Braun tests positive for PED | Presser update pg. 42

[WEFFPIM]

Wait, politicians are corrupt?!?!

Signed,
Concerned Illinoisan

[El Duderino]

I'm not sure what the exact rules are but TH and others have said Braun can't speak out. I guess saying he's innocent is ok or having others say he will be found innocent ok but giving out details isn't. Personally I think that's b.s. Someone within baseball leaked this out and he shouldn't have to wait to speak out.

Yea, this was in a TH blog

But a source familiar with the situation told the Journal Sentinel that a second test requested by Braun was negative and was being used in the appeal process to overturn the first results. That source also indicated the banned substance was not a performance-enhancing drug.

If true about the second test, i wonder just how strong that can be in his defense? How soon say after a initial test is a second one done?

Given that pretty much everyone else who who has been caught for PED's denied it initially, and often forcefully denied the charges, only until later on the denials proved to ring hollow, i'm skeptical to say the least. That said, if by some slim chance there was a mistake or whatever could have happened which wrongly flagged Braun and he actually can show innocence, man will have ESPN screwed over Ryan big time because a certain percentage of fans won't believe in the process which exonerated him.

[El Duderino]

I got the impression that the second test was taken well after the first test. From what I read, Braun had to give a urine sample at the start to the playoffs. He then proceeded to give a urine sample after being notified of his positive test, which was at the end of October. Sounds like more than 7-10 days.

What i don't get is, why couldn't a second test be run on the initial sample which was taken? Or does a second sample have to be taken to see if a potential mistake was made the first time?

If the amount of potential PED's in an athletes system degrades with each day that goes by, any second sample not take near immediately after the first would seem to benefit the athlete, thus making that second test much less relevant? So if say any athlete is flagged as a user, but truly felt he was innocent and wanted a second test, it would seem that the first test should be done soon enough so that a second test could be done before it's largely irrelevant.

[Turk Nowitzki]

This Cubs fan came into my work tonight and was talking about this and I had doubt in my mind he was messing with me.

[emunney]

Wait, so it was not a PED according to TH's source? Did he eat a poppy seed muffin or what?

[Turk Nowitzki]

Not much left to say that hasn't already been said, just have to wait and see how this plays out. Regardless, his reputation will be tarnished.

[bigkurty]

My guess is that brauns people are bringing evidence to show that if his initial level was at a certain level and his second test was completely negative and the body eliminates the process at x rate, then the first test couldn't be true. Kind of like how the body eliminates alcohol at a certain rate. However everyone does eliminate drugs out of their body at different rates so that defense might not work. I hope to God he is innocent and the whole thing does not make sense given he has been clean for his whole career but ultimately I am expecting the worst. People have been wrongly convicted of everything in he past and I am praying for Braun but the odds are sadly stacked against him. He seemingly has too much to lose to knowingly do it but no matter what the results, he will have to live with the consequences even if found innocent. Every park is going to be chanting "steroids" every at bat next year.

Btw, I don't care how ripped he is, millions of clean people are ripped without taking roids so I don't think his fitness level and being trim makes him likely to have done this. Most people who habitually take steroids are trying to get huge like Bonds or McGuire or elite body builders. Braun does not have anything close to that body type even if he is ripped. If that's the case, I suppose donald driver, al Harris, Woodson, every college and high school wrestler who is elite, myself when I was 16-22 years old was doing roids.

[dedned]

LaRussa probably switched Pujols' urine sample with Bruan's.

[NeedsMoreCheese]

Just sign Manny to fill in for the first 50 games

[paulpressey25]

Braun has a way out of this if he is innocent.

Tell ESPN that he''ll agree submit a test to an ESPN approved lab every single month of the season next year, starting January 1st. Tell ESPN they are free to report on the test results every month.

If I were truly innocent, that's what I'd do.

Yet the only guy who has ever thought of that route was Sammy Sosa. But when it came time to take the public test, he backed down from doing it.

[coolhandluke121]

I am far more surprised anyone is actually in disbelief about this.

I just assumed. It's like the people who are in denial about Clay Matthews being on something.

This is sort of an ongoing argument between Newz and Luke, right? Really a shame that so many other people are getting dragged into it.

This post could have been crafted a little more carefully, but I agree with the premise. It's basically like people are saying the fact Braun seems like a great guy is reason enough to be shocked, but in reality I don't think being a great guy has much to do with it at all. I think there's also a tendency to give the home team player the benefit of doubt, which makes no sense really.

Saying that many MLB players are on steroids or HGH is a lot like saying that many NBA players are going to end up being bad contracts. Most people know it, but if you're calling out the home team and the fans arent ready for it all logic and common sense goes out the window. Just look at how Newz, InsideOut, and I were attacked on the Bucks board in the summer of 2010 if you don't believe me.

[paulpressey25]

People here just need time to adjust to the news. Braun was considered such a perfect superstar. We just don't have that type of thing on the Brewers.

And now you read the other teams boards and they are all over us. Even the damn Laker board had a thread asking for Kemp to be given the MVP now. One guy on a different forum posted "I knew something had to be wrong for the Brewers to win the division like they did. MF Cheaters. Strip the division title from them, etc,etc"

You just can't spin this well for us. That's why Braun should do the espn testing gambit if he's truly clean. Only way out of this. Otherwise he's going to be put in the Giambi, Brady Anderson, Lance Armstrong box for the rest of his career.

[emunney]

I tend to suspect everybody at the top of their sports.

I don't think Braun's physique is that ridiculous where it'd make him more suspicious than Matt Kemp or certainly Pujols (not to mention the average NFLer or LeBron/Dwight/Wade). And his career trajectory is such that he'd have pretty much have to have been always doing them, yet this is the first rumored positive test.

One thing I find interesting about this is the amount of hate that national writers seem to have stored up for Braun. It's like they they've been constipated with Braun jokes for years.

[WEFFPIM]

I woke up today still frustrated beyond belief about this.

[ReasonablySober]

Source: Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug.

[MikeIsGood]

I woke up today still frustrated beyond belief about this.

And in disbelief.

P.S. Glad I didn't read this all last night.

[dbrodz7]

Haurdicourt the bearer of good news this afternoon http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/135405518.html

[coolhandluke121]

http://media.photobucket.com/image/ryan ... Braun1.jpg

http://www.millerparkdrunk.com/wp-conte ... casual.jpg

Not sure how old these are, but Braun has been a superstar from day 1 so clearly he doesn't need roids to be great. He does lose points for shaving his chest though.

[ReasonablySober]

The only banned substances MLB doesn't consider PEDs are drugs of abuse. Stimulants in own category. Everything else falls under PED domain.

[Newz]

Damn... so you get 50 games if you smoke some weed?