To: All IFBB Professional League Male Bodybuilders

From: IFBB Professional League

Please be advised that the 202-lb and under category is changed to 212-lb and under. This change will take effect at the Sacramento Pro on November 5, 2011.

Short and to the point, but this can have a big effect on the future of not only the lighter class, but the men’s open, as well. Competitors that were on the bubble of making the 202 can now maintain a larger physique and still go head-to-head with the likes of Kevin English and David Henry. When Eduardo Correa and Seth Feroce both announced that they intended on moving up to the open class, it was a smart move by the IFBB to keep some of the popular names back in the 202/212.

This also opens the door for someone like Hidetada Yamagishi, who has done quite well for himself in the open but has a build that can dominate as a 212 competitor. Especially in the major shows on the calendar, Hide’s diminutive stature has worked against him. It may behoove him to consider this move.

The 202 and under will still be in effect at the Olympia, but the landscape will look a whole lot different come November.

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Numerous sources around the league, including Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine, have cited that James will indeed make Miami his choice. It is merely a formality at this point.

The first real clue came on Wednesday when Wade and Bosh announced live on ESPN SportsCenter that they had decided on Miami. Both were coy when asked about LeBron joining them in South Beach and said that ‘The King’ needed to make up his own mind. But it was the way they seemed extra giddy about it, their own mega-millions contracts notwithstanding.

So what does this mean for the teams that were left at the altar? It is most disastrous to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a franchise that was less than an afterthought before James came around. Things could have been much different is James was able to convince Bosh to come to Ohio, but the former Raptor did not want to play for the Cavs and his move to Miami set the wheels in motion for James to go south. Now the Cavs have to regroup with not much to show for the offseason with the exception of new head coach Byron Scott, an upgrade over the dismissed Mike James.

The Knicks have been shooting for James for the past two seasons and president Donnie Walsh’s salary cap clearing was geared for just that. Their signing of Amar’e Stoudemire does not have the same effect without James and they will once again be a team in search of a star player. Another part of this move is that Stoudemire just happens to play the same position as David Lee, who is an automatic double-double and the Knicks most consistent player the past two years.

The Bulls were a team that appeared to be in a great position only a few days ago, but it all blew up in their faces. Wade had notified the Heat that his family situation would play a part in his decision and his children reside in Chicago. If he had decided to go to his hometown, then James was said to be very attracted to the Windy City. Their consolation prize? Carlos Boozer, not exactly someone to light it up every night.

Two other teams that did get some of LeBron’s time to court him were the Nets and Clippers, but neither had a legitimate shot at the top free agent in NBA history.

How interesting is it that Bosh – and not James – became the key free agent this summer that dictated where others signed?

The War Memorial in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was robust with plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ on Saturday afternoon and one can only imagine how loud it is going to get later on. The judge’s panel were very meticulous in getting every available angle and view of all the competitors and asked for the music to be turned down on more than one occasion to concentrate and get the scoring right.

Category after category were marched out and went through their routines as family, friends and fans cheered them on. Getting a good look at the costumes during the ‘theme’ rounds also resulted in rounds of applause and showed just one of the many reasons why attending a FAME show is an entirely different experience than anything else.

Some of the women’s outfits were reminiscent of a Victoria’s Secret modeling show with muscles. And it wasn’t all just for the guys in the audience. The men’s fitness rounds gave the impression of a large bachelorette party.

FRIDAY NIGHT’S FAME SHOWCASE

The weekend began with a public yet intimate evening with a room full of not only the FAME athletes, but their family, friends and support teams. Competitors came from as far as Australia and the United Kingdom and were called up to the stage to tell their personal story.

Inspiring and touching tales accompanied the positive feeling of seeing these special people in person and learning first hand why they decided to become ‘BodyProud.’ In some ways it had the feel of an AA meeting or something along those lines but instead of stating how many days they have been ‘clean,’ these people said what made them decide to make a lifestyle change and dedicate themselves to the gym.

From recovering addicts to accident victims and the physically challenged, these men and women all had their time with the microphone and it was an experience unlike any other that one would expect the night before a bodybuilding show.

“In Bodybuilding, the posing routine will no longer be scored. This will value the Prejudging and Finals Posedown at 50% each,” was listed as one of the rule changes included as part of the IFBB Advisory Notice 101409 prepared by Chairman Jim Manion. (http://www.ifbbpro.com/news/advisory-notice-101409/)

This may be viewed as a step backwards for a sport that has been finding the terrain difficult growing from its hardcore fan base. Back in its heyday, bodybuilding could promote many superstars who were classic posers. Men such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ed Corney, Frank Zane and Chris Dickerson made it an art form. But that has not been the case since the end of the 1980s.

With the new rule, competitors will no incentive to even prepare a posing routine and that will do the fans a disservice. As it was, there were only  few who even appeared as if they worked out a presentation. One of the reasons why Kai Greene made such a splash on the scene was because of his unique and incredible posing routine. Hopefully the 2009 Arnold Classic champion will not just go through the motions knowing that his score cannot be improved even though he is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack as a poser.

When they coined the old saying, “How the mighty have fallen,” they could have been writing it about Tim Montgomery. Three memorable track and field performances that included silver and gold medals and a world record have come full circle with a guilty plea in a Virginia courtroom for heroin distribution.

This comes a week before his trial was set to begin, and pursuant to his four year sentence for a check cashing scam and him being stripped of his athletic accomplishments from the BALCO investigation.

It would have been difficult beating the latest case in court with audio and video tape evidence of Montgomery dealing 111 grams of heroin for $8,450 during four meetings with a confidential informant.

Montgomery has been in jail since pleading guilty in a money laundering scheme that included his former coach Steven Riddick and Marion Jones, the female track star and a former lover.

This is a man that won a silver in the 1996 Olympics, a gold in 2000 and broke the 100 meter mark with a 9.78 in September 2002, earning the “fastest man on earth” moniker.

All of Montgomery’s accomplishments since 2001 were discredited due to his testimony to the United States Anti-Doping Agency that he and others obtained performance-enhancing drugs from BALCO, resulting in a two-year ban. That is when Montgomery announced his retirement, which was basically a formality. He testified against the others in the case, including Chryste Gaines, which resulted in his ban being reduced from four years. The troubling part about that is if Montgomery intended on retiring, what difference did it make if he had a four or forty year ban? He obviously was looking out for himself in other areas in the case.

It is one thing to get caught taking steroids, but to peddle dope like a pusher is a different level altogether. Montgomery deserves everything that he gets and adding more jail time to his previous conviction is warranted. He has made many bad decisions in his life and this whole group of track and field athletes – which included Montgomery, Jones, Gaines and Kelli White – all have paid the price. But only one has sunk to the level of criminality that Montgomery has. He has become an embarrassment to athletes worldwide and himself, as well.

Photo credit: Wendell Spencer files/Wordpress