Pending toxicology reports, speculation is surrounding that there were a number of doctors that either provided or administered a plethora of pain killers into Jackson, including morphine, valium, oxycontin, propofal, percocet and diprivan, which is a powerful anesthetic used for surgery.

While the people involved in that end of Jackson’s addiction will have to shoulder the majority of the blame, there is also talk of others who sat by idly while the singer moon-walked slowly to his grave. How could the people who supposedly cared for him the most allow him to continue on this path?

One of those names should not be Lou Ferrigno, who had known Jackson for over 15 years and was hired as his personal trainer to prepare for his upcoming 50-date tour. The former bodybuilder and star of “The Incredible Hulk” television series previously trained Jackson for his 1994 tour.

“When the promoter hired him to do the tour it wasn’t any question for me to train him again because he knew that he trusted me, especially with toning and shaping his body,” Ferrigno told People magazine. “Being such an icon and he couldn’t afford to have any injuries.”

Ferrigno added that he implemented the same routine for Jackson that they had used in the past, which consisted of “conditioning, toning and increasing his flexibility and stamina” and that he wanted to “increase the strength in his legs.”

The normal bodybuilding regimen was not on the table. “The workout wasn’t any heavy resistance,” continued Ferrigno. “A lot of stretching and a light walk on the treadmill. Being 50, his body went through a lot of stress getting ready for the tour, but he was awesome.”

In an interview with Britain’s Daily Mirror, Ferrigno spoke of Jackson’s eating habits, or lack thereof. “He ate only one meal a day, always in the evening. He’d wake up and not have anything for the whole day and when he did eat it was always vegetarian.”

The two got together at Jackson’s residence for the training sessions three times a week starting in April. “I was with him until the end of May and he was fine,” said Ferrigno. “There was no sign of drug use and his flexibility was improving. That was important because he was a little tight in certain areas. He hadn’t danced for so long.”

Why they stopped working together is not known or if Ferrigno tried to get Jackson into better shape by bringing nutrition into the mix. Because of Jackson’s peculiar ways, it is doubtful that he would have taken instructions from Ferrigno to add to his diet. One meal a day, especially with a lack of protein, is a recipe for disaster for anyone, let alone someone trying to get in shape. Bring the drugs into the equation and Jackson’s death does not seem as much of a surprise as it did when the news first hit the airwaves.

The easy scapegoats in Jackson’s death are the doctors who signed off on the prescriptions, but will any questions arise that Ferrigno did not notice something was amiss? How did Jackson go from being “fine” and able to exercise multiple days a week – regardless if it was extremely low impact or not – to a drugged-out corpse less than a month later?

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, brought up similarities to the Anna Nicole Smith case and that he warned everyone that “one day we’re going to have this experience.” The lawyer further stated that he would not remain silent if Jackson were to die, so we can expect him to line up the media and begin to pass blame on anyone and everyone he can associate with his former client.

When Smith, the former model and actress, died of a drug overdose in 2007, her boyfriend Howard K. Stern and doctors Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich were each charged with three felony counts of conspiracy and a number of charges involving fraudulent prescriptions. Stern obtained the drugs from the doctors and gave them to Smith, 39.

Jackson, who had suffered a broken leg and an injured back in the past, would have been a candidate for Hormone Replacement Therapy. Painkillers and HRT are commonly connected and athletes and people recovering from serious injuries often are prescribed both, especially in the over-40 crowd. With his frail build, being middle-aged and needing to ‘play through pain’ if you will, Jackson could have easily followed many of the other celebrities in the entertainment industry and recapture some of his youth through the use of human growth hormone and testosterone, even in limited dosages.

This is obviously mere speculation but the toxicology report may reveal more than just painkillers. Out of all the people in Jackson’s inner circle, one of them could have made the suggestion to him to use HRT.

With the media’s anti-steroid infatuation in the sports world – especially when it comes to bodybuilding – would anyone be surprised if a tabloid or Oxman start making suggestions that Ferrigno, 48, was one of Jackson’s enablers (even if it was through ignoring the obvious or making suggestions) that helped cause his death?

This would be a preposterous accusation but headlines and Hollywood lawyers are not exactly known for being low-keyed.

The recent announcement by Lance Armstrong that he will be returning to professional cycling has once again opened the door to speculation that he cheated his way to seven Tour De France victories. Having previously sued journalists for publishing circumstantial evidence regarding his use of performance enhancing substances, Armstrong has now surrendered himself to an aggressive new screening program under the direction of renowned anti-doping scientist Don Catlin.

