Monday, December 08, 2014
No Holds Barred: Dr. Margaret Goodman On Her Novel 'Death In Vegas'
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman once again spoke with the neurologist, the former chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, and the president and board chairman of VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, Dr. Margaret Goodman.
Stepping into yet another role, she is the author of the new novel, "Death in Vegas". This fictional story combines drama, romance, and intrigue in an expose of the many real behind-the-scenes facets of corruption in boxing. Written to appeal to both men and women, it is a page-turner with twists and turns, but a message to tell as well. It is an entertaining and worthwhile read for anyone interested in the many issues facing boxing and the combat sports as a whole.
We spoke with Dr. Margaret Goodman by phone Sunday.
"I love the sport of boxing, as I think you can figure that out from this book," she said. "I do love the fighters. I hate the corruption that goes on in the sport. I hate the fact that not enough is not being done. You yourself are an advocate for combat sports, and so that's what I try to be at all times in my career in boxing and MMA."
Stating that it would be "impossible" for various reasons for her to write a successful non-fiction book, she said, "I wanted to use this opportunity to talk about all of the inadequacies in the sport, how the sport could be made so much better for the fighters, and I wanted to bring a new audience."
We discussed more about the particulars of this story, and how its aim is to "give respect to all the fighters out there."
But we also delved into many of the real issues raised in the book, including the need for some type of national commission to regulate combat sports like boxing and MMA, as well as the need for fighters to have their own union.
Her former role as a ringside physician and present role in VADA have made her particularly aware that, even today, performance-enhancing drugs are, she said, "rampant" in the combat sports. The issues of head trauma, concussions and sub-concussive trauma, brain damage, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy as well as what age youth should start participating in these sports, including tackle football, were also discussed.
One area that requires new attention is the level of damage caused by chokes in sports like MMA, jiu-jitsu, and various styles of grappling and wrestling. Dr. Goodman said much more study is needed, but suggested that just like medical suspensions are handed out for getting knocked out, perhaps it is time to start considering issuing medical suspensions for getting choked out. While short-term damage from chokes appears anecdotally to be relatively minor, asked whether it is scientifically known if there is long-term damage from repeatedly being choked out, she replied, we "don't have the answer yet.... We don't know."
We also discussed more on the characters in the book, how she would like to write a novel in a similar vein on MMA, and much, much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.
Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.
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Labels: boxing, concussions, CTE, Death In Vegas, doping, drugs, Eddie Goldman, Margaret Goodman, MMA, No Holds Barred, PED
Sunday, January 12, 2014
No Holds Barred: Kizer and A-Rod Out, Jessica Aguilar-Alida Gray at WSOF 8
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman opens with a commentary on the resignation of Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer, how this relates to the suspension of baseball drug cheat Alex Rodriguez, how most sports and those regulated by North American athletic commissions are moving in opposite directions on the issue of doping, and the continuing dangers of concussions and brain injuries in combat sports.
On Saturday, January 18, American Top Team fighter Jessica Aguilar, who is the world's top-ranked MMA fighter in the women's 115-pound division, will make her debut in the World Series of Fighting promotion. Her opponent will be Alida Gray, 4-0 in MMA, in a bout for World Series of Fighting's inaugural women's strawweight title. This fight will be on the WSOF 8 card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, and will be telecast live in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network.
We had a chance to ask questions of both Jessica Aguilar and Alida Gray on this past week's WSOF 8 media conference call, and play the audio from that discussion.
In addition, also discussed are the continuing failures of the sport of wrestling to market and promote the sport, especially through television, and the emulation of many in combat sports of the worst elements in them, rather than striving for positioning them as real sports.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
GrappleGnostic, sponsored by Defense Soap. Where the will to win meets the power of knowledge. Features, interviews, analysis, health tips, and information on wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and all the grappling arts, written by some of the best writers and experts in the world. Check out their web site, a http://defensesoap.com/grapplegnostic.
Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at http://defensesoap.com.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: A-Rod, Alex Rodriguez, Alida Gray, concussions, CTE, doping, drugs, Eddie Goldman, Jessica Aguilar, Keith Kizer, MMA, No Holds Barred, PED, steroids, World Series Fighting, wrestling, WSOF
Monday, January 23, 2012
No Holds Barred: King Mo Lawal and Mike Kogan Discuss Steroids and Supplements
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with mixed martial arts fighter and former elite freestyle and college wrestler "King" Mo Lawal, and his manager, Mike Kogan.
On Tuesday, January 17, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that "King" Mo has tested positive for the banned steroid drostanolone, also known as Masteron, following his January 7 Strikeforce fight, a TKO victory over Lorenz Larkin. Since then, both "King" Mo and Mike Kogan have maintained that he has never knowingly taken any performance enhancing drug.
After carefully reviewing the supplements he had been taking, all purchased through public retailers, and investigating the history of all of them, they now believe that this positive drug test was the result of taking a mislabeled over-the-counter supplement. They plan to name publicly this supplement as soon as possible.
We spoke with both "King" Mo Lawal and Mike Kogan by phone late Sunday night about this terrible situation. They stressed that they have nothing to hide, want to be one hundred percent transparent, and will abide by the decision of the Nevada State Athletic Commission when they have a hearing on this matter, which will probably be in March. "King" Mo described how this mess has affected him, although he said that the outpouring of support for him and his background in wrestling have helped him get through this. He also said that he is willing to work with VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, which conducts random and unannounced urine and blood tests of athletes, unlike the weaker testing done by the various athletic commissions. We discussed what could be done to deal with this problem of unregulated supplements being so widely available, the need for some type of independent certification and testing of these supplements, what fight promotions can do in the battle against doping, and more.
In addition, we open with a commentary on one of the key sources of this problem: the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), which prohibits the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from testing and approving these types of supplements before they reach the market. This law, passed by politicians of both major U.S. political parties following extensive lobbying by the supplement industry, never should have been passed and needs to be changed now before it does any more harm to the public, athletes of course included.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
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American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Labels: doping, drugs, Eddie Goldman, King Mo Lawal, Mike Kogan, MMA, No Holds Barred, PED, steroids
