Another Day Another Drug

Toradol is a popular injected painkiller among pro athletes.

You take it 30 minutes before game time and you feel great for about four hours. It's legal and many athletes use it.

HOWEVER, that may me changing. Some teams no longer let their doctors administer it because of potentially dangerous long-term use side-effects. John Palebon, the Red Sox closer from 2005-2011 freely admits that he used it about "once a month" to get through the season. Other players may take it more frequently.

Baseball may look at banning it. Football players have started a lawsuit saying that it masked some other things that should have been dealt with. Concussions, as a result, were made more severe.

The primary concern is internal bleeding. Some entire COUNTRIES have banned the drug. England only allows it to be administered in hospitals.

It's NOT steroid-based, so it's not a performance enhancer, per se. It's just that when you take it, all your pain goes away. So in effect, it becomes a performance enhancer.

Another day. Another drug. It won't be the last one discussed, and debated.

And it won't be the last drug that players take to get an advantage. Sports is all about getting advantages.