China Links

Well the Padres are in China.  Let's see what's going on over there.

• I always thought that if an athlete blamed their steroid suspension on contaminated supplements that they were lying.  Turns out they really are contaminated.  You know who's contaminating them?  China!  Read for yourself.  Nutritional Supplements do contain steroids:  
  But a recent study showed that the tainted supplement excuse is no mythical homework-eating dog. Twenty-five percent of 58 supplement samples purchased from popular retail outlets and Internet sites showed the presence of steroid contamination, according to Informed-Choice, a nonprofit partnership between supplement companies and an anti-doping lab. The study was funded by the supplement companies.
  The question is how the banned substances get in the products. One theory is that some companies are eager to grab a share of that market and do so by spiking muscle-building products with ingredients that will work exceptionally.

  "They put tainted products knowingly on the shelves to get the user to come back to that product," said David Cornwell

• Blogging from China:  The Padres vacation has started.  They rented a 747 for 100 people.  They are staying at a 5 star hotel and getting massages as we speak.  So far the players love the Chinese culture.
• US: Olympic Host China Lacks Freedoms:  The State Department says -- "China is still among the world's human rights abusers despite rapid economic growth that has transformed large parts of Chinese society."
  The report gives a chilling account of alleged torture, including the use of electric shocks, beatings, shackles, and other forms of abuse. It also says that forced relocations went up last year with people pushed out of their homes to make way for Olympic projects in Beijing.
• Corey Brock is in China and blogging his heart out:
  Talk about smooth sailing, wow. It was essentially like riding in first class, complete with wine, good food (again, see picture) and a portable video player where you can choose games, TV shows and, of course, a handful of movies. I knocked off Gone Baby Gone and Michael Clayton while passing the flight that was 13-plus hours, door-to-door. No this wasn't a trip on Southwest by any means.

  People mostly passed the time by sleeping, though some watched movies, players played cards and at least one Padre, Scott Hairston, who was hit in the arm by a pitch Tuesday night, had treatment on the plane by assistant trainer Paul Navarro. Treatment at 40,000 feet, how nice.

• This is probably my favorite link of them all. I can't wait to see who gets put on the DL for an STD. Yahoo Sports:
  Team brass has done its best to nip any shenanigans in the bud, primarily by trying to frighten the players into submission. Postings in the Padres spring training clubhouse included the following warnings:

  Syphilis is on the rise in China. … Infection rates have increased six-fold over the past few years.

  The not-so-subtle message: Keep your pants on.

  Update [2008-3-12 18:0:37 by jbox]:

• Darren Smith from Mighty XX is blogging from China. I remember him saying that he was going to bring peanut butter and jelly and stay away from all the other Chinese food.
• A Giants fan, Jeff Swiryn, an American living in China will be blogging from the games.