It's that time of year when the Tour de France comes to close and 90% of American cycling fans think that the cycling season has also ended. This was the first Tour de France since 2006 when I was on a bike everyday that I didn't watch it on a daily basis. This made for interesting following. I'd like to not repeat this in future July's. In no particular order of importance here's what I took away from this year's Tour de France.
- Mark Cavendish gets two goose eggs for points on two sprint stages and still finishes 2nd in the competition? I don't think you'd be crazy to assume that Mark Cavendish has a chance to win EVERY sprinter stage. With a lead out, without a lead out, he obviously just needs 200 meters of clean road and it's over. Obviously sprinting is rough and tumble activity so there's never a guarantee that any sprinter will make into the last 200 meters to actually sprint, but if he's there, he's gonna win. It has to suck to be other sprinters right now. Without a crash you are just racing for 2nd.
- You've got to give it to Thor Hushovd, for a guy who was sprinting about as fast as a Cat 3 he did his best to collect points and build a buffer. But, when you come to the line with more than 5 other sprinters and you lose to all 5 of them every time, you're not going to win that jersey.
- Since I didn't watch the stage yesterday I didn't see the jersey controversy, but I'm going to take the opposite stance that almost everybody else I've read is taking and that is, Why does Lance Armstrong thing he's above the rules that everybody else plays by? If any other team shows up to the tour and decides they're just going to wear different jersey's this day, he'd be the first to say, "well you can't do that." But, that rule doesn't apply to him? I don't care if the jersey's were symbolic of those living with cancer. Aren't all 200 bikes he came to the tour with symbolic of that as well? I understand that Lance came out of retirement to spread the good word of cancer survivor ship and all that jazz and I'm not knocking that mission. But, I also feel like that became a pretty good story line to make up for the lack of wins during this 2nd run at professional cycling. When you're winning a bunch of races you often don't need a constant gimmick to try and over shadow your mediocre results or remind everyone that you're here for some other reason. Lance has stated that he's going to be doing plenty of non bike racing starting now, couldn't he have worn his 28 jersey's then?
- It also drives me nuts that the two guys doing velo center (who are terrible by the way!) Bring back Jason Sumner and Neal Rogers and the old format! Take the time to point out, "Lance isn't happy by the way" as the video shows Lance complaining about being forced to wear the jersey of the sponsor who's actually putting up the funds for him to joy ride around France. Who gives a crap if Lance isn't happy. The story line here should be, "Lance tried to wear a different jersey, but just like you, I and he knows, that's not in the rules."
- Somewhere in the Lance comeback tour I lost interest in the story and only wanted to see results. Obviously that didn't happen. But I also got fed up with the fake rivalry between he and Contador. I also got fed up with all the people asking if Lance was working for Levi once he started giving up massive chunks of time to go for a stage win. Seriously, 90% of RadioShack fans have no clue about bike racing. I know the fairy tale is sweet and all, but come on, Levi lost California when there were other guys in the race who were actually fit. No shot he even sniffs the podium of the Tour de France on a year when there's actually talent there.
- I guess I have to mention the "chain gate" incident. I read from velonews live update "Schleck drops his chain, Contador attacks." But really, that's not what happened. Schleck attacked, Vino and Contador respond, Schleck drops his chain. That's not even close to the same thing. If I'm Contador I'm not sure I stop right there either. Contador wasn't sitting behind Andy both riding piano, Andy's chain falls off and then Contador jumps him. Tons of pro riders backed up to the idea that if you start the attack and have a mechanical, sorry about your luck. Nobody's obligated to wait. Could he have waited, maybe, but he doesn't have to. I think too much was made of this, and most of it was made by the pro-andy and pro-lance and anti-contador factions out there.
- Looks like Contador is fallible. Who would've thought? I'm obviously not training with him daily so I don't know what differences he made to his tour prep this year but he lacked all sorts of snap that we've seen in the past. If going into this tour you had said that Andy would have set a tempo up the Tourmalet that Contador wouldn't be able to attack from, I'd have said you're crazy. Obviously he didn't need all that extra fire power to win so it's sort of a moot point. But, if Andy, or even somebody like Jani Brajovic, is close in the TTs, these races are still up for grabs.
