ROUND-UP: STEROIDS IN SPORTS (continued)
We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID =2800
**1. ANDY ABRAMS, professor of legal studies and general counsel at the COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: "Major League Baseball's head-in-the-sand approach to the steroid issue, and the Commissioner and owners' refusal to clean up their own house from steroids and other performance enhancement substances, has made the sport both fair game and easy fodder for those who play their games in the political arena. You can well imagine that, at this very moment, the sound bites are being scripted as legislators express their collective surprise, disgust and indignation over the message baseball has sent to the American public. Ironically, baseball's efforts to thwart these hearings simply reinforce in the public's mind the need for action."
**2. JOHN HANSEN, former Mr. Natural Universe: "The prevalence of steroids in sports taints the image of all athletes. Natural muscle building is possible, as demonstrated by the natural bodybuilding phenomenon. Bodybuilding is all about the art of transforming your physique into a living, breathing piece of sculpture. Natural bodybuilders develop their bodies exclusively through intense, intelligent training and superior nutrition."
_____LEADS
**1. PARENTING: KIDS' SPORTS INJURIES ARE LARGELY PREVENTABLE. JERRY REEDER, MS, coaching trainer for the AMERICAN SPORT EDUCATION PROGRAM: "Today's youth are experiencing too many overuse injuries, which could be prevented by proper coaching. Parents and coaches are encouraging kids to specialize in one sport at such an early age, and depriving kids of the physical and social benefits of cross-training in a variety of sports."
**2. RELIGION: MORE INTERFAITH FAMILIES CELEBRATE PASSOVER THAN EASTER. EDMUND CASE, publisher of the non-profit INTERFAITHFAMILY.COM: "For interfaith families, observing holidays of two religions can be challenging, but most keep Easter and Passover separate "- even if they observe both holidays. Interfaith families raising their children as Jews are dedicated to maintaining a strong Jewish identity by celebrating the Jewish holidays as religious holidays, while observing Christian holidays with non-Jewish family members as cultural holidays." Case can discuss tips for interfaith families, including, "How to Make a Seder Inclusive" to help interfaith families make non-Jewish friends and family feel more comfortable attending seders.
**3. RELIGION: MINISTERING TO PATIENTS WITH HEAD INJURIES. JOHN WESSELLS, co- founder of PRECIOUS OIL MINISTRIES, a Christian outreach program for those suffering head injuries and their families: "Our society has come to value human beings not for who they are, but for what they can do. In my 17 years of experience working with those who society says have no 'quality of life,' I have discovered the true meaning and value of life from a different perspective -- God's perspective. We wonder what sense it makes for someone to exist in a body or mind that doesn't work the way it once did because, to us, the only way the situation can ever make sense is if they can be whole again. But what I've seen first-hand has changed my way of seeing. For beyond our physical exteriors lie the real person, soul and spirit needing what we all need, nurturing, care and love. And even if all they can do is just be, God loves that person and their life is still precious to him." Wessells has spent 17 years in ministering to head injury patients, including high-profile patient Christine Busalacchi.
**4. SPORTS: INSIDE THE HEAD OF AN ATHLETE. DR. BOB WEINBERG, sports psychologist at MIAMI UNIVERSITY in Ohio: "As amateur and professional athletes get ready for their big game, it is important for them to prepare for their mental game as well as their physical game. Athletes who have a positive mental game will always have an edge. Over the next six weeks, pressure situations abound: an NCAA Basketball champ will be crowned, MLB will begin, and the NFL draft will be held." Weinberg can offer tips on the mental advantage through stress management, confidence-building skills and visual imagery.
**5. TELEVISION: WHEN IT COMES TO PORTRAYING THE DISABLED, TV IS BLIND. PHIL BREMEN, professor of telecommunications at BALL STATE UNIVERSITY: "The major television networks have ignored the physically disabled for decades. When the ABC television network premieres 'Blind Justice,' a show about a blind detective, it will be a rarity on television -— a show with a disabled person in a lead role. The successor to the envelope-stretching 'NYPD Blue,' 'Blind Justice,' has the opportunity to break new ground in how television portrays the disabled."
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