However, Catlin (who assisted in exposing the BALCO doping ring in 2003) admits that the tests offer no guarantees in terms of tracking an athletes drug use and, of course, will do little to remove the suspicion of Armstrong’s past use of performance enhancing substances. The tests themselves will be as accurate as technologically possible though and Catlin feels they will be very hard to beat and any athlete trying to do so will be very foolish indeed. The results of Armstrong’s blood and urine tests will be posted on line and the urine will be frozen and stored for future re-testing.

The fact that Armstrong will be paying Catlin for the work out of his own pocket has of course given rise to speculation that he may have an influence on the results. However, he has dismissed such claims by saying, “There’s not enough money anywhere to potentially buy out Don Catlin.” Referring anyone who questions the integrity of the tests to Catlin himself for reassurance.

In conclusion Armstrong has stated that although he has promised to compete in January’s Tour Down Under in Australia and the Leadville 100 (an endurance event in Colorado) his goal is not to win an eighth Tour De France. His main focus for 2009 will be to raise cancer awareness, using his celebrity and return to pro sports to draw attention to this illness from which he once suffered. The fact that he claims an eighth Tour win is not on the agenda also serves as a convenient escape route if he turns in a lack luster performance (oops, did I say that?).

Leigh Penman, in addition to be a staff writer at MuscleSport Mag, has been writing for bodybuilding magazines, websites and nutritional supplement companies since 1985. Whilst residing in the UK, she earned the reputation of being one of the top female writers in bodybuilding-related media. Her credits included being a contributing editor on all the magazines in production as well as filling the shoes of Ladies Editor and Showbiz Editor on two publications (the later being on Arnold’s sanctioned magazine, ‘Bodypower’). During this time she also competed successfully on four occasions (placing in the top four in all contests).

Leigh has been working out for close to thirty years so she is clearly a writer who ‘walks her talk.’
She can be contacted personally at zeal2heal@yahoo.com or you can also check her out at New York’s favorite metaphysical store www.stickstoneandbone.com.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, Roger Clemens’ worst nightmare may have come true. All through his public denials of what everyone else believes to be true, it has mostly been word against word. Lacking documentation, it came down to whom you believed.

Kirk Radomski, a major steroid supplier who eventually cooperated with investigators, recently discovered shipping receipts from 2002 or 2003 for two kits of human growth hormone that he sent to Clemens at his Houston home. While this is no great revelation to anyone other than Clemens himself, it does put another nail in the former pitcher’s coffin.

The report further stated that the package was addressed to “William Roger Clemens (his actual full name), in care of Brian McNamee,” and that Clemens’ former trainer did not sign for it. The unnamed source added that dates coincide with when Debbie Clemens used HGH to prepare for a Sport Illustrated pictorial with her husband.

Some of this new evidence seems to corroborate McNamee’s claims of Clemens being aware of his wife’s drug use, which he has denied. Clemens has testified under oath that he never used any performance-enhancing drugs or that he knew that his wife intended on using HGH. Having a shipment of that exact substance sent under your name would make that difficult on either end.

Rusty Hardin, who has miraculously remained as Clemens’ lawyer even though he has proven time and time again to be completely incompetent, told reporters that he was unaware of the receipts.

“I can’t imagine that there’s any truth to that at all,” said Hardin. “We’ll find out one day Roger never received or took the stuff.”

If there was a poll taken, perhaps the only lawyers ranked lower than Hardin would be the prosecution team in the O.J. Simpson trial. He has publicly admitted that he is unable to control Clemens, who appears to enjoy challenging the obvious. Any lawyer worth his weight would not allow his client to talk enough to hang himself, this the reason why they have been nicknamed their client’s ‘mouthpiece.’

The United States Justice Department is investigating whether to bring Clemens up on perjury charges, and the discovery of written documentation can only make that happen. What the Daily News report did not state was who did actually sign for the package. Depending if it was Clemens or his wife, that would make a difference in rebutting against Clemens’ earlier testimony.

As the evidence mounts up against the Rocket, it is becoming harder and harder for him and his constantly surprised lawyer to deny this. If you’re expecting either or both to reverse course and admit what we all know to be true, it will be a cold day during August in Texas before that happens.

Photo credit: rotorob.com