- Some french dude won the KOM. 6 French dudes won stages. And a French guy won the most aggressive rider of the race, which seems like a dumb and impossibly subjective award, especially since the winner, Chavanel, was aggressive early and on the Champs-Elysee. But, you know, if some sponsor wants to put up money for it, no problem. But, with all this french success does that mean the French will have a contender in the near future? I don't think so. As Bob Roll said when I went to hear him speak recently, "the cheese is too soft."
- I know it's easy for me to sit here and be a Monday morning quarterback on Schleck's tactics. Maybe he was already at his limit on the Tourmalet or even other stages, but if I'm him I'd rather attack Contador repeatedly in hopes of gaping for whatever time I can get and run the risk of dropping out of the top 20 than ride a super fast tempo that he's holding on to and assure myself 2nd. I just feel like at that level, 2nd is as good as 15th. You either win or you don't. I can think of another promising stage racer who wouldn't attack when he was young because he was afraid of blowing up and losing his podium spot. That guys wasn't riding in this tour de france because that strategy basically has huge long term negative side effects. That rider, Tom Danielson. Let's hope Andy doesn't turn out like Tommy D in terms of long term racing success.
- If I were Chris Horner I'm on the phone with Johan saying, "Either I lead this thing at next year's tour or I need a release." He finished top 10 at the tour and part of his job was to fetch bottles. If he's not wasting energy going back and forth from the front of the race to the team car and back or chauffeuring a broken Lance up the mountains, he's at least in the group with Sanchez and Menchov. He's the ultimate teammate so he never once complained about doing his job as it was assigned, but seriously, it's got to suck to be the best guy on a team and have your chances of doing your best ride being weighed down with 7 bottles shoved into your jersey.
- I think a lot of Americans who thought that Contador didn't have a strong team learned some new names. I wasn't surprised at all that he had a solid set of climbers to help in the mountains. Daniel Navarro obviously opened some eyes. You don't have to a team of previous podium place holders to ride around france the fastest.
- No positive drug tests in this tdf. Does that mean that riders are clean or the doctors are better? Who really knows, but I guess we have to assume clean. Well, Petacchi seems like he's going to get busted again. You'd think after about the 4th or 5th time his name gets brought up in this stuff he'd have figured out the right amount of inhaler medicine that he can take and still fly under the radar.
- I almost forgot. Congratulations to RadioShack for winning the team classification. You made it such a big priority after realizing you had no shot at the podium with a single rider. Way to stick to the message throughout the race so that everybody was aware of just how important of a goal this was for the team. Oddly enough, I remember a few Postal and Discovery teams that laughed at this competition because it was meaningless. I think you have to notify whoever came in 2nd because I'm not sure they're aware they were racing you.
I guess I'm out of stuff to say. What a pity.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
What We (I) Learned from Stage 8
As luck would have it the entire staff of TeamLandall was far away from computer access during what has been the most decisive stage of this years Tour de France, #8. By the pure definition of decisive, people lots and gained time they either desperately wanted or couldn't afford to lose, yes it was decisive. But, I think in the grand scheme of things, it didn't show us all that much, and simply made for a new story line and one day of drama. I think it may be easiest and best, especially since I'm pretty late here, to do this in points rather than narrative.
Things that happened:
- Lance crashed. A lot. Bob Roll said that Lance never suffered a puncture in his 7 tour victories, and while I find that a little hard to believe, it's easily accepted that he basically had 7 years of insanly good luck. During those 7 years if he crashed, it was after the split had been made and at that point all the leaders are obligated to wait. When Beloki decided that going through a huge patch of melted tar at 50mph was a better idea than the perfectly good asphalt to either side, Lance was able to ride through a field without puncture. I'm not really sure what voodoo lady Lance paid for 7 years of good luck, but one things for sure, his check this year bounced.
Phil Ligget said if you're going to lose 2 minutes you may as well lose 10 and while I don't fully agree with him, I do see his point. I am on record before this race as saying Lance had no shot of winning and would be scratching to stay in the top 10. But nobody, not Andy Schleck or even Contador want to beat anybody because they had the worst day they've ever had on a bike. You don't want to beat somebody because they fell down. You want to be them because you're better and you want to get the opportunity to prove it. While I don't think anybody except maybe Phil Ligget and Trek bicycle riders really thought Lance stood a chance, this isn't the way you want to see him go out.
