Prominent trainers cited for horse doping

All seven of the top horse trainers leading the national earnings list faced penalties for horses testing positive for ephedrine, bicarbonate loading or powerful painkillers in the past decade, a San Diego Union-Tribune investigation found. Reporter Brent Schrotenboer checked records for 20 successful trainers in Southern California; 12 had violations, including some in 2006. Trainers debate whether stringent testing rules penalize legitimate treatments or whether unethical practices are widespread.

Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on an investigation into hundreds of news reports and public records since 2000 to compile an unofficial list of 308 arrests and citations involving NFL players for all offenses except speeding tickets. The paper "found that the league's biggest problems with the law are in many ways just as ordinary: drunken driving, traffic stops and repeat offenders. In addition, contrary to public perception, the arrest rate among NFL players is less than that of the general population, and fueled by many of the same dynamics, analysts say."

ESPN.com investigative sports reporter Mike Fish reports on Greg Anderson, the personal trainer whose testimony prosecutors believe could put Barry Bonds behind bars and, in turn, derail his record home run chase. Federal prosecutors "convinced U.S. District Judge William Alsup that Anderson's cooperation is pivotal to their ability to indict [Barry Bonds]. Because Anderson isn't talking despite being subpoenaed to appear before two grand juries, he remains locked up for contempt of court." Anderson will remain behind bars until the grand jury session is scheduled to end in July, unless the U.S Attorney grants a six-month extension.

Steve Weiberg and Jodi Upton of USA Today looked at the salaries of men's Division I basketball coaches. "USA Today obtained contracts or other documents detailing salaries for coaches at 58 of the 65 schools in the 2006 tournament field. Their average salary this season: nearly $800,000. In the six marquee conferences

As spring training opens around baseball, Mike Fish of ESPN.com takes a two-day look at the state of Major League Baseball's fight against performance-enhancing drugs in the Dominican Republic with a series of stories and reports. (The articles are also available in Spanish.)

Mike Fish of ESPN.com reports that Mack Henry "Hank" Sloan, who runs an Atlanta clinic with a clientele of sports stars, is under investigation for allegedly practicing medicine without a license. "The 36-year-old Sloan calls himself a naturopath, a practitioner of a medical discipline that emphasizes holistic approaches to enhance the body's innate ability to recover. Naturopathy is licensed in only 14 states, but not Georgia." Fish reports that some high-profile patients were not aware that "Dr. Sloan" is not a licensed physician. Sports medicine experts also question Sloan's treatments to speed athletes' recovery.

Thomas Hargrove of Scripps Howard News Service found that the average weight of NFL athletes dropped more than a pound last year,
reversing a 20-year trend in which pro football's behemoths steadily gained
bulk at the rate of more than a pound per man per year. According to the Scripps Howard News Service study of the official rosters of 1,739 active players, 19 of the NFL's 32 teams are lighter than they were a year ago. "The total number of really big players who weigh 325
pounds or more has dropped from 95 in 2005 to 85 on the current rosters." This year the two lightest teams in the NFL - the Indianapolis
Colts and the Chicago Bears - will face each other in Sunday's Super Bowl. The study also found that the total number of really big players who weigh 325
pounds or more has dropped from 95 in 2005 to 85 on the current rosters. Also see the team-by-team analysis.

Jodi Upton and Steve Wieberg of USA Today have taken an extensive look at the contracts of NCAA Division 1-A football coaches. "Head coaches at the NCAA's top-level schools are making an average of $950,000 this year, not counting benefits, incentives, subsidized housing or any of the perks they routinely receive. At least 42 of the 119 Division I-A coaches are earning $1 million or more this year, up from five in 1999." These lush contracts include far more than a base salary. The perks range from use of private jets to vacation homes and family travel accounts. Media and apparel contracts have also fed the salary explosions. Included as part of the story is a multi-sortable database that is also a table of contents to 100 of the contracts themselves.

Jill Riepenhoff and Mike Wagner of The Columbus Dispatch "collected and analyzed police incident reports to gauge behavior that broke [Big Ten] school rules or criminal laws inside stadiums and to examine police response. More than 4.8 million fans flooded the conference's 11 football stadiums during the [2005] season." Of the almost 1400 incidents reported, alcohol possession and consumption accounted for nearly three-quarters of them.

Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune looks at the cost of community college football programs in the state of California. There are 72 community college programs in the state of California versus 68 in the rest of the US. Some argue that they cost the state at the expense of academics. "For those that did provide football budgets, expenses exceeded revenue by an average of about $70,000 per year. If that average held for all 72 schools, it would put the cost to the state in excess of $5 million a year." While the football programs continue to be subsidized by state funds, the same schools are having to rely on part-time faculty "who get paid less and are classified as temporary." Advocates argue that the football programs actually make money for the schools because "each full-time student equivalent brings in about $4,000 to cover the cost of his or her education...A football team of 100 could bring a community college $400,000 in public subsidies, mostly from local property taxes and the state general fund. "