Random Celebrity News

For some definitions of random, celebrity and news. Sadly, I haven't done this in a while, and some links are so old they no long qualify as news even under my generous definition and will be passed up. First, From Consequence.net, Lily Allen’s West End Girl Is Being Released On Butt Plug-Shaped USB Drives.

Lily Allen has revealed her trolling game to be top-notch by announcing that her West End Girl album will be available on butt-plug shaped USB drives.

Today (December 3rd), the singer’s webstore has launched preorders for USB drives that have West End Girl preloaded on them — and they happen to be in the shape of a sex toy that fits up your rear end. It’s essential to note that it’s not an actual plug. The website notes that the item, that’s available in “limited quantities,” is listed as “a novelty USB device intended for data storage only.”

The reason for the butt plug-inspired USBs seemingly comes from Allen’s song “Pussy Palace,” specifically the lyrics, “Duane Reade bag with the handles tied/ Sex toys, butt plugs, lube inside,” which the world believes to be in reference to her ex-husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour, and his alleged secret stash.

TrashPanda reports Pop Star Sabrina Carpenter Gets Trolled Hard After Crying About ICE Using Her Song

A dispute unfolded this week between the White House and pop singer Sabrina Carpenter after she publicly objected to the Trump administration’s use of her music in a video promoting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The video, which featured Carpenter’s song “Juno” set over footage of ICE raids, included a caption referencing her lyrics: “Have you ever tried this one? Bye-Bye,” followed by emoji.

Carpenter reacted online, calling the use of her music “evil and disgusting” and writing on X, “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”

Breitbart,  White House Refuses to Apologize for Using Sabrina Carpenter Song in ICE Video.

Rusty Weiss at Bounding Into Sports hears Tennis Star Aryna Sabalenka Says Female Athletes Facing Biological Males ‘Not Fair’

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and the current WTA World number one player, stated in a recent interview that transgender athletes hold a “huge advantage over women” in sports.

Common sense dictates that she is correct.

Sabalenka, in an interview with Piers Morgan, argued that it is “just not fair to women to basically face biological men,” as female athletes train their entire lives only to compete against biologically similar opponents.

On Page 6, Sydney Sweeney reveals truth about her breasts during lie detector test with Amanda Seyfried

Sydney Sweeney denied rumors that she has undergone breast augmentation surgery while taking a lie detector test with her “Housemaid” co-star Amanda Seyfried. “There’s been a question on everybody’s minds recently, and I just have to ask, are your boobs real?” Seyfried asked during a segment with Vanity Fair published Thursday.

“Yes,” Sweeney said while laughing. “I’ve never gotten any work done anywhere.”

The outlet’s lie detector proctor confirmed that the “Euphoria” star, 28, was being “truthful.” “Can I touch ’em?” Seyfried, 40, joked. “Sure,” Sweeney playfully responded.

No work needed. She's perfect as is.  

From Outkick, Groundbreaking Tennis Player, Believed To Be First To Get A Boob Job While Active, Has Joined The Content Game. I hope they don't hurt her game.

French tennis player Oceane Dodin is getting into the content game. The groundbreaking athlete, believed to be the first active tennis player to get a boob job, joined OnlyFans.

The Sun reports that she signed a sponsorship deal with the exclusive content platform that could earn her in one year more than the roughly $2.8 million she's made during her tennis career, although no specifics about any deal were provided.

While Dodin is a leader as far as mid-career breast implants are concerned, she's not the first tennis player to join OnlyFans. Sachia Vickery and Nick Kyrgios have both reportedly already done so.

The Peacock, Bionic Lindsey Vonn wins World Cup downhill at age 41 to start her Olympic season. But is she too old for SI?

The queen of downhill skiing is well and truly back. At age 41, still faster than the rest. Lindsey Vonn raced to a stunningly fast win in a World Cup downhill at St. Moritz on Friday to earn her first victory in nearly eight years — and the first in her comeback with titanium implants in her right knee after a five-year retirement.