- I have a theory (go figure) about Lance and the peloton. Back in the day, Lance ran the show. He left the sport for three years and when he came back he wasn't the same dominant force he was before. There are plenty of stories of Tours in the past where Lance at the beginning of a stage would say, "ok guys, nobody races until the bottom of the first climb" and they'd essentially soft pedal as a group to that spot. When guys would attack out of that group it was Lance who would chase them down and bring them back into the fold. He had that kind of power. Since his departure, that power has shifted. I don't know who exactly has it, but it ain't him. There's now hope among "everybody" that Lance can win a stage. At this point, I'd be really surprised to see that happen. Not only because I don't think Lance is fast enough to win a stage, but also because I don't see the group letting him. I think there are plenty of people in the peloton who were somehow affected during the King Lance reign and can use this opportunity to exact some revenge. Not that I think he can win a long time trial anymore because he hasn't ridden a long time trial in 2 years that would lead anyone to believe that, but I think soft pedaling and attempting to have the freshest legs for the TT is his only chance. No Gifts right?
- Andy Schleck put the drop on Contador. As soon as Contador looked over his left shoulder I knew Andy was going on the right. He put in a great move and stuck with it to the line. Clearly waiting on Sanchez once he realized that Contador wasn't coming with. While it was a great move and it's tough to get a real perspective of speed due to the motorcycle with the camera riding beside them, it just didn't look as explosive as the moves we've grown accustomed to seeing from Alberto. Either way, that doesn't really matter, because for that day, it was enough, Contador couldn't follow it, and Andy is in yellow.
- Contador has got to be pretty satisfied with where he's at. :41 down on a guy that he beat by over a minute in last years last TT. Let's face it, :41 isn't enough of a head start in the prologue when they were all on fresh legs. I know Andy's the TT champ of the great cycling nation of Luxemburg, but even he can't be too comfortable with anything less than :90 going into the final TT. Contador wins TTs routinely and Schleck routinely talks about how he's improving. I'm not sure Contador needs to do anything but follow wheels. But, I think he's too competitive for that so we'll see some fireworks. Andy has got to repeatedly attach him. Even if he can only get 5-10 seconds at a time, he needs as much of a cushion as possible.
- I know I'm supposed to really like Cadel. He's tough and crazy. But, I just don't. He's a diesel engine and I just don't like that kind of riding in the mountains. As soon as Schleck attacked he went 10 guys backwards. He can't respond to any of that and nobody else seems to have too much trouble riding at his tempo. However, he has won races wearing the rainbow stripes so I think that's pretty cool. And, I guess it should be noted that the anchor attached to his new yellow bike on Stage 9 was caused by a broken elbow. The dude is tough. No doubt about that! Remember when Tyler Hamilton rode himself into 3rd overall with a broken collarbone from a crash in the 1st week? Sometimes I don't ride if I have a stomach ache. These guys are insane!
- Everybody stand by as Levi plummets out of the top 5 as soon as the third week hits.
- I'd probably be remiss if I didn't at least mention Ryder Hesjedal and the incredible first week he's had. He put on a show on the cobbles and has rode outside of himself in the mountains to stay respectively high on GC. Nobody saw that coming, not even his team. Hopefully this surprise success doesn't peg him as the future stage race hope of Canada. I think it's obvious he's better suited as a classics guy and the un justifiable hopes of tour de france victory have done more than one potentially great classics rider in, ie. Daminao Cunego, Sylvan Chavanel, etc. Still, he's put on a good show thus far. But, it should be noted that I'm sort of partial to tall, anorexic looking cyclists though. Go figure.
So that's it. That's what I think we learned from Stage 8. Stage 9 saw Andy and Alberto work together to stretch their lead even more. Barring a crash, it's definitely a race between those two. Sanchez is riding out of his mind and can't help but watch them go up the road. That's got to be frustrating!
Things that happened:
- Lance crashed. A lot. Bob Roll said that Lance never suffered a puncture in his 7 tour victories, and while I find that a little hard to believe, it's easily accepted that he basically had 7 years of insanly good luck. During those 7 years if he crashed, it was after the split had been made and at that point all the leaders are obligated to wait. When Beloki decided that going through a huge patch of melted tar at 50mph was a better idea than the perfectly good asphalt to either side, Lance was able to ride through a field without puncture. I'm not really sure what voodoo lady Lance paid for 7 years of good luck, but one things for sure, his check this year bounced.
