1 Post. 3 Topics. Unlimited Awesome?

#1: Remember when Michael Rasmussen was kicked out of the 07 Tour de France, not for doping, but because he was reported to have been spotted training in "plain clothes?" At the time there were a few circulating stories of why, but Rasmussen's argument was consistently that it was the only way he could train without being hassled by cycling fans out on the road as it's clearly easy to spot and recognize these guys in their team kits. The only other people that wear full team kits are fat rich dudes and nobody's mistaking them for featherlight KOM champs.

Since Lance's comeback he has consistently been training in everything OTHER than his Astana team kit. It was said that part of his comeback bid to raise awareness for the global fight against cancer would allow him to wear LiveStrong kits in training, but Astana kits to race. Well, that made sense, especially when the pictures from the team camp showed up online and it's not like he was a hard guy to spot and the message seemed a good one.

However, recently, from his very own twitter updates I've seen multiple pictures where Lance is all kitted up, but wearing either LiveStrong or Astama team issue gear.



This puzzled me. So I took back at the old story and realized the "plain clothing" that was made such a fuss about wasn't the real issue at all. The reason Rasmussen was kicked out of the Tour was because he said he'd be in Mexico City for training, when he was actually some place in Europe. So his plain clothing was simply a means of disguise to keep his location a secret. But, he was spotted and it was reported and later his manager/trainer admitted he had been providing him with doping products. I realized the difference is the pros can train in whatever they want, as long as they are really where they say they area. And with about 10 twitter updates per day, Lance isn't trying to hide from anybody!

Why's this important? It's not.

#2 Tyler Hamilton tests positive again and will decide retire. I mean he's 38 so an 8 year ban is essentially a life timer for him. The story is reported that he quit his anti-depression meds cold turkey and resorted to some over the counter anti-depressants that included some substance that is on the banned list.

Unlike last time Hamilton says he knew it was in there and took it anyway. However, the performance enhancing properties of this supplement are clearly questionable as Hamilton finished 2nd to last in the Tour of California when he was on the stuff and with no real results coming after.

Either way, I think it's sort of a sad story and I was hoping for Tyler that he'd finish his career with the stars and stripes jersey on his back. But, it sounds like there's a bit bigger issues here than whether or not Hamilton is using doping agents for performance. I love cycling, but it's not the most important thing in the world. I wish Tyler nothing but the very best and I hope he can seek treatment for his depression.

For a professional journalist's story and not mine, click here.

#3



This morning on Good Morning America they showed a clip of these sorts of shots and asked if they were fake. Of course they aren't fake. What they aren't are first time attempts. Anybody, with an sort of athleticism can make these shots give an unlimited number of attempts. Why do you need at least a little athleticism? Because you're going to have to make adjustments based on misses. Not to mention throwing a basketball the length of the court isn't easy.

I will point out though, the kid who uses the bat to hit the ball should be careful. I got 18 stitches above my right eye in 7th grade doing that.

Have a great Friday everyone!