The United States ski great seized the lead by an astonishing 1.16 seconds ahead of Mirjam Puchner of Austria. Even wilder was that Vonn trailed by 0.61 after the first two time checks at the Swiss resort.

Vonn’s lead was later cut to 0.98 — still a massive margin in downhill — when unheralded Magdalena Egger took second place from teammate Puchner.  “It was an amazing day, I couldn’t be happier, pretty emotional,” Vonn told Swiss broadcaster RTS. “I felt good this summer but I wasn’t sure how fast I was. I guess I know now how fast I am.”

Amandfa Seyfried gets a second mention from Twitchy, Amanda Seyfried Says Socialism Is a Gorgeous Idea Because She’ll Never Actually Have to Live Under It

Variety @Variety "Amanda Seyfried says “socialism is a gorgeous idea” as she grapples with the current state of America: "How about we all don’t have any kind of agendas? How about our agenda is take care of each other? I know [socialism] doesn’t work perfectly, or that people understand what the word actually means. For me, it’s taking care of each other. If I have more money, I can spend more money on other people""  Emily Zanotti @emzanotti, "Is the movie she’s (presumably) in that’s coming out…bad? Because this seems like a PR strategy." Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck, "When Amanda voluntarily hands 90% of her $ to the federal government, then she can have the credibility to actually make this stupid argument. It’s like a 4 year old writing economic policy before they realize how complicated the world actually is."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: In Honor Of Alice Cooper available for browsing at the usual place and time.

 

Tuesday Tanlines

HuffPo wonders Why Is Everyone In Trump World So Absurdly Tan? An Investigation.

I forgot to send my Rule 5s to the Wombat this week, but he still posted Rule 5 Sunday: Cheerful Bikini and FMJRA 2.0: Roster Like A Hole anyway. 

Random Celebrity News

For some values of "random," "celebrity" and "news."

Althouse notes, "Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, one of opera’s biggest stars, sued the Metropolitan Opera... alleging discrimination when the company dropped her after Russia invaded Ukraine."

"The suit... includes claims of national origin discrimination, breach of contract and defamation.... Met general manager Peter Gelb said at the time she 'is one of the greatest singers in Met history, but with Putin killing innocent victims in Ukraine, there was no way forward.' Netrebko had made several statements opposing the war and violence at the time of her ouster, but did not agree to Gelb’s request that she specifically condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to her suit..."

WaPo reports.

 Of course, forcing her to denounce Putin could make her return to Russia impossible, or even put her family in jeopardy.

OutKick continues their obsessions with Paige Spirinac and Donna D'Errico Paige Spiranac Is Giving Away Beer For Life, Donna D'Errico Celebrated National Underwear Day & Fight Night Broke Out In Cleveland  "Stuff You Guys Sent In & Stuff I Like :"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paige Spiranac (@_paige.renee)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Donna D'Errico (@donnaderrico)

Elena Rybakina

And Althouse again, "At Wimbledon earlier this summer, Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Shelby Rogers of the United States were among the first competitors to wear dark shorts under their tennis whites..."

"... as the All England Club finally relaxed its all-white rules in recognition of female menstrual reality. At the EuroHockey Championship later this month, shorts will be an option for every participant as well as the traditional skorts, and the decision about what to wear will be left up to each individual player. And some track and field competitors have swapped their bikini-like 'buns' for shorts and leggings in competition."

From "From the Women’s World Cup to Wimbledon, a Victory Everyone Can Share/Across sports, female athletes are fighting a battle over what they put on their bodies and how much of those bodies they display" (NYT).

We're prompted to ask: Wait, why are we doing things this way:

Hollywood in Toto,  Will Elon Musk Fight Disney on Gina Carano’s Behalf?

The man who oversees X (formerly Twitter) vowed to battle on behalf of those unfairly punished for their social media views.

