ML - Vegas Magazine

photography by MIKE NELSoN/aFp/gEtty IMagES (hoLyFIELd); gEtty IMagES (pacquIao) Charity register Opportunities to give. project pink Station Casinos will "pink out" all of its properties during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Southern Nevada. Project Pink raises money all month long from specially created pink-themed dining, entertainment, and gaming offerings at its properties. When: All october long Where: Station casinos locations Contact: 702-822-2324; komensouthernnevada.org nAthAn AdelSon hoSpice Wine And Food tASting The largest nonproft hospice in Nevada presents its 15th annual Wine and Food Tasting Extravaganza, which benefts programs designed for children with life-threatening conditions and their families. Among other services, the programs provide 24-hour, on-call availability of a hospice medical professional; care in the home; medication, equipment, and supplies; in-patient pediatric care; bereavement counseling; spiritual care; and psychosocial support services. When: thursday, october 9, 5:30 to 8 pm Where: gaudin Motor co., 7200 W. Sahara Ave. Contact: 702-938-3910; nahwine.auction-bid.org ShrinerS hoSpitAlS For children open'S Sixth AnnuAl WoMen'S dAy luncheon Mercedes Martinez of KMXB-FM 94.1's "Mark and Mercedes in the Morning" hosts this luncheon to kick off the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which takes place October 13 through 19. A silent auction will be followed by a delicious meal atop The Hill, the tournament's hospitality venue overlooking TPC Summerlin. Shriners Hospitals provide pediatric specialty care as well as world-class research and education. When: tuesday, october 14 Where: the hill, tpc Summerlin Contact: 702-873-1010; shrinershospitalsopen.com M.e.n.u.S. 2014 The 13th annual M.E.N.U.S. (Mentoring & Educating Nevada's Upcoming Students) gala raises money to support the Epicurian Charitable Foundation's endeavor to provide college scholarships to fnancially needy Clark County teens seeking careers in hospitality or the culinary arts. The gala will feature poolside dining and a guest DJ, followed by a Zac Brown Band concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena. When : Friday, october 17, at 6 pm Where: MgM grand pools and garden Arena Contact: 702-932-5098; ecfv.org Manny Pacquiao (right) is one of the boxers who have signed up for the program. Homansky tending to Evander Holyfield after Mike Tyson bit off part of his ear on June 28, 1997. "there are fighters who want to show a commitment to clean sports." —dr. margaret goodman t he test. "We test for hundreds of t hings," says Goodman. "We test for human growth hormones. We test for EPO—the most common form of blood doping, it increases the number of red blood cells. But athletes don't need fancy drugs. They can just walk into an antiaging clinic and get a testosterone prescription. It's a successful doping drug because it has a short life in the blood and can easily be timed to not show up when you don't want it to." Although Homansky and Goodman agree that harsher penalties and more-stringent testing can help keep drugs out of boxing and MMA, they also believe that education goes a long way. Along those lines, t hey helped put toget her a sem ina r at La s Vega s's Clevela nd Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, spoke at the Association of Boxing Com m issions, a nd, t hrough VA DA , adv ise at h- letes who wa nt to k now which supplement s a re legal and which are not. Sometimes, in fact, it's not illicit dr ugs t hat cause a problem. Goodma n remembers one fight in which a cornerman could not get his boxer's nose to stop bleeding. "I later found out that he was taking anti-inf lammatories before the fight," she says, explaining that they thin the blood and make clotting more difficult. And sometimes fighters just need to be protected from the people closest to them. "Young athletes are guided by promoters and managers who can be enablers—these people may only care about the fight going on and getting paid," says Homansky. "It's possible that fighters can take things without even knowing that they're illegal. Every morning, let's say, the fighter gets a smoothie, made by his trainer. Typically he has no idea what's in it." Now, Goodman says, with the help of VADA, "He does." For more information, visit vada-testing.org. V which is funded by donations as well as the finan- cial support of athletes, promoters, and sponsors that care about keeping fights clean. "There's a lack of k nowledge a mong reg ulators of box ing a nd mixed martial arts," says Homansky. "Early on, for example, they didn't think anabolic steroids would do any good for non-heavyweights who want to be fast and lean. But that's just ignorance. Drugs can be used in cockt a ils t hat create a ny t hing you're looking for, whether it's speed or bulk." In Nevada, steroid testing began in 2001. "But it's still not done correctly," Homansky points out. "Athletes know when they'll be tested" and can time their drug use. VADA operates differently: Testing times are random, and any fighter who fails to be available within 60 minutes of being approached receives a warning. If it happens a second time, he is out of the program. Those who have signed up with VA DA include Ultimate Fighting Championship greats Georges St-Pierre and Roy Nelson and box- ers Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. Recognizing the importance of keeping boxing a nd M M A clea n a nd credible, pa r t icula rly in Vegas, the doctors work zealously to set an agenda they hope will one day become standard. "I talked to different commissions about anteing up [requir- ing st r ingent test ing]," says Goodma n, whose novel Death in Vegas will be published this fall. "But even a s per for ma nce - enha ncing dr ug use wa s com mon, nobody would do a ny t hing. So we did it. T here a re f ighters who wa nt to show a com- m it ment to clea n spor t s —a nd t hey wa nt t heir opponents to be clean as well." The VADA process is state-of-the-art and comes with consequences—including being reported to various athletic organizations—for those who fail 66  vegasmagazine.com PeOPLe spirit of generosity

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