Monday, October 30, 2006

Wilcockson: The Big Questions

As much as I like the writing of Samuel Abt of the International Herald Tribune, John Wilcockson of VeloNews is a close second -- maybe even 1A.
I just got Wilcockson's review of the '06 Tour, "Triumph and Turmoil for Floyd Landis," and have enjoyed his recaps of the Tour since 2003.
Wilcockson has a terrific article on VeloNews that includes a detailed analysis of the '07 course.
Wilcockson writes:
"Next year's Tour de France doesn't include any of the rumored features. No Paris-Roubaix cobbles. No team time trial. No Puy-de-Dôme. No climb over the unpaved Colle della Finestre in Italy. No Mont Ventoux.
"But the bigger questions, particularly for American fans, are: (1) can the 2006 Tour-champion-in-limbo Floyd Landis win his appeal against a drugs violation, fully recover from his hip surgery, and find a team that will start the Tour? And (2) can the riders caught up in Operación Puerto, headed by multiple podium finishers Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, also find teams that will race the Tour?"

Sunday, October 29, 2006

London Will Be Ready

With the '07 Tour de France starting on July 7 in London, there are concerns.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme says the city will be ready.
I hope so. I'm thinking of visiting my son and his girlfriend, who are relocating to London (she's already there) from Wiesbaden (due to her job).
In fact, Mike Armellino and I are talking about doing another Trek Travel trip to the Tour -- maybe the second week in the Alps?
What do you think Granny, 53rd?
Back to London ...
"London is a big city, they will do everything in their power to make things go smoothly," Prudhomme said.
The Tour will start exactly two years after attacks on London's transport network killed more than 50 people.
"Every precaution will be taken, like for any big event," Prudhomme said.
I trust they will handle security better than they handle doping.
The 8km prologue will leave Trafalguar Square and end in front of Buckingham palace.
The first stage will then leave the British capital to Canterbury through Kent over 203 km.
"We will have everything -- London's prestige, its momuments and then the famous Canterbury Cathedral through the beautiful English countryside," said Prudhomme.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Indulge This Detroit Tigers Fan For a Moment

As a life-long Detroit Tigers fan, I know that these World Series opportunities don't come around often enough to waste.
And this was a monstrously wasted opportunity.
A wasted opportunity that didn't have to be.
A wasted opportunity I saw building just before the All-Star break, even when the Tigers were still winning.
There were two Detroit Tigers this season.
The over-achieving, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time youngsters that for two-thirds of the season and seven-straight games in the playoffs were the best team in baseball.
And the error-plagued under-achievers who were too young to focus and seize the day that could have been theirs.
It was not by accident that their two best players in the Series were their most experienced, Kenny Rogers and Sean Casey (yes, sign him for next year, but NOT for the $8M he got this year; maybe half).
It was not by accident that NOW 30-year-old Jeff Weaver was the better pitcher down the stretch than 23-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention a nearly overwhelmed Justin Verlander, especially in those frightening first couple of innings.
The Tiger pitchers, by the way, didn't pitch poorly. Just not quite good enough (and Rogers will never get to pitch that sixth game now).
And as ESPN is replaying over and over and over and over and over again (my worst fear; I will NEVER watch the WS highlight DVD!), oh those errors: Every one of the EIGHT made a difference.
Will the Tigers be better next year?
Probably. But so were the White Sox this year following last year's world championship.
And the AL Central is a great division (not to mention the AL East, which has the Yankees and Boston and an up-and-coming Toronto). And look at the A's and Angels in the West.
Like I said, these opportunities don't come around very often.
When they do, you have to seize them when you can.
The Tigers didn't this past week (and we're just talking about one week in October), and despite the many, many successes of the season, I will remember this season as one of wasted opportunity.
The window of opportunity, given free agency, is very small. Mike Ilitch is never going to approach a $200M payroll (maybe $100M) like the Yankees or the high-payroll Red Sox. The farm system will have to continue to produce (like the A's) because as the Tigers get older and more experienced, they will lose players to free agency. We aren't going to grow old with this team; these players will be Yankees someday.
So, you have to grab the ring when you can.
I saw this self-destruction (which it was, ultimately, embarrassingly in the glare of the WS stage) coming as early as June 21 (really), a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee in which the Tigers blew a 3-1 when Joel Zumaya gave up a winning home run for his first loss.
The game that really bugged me was a 3-2 loss to Seattle July 9, the day before the All-Star break; the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead and Nate Robertson gave up a 2-run homer to a nobody when manager Jim Leyland didn't pull Robertson as he weakened late in the game.
The next sign came the very next Sunday in their first loss to KC, 9-6, as they made 3 errors (more of that to come, of course, at the end of September).
The Tigers blew a 5-run lead against Oakland (that was last we saw of Zach Miner) on July 22 in a 9-6 loss.
And then there was the game Bonderman blew up, the awful eighth-inning, 4-error, 6-4 loss to Minnesota July 30.
Everyone knows how the Tigers struggled in August and September, finishing 19-31 after starting 76-36. But I point to those four games as to where the wheels started to come off and Leyland didn't or wasn't able to fix it as he did following the now famous 10-2 loss to Cleveland on April 17. Maybe one more tongue-lashing was needed, and the Tigers gave Leyland plenty of chances in August.
So, it was a strange season. Monstrously satisfying when it was good, ultimately disappointing when it counted. Kind of like the Wings (last year), eh, 4-3 winners AT Dallas last night as I segway into hockey.
I wish I could say thanks for the memories, Tigers, but if you watch SportsCenter today -- and I'm not watching it the rest of the day -- those will be the memories we're left with, I'm afraid.
It didn't have to be.
It could have been better.

