4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY BABY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2006
OLYMPIC SPORTS
Runner cleared of performance-enhancing drug charges
BY BOB BAUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marion Jones' career of triumph and suspicion is back on track. Though she probably won't run again this year, the strongest doping allegations against her are now defunct, and her sights are firmly set on next year's world championships — and the 2008 Olympics.
"She's a hell of an athlete," her coach Steve Riddick told The Associated Press on Thursday, "and I think people should just leave her alone."
Once the darling of her sport, Jones' successful fight against her first positive drug test is the latest twist in a career of extreme highs and lows.
"I would hope that now that it's over with she can relax the rest of the
year and come back and represent the country at the world championships, then go on to Beijing," Riddick said.
After competing for years under a cloud of suspicion, Jones tested positive for EPO June 23 at the U.S. track and field championships in Indianapolis, where she won the 100 meters, her 14th national title.
Jones immediately requested a "B" sample be tested. Her attorney released a statement on Wednesday that the second test was negative, a result Jones said she was "ecstatic" about.
The tests were conducted at a UCLA laboratory that routinely examines samples for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Lab director Don Catlin did not return a telephone request for comment.
Riddick said he didn't expect Jones, who turns 31 on Oct. 12, to
raced again until next season, when she'll aim for another U.S. title and a berth in the world championships in Osaka, Japan.
Arne Liungqvist, chairman of the International Olympic Committee medical commission and a member of the World Anti-Doping Association executive committee, called the reversal of the "B" sample "quite unusual."
"It's happened only a handful of times in the last 30 years I can remember, but it does happen," he said in a telephone interview with the AP. "One needs to seek an explanation from the lab. ... For the time being, we can only speculate."
In 2003, Kenyan distance runner Bernard Lagat pulled out of the 2003 world championships after news leaked that he had tested positive for EPO. He was later cleared, though, when the "B" test was negative, and
USA Track & Field, the sport's national governing body, had little to say about Jones' case.
won the national,1,500-meter title in Indianapolis this year.
Ljungqvist defended the EPO testing system.
"We respect the USADA process," spokeswoman Jill Geer said, "and when an athlete's B does not confirm the 'A' there is no doping offense. So in Marion's case, there is no doping offense."
"The science of the method as such has been validated and confirmed as absolutely safe and OK, but it's not unusual in the life of a laboratory that incidents may occur," he said. "The test does have some pitfalls as respect to the interpretation."
It remains unclear which test — the "A" or "B" — ultimately is accurate.
"We certainly know there are
situations where the A and B may not necessarily look the same," Ljunggvist said. "One doesn't know if the A is the correct analysis and the B is incorrect, or vice versa. That's the open question."
Jones' negative "B" sample has done nothing to shake USADA's faith in the testing process, general counsel Travis Tygart said.
"We have full confidence in the EPO test, we stay abreast or ahead of the science involved, and we'll continue using it going forward," he said.
Under U.S. regulations, an athlete's 'A test results are supposed to remain confidential until not only the 'B sample is tested, but a review hearing is conducted. However, IAAF rules require the provisional suspension of the athlete following an initial positive drug test, and that often leads to media leaks — especially on
high profile athletes.
Jones has been a person of interest to USADA for years. She testified to the federal grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative in San Francisco. Her boyfriend at the time, former world 100-meter record holder Tim Montgomery, also testified and later was suspended from competition for two years, although he never tested positive for a banned substance.
Montgomery announced his retirement but has resumed training and would be eligible to compete again next summer.
"I think he will," Riddick said. "He ain't training for his health."
With a mix of charm and talent, Jones was the sport's biggest personality in the late 1990s. At the Sydney Games in 2000, she became the first woman to win five Olympic track medals, three of them gold.
>> NFL
Former Chief wants to return Players would welcome him; management skeptical
BY DOUG TUCKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If John Welbourn can talk the brass into taking him back, he'll get a warm welcome from his old Kansas City teammates.
In the executive offices, however, there seems to be skepticism about a player who will have missed 10 games in two years for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
"I think John could help the team. He's obviously a gifted player and started a lot of games for us," quarterback Trent Green said Thursday. "If he comes back and is ready to play and can help the team, I think everybody would be pretty open to that."
The NFL announced Wednesday that Welbourne, who retired in June but later asked for reinstatement, had been suspended for six games.
After sitting out a four-game suspension at the beginning of last season for the same reason, Welbourn wound up starting nine games and was an important part of a 10-6 season.