“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk said. “No limit. Please let us know… and we won’t just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too.”

Musk is one of the world’s richest people, but even his deep pockets could take a hit from the declaration. Many people have faced punishment for their digital actions. The cases we hear about likely represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

One of the most prominent victims of social media culture quickly weighed in on the matter.
Gina Carano @ginacarano I think I qualify. Quote Tweet  Elon Musk@elonmusk "If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill. No limit. Please let us know."

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Potato On The Beach ready for prime time at the Other McCain.

Tattoo Thursday

Marketa Vondrousova

ESPN, Marketa Vondrousova to get strawberry tattoo after Wimbledon win

New Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who broke into the women's top 10 Monday, plans to celebrate her win by getting a matching strawberry tattoo alongside her coach.

The 24-year-old Czech player rose 32 places to 10th in the new WTA rankings after winning her first Grand Slam title with a stunning straight-sets victory over Ons Jabeur in Saturday's final.

She became the first unseeded player to win the women's singles title and said afterward that her coach, Jan Hernych, had pledged to get a matching tattoo in celebration.

"We talked before the tournament, and he said, 'Maybe if you win a Grand Slam, then I'll do it.' So this is happening," Vondrousova told a news conference, with the BBC reporting that the pair would visit a Prague tattoo parlor later this week.

Vondrousova, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, got the first of the many tattoos on her arms at 16 and has said that some have special significance, such as her lucky number, 13; the Olympic rings; and the quote "No rain, no flowers" above her right elbow, meaning success does not come easily.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Communication Failure up at The Other McCain on time and under budget.

Rule 5 Saturday - Genie Bouchard and the Wearing 'o the Green

At Outkick, Genie Bouchard Continues Annual Green St. Paddy’s Day Bikini Tradition

For most of us, St. Patrick’s day is about tipping back a few green beers and getting accosted for not wearing a green shirt. For Genie Bouchard, it’s all about green bikinis.

St. Patrick’s Day is for everyone to tip their caps to the great people of Ireland. As for this Canadian tennis star and Instagram bringer of heat, she had her o inimitable way.

This year, she wedged herself into a tree for an annual green bikini pic in honor of her fav holiday.

And what an annual green bikini pic in honor of her fav holiday it was.

I did some digging — because I am a professional journalist and owe it to the profession and you dear readers — to confirm that this is, in fact, an annual tradition.

As it turns out, Miss Bouchard was telling the truth.

Looks gray to me.

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Sanna Marin and FMJRA 2.0: So Let It Be Written, So Let It Be Done up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.

Tennis Star Shuts Down Reporter

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.31.23, Louder with Crowder, Victoria Azarenka shuts down reporter at Australian Open

Way too many sports journalismers want to push their leftist politics rather than report on sports. Covering sports is barely a marginal concern. It's an easy soundbite. Ask an athlete for an opinion on politics they may or may not follow and twist what they say to fit your agenda. Tennis star Victoria Azarenka has better idea. Tell the reporter to suck it.

At issue is the Australian Open and a pro-Russia demonstration. Fellow tennis star Novak Djokovic's father was photographed with some of the pro-Russia protesters. Djokovic, as you know, can't play in America even though he keeps winning tournaments because he won't get the schmaccine. His dad was photographed talking to a Russian. Russia is at war with Ukraine. The story involves all the current things!

Except for tennis. Which is why Azarenka is there.

Lots of athletes are finally catching on that left wing sports media ask them political questions so the left wing sports media members can write their own left wing political opinions. Here’s Azarenka calling that out: pic.twitter.com/w6DqNjPd4p

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) January 31, 2023

Bravo!

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Heather Lee O’Keefe ready as usual at The Other McCain.

The Slap Seen Round the World . . .

. . . overshadowed the only really interesting thing that happened at the Oscars the other night. NYPo, Venus Williams suffers wardrobe malfunction at Oscars

Venus Williams had a nip slip in the midst of Sunday’s chaotic 2022 Oscars show.

