Business of Sport: While the French may be banning Red Bull and the rest of Europe may wonder what to do with such energy drinks, keep an eye on products containing ephedra, writes Daire Whelan.

The US are introducing a ban on an over-the-counter supplement after high-profile deaths, such as that of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, became linked with ephedra-related nutritional supplements that were used by 17 million Americans for weight loss and body building.

In Ireland, ephedrine - the chemical substance taken from the plant ephedra - isn't available and is banned as an over-the-counter product.

In the past it has been found to be illegally present in some herbal sports and weight-loss supplements and the Irish Medicines Board removed such products from the market. But despite these regulations, this column was still able to source ephedra-related products from Irish fitness websites.

The Irish Sports Council reiterates the dangers for athletes taking any kind of nutritional supplement but it is obvious there is a market for them in Ireland - just look at the Geraldine Hendricken ruling which upheld the German Sports Institute findings that her dietary supplements contained an anabolic androgenic steroid, which could, if taken, lead to a positive test for norandrosterone.

Meanwhile, the pending ban in the US on ephedra-related products signals another step up by the George Bush administration in the fight against drugs in sport.

FDA commissioner Mark McClellan has said new manufacturing and labelling regulations for dietary supplements will be released later this year. McClellan said he is concerned about a number of supplements on the market and the new ephedra rules will serve as a model for evaluation of other supplements.

Dr Audrey Kinahan of the Irish-sports Council's-endorsed website www.eirpharm.com also believes the ephedra ban is another warning to athletes contemplating adding supplements to their diets.

"This change in position by the FDA just enforces the reasons why athletes should not take supplements and why they should be very wary of any products that they purchase over the internet. The health risks in taking stimulants are very serious."

WADA and the IOC have banned ephedrine, and in America, the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association have all banned its use and Major League Baseball prohibits players with minor-league contracts from taking the substance.

Four years ago $1 billion was spent on US sales of weight-loss products containing ephedra, some of which are still being sold in this country.

Rodriguez a winner in the money game

Real Madrid don't have the sole right to sign galacticos to their team. In baseball, the richest, most famous and most successful - the New York Yankees - have signed their first galactico for the coming Major League season.

Alex Rodriguez - or A-Rod as he is known - puts the riches of Beckham and Ronaldo to shame. Known as the man with the most expensive contract in world sports, Rodriguez has jumped ship from the Texas Rangers, the team who signed him on a 10-year $252 million deal in 2000. However, three consecutive seasons in last place and A-Rod wanted out.

The Yankees will pay Rodriguez $16 million a year for the remaining seven years while Rangers will also pay $9 million a year from his contract. The Yankees got agreement from Rodriguez to defer an additional $1 million a year for each of the first four years with no interest and they have offset that reduction in value by giving him a hotel suite on the road.

Rangers, who will work out Rodriguez' New York State tax payments, agreed to purchase Rodriguez' house in Texas and his suite at the American Airlines Arena.

On the day the deal was announced, the Yankees sold 22,000 tickets - 8,000 more than normal; traffic on the Yankees' website quintupled to 2.5 million hits and ESPN and Fox will increase Yankees' coverage.

Memory market

GAA fans and sports-memorabilia collectors have the rare opportunity to get their hands on a programme of the Polo Grounds All-Ireland final played between Kerry and Cavan in New York in 1947.

It is part of a large collection of sports collectibles on offer at Irish company Collectibles Corner.

Also on sale are 1950s All-Ireland final programmes, international soccer programmes dating from the 1940s, autographs and pictures and an extensive rugby and athletics collection.

Interest in the Irish sports memorabilia market has been growing in recent years. The 1947 All-Ireland programme has a going price of €400 while a previous one fetched €720.

Interested buyers have until March 2nd to bid for the sports items on collectiblescorner.net.