Ankiel received 12-month supply of HGH, News learns

• chone

  +3

  Carlos Pena's got to be hitting the HGH. Can't wait for the talking heads and columnists to explode on this one. 

  Posted 9/7/2007 [reply] [flag]

• mlnsports

  +2

  We had been trying to do a comeback story on him, and the lid is clamped down so tight, which is unusual even for the tight-lipped Cardinals.  This sadly makes sense.

  Posted 9/7/2007 [reply] [flag]

• Redsauce

  +2

  Crap, if this means Roy Hobbs was juicing too, my childhood's going to pot as we speak.

  Posted 9/8/2007 [reply] [flag]

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Links (59)

Drug Cloud Now Hovers Over Feel-Good Rick Ankiel
Published 9/6/2007 by David Chalk at Bugs & Cranks
... The Daily News is reporting that Cardinals pitcher turned slugger Rick Ankiel was a customer of a “pharmacy at the forefront of Albany District Attorney David Soares’ two-year investigation into illegal Internet prescription drug sales, which has brought 22 indictments and nine convictions.” ...

N.Y. Daily News: Ankiel received 12-month supply of HGH
Published 9/7/2007 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
N.Y. Daily News: Ankiel received 12-month supply of HGH Well...so much for that. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, baseball s feel-good story of the season, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation, the Daily News has learned. ...According to records obtained by The News and sources close to the controversy surrounding anti-aging clinics that dispense illegal prescription drugs, Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including the brand-name injectable drugs Saizen and Genotropin. Signature is the pharmacy at the forefront of Albany District Attorney David Soares two-year investigation into illegal Internet prescription drug sales, which has brought 22 indictments and nin ...

Report: Rick Ankiel Recieved HGH
Published 9/7/2007 by Pat Lackey at FanHouse
... was. Now the New York Daily News gives us this: ...

NY Daily News: Rick Ankiel Purchased HGH
Published 9/7/2007 at STLSportsMag
Via NYDailyNews.com: Â PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel, baseball's feel-good story of the season, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug-distribution operation, the Daily News has learned. Ankiel, who flamed out mentally and physically as a pitcher earlier this decade, only to return to the majors as a slugging outfielder last month, has evoked comparisons this season to Roy Hobbs and Babe Ruth. He hit two home runs, a double and had seven RBI yesterday against the Pirates at Busch Stadium, giving him nine home runs in 81 at-bats since his remarkable major league comeback began on Aug. 10. According to records obtained by The News and sources close to the controversy surrounding anti-aging clinics that dispense illegal prescripti ...

Getting in before the rush
Published 9/7/2007 by Dan at Get Up, Baby!
... Official Get Up, Baby! position statement regarding the imminent “Ankiel-bought-HGH-in-2004″ kerfuffle: barring further, actually damning evidence, this is going to be a sad and unnecessary derailment of what is–remains–the best baseball story in years. ...

Rick Ankiel: Reports of HGH Use Surface
Published 9/7/2007 at FanIQ Blog
... The New York Daily News is reporting that Rick Ankiel received a 12-month supply of HGH in 2004. ...

Why Am I Not Surprised?
Published 9/7/2007 by Phillips at Rumors and Rants
... According to The New York Daily News, the Cardinals right fielder received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of a national illegal prescription drug distribution operation. The Daily News' reporters saw clinical records and date they saw during the investigation. Ankiel's prescriptions were signed by William Gogan, a Florida physician, who provided them through "The Health and Rejuvenation Center," or "THARC," a Palm Beach Gardens clinic. ...

The Pages of the Storybook, A Bit Yellowed Now.
Published 9/7/2007 by Signal to Noise at Signal to Noise
... If the information obtained by the New York Daily News is to be believed, then the Cardinals are having a hell of a bad year in PR as they make a run for it in the NL Central: our feel-good story of the year in Rick Ankiel may make us a bit queasy, with reports he bought a year’s worth of HGH in 2004. This was before MLB banned HGH, but regardless of timing or legality, it’s going to leave a bitter taste in a lot of mouths. It’s part of the larger investigation by the Albany DA of a pharmacy in Florida that provided drugs to athletes, but I think this is probably the bigger point to note below: ...

Rick Ankiel and HGH: “The Natural” Isn’t So Natural, After All
Published 9/7/2007 by dwil at The Starting Five
... The New York Daily News bust ‘em crew of T.J. Quinn, Christian Red, Michael O’Keefe, and Bill Madden (whew!) report that the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder was supplied dwith HGH from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004: ...

