wrestlers to live lengthy lives, the following random list of those who have died since 1985 between the ages of 21 and 63, including those in accidents and also murder, would indicate to the contrary :
Chris Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich, Eddie Gilbert, Owen Hart, Adrian Adonis, Eddie Guerrero, Bruiser Brody, Miss Elizabeth, Big Boss Man, Earthquake, Biff Wellington, Dino Bravo, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, Andre The Giant, Big John Studd, Hawk, Haystacks Calhoun, Kurt Von Hess, Dr. Jerry Graham, Tony Parisi, Stan Stasiak, Dick The Bruiser, Gorilla Monsoon, Bad News Brown, Bulldog Brower and Wahoo McDaniel.
One of wrestling premier performers, Sherri Martel, died a week prior to the Benoit tragedy. She was only 49 and the reason for her sudden death has still not been announced at the time of this writing.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Look up in the sky, it's a UFO
THROUGHOUT HISTORY, there have been tales of little green men from outer space. And, undoubtedly, this year, as it has been for generations, there will be a glut of of supposed sightings of unidentified flying objects.
There have been accounts dating back even thousands of years and a lengthy description of a "flying wheel" that Ezekiel encountered in biblical times.
So the subject matter isn't new and, in fact, I wrote the preceding paragraphs in the Toronto Sun back in February 1987, some 20 years ago.
The UFO topic seems to get bantered about on an annual basis and the reason for bringing it up once again was a recent report in Pilot magazine from over 'ome in which two airline pilots "witnessed" UFOs off the Channel Islands.
Apparently, 50-year-old Ray Bowyer, a captain with Aurigny Air Services, was in flight from Southhampton at 3 in the afternoon when he "saw a bright-yellow light."
Briefly this is Bowyer's report: "It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area. It was 2,000ft. up and stationary. I thought I was about 10 miles away, although I realized it was approximately 40 miles from us. At first, I thought it was the size of a 737. But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide."
Later, as Bowyer approached Alderney, he noticed another object identical to the first one and Pilot quoted him as saying: "It was exactly the same but looked small because it was further away. It was closer to Guernsey. I can't explain it ... All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying."
So what are these UFOs?
Some would acquaint their "navigators" as fallen angels (demons) "masquerading as extraterrestials from another planet," and then others would blame it on hallucinations from drinking too much "bad coffee."
A steady flow of explanations seem to be in order every year, however, John Spencer, deputy chairman of the British UFO Research Association, was quoted as saying: "These types of sightings have been reported by pilots -- generally accepted to be reliable and sensible observers -- since the 1940s and they have excited attention to this day."
Of course, UFOs, crop circles and even cattle mutiliations have been subjects of countless late, late-night discussions with, seemingly, no solid conclusions.
What spurred my curiosity all these years was a November 1986 report of a walnut-shaped object, twice the size of an aircraft carrier, which apparently "chased" a Japan Air Lines 747 cargo jet over Alaska and it was "captured" on the radar screens of air traffic controllers.
Originally, both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force verified the large UFO had appeared on radar hovering within five miles of the cargo jet, which was travelling between Iceland and Anchorage, Alaska.
However, U.S. authorities later did an about-face, first calling the sighting a "split image" and then claiming it had been a computer malfunction.
But veteran JAL pilot, Kenju Terauchi, and two crewmembers didn't agree, saying they witnessed UFOs for more than 400 miles between Iceland and Alaska over a period of 32 minutes.
Terauchi later reiterated his claim that there were three UFOs -- one of spectacular immensity -- and two small, walnut-shaped craft with two panels of lights. The objects darted quickly and occasionally stopped suddenly -- once appearing in front of his cockpit. They instantly disappeared and reappeared.
"They were flying parallel and then suddenly approached very close," Terauchi said.
Although, there have been hundreds, even thousands of sightings, reported by what experts consider "laypersons," which have been mainly dismissed, it will be interesting to hear the scientific "take" on Bowyer's report.
Nick Pope, who at one time worked for the U.K. Ministry of Defence, was quoted in the same article concerning Bowyer as saying, "This is the sort of sighting that is taken seriously and should be investigated thoroughly." However, the current spokesperson for the ministry indicated they wouldn't be investigating the incident.
In addition to Bowery's statement, another unnamed Blue Island pilot also claimed he also saw a UFO underneath his plane.
There have been accounts dating back even thousands of years and a lengthy description of a "flying wheel" that Ezekiel encountered in biblical times.
So the subject matter isn't new and, in fact, I wrote the preceding paragraphs in the Toronto Sun back in February 1987, some 20 years ago.
The UFO topic seems to get bantered about on an annual basis and the reason for bringing it up once again was a recent report in Pilot magazine from over 'ome in which two airline pilots "witnessed" UFOs off the Channel Islands.
Apparently, 50-year-old Ray Bowyer, a captain with Aurigny Air Services, was in flight from Southhampton at 3 in the afternoon when he "saw a bright-yellow light."