Phil Ligget said if you're going to lose 2 minutes you may as well lose 10 and while I don't fully agree with him, I do see his point. I am on record before this race as saying Lance had no shot of winning and would be scratching to stay in the top 10. But nobody, not Andy Schleck or even Contador want to beat anybody because they had the worst day they've ever had on a bike. You don't want to beat somebody because they fell down. You want to be them because you're better and you want to get the opportunity to prove it. While I don't think anybody except maybe Phil Ligget and Trek bicycle riders really thought Lance stood a chance, this isn't the way you want to see him go out.
- I have a theory (go figure) about Lance and the peloton. Back in the day, Lance ran the show. He left the sport for three years and when he came back he wasn't the same dominant force he was before. There are plenty of stories of Tours in the past where Lance at the beginning of a stage would say, "ok guys, nobody races until the bottom of the first climb" and they'd essentially soft pedal as a group to that spot. When guys would attack out of that group it was Lance who would chase them down and bring them back into the fold. He had that kind of power. Since his departure, that power has shifted. I don't know who exactly has it, but it ain't him. There's now hope among "everybody" that Lance can win a stage. At this point, I'd be really surprised to see that happen. Not only because I don't think Lance is fast enough to win a stage, but also because I don't see the group letting him. I think there are plenty of people in the peloton who were somehow affected during the King Lance reign and can use this opportunity to exact some revenge. Not that I think he can win a long time trial anymore because he hasn't ridden a long time trial in 2 years that would lead anyone to believe that, but I think soft pedaling and attempting to have the freshest legs for the TT is his only chance. No Gifts right?
- Andy Schleck put the drop on Contador. As soon as Contador looked over his left shoulder I knew Andy was going on the right. He put in a great move and stuck with it to the line. Clearly waiting on Sanchez once he realized that Contador wasn't coming with. While it was a great move and it's tough to get a real perspective of speed due to the motorcycle with the camera riding beside them, it just didn't look as explosive as the moves we've grown accustomed to seeing from Alberto. Either way, that doesn't really matter, because for that day, it was enough, Contador couldn't follow it, and Andy is in yellow.
- Contador has got to be pretty satisfied with where he's at. :41 down on a guy that he beat by over a minute in last years last TT. Let's face it, :41 isn't enough of a head start in the prologue when they were all on fresh legs. I know Andy's the TT champ of the great cycling nation of Luxemburg, but even he can't be too comfortable with anything less than :90 going into the final TT. Contador wins TTs routinely and Schleck routinely talks about how he's improving. I'm not sure Contador needs to do anything but follow wheels. But, I think he's too competitive for that so we'll see some fireworks. Andy has got to repeatedly attach him. Even if he can only get 5-10 seconds at a time, he needs as much of a cushion as possible.
- I know I'm supposed to really like Cadel. He's tough and crazy. But, I just don't. He's a diesel engine and I just don't like that kind of riding in the mountains. As soon as Schleck attacked he went 10 guys backwards. He can't respond to any of that and nobody else seems to have too much trouble riding at his tempo. However, he has won races wearing the rainbow stripes so I think that's pretty cool. And, I guess it should be noted that the anchor attached to his new yellow bike on Stage 9 was caused by a broken elbow. The dude is tough. No doubt about that! Remember when Tyler Hamilton rode himself into 3rd overall with a broken collarbone from a crash in the 1st week? Sometimes I don't ride if I have a stomach ache. These guys are insane!
- Everybody stand by as Levi plummets out of the top 5 as soon as the third week hits.
- I'd probably be remiss if I didn't at least mention Ryder Hesjedal and the incredible first week he's had. He put on a show on the cobbles and has rode outside of himself in the mountains to stay respectively high on GC. Nobody saw that coming, not even his team. Hopefully this surprise success doesn't peg him as the future stage race hope of Canada. I think it's obvious he's better suited as a classics guy and the un justifiable hopes of tour de france victory have done more than one potentially great classics rider in, ie. Daminao Cunego, Sylvan Chavanel, etc. Still, he's put on a good show thus far. But, it should be noted that I'm sort of partial to tall, anorexic looking cyclists though. Go figure.
So that's it. That's what I think we learned from Stage 8. Stage 9 saw Andy and Alberto work together to stretch their lead even more. Barring a crash, it's definitely a race between those two. Sanchez is riding out of his mind and can't help but watch them go up the road. That's got to be frustrating!