The Un-Natural?
Published 9/7/2007 by Jeff Kallman at The MLB Source
... Barely hours after he cleared the fence twice and drove home seven in a 16-4 pasting of the Pittsburgh Pirates, resurrected St. Louis Cardinals star Rick Ankiel turned up on the wrong side of a published report saying he received twelve month’s worth of human growth hormone (HGH) from a Florida source that was tied to a nationwide operation trucking in illegal prescription drugs. ...

Shoot Me Up A Winner, Bobby
Published 9/7/2007 by insomniac at Insomniac's Lounge
... The New York Daily News is reporting that in 2004, Cardinals catalyst and one of the rare feel-good stories of the summer, Rick Ankiel, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone from a Florida pharmacy. For Cards fans, this has to feel like they were just shown an alternate version of The Natural in which Roy Hobbs' pain becomes so severe that he has to shoot up with morphine before each game; and eventually, he robs a drifter for a fix, beats him to death with the Savoy Special, and finds himself sentenced to life in prison. (Actually, I think I'd watch that movie.) I wouldn't be surprised at all tomorrow to tune into Deadspin and see that its creator and ardent Cardinals fan, Will Leitch, has mimicked MGoBlog's response after the Wolverines lost to Appalachian State and replaced the entire site with pictures of kittens. ...

Wonderboy!
Published 9/7/2007 by Shyster at ShysterBall
... Rick Ankiel reportedly received and presumably took HGH back in 2004. While the pharmacy is in the crosshairs of an investigation of illegal PED prescriptions, it doesn't appear at this time as though Ankiel is in any legal trouble over it. He apparently stopped receiving the HGH right before it was banned by baseball in 2005. ...

Ankiel’s New Nickname : The Unnatural
Published 9/7/2007 by GC at Can't Stop The Bleeding
... Much as I hate to challenge the veracity of the below report from the New York Daily News’ T.J. Quinn, Christian Redd and Michael O’Keefee, we have to ask ourselves…is it really like Tony La Genius to ...

Published 9/7/2007 by 100% Injury Rate at 100% Injury Rate
... Also, unless you've been under a rock, then you know Rick Ankiel - The Story of the Year - has now been connected to an HGH scandal. Which means he's no better than Bonds as we are more than happy ...

Day 157
Published 9/7/2007 by IMHO at Rotisserie Baseball Musings
... Wunderkind Cardinals' OF Rick Ankeil hit two HRs and drove-in seven runs. Then the Daily News story broke that he received HGH shipments in 2004.

The Natural Not So Natural?
Published 9/7/2007 by Bryan at OUT OF RIGHT FIELD
... ...

Growing Ankiel
Published 9/7/2007 by StatsGuru at Baseball Musings
The New York Daily News connects Rick Ankiel to HGH . According to records obtained by The News and sources close to the controversy surrounding anti-aging clinics that dispense illegal prescription drugs, Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy in Orlando from January to December 2004, including the brand-name injectable drugs Saizen and Genotropin. Signature is the pharmacy at the forefront of Albany District Attorney David Soares' two-year investigation into illegal Internet prescription drug sales, which has brought 22 indictments and nine convictions. Ankiel's prescriptions were signed by Florida physician William Gogan, who provided them through a Palm Beach Gardens clinic called "The Health and Rejuvenation Center," or "THARC." The drugs were shipped to Ankiel at the clinic's address. THARC also provided a shipment of steroids and gr ...

Bourne to Preview the NBA
Published 9/7/2007 by Sam Rubenstein at SLAM Online
... should be… interesting today. Rick Ankiel is the anti-Jason Bourne. I don’t know what that means but it’s true. ...

Ankiel and HGH
Published 9/7/2007 by JC at Sabernomics
... Late yesterday, The New York Daily News broke the story that Rick Ankiel received several shipments of human growth hormone (HGH) in 2004. ...

Ankiel On HGH?
Published 9/7/2007 by antderosa at Hot Foot
... That would be a hell of a shame if ...

Baseball Today: Friday, September 7
Published 9/7/2007 by Art Martone (amartone@projo.com) at Projo Sox Blog
... THE LATEST BOMBSHELL: The New York Daily News reports the Cardinals' Rick Ankiel -- one of baseball's best feel-good stories for his transformation from no-control pitcher to slugging outfielder -- received a 12-month supply of HGH in 2004. The story is careful to note ''he stopped receiving HGH just before Major League Baseball officially banned it in 2005. MLB does not test for HGH, but a player who is known to have used it or even possessed it from the time it was banned can face a 50-game suspension.'' ...

