With the same stone

By FRANCISCO MASTRASCUA

Richard Masoner/Flickr

HAVANA (6 October 2007) – FOR MARION JONES, the burden of the guilt must weigh much more than her five Olympic medals won in Sydney. Her repeated maneuvers to clear herself by pretending to be a drug free athlete have hit rock bottom.

More than a year ago, the reputation and name of the sprinter were tarnished when Jones was forced to withdraw from the Weltklasse Golden League meet in Switzerland, citing “personal reasons.” Prior to the competition, her analysis came back positive for Erythropoietin (EPO).

US blockade and Cuban sports

By MIGUEL HERNANDEZ

HAVANA (3 October 2007) – THE Cuban sports movement has had to face several obstacles during the nearly half-century US blockade that run from denying Cuban athletes and sports officials from attending competitions or conferences in the US, including Puerto Rico, to roadblocks in acquiring sports equipment and medicines.

As one simple example, a professional baseball could be bought for $4.00 US in the USA but costs Cuba $7.00 US since it has to purchase them in Japan. If you take into account that Cuba uses a minimum of 30,000 balls a season, buying them in the US would be a savings of $90,000 US.