NFL OWNERS Agenda covers steroid testing

Teams aren't in favor of changing the current preseason format of four games.
CHICAGO (AP) -- NFL management council head Harold Henderson and union president Gene Upshaw are teaming up to formulate a plan for retroactive testing of THG.
"This particular category of steroids has been on the prohibited list for quite some time. So Harold and Gene will work to strike a fair balance," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Wednesday after the first day of the league's fall meetings.
First up on today's final day are presentations from three cities vying for the 2008 Super Bowl -- Tempe, Ariz.; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington D.C. And then a vote from owners.
Causing a stir
The previously undetectable designer steroid THG has caused a stir throughout the world of sports.
The NFL, with a strict steroid policy, said last week that THG would be included in current testing for banned substances. On Wednesday, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer added it to their lists of banned substances.
But now the question in the NFL is testing for THG from previous samples.
Union player representative Trace Armstrong of the Oakland Raiders said his understanding is that earlier samples go back only so far.
"There may be some samples there that have not been destroyed yet, but we have not been saving samples," he said.
But Upshaw said all samples are kept for a period of time.
"We're still trying to get our arms around it. There's no doubt we believe it should be tested for. And there's no doubt we believe it should be on the banned list," he said.
Henderson said the league and union must work together.
"There are a lot of open issues to think about and we don't have clear black and white answers to all of these issues," Henderson said. "We're partners in this policy. We try not to dictate the way it works. We want to get some agreement on it."
Subpoenaed
Raiders defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield and running back Tyrone Wheatley both said they were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in a case involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
BALCO was raided by the Internal Revenue Service and local drug agents in September. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has said it believes a sample of THG came from BALCO.
"As far as the guys who have been subpoenaed, I think it's important to remember that again none of them have tested positive," Armstrong said.
On another topic, owners aren't in favor of changing the current preseason format of four games by adding two of the exhibitions to the regular season and creating an 18-game schedule.
"There was not a whole lot of sentiment for changing it," he said. "I think coaches need the games to get prepared and learn more about our young players," Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said.
Tagliabue also said there was no decision on a new or renovated stadium for Los Angeles to lure a team back to the city.