Blushing Virgin

Investigators Reveal Alexei Cherepanov Was Doping Upon Death

The hockey world was shocked a few months ago when it was announced that Alexei Cherepanov, New York Rangers’ top prospect and Russian phenom, collapsed during a match in the KHL and passed away from a rare heart condition.

It was shocked even more today when TSN released a report saying that Russian investigators found traces of performance-enhancing drugs in Cherepanov’s urine and blood samples that they took after his death.

Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee said a chemical analysis of the samples allowed experts to conclude “that for several months Alexei Cherepanov engaged in doping.”

(TSN.ca)

The woman who reported this refused to release what drugs they found in him, but did specify that it was performance-enhancing.

“If besides the inherited heart problem, if there was something…used and abused, it is unfortunate and it should not put a shadow over this tragedy,” a Rangers’ top scout said (CBC.ca).

I am not normally one to believe everything I read, but after looking at Cherepanov’s career, it does indeed make sense that this is true.

One of the negatives that scouts found with Alexei “The Siberian Express” Cherepanov was that he lacked work ethic. Cherry was not always willing to work hard to get to the physical point that he needed to be at in order to play in the NHL.

So how does he fix it? Performance-enhancing drugs may make sense.

Drugs that athletes use to make them better are horrible for the body. They’re horrible not just to those body parts that can’t be named, but for the nervous system, among other parts.

Cherepanov was said to have had a rare heart disease called Myocarditis, in which not enough blood goes to the heart. This disease is very hard for doctors to pick up on, especially before it is full-blown.

Could the drugs have affected his body so much that it helped to develop this disease that ultimately resulted in his death?

Perhaps so, but we will never know for sure.

Alexei Cherepanov’s apparent usage of performance-enhancing drugs shows just how dangerous it is for those illegal substances to be used.

He was a phenomenal young player, without a doubt. But steroids do not make a player incredible, they simply help.

“Cherry” was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him—a life that included a great hockey career in a historic organization—and lost it all, perhaps due to his lack of effort, ultimately resulting in his usage of performance-enhancing drugs.

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To every child out there trying to become a better athlete, I hope you look at this story and realize it is just not worth it to do it the wrong way.

A side note: Starting on Jan. 1, I will be on vacation until Jan. 8. If any member of the community needs anything, please contact Ken Armer or Bryan Thiel. I will have access to email, but not often. Keep up the good writing, I will catch up on everything when I return!

Alan Bass is a Senior Writer for Bleacher Report and the Community Leader for the NHL and Philadelphia Flyers’ section. He is also the co-host of NHL 2Day, a weekly radio show on Youcastr.com. You can contact him at ALN424@aol.com. You can also check out his BR archives here.

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The Seventh Night of Hanukkah: Maneschewitz Granita

From Recipes

That I love Maneschewitz is a vast understatement. It is cheap, and it tastes like spiked Concord grape candy.

I am invited by my best friend’s parents every year for the Jewish New Year, and every year, to the hostess’s chagrin, I bring an enormous bottle of this sweet kosher wine. And every year, it is drunk to the last drop (in more ways than one).

This recipe provides a new way to dress up this old kosher standby, by freezing it into sweet, alcoholic, garnet-colored snowflakes. This recipe has one ingredient, and one step. And it has wow-factor and whimsy. L’chaim!

About the author: Kerry Saretsky is a Serious Eats intern and the creator of French Revolution Food, where she reinvents her family’s classic French recipes in a fresh, chic, modern way.

Maneschewitz Granita

- serves 6 to 8 -

Ingredients

1 750-ml bottle of Maneschewitz Concord Grape Kosher Wine

Procedure

Decant the wine into a square 8 inch by 8 inch glass pan, and place in the freezer. After 2 hours, use a fork to scrape down the ice crystals that form in the wine, creating a snow-cone consistency. Repeat over the course of 6 hours. Serve in chilled wine or martini glasses.