Friday, July 09, 2010
"The (Bad) Decision"
Watching the news this morning made it pretty clear that the only people who are currently fans of LeBron James are, his entourage and anyone living in Miami. I didn't watch "The Decision" because I was in class. Well, that's not entirely true, I wouldn't have watched it anyway, but one thing is most certainly true, the method in which LeBron James used his free agency did not help his image and I would assume that he's actually running a net loss on fans, despite acquiring all of Miami-W(D)ade county.
I realize that all of the hype certainly wasn't LeBron James' fault. In today's media circus nobody could afford to be the network not giving you ridiculous predictions and updates on how many times he said anything that could be seen as a clue. I also realize that the cities/teams that put together recruiting campaigns were nothing of his doing. It's not LeBron's responsibility to call New York, Chicago or any of the private groups and say "hey guys, don't take a billboard asking me to come there." LeBron James didn't buy a billboard or ask actors and celebrities to make a video begging him to come. I think it's also pretty obvious that while these were probably seen as nice gestures, they had absolutely no impact on his decision to play in Miami.
It was pretty obvious that this free agency market was a unique situation for both players and teams. Other huge names, not just LeBron were hitting the free agency market and teams saw the opportunity to put together a "big 3" like we've seen in Boston the last few years and immediately started opening up cap space. Again, it's not LeBron's or any other free agents fault that their contracts all ended during the same off season. And it's certainly just good business to try and take advantage of those opportunities from both a player and management prospective.
I've always thought one of the things that made LeBron so unique is that even with his immense talent he tried to win in the town he was from. When he was drafted by Cleveland he didn't moan about how bad they were, instead, he put his head down and tried to win basketball games. For the last two to three years LeBron James was essentially the 3rd or 4th best team in the NBA and I can say that pretty confidently because he's never been surrounded by any other marquee players in their prime. Since being drafted LeBron James was the Cleveland Cavaliers, period.
But, even the people of Cleveland couldn't be too upset with LeBron's decision to go play somewhere else, somewhere with a legit shot at winning rings. Obviously there'd be some negative press but I think in a pretty short period of time people would realize that he really gave it a go. He tried the best he could to win with the team that Cleveland was willing to give him. It didn't work out, so he had to go else where. I think deep down the people of Cleveland saw the writing on the wall and the crucifixion of LeBron James would have been quiet and short lived had he held a press conference saying that he and the Miami Heat had reached an agreement. He'd thank the city of Cleveland for 7 years that helped him grow and shape him as an NBA player. He'd talk about what a privileged it was to play in essentially his hometown in front of friends and family on a nightly basis. He'd then say, it was time to move on. But, as we all know, that's not what happened.
No, instead, LeBron James revealed himself as one of the most self indulgent people on the planet. Anybody who creates an hour long special to announce the team they'll go play for has fallen a bit too in love with the lime light. I know he said the proceeds from the special would go to charity, but, that doesn't change my opinion. You just received a max contract and it's not as if you were begging for change before that. If you're so altruistic that you're just dying to donate some money, pull out the check book, you don't have to foster the spectacle that was already created. This incident, "the Decision," honestly changed the way I perceive LeBron James, and like I said, I don't think I'm the only one. The team player, hometown, grounded, image that he built for himself for those years in Cleveland all crumbled with this snafu of a PR disaster. I don't blame LeBron James for leaving Cleveland. If he had stayed I'd have questioned his sanity. But I think the last piece of goodwill he could have done for that city was to walk away as quietly and as respectfully as he could. But instead the show was produced, the decision was announced and angry fans in multiple cities burned LeBron James jerseys in the streets. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't exactly consider that outcome a success.
I realize that all of the hype certainly wasn't LeBron James' fault. In today's media circus nobody could afford to be the network not giving you ridiculous predictions and updates on how many times he said anything that could be seen as a clue. I also realize that the cities/teams that put together recruiting campaigns were nothing of his doing. It's not LeBron's responsibility to call New York, Chicago or any of the private groups and say "hey guys, don't take a billboard asking me to come there." LeBron James didn't buy a billboard or ask actors and celebrities to make a video begging him to come. I think it's also pretty obvious that while these were probably seen as nice gestures, they had absolutely no impact on his decision to play in Miami.
