On July 22, Romero bought a supplement at the GNC store in Cherry Hill. He had it checked by his personal nutritionist, who said there was nothing in the supplement that was illegal. There was no warning on the label. Romero mentioned it to Phillies strength and conditioning coach Dong Lien.

There seems to have been some confusion in testimony during the October arbitration hearing. According to Romero, Lien told him to get a second opinion; Romero took the supplement to a second nutritionist, who cleared it.

On Aug. 26 and Sept. 19, Romero was tested, as all players are, randomly. On Sept. 23, players’ association counsel Bob Lenaghan informed Romero he had tested positive.

“I immediately stopped taking all supplements, although I had no idea it was the cause of the positive test,” Romero said.

He spoke to Michael Weiner at the MLBPA and told him he did not know the cause of the positive test. On Oct. 1, Weiner told Romero that the specific supplement was indeed the cause of the failed test and that because it was purchased over the counter in the U.S., he believed the case would be dropped.

That same day, Oct. 1, Romero was tested again. The results were negative. So for the NLDS, NLCS and World Series, the supplement was no longer in his system.

Two days later, Romero was informed that MLB would be willing to reduce his suspension to 25 games, starting at the beginning of the 2009 season, on the condition that he admitted guilt. Romero said he couldn’t because he did not believe he did anything wrong.

Sounds harsh. I’m all for cracking down on drugs in sport, especially in cycling and baseball where they seem to be rife, but this is a travesty. More at http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3812334

Finding live games online

I’ve been looking for some sites to watch GAA (Irish football) when I’ve been away on business, I still haven’t found one (you can watch it live if you’re within Ireland but that doesn’t help me!). I did find a site which shows live soccer matches, might be useful especially with the Euros coming up.

Update: Giants destroyed the 17-0 dream in a fantasic Superbowl – what a great game, the best I’ve seen in years.

Six Nations:

Predicted: Italy 7 – 45 France
Actual: Italy 3 – 39 France

Predicted: England 15 – 19 Scotland
Actual: England 42 – 20 Scotland

Predicted: Wales 15 – 27 Ireland
Actual: Wales 9 – 19 Ireland

Superbowl XLI:

Predicted: Colts 38 – 20 Bears
Actual: Colts 29 – 17 Bears

I must admit to being very impressed with the bluegrass fiddler playing before the game – can anyone tell me more about this guy? A comment about the pre-game: were I either coach, I would be pretty unhappy about having my team out on the pitch for that long before the game – it could distract and destroy careful mental preparation… I guess these guys are pros and this is the Super Bowl, but it's a long time to stand around. The price the NFL pays for millions of TV dollars?

The game itself was an interesting parallel of the Italy-Ireland game of earlier – the favourites on the back foot throughout the first half, with the pretenders crucially failing to score. Superb defense on both sides. Then in the second half we saw the sheer class of the favourites.

I was disappointed in McNabb and the Eagles' Offense on their final drive – I believe they threw away a great chance through particularly bad time management that (I'm guessing) would scarcely be seen at high school level. Maybe the stress of the occasion (you should have listened to TO and relaxed, Donavan!).

Congratulations to the New England Patriots, commiserations to the Eagles – I hope to see them competiting at the end of the next regular season.

Miscellaneous thoughts: I must admit to a wry smile when I hear the phrase “World Champions” in relation to the Super Bowl and other American sports – well, at least the NHL involves a second country! Are 2unlimited making an absolute fortune from the NFL? I hear them in the background at every game – cringeworthy. Are there no limits?

Tags: Sports.superbowl.