Butterbean

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SXSW Update: Primal Scream, St. Vincent, and Beach House

image from sxsw’s websitewhile you were away at your family get-together or taking a much needed break from outrageous internet convention this holiday season, sxsw announced a invest in of confirmed bands playing the commemoration next year, including primal scream, unreserved fires, and ra ra riot. st. vincent, beach house, bonnie prince billy, black lips, and dappled cities are good a few of the other confirmed names we’re already getting excited for. there is a fairly extensive list on do512’s blog containing rumored as jet as confirmed artists.

The 2009 edition of SXSW Music takes place in Austin, TX from March 18th to March 22nd. Keynote Speaker Quincy Jones will address the masses on March 19th.

[SXSW Official] [SXSW MySpace] [Sign up for The Daily Chord] [Submit Music Panel ideas] [Subscribe to the SXSW Music Blog]

Follow the jump for a comprehensive list of confirmed SXSW ‘09 acts as of December 26th.

These Arms Are Snakes Past Lives Human Highway Cotton Jones The Coathangers Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele St. Vincent Beach House Bonnie Prince Billy Anni Rossi Future Of The Left White Lies Passion Pit B.o.B. Sage Francis Monica Giraldo Quincy Jones Black Lips Youth Group Dappled Cities Blue King Brown The Boat People The Fumes An Horse Birds of Tokyo The Drones Kid Confucius Infusion

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DENVER, Colorado (CNN) — Early indications show no problems with the landing gear, tires or brakes on the Continental Airlines jet that veered off a runway at Denver International Airport in Colorado, despite earlier reports.

Pit doherty

The wreckage of the Continental Airlines plane sits in a ravine December 22 in Denver, Colorado.

"There’s no indication from the physical examination on the scene of brake problems at this time," said Robert Sumwalt, a National Transportation Safety Board member leading the investigation team.

Saturday’s accident injured more than three dozen people, including the captain who piloted the plane.

Sumwalt said preliminary evidence indicated no problems with the Boeing 737’s landing gear, tires or engines before the jet ran off the runway into a 40-foot-deep ravine during its take-off roll.

Earlier Monday, a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that early indications suggested that a problem with the landing gear, tire or brakes may have caused the accident.

The source said the problem could have caused a wheel to lock up or some other situation that would have made the plane veer off as it headed down the runway.

Watch what NTSB official has to say about flight recorders »

"The brakes showed no leaks, no locked brakes," Sumwalt told reporters late Monday, adding that the brake pads "looked good."

He said tire marks indicate that all four main landing gear were inflated. The weather was clear, and no obstacles were on the runway, he said.

The accident injured 38 people, most from bruises and broken bones as frightened passengers tried to flee a fire that broke out on board Flight 1404. No fatalities were reported.

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Sumwalt said the captain, an 11-year veteran of Continental, was injured in the accident and "not physically able" to be interviewed yet. But an investigator interviewed the first officer, who told them that the initial take-off roll and taxi was normal. The the co-pilot "noticed a deviation from the center line of the runway and a sudden left turn," Sumwalt said.

An off-duty crew that flew the aircraft into Denver before the Saturday flight to Houston was also on board. The first officer from that crew said there was "absolutely no problem with the aircraft" during the previous flight.

Sumwalt said the cockpit voice recorder "shows nothing out of the ordinary" during the preflight operations. He said the recording revealed that 41 seconds after the brakes were released, there were sounds of bumping a

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A Big Fat “Who Cares”

slacken up on, people. we could never “not care” down sarah palin. it’s just not possible. she’s a walking nair commercial, remember? and we loved her protracted before anybody thought she was vice presidential material. well a month before at least. anyway, the big fat “who cares” in this case goes to former president george h.w. bush, who in …

Sexiest Cover Girl: Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston? (Photos)

Office space

angelina jolie graces the cover of german cosmopolitan for their january 2009 issue. her dull hair against the blues gives her a determined look, not at all like the cover photos we have seen recently of jennifer aniston. we’ve included some of jen’s recent covers, just because of comparability sake. angelina is stunning in a strongly lascivious …
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(CNN) — Forty years ago this week, three men in a tiny spacecraft slipped their earthly bonds and traveled where no one else had before, circling the moon 10 times and bringing back an iconic image of a blue-and-white Earth in the distance, solitary but bound as one against the black vastness beyond.