Saturday Wheelings and Dealings

Here's a fun piece from the Cycling News with comments on the 2007 Tour de France.
Here's just one comment:
Eddy Merckx: "This will be a special year for the Tour. The course is well designed, balanced and tough. One thing sticks in my mind is what Christian Prudhomme said; 'I hope there will be a winner in Paris'. That is necessary and that’s what everyone wants to see."
Bad Boy Floyd Landis should have been in Paris for the Tour announcement Thursday, but he is persona non grata now. Our Boy Lance, too. Way to treat American cyclists, Frenchy.
Floyd was at a cycling safety awareness event last weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, and had this to say about his case and the UCI:
"I'm going to do everything I can to bring the down the UCI."
Way to make friends and influence enemies.
Landis, by the way, has started to ride outdoors on a bike following his hip surgery earlier this month.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Cycling's Doping Culture: An Investigation

The Daily Peleton has a terrific two-part article (Part I, Part II) aptly named "Cycling's Winter of Discontent." It seems that Thursday's announcement of the 2007 Tour de France route did not generate the usual excitement that it normally does. In this post-Lance Armstrong era of rampant doping allegations, professional cycling is a beautiful sport in trouble. Obviously, it has been sick for a long time -- for at least a decade if not longer.
The article's subheads tell the story.
Part I looks at the problems:
-- The Sport of Doping Scandals
-- The Sport of Questionable Ethics
-- The Sport of Misguided Loyalty
-- The Sport of the Doping Suspect
-- The Sport of the Doctors
-- The Sport of Doping Controls
-- A Sport in Disrepute
Part II looks at the solutions:
-- More Openness
-- The Teams must start Acting as if Doping matters
-- The Cyclists must start Acting as if Doping matters
-- “Truth and Reconciliation”
-- Fight the facilitators of doping, rather than the dopers
-- Cycling must start acting as if Ethics matter
The long investigation's second part, by Michael Akinde, begins with this famous quotation:
“Now is the winter of our discontent”
-- William Shakespeare, Richard III

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thursday Wheelings and Dealings