The tennis star, who wore a custom white, plunging Elie Saab gown, suffered the wardrobe malfunction while sitting in her seat alongside her sister Serena Williams. ABC cameras caught the fashion mishap, and fans on Twitter shared screen grabs that showed Williams holding her right arm over her chest. 

Minoan Snake Goddess

That dress call to mind old statues of the Minoan Snake Goddess.

“Oh my god and a Venus Williams nip slip. This Oscars has become an episode of ‘The Jersey Shore,'” one person tweeted.

While a such a fashion faux pas would dominate headlines on Oscars night, it was Venus’ friend, Will Smith, who stole the show.

I have no interest in the Oscars, and have only watched them as long as it takes to turn the knob on the old style TVs. 

But if you're interested in Venus's nipple, fortunately enough, she's done a nude photo shoot (NSFW) which you can find on Reddit.

15 Year Old Beats Venus

Serena and Coco shake hands after the match

It's good to see some new blood in women's tennis, not that there was anything wrong with the old blood: 'I'm literally living my dream': US 15-year-old Coco Gauff reveals how she wept 'for the first time since Ironman died in End Game' after BEATING Venus Williams, 39, to make history at Wimbledon

The 15-year-old schoolgirl who beat her idol Venus Williams at Wimbledon has said she is 'literally living my dream right now'.

Cori 'Coco' Gauff, 15, claimed victory against the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner, 39, on No. 1 court today - less than a week after finishing her exams. She beat the tennis legend, who had won four of her Grand Slam titles before she was even born, winning 6-4 6-4.

Now, can she beat the sister?

Speaking after the electrifying match, an emotional Gauff revealed her friends and family are ecstatic - including her coach and father Corey.

She said: 'I know [my parents] are super happy, my dad was just jumping up every time I won a point. I'm just so happy and blessed that they really just spent all their time on me and my brothers and making sure that we're successful.'

Coco has an interesting "concentration face"

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Cynthia Kirchner up on time and within budget.

Tennis Pro Penalized for on Court Strip Tease

Free the sports bra! U.S. Open Criticized for 'Sexist' Double Standard After Alizé Cornet Was Penalized for Briefly Taking Her Shirt Off

Alizé Cornet was penalized at the U.S. Open for quickly removing her shirt and putting it back on, a move from the Open that critics are calling sexist.

The chair umpire Christian Rask hit French player Cornet, who is ranked No. 31 in the world, with the code violation, effectively a warning in the sport, during her opening round match against Johanna Larsson on Tuesday.

Cornet’s code violation came during a scorcher in Flushing Meadows, Queens, on Tuesday. It was so sweltering at the U.S. that the heat rule was in effect, permitting players to take 10-minutes breaks to try to cool off and drink water after their second sets. Cornet was just returning from her 10-minute break when she appeared to realize her shirt was on backwards. And so Cornet, who was wearing a sports bra underneath, took it off to put back on correctly.

Thanking her 100,000 Instragam followers

Cornet was in disbelief and can be heard saying “Violation for what? Really?” in a video of the moment when the umpire stated the violation.

According to the official Women’s Tennis Association rulebook, a player is only allowed to change their clothes somewhere off of the court or during the end of a set, or during timeouts related to medical issues. Cornet changed her shirt between the second and third sets. She quickly returned to play the game after receiving the violation.

The penalty doesn’t affect the score, and Cornet ultimately lost to Larsson 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.

Critics online were quick to call out the punitive action, pointing out that male tennis players frequently take their shirts off to cope with the oppressive heat with no consequences. For instance, Novak Djovovic took his ice bath shirtless to try to cool down during their opening match on Tuesday.

I'm cool with allowing women tennis players to take off their shirts.

I just love the faces that tennis players get caught in:

Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links. Wombat-socho has Rule 5 Tuesday: Happy Birthday, Mitzi! up and awaiting your approval.