Host Nick Clooney (left) and astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders answer questions in October.

more photos »

The voyage of Apollo 8 from December 21-27, 1968, marked humans’ first venture to another heavenly body.

"We were flying to the moon for the first time," said Jim Lovell, one of the three astronauts aboard the historic flight. "Seeing the far side of the moon for the first time. Coming around and seeing the Earth as it really is — a small fragile planet with a rather normal star, our sun."

But beyond the monumental aspects of such a scientific achievement, the feat was a major psychological and emotional boost for many Americans at the end of a particularly bad year in U.S. history.

The Tet offensive in January 1968 had left many Americans shocked and doubting that victory in Vietnam was possible. In April, the Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated, and streets throughout the nation erupted in fire and fury. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down two months later.

That summer, the nation watched in horror as police and anti-war protesters battled in the streets of Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.

The launch of Apollo 7 in October was a major victory for NASA, putting the space program back on track after a 22-month interruption because of a launch pad fire that had killed three astronauts in January 1967.

Cbsnews.com

Then came Apollo 8.

Gallery: Images of the Apollo 8 mission »

"Providence happened to put everything together at the end of the year to give the American public an uplift after what had been a poor year," Lovell told CNN on Monday.

Reaching the moon was "a big psychological step," said Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham.

"The public said, ‘Hey, human beings are going to another body in the solar system,’ " Cunningham told CNN in a telephone interview from his home in Houston, Texas.

The mission produced one of the most famous photos from the space program, showing a large chunk of gray moon in the foreground and a dappled blue-and-white, three-quarter Earth rising in the distance.

Apollo 8 also produced what to many was one of the most inspirational and soothing moments in history when Lovell and crewmates Frank Borman and William A. Anders took turns reading from the Book of Genesis. It was Christmas Eve and the whole world was watching. NASA said at the time it was expected to be the largest TV audience to date.

The astronauts signed off with these words: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas and God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth."

The timing could not have been better, Lovell said.

"It happened that it all jelled," he said by telephone. "The fact that we circled the moon on Christma

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Week in Review: Venice Prefab, XTEN in Hollywood Hills, Silver Lake Pathway, LAUSD Razing Echo Park, And Goodbye, Century Plaza

click the image heavens to view the full photogallery.

VENICE: A prefab rises in Venice. New York-based Resolution: 4 Architecture, one of the leaders of the prefab movement, is behind this latest project.

HOLLYWOOD HILLS: Take a tour of designer Randolph Duke’s home, a residence done by local firm XTEN Architecture that’s now on the market for a mere $8.25 million.

SILVER LAKE: Joggers and walkers can enjoy themselves without fear of being run over by cars, but what will they do to get the adrenalin rush now? We took a tour of the new walkway at the SIlver Lake pathway, which opens on Saturday.

ECHO PARK: It was hard to watch. Demolition began last week on 40 homes around Alvardo and Sunset, work that’s being done to make way for a new elementary school. Whether this new school is needed is debatable.

CENTURY CITY: Hey, shiny fellas. A developer wants to tear down the famed Century Plaza hotel and put up a hotel/condo combination. Preservationists are worried, the Mayor has already signed off on the project, and developers are saying it’ll take three years to get entitlements.