We still may not know who really won the 2006 Tour de France, but it's time to start thinking about the 2007 Tour.
During the annual Tour presentation in Paris Thursday, the traditional eight-minute film of the preceding Tour ended with Bad Boy Floyd Landis on the winner's podium. The screen then switched to become a cracked mirror.
"The deception we felt was capital," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said.
The Crankset weeps for the French.
Oscar Pereiro still considers Landis to be the Tour de France champion, if his English is to be understood.
"I don't consider myself the winner of the Tour de France," the Spanish rider said. "The statutes show that Floyd is still the winner."
Statutes?
Statues?
Whatever.
Writes Samuel Abt in the International Herald Tribune:
The '07 Tour includes "shortening the usual first 10 flat stages to seven and pushing both long time trials into the final nine days. The Tour will start in London, as has been known for a year, on July 7 and end in Paris on July 29 after covering 3,547 kilometers, or 2,120 miles.
"There will be six daily stages in the high mountains, three first in the Alps and then three in the Pyrenees, comprising 21 major climbs, as the race travels clockwise around France. One stage in the Alps and two in the Pyrenees will finish at the summit of mountains, allowing no opportunity for riders to make up lost time on descents.
"In addition to two days in England, one stage is scheduled in Belgium, with a flypast in Spain on a stage in the Pyrenees. The Tour will include two rest days.
"There will be no team time trial but three individual races against the clock are scheduled: 8 kilometers in the prologue in London, 54 kilometers on July 21 and 55 kilometers on July 28."
Jonathan Vaughters, the American director of the TIAA-CREF team and another former Tour rider, said he thought it would be "an unpredictable Tour."
"There's no one decisive stage," he said. "It seems they're promoting an aggressive race because things will be left open till very late."
Some other stories:
-- procycling: 2007 Tour route announced
-- PEZ Insider: 2007 Tour de France Presentation
-- CyclingNews: 2007 Tour offers a modern yet classic parcours
-- VeloNews: '07 Tour route unveiled

Getting Ready for the '07 Tour

Later today, we'll officially know the route for the 2007 Tour de France July 7-29.
Cycling News has some partial details right now that include the start and first two days in London (that's Buckingham Palace to the right), the start of Stage 2 in Dunkirk and a quick visit to Belgium.
Other details:
-- There will be on team time trial for the second-straight year.
-- The Tour procedes clockwise this year, visiting the Alps (and possibly Mont Ventoux) first before heading west to the Pyrennes.
-- There will be new climb to the Tour, the Port de Bales, which has been featured in the Route de Sud race. The climb tops out near 1,750 meters and includes 20kilometres of climbing.
In the second year of the post-Lance era, not to mention the first race since all the unsettled Bad Boy Floyd controversy from the '06 race, cycling appears to be suffering a lull in interest. Or maybe it's just the Cranks?

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Some Sunday Crank-iness

The good thing about the Internet is that there is a lot of stuff in cyberspace.
The bad thing about the Internet is that a lot that stuff is crap.
Most of the crap these days involves Our Boy Lance and his boy-toy pal, Matthew McConaughey, and all the "are they gay" rumors.
Gossip sites like SpotLightingNews and The Bosh will print almost anything -- and generally do. Conventional wisdom goes that if they can break up with babes like Sheryl Crow and Penelope Cruz to hang out with each other, then, like duh, they must be gay ("Not that there's anything wrong with that," as Jerry Seinfeld once so-famously said).
The point to be made here, though, is that you can find almost anything about everything on the Internet these days. Is Lance gay? Not gay? Do you care?
Hopefully, we all care more about whether OBL doped or not. So far, there's been no conclusive proof. That doesn't mean there won't be. Just keep reading on the Internet.

Speaking of doping, the Daily Peleton has a terrific article, "Lance Armstrong – No More Heroes," as does the incomparable Samuel Abt in the International Herald Tribune, "Cycling: Much off-season ado about doping charges."

And finally, I love to bike on Cape Cod. So I was pleased to read this story in today's Travel Section of the New York Times: "On Two Wheels, It’s Still High Season on Cape Cod."
(Photo is the Vineyard Haven bike path.)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Arrrrggghhh! Not Another Lance Expose!

