Martinez out of the Arnold!!! Official!

[G o a t b o y]

"He'll be in the show! Who hasn't pulled something while dieting for a show? Come on........he's not a baby."
- quote from Dave Palumbo Mr. Gorilla

[MattT]

Today, 12:30 AM 
 El Patron 
Mayhem Gawed
   Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,181 
 
 Victor Update...

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Okay - for the record, I was hoping to keep this off the forums until after we got the results back from Vic's MRI so I could let you know everything - but obviously we have a bunch of boards trying to jump the gun.

Here's EXACTLY where we are: late last night - Victor was stretching in a lunge style stretch and when he stepped back, he fell down - there was no major pain, no major sign that anything major had happened. He started to step back on it again and his knee gave out. He realized that the knee was slightly dislocated, but still no major pain

At this point, we have no bleeding, some swelling, but at this point, whether or not he is out of the Arnold, etc. is PURE speculation until we know what we are dealing with and get the results from the MRI and hear from the Doctor.

Vic is seeing a specialist - I believe it is the surgeon that deals with the NY Giants - he is looked upon as the best in the area and we will know a heck of a lot more tomorrow. Stay posted here - if you want the accurate scoopage.
 

[LatsMcGee]

Did everyone here jump off of the Toney Freeman bandwagon after the Olympia?  I bet Toney comes in sharp for this one and ups his stock again.  I'd like to see Melvin come in peeled and do some damage too.

[Busted]

Dexter will wipe the Floor with heath.  As soon as they turn around and Heath has that terrible narrow back its game over.

[Trev]

Dexter will wipe the Floor with heath.  As soon as they turn around and Heath has that terrible narrow back its game over.

Naah, as long as Heath comes in sharp, he'll beat Dexter. Def' think Martinez backed out after seeing the Heath pics. He'll want to ride the wave of the 2007 Olympia and want to come is as no 1 challenger in 2008.

[The Wizard]

He'll show up but has the perfect excuse if he gets his ass kicked. Should be marked down for plastic calves regardless though

[gordiano]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/06/MNG71OG4NU1.DTL&type=printable
SFGate
Bodybuilding Connection again Singes Governor
New winner of Arnold Classic reportedly linked to recent Pharmacy Steroid Raids

Carla Marinucci, Edward Epstein, Chronicle Political Writers

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger personally congratulated the massive, chiseled winner of his signature Arnold Classic bodybuilding competition in Ohio on Saturday and stood by as Victor Martinez was presented with a $130,000 first-place check, a spectacular trophy, a luxury Swiss watch and an "Arnold Classic" jacket.

Just days before, the name of the 34-year-old "Dominican Dominator" -- who was caught selling steroids to a New York City undercover police officer in 2004 -- appeared in published reports in New York about a major multistate investigation of steroid use related to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

Both Martinez and eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman -- described as a former client of Victor Conte's BALCO lab in Burlingame -- "were among the many clients in an ongoing multistate investigation that led to the raids on several pharmacies" in Florida recently, though they are not targets of the investigation focusing on major distributors, the New York Daily News reported.

The governor's press secretary, Aaron McLear, said Monday after The Chronicle contacted him on the matter that "this is the first (the governor has) heard of" Martinez's links to steroid investigations.

But McLear stressed that Schwarzenegger has left no question for years that "clearly steroid use is something he is very strongly opposed to" in a sport that he loves.

Still, the embarrassing news that the California governor had just honored an athlete with a criminal background involving steroids is a reminder of the governor's pledge at the 2006 Arnold Classic to "be all over the situation" of illegal drug use in the bodybuilding. There, he vowed to convene a summit of promoters, athletes and magazine publishers to develop tougher drug testing and enforcement to discourage steroid use.

"I have made it clear that we have to step up the testing, and find other ways to be more aggressive" in controlling illegal drug use in the bodybuilding industry, he pledged at last year's fitness expo, which annually draws 100,000 people to Columbus, Ohio.

The summit has never been scheduled. But McLear said that Schwarzenegger "has been in conversations with the top officials in bodybuilding to come up with a system by which they can test their athletes more comprehensively, and that's ongoing."

"If a summit is the means by which to get there, he's absolutely supportive of it," said McLear. "He wants to tackle this once and for all."