Briefly this is Bowyer's report: "It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area. It was 2,000ft. up and stationary. I thought I was about 10 miles away, although I realized it was approximately 40 miles from us. At first, I thought it was the size of a 737. But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide."
Later, as Bowyer approached Alderney, he noticed another object identical to the first one and Pilot quoted him as saying: "It was exactly the same but looked small because it was further away. It was closer to Guernsey. I can't explain it ... All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying."
So what are these UFOs?
Some would acquaint their "navigators" as fallen angels (demons) "masquerading as extraterrestials from another planet," and then others would blame it on hallucinations from drinking too much "bad coffee."
A steady flow of explanations seem to be in order every year, however, John Spencer, deputy chairman of the British UFO Research Association, was quoted as saying: "These types of sightings have been reported by pilots -- generally accepted to be reliable and sensible observers -- since the 1940s and they have excited attention to this day."
Of course, UFOs, crop circles and even cattle mutiliations have been subjects of countless late, late-night discussions with, seemingly, no solid conclusions.
What spurred my curiosity all these years was a November 1986 report of a walnut-shaped object, twice the size of an aircraft carrier, which apparently "chased" a Japan Air Lines 747 cargo jet over Alaska and it was "captured" on the radar screens of air traffic controllers.
Originally, both the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Air Force verified the large UFO had appeared on radar hovering within five miles of the cargo jet, which was travelling between Iceland and Anchorage, Alaska.
However, U.S. authorities later did an about-face, first calling the sighting a "split image" and then claiming it had been a computer malfunction.
But veteran JAL pilot, Kenju Terauchi, and two crewmembers didn't agree, saying they witnessed UFOs for more than 400 miles between Iceland and Alaska over a period of 32 minutes.
Terauchi later reiterated his claim that there were three UFOs -- one of spectacular immensity -- and two small, walnut-shaped craft with two panels of lights. The objects darted quickly and occasionally stopped suddenly -- once appearing in front of his cockpit. They instantly disappeared and reappeared.
"They were flying parallel and then suddenly approached very close," Terauchi said.
Although, there have been hundreds, even thousands of sightings, reported by what experts consider "laypersons," which have been mainly dismissed, it will be interesting to hear the scientific "take" on Bowyer's report.
Nick Pope, who at one time worked for the U.K. Ministry of Defence, was quoted in the same article concerning Bowyer as saying, "This is the sort of sighting that is taken seriously and should be investigated thoroughly." However, the current spokesperson for the ministry indicated they wouldn't be investigating the incident.
In addition to Bowery's statement, another unnamed Blue Island pilot also claimed he also saw a UFO underneath his plane.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Dangerous liaisons now threaten Israel
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU is a realist. The former Israeli prime minister is also confrontational in his statements and considers Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a serious threat to the world's existence.
He also believes Ahmadinejad has his evil eye centered on "wiping Israel off the map" and after annihilating the Little Satan (Israel), the next target would be the Big Satan (the U.S.) and, with nuclear capabilities in the next few years, this may not be just the hallucinations of the former mayor of Tehran, but could become a reality.
On June 17 in Yediot, Netanyahu wrote: "We live in the world of radical Islam and of missiles. This is the gist of the gathering storm around us. Every piece of territory that we unilaterally evacuate is being taken over by radical Muslim forces, who then direct their missiles at us under the guidance of Iran."
Bibi followed this up with appearances on American TV in which he reiterated that Iran and its "apocalyptic" madman was directing the steps of Hamas (meaning "zeal" in Arabic), which as David Dolan described in his informative book, Israel at the Crossroads, was a militant offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood movement called the Islamic Resistance movement.
At the time of this writing, an overwhelming fear has spread across the Middle East for these vile thugs have overwhelmed Gaza (now known as Hamastan) and could soon gather the West Bank in its clutches..
That fear has caused Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to call an urgent summit with invitations sent out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, now camped in the West Bank after being kicked out of Gaza, the present Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, and Jordan's King Abdullah.
In recent days, Olmert met with U.S. President Bush and, in turn, raked up as much as $86 million in weaponry for Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, who had in the past, been scorned as a weak controller of a corrupt regime. He's also one who funded a terror group, al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which teamed up with Islamic Jihad, in committing suicide bombings in Israel.
Now, Abbas is the "pet" of, at least Bush, when to most he's been called "Arafat in a $1,000 suit."
While Bush has called Abbas "the presidents of all the Palestinians" and "a reasonable voice amongst the extremists," it appears the U.S. president is not setting his standards very high.
On the other side, in the Hamas' camp, they seized millions of dollars in U.S. weaponry and equipment when the Fatah and Abbas scurried off to the West Bank.
According to Aaron Klein of World Net Daily, the stockpile left behind included "dozens" of mounted machine guns; approximately 7,400 American M-16 assault rifles; about 800,000 rounds of bullets; 18 armoured personnel carriers; seven armoured military jeeps; "tens" of armoured civilian cars, including pickup trucks and magnums; eight massive trucks equipped with water cannons for dispersing protests; and 14 military-sized bulldozers.