Our Boy Lance has assailed yet another new book (read: cottage industry) going on sale in France today as "another baseless attack" against the seven-time Tour de France champion. The book, "L.A. Official" by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh, is based on testimony given in a legal dispute between Lance Armstrong and Dallas-based SCA Promotions that had a bonus contract with the cyclist.
The VeloNews has OBL's full statement.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Arrrrggghhh! Not Another George Hincapie Story!


Yup. British import procycling magazine calls it "A Season of Discovery":
"George Hincapie and his Discovery Channel team-mates soon discovered this year that life without Lance Armstrong was much tougher than expected. We spoke to Hincapie in his South Carolina home ... and looked back over a season that delivered more frustration than success, and found out what he thinks are his strengths having seen both the Classics and the Tour pass him by this year."
Stale, stale, stale.
Isn't there anybody new on the cycling scene to splash across the cover?
Who would YOU like to see on the cover(s) of upcoming cycling magazines?
(YOU are out there, aren't you?)
How about second-year Discovery Channel pro Janez Brajkovic?
Or doesn't he sell magazines (yet)?

Does He or Doesn't He?

So, Ivan Basso is a free man.
The Giro d'Italia winner has left the CSC team in the wake of doping allegations that resulted in him being dropped just prior to the start of this year's Tour de France.
Basso was cleared to resume racing last week when the Italian Olympic Committee recommended that all charges against him be dropped.
But CSC still didn't want him back.
"It has been a very difficult decision, but both parties agree it is time to move on," said CSC team manager Bjarne Riis.
Basso, who is 29, told French sports daily L'Equipe on Monday that he has been courted by Discovery Channel.
"They made me a concrete proposal but I am open to other solutions," he said.
It doesn't sound like Our Boy Lance's old team made Basso an offer he couldn't refuse.
Basso said there was also a chance he could join an Italian team.

Car Up!

From the latest Adventure Cycling Association newsletter, Bike Bits:
"Your reference to 'Car back!' in the last Bike Bits [Vol. 8 No. 19] reminds me of how strange that sounded when I rode for the first time with a bunch of Americans on this year's TransAm ... In Britain, it's [more typically] 'Oil up!' or 'Oil down!' (up being a car coming up from behind, down being one bearing down on you). France, where I live, has nothing that exciting. Here, the lads just shout 'Voiture!' (Car!) What, I wonder, do they shout in Canada, in Germany, Mexico, and Brazil?"
-- Les Woodland, Puymirol, France

All About the Boy Toys

So, Our Boy Lance and Matthew McConaughey.
What's up with that, anyway?
The November issue of Details magazine goes where I'm not going to go, but you can go there if you want.

Ready for the Tour of Missouri? Kevin Livingston Is

The Cranks remember and think fondly of Kevin Livingston, a former U.S. Postal teammate of Our Boy Lance. Livingston rode with Cranks' Trek Travel group during the '03 Tour de France (that's me, Tour of '03 with Kevin) and imparted cycling tips that have helped make all of us better riders.

Livingston's name popped up in a story I read this morning about the 600-mile Tour of Missouri, a stage race expected to draw 128 riders Sept. 11-16 that organizers hope will rival the interest that the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia have created for professional cycling in the United States.

Who knows? Maybe the sports will be talking about the American classics someday (OK -- maybe not!).

How tough is Missouri?

"It's quite undulating in the Ozarks area, up-and-down, up-and-down," first-year pro Brad Huff said of potential courses in southwest Missouri. "It's all shorter, steeper," he said of the terrain. "Some gradual climbs down in the Branson area. It's short, and steep, and unforgiving."
Livingston, who helped Lance Armstrong to two Tour de France wins, will play a major role in laying out the Tour's course.

Sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and USA Cycling, the race must have five foreign teams compete.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Is Basso the Latest Discovery?

