Brian Cushing Suspended 4 Games

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Cushing may still end up getting the ROY award AP has reported that he is still getting votes and the winner may not change. Stephen McClain has already said he voted for him the second time around, but he's a Houston reporter so we'll see.

One thing I would say is that he tested positive in September for HCG, a druge typically used to come off of steroids indicating he may have been closing out a steroid regiment. This would indicate that he would then have played the duration of the season not on steroids but was able to increase his on-field performance during that time. This is a little different than the Merriman situation where he was caught taking an actual anabolic steroid with traces of said steroid in his system. He certainly cheated but his playing ability over that time should have (based on the fall off seen with other players who have stopped using these drugs) dropped off significantly but it did not. I think writers will look at that fact and seriously consider giving this guy the award again. I am from Bergen County NJ and he was a prodigy coming up for Bergen Catholic, he was undersized but his work with the DeFranco people over that time helped him immensely although the rumors of his use as early as the summer going into his Junior year were widespread. His work ethic is unquestionable and his diet and training methods are tailored specifically for size gains. I've been to the DeFranco gym and these people are serious about what they do and their training methods though nonconventional work extremely well. You may not actually see the fall off with Cushing that we saw with other guys and the only reason I say that is because the groundwork has been done for him. He's used, probably more than once, he trains constantly and he will more than likely be able to keep much of what he has on his frame right now. From an injury standpoint it may be more difficult to predict because injuries are more random but he could just as easily turn to something like growth hormone to pick up the slack and we would never know.