Fatah strongman Mahmoud Dahlan told Reuters that Hamas may overrun the West Bank as well and seize even more American weaponry being promised in Washington.
"If serious reforms are not undertaken in the security forces it would be easy for Hamas to take over the West bank," Dahlan said.
With such groups as Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda along with such states as Saudi Arabia, Syria and, of course, Iran, leading the "hate Israel," parade, the possibility of these extremists going on a murderous Middle East rampage appears to becoming a reality -- and soon.
An.interesting note, Israel is also concerned with the news that Russia, yes Russia, has, or is about to deliver, advanced MiG-31 fighter planes to Syria, which will carry guided missiles.
As Dolan also wrote in recent days, if "Western indifference" continues to hold sway, the collapse of the pro-Western Hashemite monarchy in Jordan is a possibility as well as Mubarak's rule over Egypt.
While the world watches with bated breath, the manoeuvrings of not only Bush, Olmert and Abbas will be analyzed, but equally scrutinized will be those from the dark side from Ahmadinejad to Bashar Assad of Syria and those controlling Hamas such as Ismael Haniyeh.
The looming question has to be: How long will the U.S. and Israel fund Abbas' Fatah organization? And, secondly, will Bush and the Americans go to "war" against the militant Islamic hordes now surrounding Israel?
Only time will tell.
He also believes Ahmadinejad has his evil eye centered on "wiping Israel off the map" and after annihilating the Little Satan (Israel), the next target would be the Big Satan (the U.S.) and, with nuclear capabilities in the next few years, this may not be just the hallucinations of the former mayor of Tehran, but could become a reality.
On June 17 in Yediot, Netanyahu wrote: "We live in the world of radical Islam and of missiles. This is the gist of the gathering storm around us. Every piece of territory that we unilaterally evacuate is being taken over by radical Muslim forces, who then direct their missiles at us under the guidance of Iran."
Bibi followed this up with appearances on American TV in which he reiterated that Iran and its "apocalyptic" madman was directing the steps of Hamas (meaning "zeal" in Arabic), which as David Dolan described in his informative book, Israel at the Crossroads, was a militant offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood movement called the Islamic Resistance movement.
At the time of this writing, an overwhelming fear has spread across the Middle East for these vile thugs have overwhelmed Gaza (now known as Hamastan) and could soon gather the West Bank in its clutches..
That fear has caused Egypt's Hosni Mubarak to call an urgent summit with invitations sent out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, now camped in the West Bank after being kicked out of Gaza, the present Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, and Jordan's King Abdullah.
In recent days, Olmert met with U.S. President Bush and, in turn, raked up as much as $86 million in weaponry for Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, who had in the past, been scorned as a weak controller of a corrupt regime. He's also one who funded a terror group, al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which teamed up with Islamic Jihad, in committing suicide bombings in Israel.
Now, Abbas is the "pet" of, at least Bush, when to most he's been called "Arafat in a $1,000 suit."
While Bush has called Abbas "the presidents of all the Palestinians" and "a reasonable voice amongst the extremists," it appears the U.S. president is not setting his standards very high.
On the other side, in the Hamas' camp, they seized millions of dollars in U.S. weaponry and equipment when the Fatah and Abbas scurried off to the West Bank.
According to Aaron Klein of World Net Daily, the stockpile left behind included "dozens" of mounted machine guns; approximately 7,400 American M-16 assault rifles; about 800,000 rounds of bullets; 18 armoured personnel carriers; seven armoured military jeeps; "tens" of armoured civilian cars, including pickup trucks and magnums; eight massive trucks equipped with water cannons for dispersing protests; and 14 military-sized bulldozers.
Fatah strongman Mahmoud Dahlan told Reuters that Hamas may overrun the West Bank as well and seize even more American weaponry being promised in Washington.
"If serious reforms are not undertaken in the security forces it would be easy for Hamas to take over the West bank," Dahlan said.
With such groups as Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda along with such states as Saudi Arabia, Syria and, of course, Iran, leading the "hate Israel," parade, the possibility of these extremists going on a murderous Middle East rampage appears to becoming a reality -- and soon.
An.interesting note, Israel is also concerned with the news that Russia, yes Russia, has, or is about to deliver, advanced MiG-31 fighter planes to Syria, which will carry guided missiles.
As Dolan also wrote in recent days, if "Western indifference" continues to hold sway, the collapse of the pro-Western Hashemite monarchy in Jordan is a possibility as well as Mubarak's rule over Egypt.
While the world watches with bated breath, the manoeuvrings of not only Bush, Olmert and Abbas will be analyzed, but equally scrutinized will be those from the dark side from Ahmadinejad to Bashar Assad of Syria and those controlling Hamas such as Ismael Haniyeh.
The looming question has to be: How long will the U.S. and Israel fund Abbas' Fatah organization? And, secondly, will Bush and the Americans go to "war" against the militant Islamic hordes now surrounding Israel?
Only time will tell.
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