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Baltimore Ravens NFL Team Highlights DVD for sale

nflclassifieds: listed;baltimore ravens nfl team highlights dvd for exchangenfl team highlights 2003-04 - baltimore ravensfrom warner core video levitra ohne rezeptthese nfl films produced highlight dvds take fans on the nfl drum coaster ride each week, from plan 1 through the team’s playoff campaign. the dvds recap the 2003-04 campaign, as well as provide a look at the upcoming 2004-05 mellow.this 2003-04 - baltimore ravens dvd is no longer in production and require soon become a highly sought after collectors item as even age, they are hard to find. in deed, at the time of this post, nfl classifieds has only been superior to find 12 twelve of these dvds available benefit of purchase through amazon.com.prices range from $2.74 + $2.98shipping for a “very good” used dvd. to a “like-reborn collectible” dvd for $19.79 + $2.98shipping.regardless of which dvd you make up one’s mind is right for you, one thing is achat cialis for sure. if the baltimore ravens exhausted the dallas cowboys this weekend in dallas, these dvds on not matrix until christmas. so get yours today!details* amazon sales rank: #88661 in dvd* brand: gang marketing* released on: 2004-09-28* rating: nr (not rated)* aspect ratio: 1.33:1* formats: closed-captioned, color, dvd-video, ntsc* original language: english* number of discs: 1* dimensions: .0″ h x .0″ w x .0″ l, 1.00 pounds* running someday: 22 minutesfeatures* officially licensed* highest importance recordingamazon relationship: nfl team highlights 2003-04 - baltimore ravens dvd from warner adept in video—reciprocal:—additional links:—baltimore raven good copy and stats sites:

Dallas cowboys radio broadcast

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Assist Man

Not many sophomores get the accolades heaped on them that Victor volleyball player Cory Phillips has in just two short years of playing on the varsity for the Blue Devils. Count 2008 Daily Messenger Boys Volleyball Player of the Year among those awards for the quiet unassuming Phillips who finds it difficult being the center of attention when he is surrounded by what he calls “a lot of great guys on this team.” “I’m just a part of this team,” said Phillips who averaged 27 assists per match. “I mean with guys like Robbie (Page), Matt (Elgin) and Dan (Glamack) how could you not look good?”When asked to name a high point of the season, Phillips — who was the Section 5 tournament MVP and a second-team All-Monroe County selection — didn’t hesitate in coming up with an answer.“I can’t even describe the feeling we all got at winning the Regionals,” he said. “It felt great. I just couldn’t stop grinning.”The Blue Devils rode the wave of an incredible season, including beating their nemesis, the Midlakes Screaming Eagles, in the sectional finals. It would have been nice to see them get a chance to go after a state championship, but alas, no such thing exists for boys volleyball in New York. “Given the circumstances in that the Regionals were as far as we could have gone is a bit disappointing,” Phillips said. “With this team we would have had a good chance of winning it all. It wouldn’t have been easy and it certainly wouldn’t have been handed to us. But I felt that if we continued to work hard as we did all year we would have had a good shot.”Make no mistake about it, though, Phillips and his teammates were thrilled with the Regional title. But being a sophomore among a bunch of upperclassmen, Phillips was more thrilled for his veteran teammates.“I was really happy at the moment for everyone else,” he said. “We have several guys on this team that have played for years, working hard to play as far as they could to just get past Midlakes and win the sectionals. Then to not only achieve that goal but to also win the Regionals, I just felt great for all those guys. “When it was over I went around and congratulated every senior on our team. I enjoyed it for myself, too, but those guys really deserved to end their high school volleyball career with that regional win. We just took baby steps as the season went on and accomplished all of our goals by season end. It was a great feeling setting those goals and finally achieving every one of them.”One doesn’t have to dig deep to discover where Phillips got the love of not only volleyball but several other sports. “My mom, I remember ever since I was about 7 or 8 years old, was coaching volleyball, basketball and softball,” he said, referring to his mother, Denise Dillman, who currently is an assistant coach for the Victor girls varsity volleyball team under Shelly Collins. “I remember taking part in all three of those sports, running around on the sidelines while mom coached. But of all three of those sports, I guess it was volleyball that sunk in the most.”He added that his mom always makes sure that he gets to his practices and matches first, sometimes making herself late for where she needs to be.“Especially this last year,” he said, “with all the postseason practices and games that we both had going on.”And most conversations with Phillips circle back to his teammates.“Playing with Dan, Matt and Rob was invaluable,” he said. “I mean both Dan and Rob made the A-1 camp for the USA volleyball team, something that Matt has done, also. That is a lot of experience that those guys brought to the team. I also thought that Darrin Carter also worked hard for us. He has a basketball background and to play as well as he did with that type of a background was invaluable.”He also credited coach Dave Wisniewski, who was named the Daily Messenger Coach of the Year.“He has a beach volleyball background and he did a great job at coaching hardwood volleyball for only his second year,” Phillips said.With two more varsity seasons ahead of him, it’s difficult for Phillips to think about his future except to be playing Victor volleyball. But he does hope to play the sport in college. Ron Wilson can be reached at (585) 690-0223 or rwilson@messengerpostmedia.com  