Rule 5 Saturday - Daniela Hantuchová

This week's Rule 5 special is Daniela Hantuchová

Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation: ; born 23 April 1983) is a retired tennis player from Slovakia. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA tournament, the Indian Wells Masters, defeating Martina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year's Wimbledon Championships and US Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the 2002 Fed Cup and the 2005 Hopman Cup.

Hantuchová reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in January 2003, after playing the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She has won seven WTA tournaments, including the Indian Wells Masters for a second time in 2007; with the 2015 Thailand Open being her last victory. She also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, her best finish in a Grand Slam. She defeated defending champion Serena Williams in the 3rd round of the 2006 Australian Open and world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the 3rd round of the 2011 French Open. Hantuchová became the 37th woman in the Open Era to reach 500 career wins when she beat Laura Robson in the second round of the Aegon Classic in June 2013 . . . Hantuchová announced her retirement from professional tennis on 6 July 2017.

It looks like she's done some modeling in her spare time.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Not Your Normal Graduation Picture" and "FMJRA 2.0: A Fortnight Late And A Few Hundred Farthings Short" ready for your viewing pleasure.

Tax for the Goose is Tax for the Gander

"Monica Seles' billionaire husband, 76, is refusing to pay the $90,000 tax bill at his Upstate New York lake house because of the never-ending goose poop on his lawn."

The fine print at The Daily Mail shows this man — Tom Golisano — is not as unsavory as the headline make him sound:

$90,000 is a pretty hefty property tax bill!

Golisano's stand over bird poop is just one part of his one-man protest campaign against a taxation system he believes is flawed and inequitable. He's pledging to file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other upstate homeowners who believe they are being overtaxed. And he recently launched a website, TaxMyPropertyFairly.com, to give ordinary taxpayers the tools to challenge their property tax bills.

Resident Canada Geese can be a big problem if you have a large grassy area. Goose shit is really unpleasant. Moreover, the geese are protected by the Migratory Bird Treat Act of 1918. which gives birds that (potenitally) migrate across national boundaries protection from harassment. If you're lucky, you might get the state to take notice, but probably not. I happen to know of a federal agency that routinely violates the act.

Golisano contends that tax assessors often lack the training, time and expertise to accurately assign property values that determine what share of the local tax collection each homeowner pays....

Certainly, one has to look at the assessments of property carefully. We have appealed ours on occasion, and always received a break. It seems like they were very happy to raise taxes during the real estate boom, and did not lower them appropriately after the housing bust reduced the value.

He said western New York is notorious for high property taxes. While his wife, tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles, pays about $4,000 a year in taxes on her New York City condo assessed at $800,000, Golisano said a home with that assessed value in Rochester-area Monroe County would have a $28,000 tax bill.Note the 2 completely different problems: 1. Determining the correct value to each particular house, and 2. The rate of taxation. #1 is only significant if the inaccuracy doesn't fall equally on particular homeowners. If everyone's house is assessed at, say, 25% more than the correct value, your beef is really only about the rate of taxation. But the bird-crap aspect of Golisano's complaint seems to suggest that he wants the value of his house lowered because of an individual problem and that he wants the assessors to be open to all kinds of arguments about particular flaws in this or that house, which could create inequities for people who don't have a big enough stake to fight over these idiosyncratic adjustments.

Well, you could move to red state; but please don't bring your blue state voting patterns.

By the way, I'm looking at a photograph of his house and it's really — to choose a random word — crappy. And why does a 44-year-old tennis great who married a 76-year-old billionaire have a condo in New York City that's only at the $800,000 level? $800,000 is enough to get a pretty ordinary studio in the Village or a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom place in uptown Manhattan. She married a billionaire 32 years older than she is! What's going on there? And he has a crappy, goose-crapped place in upstate New York and is getting his name in the paper for being cheap and entitled over his property taxes! Oh, Monica!