Martinez, the 2007 Arnold Classic overall champ and also winner of the competition's $10,000 "most muscular" award, was among a host of athletes recently identified in published reports as having their names on customer lists at Applied Pharmacy Services in Mobile, Ala., one of the pharmacies raided by federal authorities late last month. The names included Los Angeles Angels slugger Gary Matthews Jr., former A's home run king Jose Canseco and former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield.

The revelation has angered some who know the governor well, like bodybuilding promoter Wayne DeMilia. He insists that fault does not rest with Schwarzenegger but with the International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness, which oversees major pro bodybuilding events, including the Arnold Classic.

The organization "embarrassed Arnold over the weekend" by putting the former seven-time Mr. Olympia in a situation in which he presented a top award to a competitor with a troubled history, he said. "What the bodybuilding community doesn't realize is that if they keep embarrassing Arnold like this, he won't be in the sport," DeMilia said.

Despite official federation policies that call for drug testing of professional athletes, the freakishly large physiques of competing bodybuilders are stark evidence that cocktails of human growth hormone, insulin and steroids are in the training regimen, DeMilia says.

McLear said Schwarzenegger "is a producer of the event and not the sanctioning body ... and if he were, he would certainly encourage much more testing than they have right now."

Calls and e-mails to the bodybuilding federation for response were not returned.

Schwarzenegger himself has admitted that he used steroids during his bodybuilding days in the 1960s and 1970s, when they were legal. Since then, he has campaigned against their use, citing the potential for serious health complications.

Prior to this year's Arnold Classic, the California governor told Reuters news service that he suspected steroids would be part of the competition.

"I believe they can slip through it. I believe that we have athletes on the stage that are taking things," he said. "Every single year, I feel uncomfortable when we have the competition."

He told Reuters that he wanted to test competitors an hour before the contest, but the federation is "not willing to do that" because "there will be lawsuits, that it will be illegal to do that, to ask for the urine test."

Still, the record of Martinez, the 2007 Arnold Classic champ, has been no secret.

The Bergen County Record newspaper in New Jersey reported in January 2006 that Martinez pleaded guilty in New Jersey to possessing gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GBH, notorious for its use as a "date rape" drug -- but also used by bodybuilders to offset the effects of steroids. Martinez was arrested in July 2004 by narcotics agents who said they saw him exchanging bags and an envelope at a restaurant; he also was charged with the possession and distribution of a similar drug, butanediol, the paper reported.

In his plea bargain, the charges against Martinez were downgraded, and he pleaded guilty to third-degree possession of butanediol that involved no jail time or probation.

In a separate case in 2004, Martinez was jailed for selling steroids to an undercover New York City police officer.

The Arnold Classic itself has been the focus of run-ins with the law over steroid use.

In March 2004, federal drug agents swept in armed with subpoenas for some of the competitors -- a raid that played a role in the eventual indictments of Milos Sarcev, who finished fifth at the Arnold Classic in 1995, and Dennis James, a two-time competitor. Both pleaded guilty in 2005 to misdemeanor possession charges and avoided prison time.

Another competitor who served time for dealing drugs, Craig Titus, is now in jail in Las Vegas, awaiting trial along with his wife, women's fitness competitor Kelly Ryan, on charges of killing their live-in personal assistant, Melissa James, in their Las Vegas home.

Oh brother.....

[The Wizard]

You're on the ball with that breaking news from 10 months ago 

[gordiano]

Let's pretend Victor's knee is injured.......why in the fuck can he NOT put on posing oil, a thong, and pose for the gay Columbus crowd?


Did I miss something? It's not like he needs to run or anything (like they do in real sports).

[webcake]

Let's pretend Victor's knee is injured.......why in the fuck can he NOT put on posing oil, a thong, and pose for the gay Columbus crowd?
Did I miss something? It's not like he needs to run or anything (like they do in real sports).

I think its to do with the training aspects of things. Even though the Arnold isn't that far away, not being to train your lower body for sometime will make a difference. Still, he could show up though. I dunno.

[The Wizard]

Maybe Schwarzenegger doesn't want an ex crim' on stage this year, hence this bullshit story

[webcake]

Maybe Schwarzenegger doesn't want an ex crim' on stage this year, hence this bullshit story

Most likely. There was media attention about Vic winning it last year, due to the fact he had a criminal record for selling gear, and of course the American government is going crazy about steroids.

Either way, Heath is a serious chance to take the title.

[The Wizard]

Yeh, no chance the American media will connect Heath with steroids if he shows up looking as he does now 

[webcake]

Heath is natural, just like Gustavo.