It was pretty obvious that this free agency market was a unique situation for both players and teams. Other huge names, not just LeBron were hitting the free agency market and teams saw the opportunity to put together a "big 3" like we've seen in Boston the last few years and immediately started opening up cap space. Again, it's not LeBron's or any other free agents fault that their contracts all ended during the same off season. And it's certainly just good business to try and take advantage of those opportunities from both a player and management prospective.
I've always thought one of the things that made LeBron so unique is that even with his immense talent he tried to win in the town he was from. When he was drafted by Cleveland he didn't moan about how bad they were, instead, he put his head down and tried to win basketball games. For the last two to three years LeBron James was essentially the 3rd or 4th best team in the NBA and I can say that pretty confidently because he's never been surrounded by any other marquee players in their prime. Since being drafted LeBron James was the Cleveland Cavaliers, period.
But, even the people of Cleveland couldn't be too upset with LeBron's decision to go play somewhere else, somewhere with a legit shot at winning rings. Obviously there'd be some negative press but I think in a pretty short period of time people would realize that he really gave it a go. He tried the best he could to win with the team that Cleveland was willing to give him. It didn't work out, so he had to go else where. I think deep down the people of Cleveland saw the writing on the wall and the crucifixion of LeBron James would have been quiet and short lived had he held a press conference saying that he and the Miami Heat had reached an agreement. He'd thank the city of Cleveland for 7 years that helped him grow and shape him as an NBA player. He'd talk about what a privileged it was to play in essentially his hometown in front of friends and family on a nightly basis. He'd then say, it was time to move on. But, as we all know, that's not what happened.
No, instead, LeBron James revealed himself as one of the most self indulgent people on the planet. Anybody who creates an hour long special to announce the team they'll go play for has fallen a bit too in love with the lime light. I know he said the proceeds from the special would go to charity, but, that doesn't change my opinion. You just received a max contract and it's not as if you were begging for change before that. If you're so altruistic that you're just dying to donate some money, pull out the check book, you don't have to foster the spectacle that was already created. This incident, "the Decision," honestly changed the way I perceive LeBron James, and like I said, I don't think I'm the only one. The team player, hometown, grounded, image that he built for himself for those years in Cleveland all crumbled with this snafu of a PR disaster. I don't blame LeBron James for leaving Cleveland. If he had stayed I'd have questioned his sanity. But I think the last piece of goodwill he could have done for that city was to walk away as quietly and as respectfully as he could. But instead the show was produced, the decision was announced and angry fans in multiple cities burned LeBron James jerseys in the streets. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't exactly consider that outcome a success.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Just thoughts of little value
See title for description of what's to follow.
- Yesterday I witnessed the most bogus ticketing of all time. At the intersection of Rock Creek Park and Ohio Drive, continuing on Ohio Drive, the light was 2/3s out, meaning that only the red light was operational. As I waited at the intersection and cars went by I noticed that the light was out and there was a cop standing there with a whistle in his mouth. I assumed that because the light was out he was there to direct traffic as needed. Incorrect assumption! As cars went through the light changed from nothing to red with no usual yellow light warning as it was apparently out as well. The cop immediately stepped off the curb in front of the last car in line, blew his whistle, pulled them over and wrote them a ticket for running the red light. So let me get this straight, as a driver you're expected to predict the turning of the light to red so you don't get ticketed, but the city isn't obligated to immediately fix the light once it's out? Way to go DC! You just saved money on a few light bulbs and increased revenue at the same time. What a f'in joke. No way I'd pay that ticket.
- Before witnessing the ridiculous ticketing incident I apparently offended a shirtless, kmart mtb rider who confused his "bike" for one of those toys you rode as a ride that required a side to side motion for forward momentum. After essentially coming to a stop, saying "on your left" three times and then shouting so that he could hear me over his iPod, he got angry and sprinted after me for a slow moving confrontation. Apparently the explanation to his question, "why do you need to pass me?" was found sufficient when I said, "because I was going faster than you." He then apologized for cutting me off. For a second I really thought this guy was going to try and fight me or something. He seemed pretty angry. You never can tell what you're going to get from topless toy bike riders on your afternoon commute.