Well. maybe it's all they need, or they have a castle some place else, and Althouse, what business of yours is it who Monica marries? I don't deride you for marrying a blog commenter.

Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Hot Women In Snow" ready on time and within budget.

Rule 5 Saturday - Tennis Anyone? - Genie Bouchard, the Chosen One

This week's Rule 5 selection is:

Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian professional tennis player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Bouchard became the first Canadian-born player representing Canada to reach the finals of a Grand Slam in singles, finishing runner-up to Petra Kvitová. She also reached the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open and 2014 French Open, and won the 2012 Wimbledon girls' title. Following the end of the 2013 WTA Tour, she was named WTA Newcomer of the Year. The next year, Bouchard received the WTA Most Improved Player award for the 2014 season

This was interesting.

Bouchard started playing tennis at the age of five ... At age 12, she moved to Florida with her mother to be coached by Nick Saviano, where she met one of her best childhood friends, tennis player Laura Robson. From that time on, she was nicknamed "the chosen one" by her siblings. Her father established a limited partnership called "Tennis Mania" to support Eugenie's career. He and two investors contributed money to the partnership in exchange for 10 percent of Bouchard's future earnings when she would become a professional tennis player. In August 2013, a court ruled that the partnership has no legal claims as Eugenie, then a 9-year-old, could not have reasonably agreed to giving away parts of her future earnings. Her father had argued that the money he had put into the partnership before Eugenie turned pro was a business loss which would have meant a tax benefit for himself.

She's currently ranked 79th in women's singles tennis. And she's a good sport outside of tennis:

On February 6, 2017, during the Super Bowl LI match between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, Bouchard took to Twitter to predict the outcome of the game stating that Atlanta would win. A bet was proposed by a fan named John Goehrke in reply to her tweet with a proposal that Bouchard would go on a date with him if the Patriots would win the game. As it so happened, the New England Patriots went on to beat the Atlanta Falcons with a score of 34–28. She later released a statement on her Twitter handle quoting, "I will do it, I stay true to my word". The two subsequently went to watch a basketball game in Madison Square Garden. Bouchard paid for Goehrke's trip including flights and accommodation and in return he bought her a gift from Tiffany & Co. which she reported on her Snapchat account.

GOODSTUFFs CYBER WORLD continues on hiatus. Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: Not All That Obscure" and
"FMJRA 2.0: The Valley Road" up and ready for business.

Rule 5 Saturday - Boxing, Tennis and the Beach with Caroline Wozniacki

This week's Rule 5 post picks on Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish Tennis star:

From her WTA debut in 2005, she improved her year-end ranking each year until finishing on top in both 2010 and 2011. Wozniacki has won 23 WTA singles titles as of March 2015, three in 2008, three in 2009, six in 2010 (the most in a year by a WTA player from 2008–2011), six in 2011, two in 2012, one in 2013, one in 2014 and one in 2015. She was runner-up at the 2009 and 2014 US Opens and the 2010 WTA Tour Championships in Doha to Kim Clijsters. She won the 2006 Wimbledon Girls' Singles title but has yet to win a women's Grand Slam title. She also holds two WTA titles in doubles. In 2008, Wozniacki won the title of WTA Newcomer of the Year.

She first came to my attention when a minor controversy arose over her imitation of tennis comrade Serena Williams steatopygian form. Apparently the two have not had a falling out over the matter.


In 2015, Caroline modeled swimsuits for the SI Swimsuit Edition, and in 2016, will star in red paint.

Badass Caroline Wozniaki Loves Toning her arms by boxing and Ten gifs of Caroline Wozniaki.





In GOODSTUFFs BLOGGING MAGAZINE (246th Issue) Debbie Harry (Deborah Ann Harry) rocks the prodigious meta blog with far out science. Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sort of Blogless Sunday Pinup" and links. Wombat-socho has "Rule 5 Sunday: EDC Girls" and "FMJRA 2.0: Neuronengesang" up at The Other McCain.

