Dead Rangers Prospect Was Doping

Was the story of Alexei Cherepanov, the 19-year-old hockey phenom who died earlier this year in Moscow, not sad enough? Because Russian officials have some new depressing details they'd like to pile on.

Not only did Cherepanov have a heart condition that should have disqualified him from playing professional hockey, but post-mortem blood tests have revealed that he was actively blood doping and had been taking banned substances for several months before his death. No one is saying that the drugs contributed directly to his death, but when you add these facts to his heart problems and the paramedics who arrived 12 minutes after he collapsed, carrying a defibrillator with a dead battery, and the whole incident is just a big pile of suck.

And let's be honest—the whole thing happened in Russia, so who can really trust what the full truth is? He may as well have been arrested a Free Tibet rally in Beijing.

Officials: Tests show Russian hockey player Cherepanov was blood doping [Hockey News] Young star's death haunts KHL [Toronto Star] Cherepanov tragic loss for Russians [London Free Press]