There isn't a top rider who, at some time or other, isn't rumored to be heading to the Discovery Channel team.
Only the best, after all, for Our Boy Lance's mantle, right?
Did you really think that Levi Leipheimer was the answer?
So, after the silly rumors about Jan Ullrich, and the non-starters surrounding Bad Boy Floyd, it was inevitable that Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso, looking to race again after the Italian Olympic Committee recommended that doping allegations against him be dropped, would be rumored to be courted by Lance Armstrong's former team.
"They made me a concrete proposal but I am open to other solutions," the Italian rider said in an interview published on Monday by French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Lance's favorite newspaper.
Discovery has been looking for a replacement for Armstrong, who retired after winning his seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005.
Basso could stay with his current team, CSC, or join an Italian team (which would make sense).
"Everything is possible, but at the moment -- and I am being sincere -- I hope that I can continue with CSC," said Basso, who is contracted with the Danish team until 2008.
Basso and Ullrich were excluded from this year's Tour after they and/or teammates were implicated in the Spanish doping investigation. The riders were alleged to have had contact with a Spanish doctor accused of running a blood doping clinic.
Basso denied the allegations. All cyclists deny doping allegations. All cyclists probably dope. That's the nature of the sport and no great discovery.
Stay tuned.

Getting Back to Cranking

As Granny and Tooth well know, life often interferes with blogging.
Fortunately, my absense has only been a matter of time management, not more serious matters.
As my fellow Cranks know, I teach cross-platform journalism at George Mason University. I teach three classes, oversee the Journalism concentration (one of five) in the Communication Department, and coordinate the Electronic Journalism minor. I'm also proposing a new Sports Communication minor. It keeps me busy!

But back to cranking out some cycling tidbits (and I've been saving up plenty) ...

I couldn't resist this little piece of information from Jane Greig of the Austin American-Statesman this morning about Our Boy Lance:
Q: What is Lance Armstrong's height and weight? Has he gained any weight since he retired from racing?
A: Yes. The retired Tour de France competitor has bulked up to about 180 pounds. He has "put on about 15 pounds of muscle," says Mark Higgins, Armstrong's manager at Capital Sports and Entertainment. Height? 5 feet 11 inches.

How about a tricycle race as part of the opening-day festivities in London for the '07 Tour de France?
"The Tricycle Association have opened negotiations with London and the Tour de France organisers for a tricycle race to feature as one of the warm-up races as part of the build-up to the opening prologue stage of the Tour, " says Wayne Baker, a tricyclist.
The story says that the prospect of racing in London and being part of the Tour de France would be a huge boost for tricycle racing, "giving this little-known sport the opportunity of international media exposure."
Since professional cycling is already a three-ring circus thanks to doping scandals, well, why not?
I wonder if tricyclists dope?

And speaking of doping, how about this story from the Townsville Bulletin, a South Queensland newspaper:
"Matt DeCanio, a confessed drug cheat and now an anti-doping crusader, tells tomorrow night's Insight program on SBS TV that he's willing to go before an inquiry and name cyclists, including any Australians, who are using drugs. 'At the highest level I would say 99 per cent of the guys are on it (drugs). If I were to have to bet my life on how many athletes in the Tour de France are on drugs, I would say one guy was clean,' " the 29-year-old told the program entitled "The Cheating Game."

And more to come ...

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Match Made In Heaven...

Or possibly in Rachel Ray's kitchen. C'mon even Oude Granny with my febile and senile mind (not from age necessarily, but from too many of a Piraat. All hail to Belgian Triple Boch Beer!) could've put this match together. "You just keep putting 'em up and I'll keep knockin' 'em down." For the uninformed, check out the Colavita website.

From Cyclingnews.com:

Colavita and Cooking Light add Sutter Home


Sutter Home Winery has joined Colavita USA and Cooking Light to sponsor the Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light, one of only two U.S.-based women’s team to qualify for cycling’s prestigious UCI designation for the 2007 season.

The Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light will be led by Tina Pic, ranked #1 among women cyclists in the U.S. Joining her will be teammates Dotsie Bausch (USA), Sarah Tillotson (USA), and Iona Wynter-Parks (JAM). The team has also added Canadian powerhouse Alex Wrubleski, who currently holds the twin titles of Canadian National Road Race Champion and National Time Trial Champion, Candice Blickem (USA), Mackenzie Dickey (USA), Andrea Dvorak (USA), Stacey Spencer (CAN), and Alison Powers (USA).