Tennis Star Gets Two Year Vacation for Drug Use

Maria Sharapova Suspended For 2 Years For Doping I guess she'll just have to go back to relying on her good looks.

 Maria Sharapova was suspended for two years Wednesday for testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open.

The five-time Grand Slam champion was provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation in early March, when she announced at a news conference in Los Angeles that she failed a doping test in January.

We saw the beginning of this back in March, when it was announced she had been found to have violated the policy for taking the newly banned meldonium.

Sharapova said then she was not aware that the World Anti-Doping Agency had barred athletes from using meldonium, also known as mildronate, as of Jan. 1.

Her lawyer, John Haggerty, said Sharapova took the substance after that date.

Wednesday’s ruling said Sharapova did not intend to cheat, but bore “sole responsibility” and “very significant fault” for the positive test.

At the time, I thought both the recent banning of the substance, and it's relatively mild effect argued for a relatively lenient penalty. I still think that's true.

In addition to testing positive at the Australian Open, she also failed a test for meldonium in an out-of-competition control in Moscow on Feb. 2, the ITF said.

Sharapova vowed Wednesday to appeal the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“While the tribunal concluded correctly that I did not intentionally violate the anti-doping rules, I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension,” she wrote on Facebook. “The tribunal, whose members were selected by the ITF, agreed that I did not do anything intentionally wrong, yet they seek to keep me from playing tennis for two years. I will immediately appeal the suspension portion of this ruling to CAS, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

I think that two years is rather harsh. Given the relatively short career span of many top athletes, it's an effective career death sentence. I wish lawyers faced similar sanctions for malpractice.

She added that the ITF had asked the tribunal to suspend her for four years – the required suspension for an intentional violation.

Sharapova said she first was prescribed the Latvian-made drug, typically used for heart conditions, for medical reasons in 2006. She could have been barred from competing for up to four years.

The ITF ruling in Sharapova’s case follows a hearing before a three-person panel. Lawyers representing the ITF argued their side, while Haggerty argued hers. He said she spoke at the hearing.

The ban throws into doubt the on-court future of Sharapova, a 29-year-old Russian who is one of the most well-known — and, thanks to a wide array of endorsements — highest-earning athletes in the world.

Hopefully she has a good 401k, or the Russian equivalent. I suspect without the tennis gig, and with the ban in place, her value as a model will drop precipitously.

Meldonium increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.

In April, citing a lack of scientific evidence about how long the drug remains in a person’s system, WADA said that provisional suspensions may be lifted if it is determined that an athlete took meldonium before it went on the list of banned substances.

About 200 athletes tested positive for meldonium this year from various sports and countries — many, like Sharapova, were Russian — and some said the drug stayed in their systems for months even though they stopped using it in 2015.

But, according to Haggerty, that was not the case for Sharapova.

 The stuff sounds like a wonder drug.

A December 2015 study in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis argued that meldonium "demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions". It is opposing to steroids in the sense that instead of making the athlete emotionally unstable and readily irritable, it keeps them in an elevated state of mind and keeps their emotions in a happier state. When referring to central nervous system enhancements, it better activates the neurons in the CNS. This improves the messaging system throughout the body and, therefore, can increase reaction time for an athlete.

I wonder if it's covered by Medicare.

Wombat-socho has the grand "Rule 5 Sunday: Hit The Beach (Club)!" ready at The Other McCain.

Tennis Babe Banned for Doping

Maria Sharapova is suspended from tennis after failing drugs test: Admits she's been taking recently-banned substance for last ten years

The highest earning athlete in any female sport said that she had been found to have taken Mildronate – or Meldonium – which was prohibited from January 1 this year.

The International Tennis Federation has confirmed the star will be provisionally suspended from the sport March 12.

At a press conference which many assumed would be to announce her retirement after a spate of injuries, she delivered what is catastrophic news for her, the sport and women's tennis in particular. 