"100% natural, hard work, thats it"

[kevcat]

Heath wins no matter who is competing 

[bigdumbbell]

too bad, i like his personality, does heath have one?  haha

[Moosejay]

If I had to guess?

After Vic won the Governator's show last year, a reporter or two probably checked out his record and it caused AS some embarassment.  With the heat under the whole "steroid" thing being turned up as high as ever, it was probably suggested to Vic by the "powers that be" that he 'pop a kneecap' or something. 

Strongly agree.

I know many have love for Vic here, but he is not exactly what Arnold wants to espouse these days. I'd be surprised if he competed at all.

Arnold did, ineed, blow a gasget when he saw Vic win his show..."Felon of the ASC, 2007"

[Special Ed]

Here's the original story from close to the horse's mouth (Heinz is an IFBB Pro who along with Martinez trains under Victor Munoz):

BIGHEINZ SAID THIS FROM PRO. MUSCLE

Victor Munoz just called me today 1-15-07 at 6.30 pm, he gived his cellphone to Matinez and he told me he broke a knee tendon getting out off his truck, and he is not doing the Arnold.

It is a sad news, he has been training very hard just focused in every show, every day of his life and just with a bad move and shit!!!!

He is going tomorrow to the specialist to see what he is going to do and maybe set up the surgery.

I will be in touch with him and let you know guys.
I think i am more piss than him, he was talking very nice and quiet. He is very nice bros, even with this furstrating situation.

***
And here is a classic "Getbig" Response posted by Triple-H 2005 on MD:

Okay, three stories...

1. "Pops" kneecap while stetching.
2. "Breaks" a tendon getting out of his truck.
3. "Shits" pants after seing Heath photos.

Waiting for definitive word...

***

At this very moment, Vic's cell phone is ringing non-stop. From his friends asking how he's doing? Nope. From his fans wanting to know if he'll compete? Nope.

His phone is ringing off the hook because 'Da Boss' is absolutely FURIOUS that his #1 guy is gonna skip the #1 show. My apologies to the Olympia, but the Arnold is where it's at and where the best man wins.

Full, Detailed Re-enactment on MONDAY'S BIG NATION Radio.

Wanted: Voice actor with ability to do Dominican accent. (Cuban, Puerto Rican, or Mexican also acceptable)

[Spoony Luv]

Rumor at the Martinez camp is that Victor was off and the oil was looking really bad esp/in his arms and the fact that Heath is looking unreal...Its no secret that Victor's body is being held together by a thread...If he doesn't show up, it has nothing to do with a knee injury...He has been hanging out with Flex too long...

[MikeThaMachine]

What's all this talk about the "media" reporting about Vic and it possibly tainting the show.... So what like at most 3 internet news sites wrote about it and maybe a few thousand saw. Everyone who follows BBing and goes to the ASC knows they use steroids and many do things that are illegal to obtain/distribute them. One thing BBing has going for it is mainstream media doesn't give a shit about it and tries not to follow it so I highly doubt anyones background who prevent them from winning a show.

[Special Ed]

What's all this talk about the "media" reporting about Vic and it possibly tainting the show.... So what like at most 3 internet news sites wrote about it and maybe a few thousand saw. Everyone who follows BBing and goes to the ASC knows they use steroids and many do things that are illegal to obtain/distribute them. One thing BBing has going for it is mainstream media doesn't give a shit about it and tries not to follow it so I highly doubt anyones background who prevent them from winning a show.

The difference is that Phil Heath ain't got no convictions. Media needs something to latch onto for a story. Speculating about a circus-freak physique is different than having a rap sheet in front of you to cite.

[MAXX]

damn that sucks. was hoping to see Vic go up against Phil..

[MikeThaMachine]

I don't think Vic is scared anyway, Heath better have made a lot of overall improvments if he plans to beat Vic.

[MikeThaMachine]

More

[MikeThaMachine]

The difference is that Phil Heath ain't got no convictions. Media needs something to latch onto for a story. Speculating about a circus-freak physique is different than having a rap sheet in front of you to cite.

What Media?? MD which is full of drug abusing ex cons, Flex, Iron man or Muscle Mag who are respectable but obviously don't give a crap about shit like that because they know what BBers have to do to survive in the industry. If anything you would think the "G4P" stars would be the ones getting screwed in shows because of mainsteam media but the fact is the general public doesn't give a shit about BBing and show promoters aren't worried about people not showing up because a convicted felon is competing.