"We are thrilled with the roster we’ve lined up for the upcoming season," said Team Director Jim Williams. "We’ve got a well-balanced squad, which will allow us to compete for the overall win in stage races as well as one-day events. I’m looking forward to working with this great group of accomplished riders."

The Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light will race against the top U.S. and European teams at UCI events in 2007, including Australia’s Geelong Women’s Tour and World Cup and Italy’s Giro d’Italia Femminile.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Good Things Come...

To Those That Wait (or in T-o-03's case, "Whipping Boy Comes To America.")

According to Hedwig Kroner at Cyclingnews.com, Der Kaiser may be headed to Discovery Channel Pro Cycling.

"In the light of the latest news coming out of Spain, according to which the information from the Operación Puerto investigation cannot be used for sports-disciplinary proceedings, Discovery Channel is reported to have made the first move on Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, who may be free to choose a new team if he is cleared. Spanish AS.com reports that Johan Bruyneel has made the German champ an offer to lead his team during the next season."

Yes, T-o-03 you might be seeing a lot more of Mr. Ullrich in the future.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

The Latest on Floyd II

My USA TODAY friend and cycling writer, Sal Ruibal, has an online exclusive with Bad Boy Floyd. The story updates Landis' surgery and legal battles to clear his name from doping allegations resulting from a positive test during the Tour de France that could end up costing him the title (AP photo).
The story was posted at 6:07 p.m. ET Saturday, off of USAT's Monday-to-Friday publishing cycling.
Good for Sal.
Good for USAT.
Good for print journalism in general, which finally realizes that you don't have to wait for the paper to publish the news.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Wilcockson: The Big Questions

As much as I like the writing of Samuel Abt of the International Herald Tribune, John Wilcockson of VeloNews is a close second -- maybe even 1A.
I just got Wilcockson's review of the '06 Tour, "Triumph and Turmoil for Floyd Landis," and have enjoyed his recaps of the Tour since 2003.
Wilcockson has a terrific article on VeloNews that includes a detailed analysis of the '07 course.
Wilcockson writes:
"Next year's Tour de France doesn't include any of the rumored features. No Paris-Roubaix cobbles. No team time trial. No Puy-de-Dôme. No climb over the unpaved Colle della Finestre in Italy. No Mont Ventoux.
"But the bigger questions, particularly for American fans, are: (1) can the 2006 Tour-champion-in-limbo Floyd Landis win his appeal against a drugs violation, fully recover from his hip surgery, and find a team that will start the Tour? And (2) can the riders caught up in Operación Puerto, headed by multiple podium finishers Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, also find teams that will race the Tour?"

Sunday, October 29, 2006

London Will Be Ready

With the '07 Tour de France starting on July 7 in London, there are concerns.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme says the city will be ready.
I hope so. I'm thinking of visiting my son and his girlfriend, who are relocating to London (she's already there) from Wiesbaden (due to her job).
In fact, Mike Armellino and I are talking about doing another Trek Travel trip to the Tour -- maybe the second week in the Alps?
What do you think Granny, 53rd?
Back to London ...
"London is a big city, they will do everything in their power to make things go smoothly," Prudhomme said.
The Tour will start exactly two years after attacks on London's transport network killed more than 50 people.
"Every precaution will be taken, like for any big event," Prudhomme said.
I trust they will handle security better than they handle doping.
The 8km prologue will leave Trafalguar Square and end in front of Buckingham palace.
The first stage will then leave the British capital to Canterbury through Kent over 203 km.
"We will have everything -- London's prestige, its momuments and then the famous Canterbury Cathedral through the beautiful English countryside," said Prudhomme.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Indulge This Detroit Tigers Fan For a Moment