I think this is a big ado about not very much, as you can see, below, the ban on it was just announced this year, literally two months ago.

'I had legally been taking this for ten years,' said Sharapova, who conceded that she had received a notification from the International Tennis Federation on December 22 that it was being outlawed. She admitted that she did not follow an information link that was provided.

'I take responsibility for my professionalism in my job and I made a big mistake. I know there will be consequences and I don't want to end my career this way. I really hope I will be given another chance to play tennis again. I can't blame anyone but myself. I have let my fans down.

Good for her for stepping up.

'I know many of you thought I was retiring but if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would probably not be in a downtown Lost Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet.'

'It made me healthy and that is why I continued to take it,' Sharapova said of the banned substance after taking a small number of questions from the floor.

'I am still working through my injury and that is the reason I withdrew from Palm Springs, because I have still not healed my injury.

Asked if she knew what the consequences of her failed test may be, Sharapova added: 'I do not. This is very new for me, I just received the letter a few days ago and I will be working with the ITF.'

The full statement from the ITF made clear Sharapova accepted the charge against her.

It said: 'Following the statement made by Maria Sharapova in a press conference today, the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP) can confirm the following:

'On 26 January 2016, Ms Sharapova provided an anti-doping sample to the TADP in association with her participation in the 2016 Australian Open.

'That sample was analysed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory, which returned a positive for meldonium, which is a prohibited substance under the WADA Code and, therefore also the TADP.

'In accordance with Article 8.1.1 of the TADP, Ms Sharapova was charged on 2 March with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

WHAT IS MELDONIUM?

Meldonium, also known as Mildronate, was added to the new banned list of drugs last year, which came into place on January 1, 2016.

The drug was added to the list because the World Anti-Doping Agency said there 'evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.'

But then, anything that helps healing, reduces pain or cause mild stimulation can be taken by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance. There has to be a reasonable line between caffeine and cocaine and between aspirin and heroin.

WADA had been observing Meldonium in 2015, adding it to its 'monitoring programme' to determine its effects on athletic performance.

It is used medically to treat ischemia, or a lack of blood flow. It can be used as a metabolic enhancer to increase endurance through greater blood flow.

I think I could benefit!

The Institute of Biochemistry - Center for Preventive Doping Research, German Sport University Cologne said of the drug: 'Anti-ischemic drug Mildronate demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions.'

So does aspirin, ibuprofen or aleive. Are they banned?

Sharapova said she has been taking the drug since 2006 to aid in a variety of health problems.

On December 22 of last year, WADA sent out an email indicating what drugs would be banned starting in 2016 and Sharapova conceded that she received but did not read that email.

'Ms Sharapova has accepted the finding of meldonium in her sample collected on 26 January. 'As meldonium is a non-specified substance under the WADA (and, therefore, TADP) list of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods, Ms Sharapova will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case.'

 26 days into the ban!

In response to the announcement, Steve Simon, WTA chief executive, said: 'I am very saddened to hear this news about Maria. Maria is a leader and I have always known her to be a woman of great integrity.  'Nevertheless, as Maria acknowledged, it is every player's responsibility to know what they put in their body and to know if it is permissible.

'This matter is now in the hands of the Tennis Anti-Doping Program and its standard procedures. The WTA will support the decisions reached through this process.'

The 28 year-old faces a ban of several years, having been informed of the finding 'a few days ago'. She said that was unrelated to her withdrawal from the Indian Wells event this week, as she is presently injured anyway.

I would think, given the relatively recent banning of the substance, they should reinstate her quickly after a short period off the drug. And the old bastards should stop taking their pain and blood pressure meds, too.

Meanwhile, can we investigate this drug for use in the US?

As noted in the comments, GOODSTUFF is also blogging Maria. Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly "Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup" and linkfest. The mega-links from Wombat-socho, "Rule 5 Sunday: Looking Back, All I Did Was Look Away", is up at The Other McCain.