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An Update on Winter Weather Delays

EARLY EVENING UPDATE: More than 1,000 cancellations nationwide are plaguing holiday travelers today. Cancellations and lengthy delays of up to five and a half hours continue to face travelers at New York City area’s three major airports, including JFK, LaGuardia and Newark. Winter weather is also backing up planes in Philadelphia.In New Jersey, Teterboro airport keeps opening and closing due to snow removal. Elsewhere in the country, travelers are faring okay in Chicago with no major delays. Milwaukee’s airport is closed due to snow removal. In the west, Salt Lake City is experiencing delays due to weather. Air travelers will also encounter minor delays in San Francisco.Between Delta, Northwest and nine Delta connection flights, the carriers are in the neighborhood of canceling more than 300 flights collectively. Delta says it has been able to rebook more than 90 percent of its passengers within 8 hours of their original flights.***Today is one of the two busiest travel days of the holiday season, according to the Air Transport Association, but winter weather across much of the country means travelers today are facing significant delays. Around 2 p.m. Friday, here’s information from the FAA about how delays are stacking up. At New Jersey’s Newark airport: Snow and ice in the New York City region is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 5 hours and 27 minutes. At New York’s JFK: Travelers are looking at an average 3 hour and 20 minute delay on some arriving flights at JFK.At New York’s LaGuardia: Some arriving flights are delayed an average of 4 hour and 20 minutes.In Philadelphia: Wet weather, snow and ice have arriving flights delayed an average of 2 hours and 55 minutes. At Chicago O’Hare: The winter weather means air travelers are looking at gate hold and taxi delays between 16 and 30 minutes.In San Francisco: Weather and low ceilings are creating minor delays of 15 minutes or less.Airlines, too are reporting on their status as of 2 p.m. All airlines are allowing travelers to rebook with no penalty.Southwest has canceled 35 flights today.Continental has pre-canceled about 90 flights for today in Newark.US Airways is reporting 19 system-wide cancellations at mainline today due to bad weather among its mainline flights and another 265 cancellations on its Express flights.At United, 67 flights were canceled as of noon CST.At American, 45 roundtrips were canceled out of O’Hare because of today’s snow, but expects the situation to improve later download full length movies in the day. American reported that it had about two dozen deicing trucks working this morning. American Eagle also canceled 32 roundtrips so far. At LaGuardia, American canceled 16 flights, including 6 between LaGuardia and O’Hare. At JFK, the carrier pre-canceled 7 flights for this afternoon. In Boston, American pre-canceled six flights for this evening because the snow is expected to be heavy there later in this afternoon. JetBlue, whose largest operation is at JFK, has canceled 12 flights and are facing delays at the airport. Expectations are similar for JetBlue’s flights out of Boston’s Logan Airport. Air Tran has canceled about 70 flights system-wide today because of severe weather in the Midwest and Northeast. -ABC News’ Lisa Stark

Sheyla hershey

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