Rick Ankiel, the Unnatural?
Published 9/7/2007 by Sooze at Babes Love Baseball
... "The thing to remember when you get up there with runners on base is that the pitcher is the one that's in trouble," explained Ankiel.Except for when the Daily News reports that you received Human Growth Hormone. ...

On second thought......
Published 9/7/2007 by Chris Dall at The Bleacher Bums
... this morning that Ankiel received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004 from a Florida pharmacy that was part of an illegal prescription drug ring. The article reports that Ankiel ...

say it ain't so
Published 9/7/2007 by lboros <info@vivaelbirdos.com> at Viva El Birdos: Front Page Posts
... . i have my own reasons for assuming that it's true --- i know two of the writers bylined on the article containing the allegations, quinn and o'keeffe, and they're both excellent journalists and individuals of integrity. if they've signed their names to this, i take it very seriously. a third byline on that story belongs to bill madden, who --- while not my favorite crafter of prose --- has been in this business for 30 years and has a spotless reputation. ...

Newspaper: Rick Ankiel Received Human Growth Hormone Shipments
Published 9/7/2007 by rcade at SportsFilter

Rick Ankiel: What We Lost, And What We Never Had
Published 9/7/2007 by Leitch at Deadspin

Fantasy Baseball - Rick Ankiel, Danys Baez, Alfonso Soriano
Published 9/7/2007 at FakeTeams

Links of the day --
Published 9/7/2007 by ORod412 at TheBigOz.com

Randon Tidbits 9-7-7
Published 9/7/2007 by mr. met at the metropolitans

Yeah ...
Published 9/7/2007 by DCScrap at Our Book of Scrap

The Not So Natural?
Published 9/7/2007 by TheBigLead at The Big Lead
... Before we castrate the guy, we do need to point out one key sentence in the NY Daily News report: “Ankiel, 28, has not been accused by authorities of wrongdoing, and according to the Signature records obtained by The News, he stopped receiving HGH just before Major League Baseball officially banned it in 2005.”

Wow, revisited
Published 9/7/2007 by Earl at The GYS Network
... On the upside, I think a 9th inning infield single, steal, and RBI single to win the game counts as "heart". Next complaint: the Red Sox have no "stomach". Who's with me? Eric? Dan?

Ankiel story takes turn
Published 9/7/2007 by Erick Smith at Sports Scope
... that he received a one year supply of human growth hormone in 2004. Ankiel, according to the story, illegally obtained eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy, which allegedly is part of a national drug-distribution operation. Records obtained by the paper show Ankiel stopped receiving HGH before it was banned by Major League Baseball in 2005.

Figures
Published 9/7/2007 by Memphis Bengal at Sports Frog
... , thanks to Swamp omnipotent being, Hood*. Drop by with a thought or three.

Is Rick Ankiel For Real?
Published 9/7/2007 by Ian at SOX & Dawgs

Bad News For People Who Like Good News
Published 9/7/2007 by The Feed at The Feed

Rick Ankiel, from anti-Bonds to Antichrist
Published 9/7/2007 by PostmanE at The Postmen // A Sports Blog // Chicago, IL.
... , I’m struggling to get my head around the Rick Ankiel shocker in today’s New York Daily News, which ...

St Louis Cardinals new natural Rick Ankiel: Growing (HGH) by artificial leaps and bounds
Published 9/7/2007 by GRG51 at Steroid Nation

Rick Ankiel Is a Cheater: He's Worse Than Bonds
Published 9/7/2007 by DanShanoff.com at Dan Shanoff

Why Are We Finding Out That Rick Ankiel Bought HGH Now?
Published 9/7/2007 by Matt Watson at FanHouse
... , who were publicly named. And has Major League Baseball known about Ankiel's status the whole time? This quote from the Daily News suggests not ... ...

HGH IN BASEBALL? MY INNOCENCE IS LOST
Published 9/7/2007 at With Leather

Thoughts on Rick Ankiel
Published 9/7/2007 by Cecilio's Scribe at The Legend of Cecilio Guante

NYDN: Ankiel Bought HGH in 2004
Published 9/7/2007 by redsock at The Joy of Sox

Friday Afternoon Linkin Park
Published 9/7/2007 by Parkes at Drunk Jays Fans
... Whatever you do, don't check out this link if you're a Cardinals fan or into feeling good about humanity. ...

