If it is possible to imagine that Tiger Woods' problems could seemingly get any worse, a doctor associated with the PGA Tour golfer was arrested in October and is under investigation for attempting to smuggle human growth hormone and Actovegin across the Canada-United States Border. Dr. Anthony Galea was arrested and questioned by RCMP on October 15, soon after his assistant was denied entry into the United States from Canada. Border-crossing guards found Dr. Galea's medical kit in her car, which contained H.G.H and three other drugs.

Galea has treated professional and amateur athletes on both sides of the border and is noted for helping athletes recover from surgery or in several cases eluding surgery altogether through an advanced technique called "platelet-rich plasma therapy, as well as other pioneering procedures, on knees, elbows and Achilles' tendons."

The list of elite and prominent athletes reads like a who's who of professional and amateur sports. From current and former Olympians Donovan Bailey and Dara Torres, a slew of NFL and CFL players to Woods. Many of the athletes sought out Galea based on the advanced work he was doing in the science of recuperative healing.

As it pertains to Woods, Galea visited the golfer on four occasions to provide the platelet therapy to help with his knee surgery rehabilitation. Mark Steinberg, Woods agent at I.M.G., stated in the course of the investigation, "I would really ask that you guys don't write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won't be, let's please give the kid a break."

Assigning H.G.H is legal in Canada and authorized in the United States, however, only for a set list of uses of which do not include "hastening recovery from surgery or injury."

Moreover, Galea has been the team doctor for the Toronto Argonauts since 2004 and his medical practice has become a destination for professional athletes, especially football players, who travel to his clinic to receive the platelet therapy. Indeed, the MD has been known to use some of the drugs that were found in his medical bag.

Ten years ago, when he turned 40, Dr. Galea said he began injecting himself with human growth hormone five days a week. Using H.G.H., he said, may allow him a longer lifespan with his wife, who he said is 22 years younger. "If the body is healthy, then your mind and intellect are free to study, to feed your spirit," he said during one of several lengthy phone interviews over the past several days.

Dr. Galea said he used Actovegin to treat the injuries of some of his patients, including players on the Toronto Argonauts football team, for which he has been the team doctor since 2004. Dr. Galea said he did not use Actovegin to treat Mr. Woods or other United States athletes.

The World Anti-Doping agency has banned H.G.H., while the four pro sports leagues in North America don't have a test for the performance enhancing drug.

The view from the grassy knoll in sports provides interesting sight lines, but Parting Shots can only wonder about the outcome and hope this is just a misunderstanding, and as the lawyer for the good doctor insists that his client will be vindicated.

Sports Medicine Pioneer Subject of Doping Inquiry [The New York Times]