- This morning on the news some political expert was talking about Sarah Palin and was asked if she's running for president. He of course gave the same answer everybody does, which is no answer at all. Why the hell don't all of these people just say what's obvious, "nobody is currently 'running' for president since it's not an election cycle. However, it seems like she's doing her best to stay relevant when that time comes." 1st, why is that statement not an appropriate response? 2nd, who the f cares if Sarah Palin does anything? I would make some statement about no chance she'd ever get elected, but I'd only have to be reminded of the double term W administration to realize that dumb people vote in mass.
- The Tour de France is well under way and so far it's either been "epic" or boring depending on who you ask. I'm torn somewhere in between. Looks like Hushovd has already wrapped up the green points jersey. He has about a million point lead which I think is good. Since I don't have cable I thought I might be able to avoid the made up Lance vs. Alberto drama but no, even the websites I go to love to talk about some made up shit.
Check out this picture! Looks like they're BFFs to me. Of course Lance says he hasn't spoke to Alberto all race and has no recollection of this exchange. When questioned about whether he'd recall talking to his biggest rival as something that might stand out, he took his usual stance of threatening the journalist's life, calling him scum, calling his work ridiculous and the paper he writes for toilet paper. Apparently, everybody likes it when Lance does this because everybody seems to just nod in agreement. Must be good to be the king.
I found it pretty funny that after stage 3 when Lance lost the most time and Alberto rode on the cobbles great that most journalist just decided to leave the story alone instead of saying, "yeah, well, we really botched the prediction on that one." I was never really sure why everybody thought that Contador was going to have such a tough time on the cobbles anyway. I mean the guys a good bike racer, knows he needs to be at the front in critical parts of a stage. It's not as if because he's from Spain the cobbles are some sort of weird kryptonite that repeal anyone totting a fake gun. His ride on stage 3 was exactly what I thought it would be, smart. I really didn't think that stage was going to immediately ruin the hopes of any of the GC guys. The stage was less than 10% cobbled, but you'd have assumed that there were going to be tigers let loose on the side of the road by the way people were talking about it.
- Speaking of Kings, does anybody give a shit about where LeBron ends up? And who on his PR team thought that a 1 hour special was a good idea. I can't speak for the world but I'm pretty sure this free agency extravaganza has hurt his image. For example, this guy has 9,200 followers on twitter and posted this, I think it's a good indicator.
I know MJ only played for one team and Kobe's only played for one team, but none of this is good for LeBron James. Most people don't like to think about how much more money professional athletes make than they do for playing a game. So to make such a big hype over how much richer this already insanely rich person is going to get, just doesn't sit that well with normal folks. We all realize that athletes are a well paid bunch and that's fine, hold a press conference, put on the hat of your new team, and then report to practice. We don't need all of this hype.
- The World Cup has basically cemented for me the reasons why I can never be a soccer fan. The rules of soccer just don't make any sense and the understood rules and tactics are even worse. I've always disliked the fake flopping and crap that goes on, but this world cup seems to be even thicker with it. If your strategy to win is to simply lay on the ground and play dead, then you don't deserve to be there. I'm not talking specifically about Ghana. This happens in every game as soon as the time starts rolling. I understand that controlling possession is a good strategy in any sport, but in basketball there's a shot clock and if you foul someone the clock stops. In soccer, even if you foul the guy, he gets to take as much time as he wants to start the action again, meanwhile, clock runs. An arbitrary amount of stoppage time gets added on, unless you're in stoppage time, then it seems to be ignored. It's not a "beautiful game" as it's often described when theatrics are more important than skills.
I think that's it. I'm hungry and going to eat my 2 daily PBJs.
- Yesterday I witnessed the most bogus ticketing of all time. At the intersection of Rock Creek Park and Ohio Drive, continuing on Ohio Drive, the light was 2/3s out, meaning that only the red light was operational. As I waited at the intersection and cars went by I noticed that the light was out and there was a cop standing there with a whistle in his mouth. I assumed that because the light was out he was there to direct traffic as needed. Incorrect assumption! As cars went through the light changed from nothing to red with no usual yellow light warning as it was apparently out as well. The cop immediately stepped off the curb in front of the last car in line, blew his whistle, pulled them over and wrote them a ticket for running the red light. So let me get this straight, as a driver you're expected to predict the turning of the light to red so you don't get ticketed, but the city isn't obligated to immediately fix the light once it's out? Way to go DC! You just saved money on a few light bulbs and increased revenue at the same time. What a f'in joke. No way I'd pay that ticket.