You Have to be Kidding
Published 9/7/2007 at Sportszilla and the Jabber Jocks
So yesterday the news came out that everyone's Golden Boy, Rick Ankiel, received HGH through an illegal prescription drug ring in 2004. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Ankiel was a great story...guy loses his mind on the mound, never recovers his phenom status, comes back as an outfielder, and starts smacking home runs...The Natural, all that. Like I said, it was a great story. Then this. Oh well Rick, it was a great run, but get used to being booed everywhere you go. Oh wait, apparently not. See, it seems like everyone wants to give Ankiel a pass. "He was just using it to recover from Tommy John surgery," they say, or "it wasn't technically against the rules of baseball (even though he got it illegally)." You know who else didn't technically break any baseball rules, but has been pilloried for his alleged abuse of HGH? Yeah, that's ri ...

Ankiel and HGH is why we need to lay off of Bonds, McGwire
Published 9/7/2007 by Gilbert at Obscure Sports Quarterly

I Only Want To Hear From One Man...
Published 9/7/2007 at STLSportsMag

Rick Ankiel and HGH
Published 9/7/2007 by NDub at Construda
There's been a lot of blogging/writing about this today and judging by Ballhype and Technorati, this is easily the most blogged story in several weeks. Our opinion is simple: If Ankiel used HGH , he needs to come clean. But everyone should also note that he received HGH - which only helps heal, not make stronger or faster or quicker or your head grow - in 2004, which is before MLB banned the substance in 2005. Plus he hasn't been accused by authorities of any wrongdoing. Here are just a few tremendous blog and .com entries we've found today: Rick Ankiel: What we lost, and what we never had ( ...

Another Athlete Implicated; MLB’s Black Eye Gets Bigger
Published 9/7/2007 by Ian at SOX & Dawgs

The Unnatural
Published 9/7/2007 by Pip at Fungoes
... Since no one in baseball these days has shown himself to be trustworthy these days, the only source of information we have to go on is those who cover the game and are bold enough to investigate what Major League Baseball refuses to. In this case, it’s the New York Daily News (who also detailed the Mark McGwire steroid cocktail story), which broke the news that Ankiel, the Cardinal twice-phenom, received eight shipments of Human Growth Hormone from January to December 2004. ...

Open Thread - Game 141: Mariners (74-64) vs. Tigers (75-65)
Published 9/7/2007 by Ian Casselberry <info@blessyouboys.com> at Bless You Boys: Front Page Posts

Jack Wilson: The Trade Rumor That Just Refuses to Die
Published 9/7/2007 by Ian Casselberry <info@blessyouboys.com> at Bless You Boys: Front Page Posts

Glaus and Ankiel Received PEDs, According to Report
Published 9/7/2007 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
... Rick Ankiel, the St. Louis Cardinals feel-good story of the summer, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone (HGH) in 2004 according to an investigation into Signature Pharmacy, of Orlando, FL that did an estimated $36 million in business last year, mostly via the Internet.  As reported by the NY Daily News: ...

Ankiel Biters
Published 9/7/2007 by E.L.M. at El Lefty Malo
... about it so far.

The Media and Porformance-Enhancing Drugs
Published 9/10/2007 by JC at Sabernomics

SI links Gibbons to steroid and HGH shipments
Published 9/10/2007 by Beau Dure at Sports Scope

Rick Ankiel: From the Golden Boy to the Golden Sombrero
Published 9/11/2007 by Richie Rich at Home Run Derby
... Wow.  A lot has changed since late last Thursday night when Rick Ankiel went 4 for 4 with two Home Runs and had seven RBI against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Everything was going great for the Cardinals, who were 17-9 in their last 26 games (since Ankiel s 2007 debut) and were now only one game out of first place in the NL Central.  Thanks in no small part to Rick Ankiel. Ankiel was the feel-good story of the MLB season for a Cardinals team that desperately needed one after the drunk driving arrest of their manager and the death (from drunk driving) of one of their pitchers.  Not to mention the fact that the team had played poorly throughiut the first half of the season. But then on Friday, the news broke that Ankiel had recieved a one-year supply of Human Growth Hormone from that Florida pharmacy that s at the center of an an illegal prescription drug distribution. ...

Chicago Bulls Season Preview
Published 10/4/2007 by Russ Bengtson at SLAM Online

La Russa : Lay Off Roy Hobbs Jr.
Published 2/24/2008 by GC at Can't Stop The Bleeding
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, no stranger to presiding over sluggers suspected of using something-or-other to gain an edge recover quickly, tells the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Joe Strauss scrutiny of pitcher-turned-outfielder Rich Ankiel is unwarranted. And he may have a point — it’s not like Ankiel fell asleep at the wheel or something. On Sept. 6 Ankiel included two home runs and seven RBIs among three hits in only seven innings of a 16-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. A report surfaced during the team’s charter flight to Arizona of Ankiel’s connection to HGH. The next day Ankiel began an ...