The Chiefs hold his rights for the
next three years. But general manager Carl Peterson seemed lukewarm to the idea of taking him back.
"Specific to what his status will be with the Chiefs after the suspension, we'll address at that time," Peterson said.
Like just about any other team in the NFL, the Chiefs could make use of an experienced lineman.
The unexpected retirement of left tackle Willie Roaf on the eve of training camp tore another hole in their offensive line, which has long been a strength of the Chiefs.
Kyle Turley, who had been signed to compete for the right tackle spot Welbourn vacated, was quickly switched to the left side. But Turley is trying to come back from a two-year absence brought on by a back injury and no one knows whether he'll hold up through an entire season.
"John could help this team," said defensive end Jared Allen. "He's prown in the NFL that he can get the job done. Anytime you can bring a guy back and add depth to your tackle position, I think definitely it would help.
"I'd like to have him back on this team. He's a neat guy."
The NFL said Welbourn would
be eligible to return Oct. 23. His absence would actually be seven weeks because of Kansas City's bye in Week 3.
"He started nine games for us last year and he played pretty well," said left guard Brian Waters. "He helped us win some games. I would hope the door would not be closed."
Head coach Herm Edwards said he was going to defer to Peterson and owner Lamar Hunt.
"Obviously, the doors are always open for players. We'll just see what happens," Edwards said. "Carl has to comment on all that. That's not my forte. When something like that happens to a player, I work for two other people. They have to make that decision."
If Welbourn does rejoin the Chiefs, he'll be working under a new head coach, since Edwards this year replaced the retired Dick Vermeil.
"As a coach, I'll say this — you always want good players," Edwards said. "But you never want to put the team in harm's way. That will be discussed by Carl."
There might also be a concern about Welbourn's physical shape. He missed all of training camp and has not been practicing with the team.
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS
Web site predicts football's future
You probably haven't realized it, but the jayhawks have already been selected to play in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 29 against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Well, kind of.
The Web site CBSSportsLine.com is attempting to predict which teams will play in specific bowl games this season, and following the first weekend of games, it released its first predictions Tuesday.
I don't know about you, but I think it's too early to be predicting what bowl Kansas will be playing in, especially after basing a prediction on watching Kansas play Northwestern State.
The Insight Bowl would definitely be an upgrade from the Fort Worth Bowl, but let's not kid around. The Jayhawks need to prove themselves.
Yes, the Jayhawks have the potential to win a lot of games this season. Yes, they even have a realistic chance of winning the Big 12 North, but until we see them play a few games and see what we have, those predictions won't mean much of anything.
We have a lot of players with high expectations that are expected to contribute this season, but haven't done anything yet to prove themselves.
Most people expect Kerry Meier to be our savior at quarterback and immediately fix a position that has recently given Kansas some trouble, but we really don't know how good he is. He has played one game in the past two years, and that was against a Division I-AA opponent.
The defense may be the most unproven group of them all. They are being hyped as being better than last year's defense, which was statistically one of the top defenses in the country; but once again, they have nine new starters who have yet to prove that they really are as good.
I am not saying that Kerry Meier or the Kansas defense are not as good as they are being hyped up to
be. Heck, they might even be better than people think.
Other Big 12 teams selected to appear in bowls are Nebraska, Cotton Bowl; Texas Tech, Gator Bowl; Missouri, Alamo Bowl; Iowa State, Holiday Bowl; Texas A & M., Texas Bowl; and Kansas State, Independence Bowl.
That's right, two Big 12 Conference teams in BCS bowls.
All I am saying is that we need to sit back and let them prove to us how good they actually are, before we go out and predict how well the Jayhawks will finish up this year.
For those of you counting at home, that's nine Big 12 teams headed for bowl games. Only Baylor, Colorado and Oklahoma State are predicted to be left out of the post season.
As of now, the Web site has Ohio State playing West Virginia in the National Championship on Jan. 8. In the other BCS Bowls, they predict Texas will face LSU in the Fiesta Bowl, Auburn will face Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl, USC will play Iowa in the Rose Bowl, and Florida State and Oklahoma will meet in the Orange Bowl.
Remember, these predictions will become more accurate as the season goes on. Also remember that until the jayhawks prove themselves, the talk and hype surrounding this team will be just one thing: a prediction.
Kansan sportswriter B.J. Rains is a St. Louis junior in journalism.
Edited by Erin Wiley