- Before witnessing the ridiculous ticketing incident I apparently offended a shirtless, kmart mtb rider who confused his "bike" for one of those toys you rode as a ride that required a side to side motion for forward momentum. After essentially coming to a stop, saying "on your left" three times and then shouting so that he could hear me over his iPod, he got angry and sprinted after me for a slow moving confrontation. Apparently the explanation to his question, "why do you need to pass me?" was found sufficient when I said, "because I was going faster than you." He then apologized for cutting me off. For a second I really thought this guy was going to try and fight me or something. He seemed pretty angry. You never can tell what you're going to get from topless toy bike riders on your afternoon commute.
- This morning on the news some political expert was talking about Sarah Palin and was asked if she's running for president. He of course gave the same answer everybody does, which is no answer at all. Why the hell don't all of these people just say what's obvious, "nobody is currently 'running' for president since it's not an election cycle. However, it seems like she's doing her best to stay relevant when that time comes." 1st, why is that statement not an appropriate response? 2nd, who the f cares if Sarah Palin does anything? I would make some statement about no chance she'd ever get elected, but I'd only have to be reminded of the double term W administration to realize that dumb people vote in mass.
- The Tour de France is well under way and so far it's either been "epic" or boring depending on who you ask. I'm torn somewhere in between. Looks like Hushovd has already wrapped up the green points jersey. He has about a million point lead which I think is good. Since I don't have cable I thought I might be able to avoid the made up Lance vs. Alberto drama but no, even the websites I go to love to talk about some made up shit.
Check out this picture! Looks like they're BFFs to me. Of course Lance says he hasn't spoke to Alberto all race and has no recollection of this exchange. When questioned about whether he'd recall talking to his biggest rival as something that might stand out, he took his usual stance of threatening the journalist's life, calling him scum, calling his work ridiculous and the paper he writes for toilet paper. Apparently, everybody likes it when Lance does this because everybody seems to just nod in agreement. Must be good to be the king.
I found it pretty funny that after stage 3 when Lance lost the most time and Alberto rode on the cobbles great that most journalist just decided to leave the story alone instead of saying, "yeah, well, we really botched the prediction on that one." I was never really sure why everybody thought that Contador was going to have such a tough time on the cobbles anyway. I mean the guys a good bike racer, knows he needs to be at the front in critical parts of a stage. It's not as if because he's from Spain the cobbles are some sort of weird kryptonite that repeal anyone totting a fake gun. His ride on stage 3 was exactly what I thought it would be, smart. I really didn't think that stage was going to immediately ruin the hopes of any of the GC guys. The stage was less than 10% cobbled, but you'd have assumed that there were going to be tigers let loose on the side of the road by the way people were talking about it.
- Speaking of Kings, does anybody give a shit about where LeBron ends up? And who on his PR team thought that a 1 hour special was a good idea. I can't speak for the world but I'm pretty sure this free agency extravaganza has hurt his image. For example, this guy has 9,200 followers on twitter and posted this, I think it's a good indicator.
I know MJ only played for one team and Kobe's only played for one team, but none of this is good for LeBron James. Most people don't like to think about how much more money professional athletes make than they do for playing a game. So to make such a big hype over how much richer this already insanely rich person is going to get, just doesn't sit that well with normal folks. We all realize that athletes are a well paid bunch and that's fine, hold a press conference, put on the hat of your new team, and then report to practice. We don't need all of this hype.
- The World Cup has basically cemented for me the reasons why I can never be a soccer fan. The rules of soccer just don't make any sense and the understood rules and tactics are even worse. I've always disliked the fake flopping and crap that goes on, but this world cup seems to be even thicker with it. If your strategy to win is to simply lay on the ground and play dead, then you don't deserve to be there. I'm not talking specifically about Ghana. This happens in every game as soon as the time starts rolling. I understand that controlling possession is a good strategy in any sport, but in basketball there's a shot clock and if you foul someone the clock stops. In soccer, even if you foul the guy, he gets to take as much time as he wants to start the action again, meanwhile, clock runs. An arbitrary amount of stoppage time gets added on, unless you're in stoppage time, then it seems to be ignored. It's not a "beautiful game" as it's often described when theatrics are more important than skills.
I think that's it. I'm hungry and going to eat my 2 daily PBJs.
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