As a life-long Detroit Tigers fan, I know that these World Series opportunities don't come around often enough to waste.
And this was a monstrously wasted opportunity.
A wasted opportunity that didn't have to be.
A wasted opportunity I saw building just before the All-Star break, even when the Tigers were still winning.
There were two Detroit Tigers this season.
The over-achieving, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time youngsters that for two-thirds of the season and seven-straight games in the playoffs were the best team in baseball.
And the error-plagued under-achievers who were too young to focus and seize the day that could have been theirs.
It was not by accident that their two best players in the Series were their most experienced, Kenny Rogers and Sean Casey (yes, sign him for next year, but NOT for the $8M he got this year; maybe half).
It was not by accident that NOW 30-year-old Jeff Weaver was the better pitcher down the stretch than 23-year-old Jeremy Bonderman, not to mention a nearly overwhelmed Justin Verlander, especially in those frightening first couple of innings.
The Tiger pitchers, by the way, didn't pitch poorly. Just not quite good enough (and Rogers will never get to pitch that sixth game now).
And as ESPN is replaying over and over and over and over and over again (my worst fear; I will NEVER watch the WS highlight DVD!), oh those errors: Every one of the EIGHT made a difference.
Will the Tigers be better next year?
Probably. But so were the White Sox this year following last year's world championship.
And the AL Central is a great division (not to mention the AL East, which has the Yankees and Boston and an up-and-coming Toronto). And look at the A's and Angels in the West.
Like I said, these opportunities don't come around very often.
When they do, you have to seize them when you can.
The Tigers didn't this past week (and we're just talking about one week in October), and despite the many, many successes of the season, I will remember this season as one of wasted opportunity.
The window of opportunity, given free agency, is very small. Mike Ilitch is never going to approach a $200M payroll (maybe $100M) like the Yankees or the high-payroll Red Sox. The farm system will have to continue to produce (like the A's) because as the Tigers get older and more experienced, they will lose players to free agency. We aren't going to grow old with this team; these players will be Yankees someday.
So, you have to grab the ring when you can.
I saw this self-destruction (which it was, ultimately, embarrassingly in the glare of the WS stage) coming as early as June 21 (really), a 4-3 loss to Milwaukee in which the Tigers blew a 3-1 when Joel Zumaya gave up a winning home run for his first loss.
The game that really bugged me was a 3-2 loss to Seattle July 9, the day before the All-Star break; the Tigers blew a 2-0 lead and Nate Robertson gave up a 2-run homer to a nobody when manager Jim Leyland didn't pull Robertson as he weakened late in the game.
The next sign came the very next Sunday in their first loss to KC, 9-6, as they made 3 errors (more of that to come, of course, at the end of September).
The Tigers blew a 5-run lead against Oakland (that was last we saw of Zach Miner) on July 22 in a 9-6 loss.
And then there was the game Bonderman blew up, the awful eighth-inning, 4-error, 6-4 loss to Minnesota July 30.
Everyone knows how the Tigers struggled in August and September, finishing 19-31 after starting 76-36. But I point to those four games as to where the wheels started to come off and Leyland didn't or wasn't able to fix it as he did following the now famous 10-2 loss to Cleveland on April 17. Maybe one more tongue-lashing was needed, and the Tigers gave Leyland plenty of chances in August.
So, it was a strange season. Monstrously satisfying when it was good, ultimately disappointing when it counted. Kind of like the Wings (last year), eh, 4-3 winners AT Dallas last night as I segway into hockey.
I wish I could say thanks for the memories, Tigers, but if you watch SportsCenter today -- and I'm not watching it the rest of the day -- those will be the memories we're left with, I'm afraid.
It didn't have to be.
It could have been better.

Saturday Wheelings and Dealings

Here's a fun piece from the Cycling News with comments on the 2007 Tour de France.
Here's just one comment:
Eddy Merckx: "This will be a special year for the Tour. The course is well designed, balanced and tough. One thing sticks in my mind is what Christian Prudhomme said; 'I hope there will be a winner in Paris'. That is necessary and that’s what everyone wants to see."
Bad Boy Floyd Landis should have been in Paris for the Tour announcement Thursday, but he is persona non grata now. Our Boy Lance, too. Way to treat American cyclists, Frenchy.
Floyd was at a cycling safety awareness event last weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, and had this to say about his case and the UCI:
"I'm going to do everything I can to bring the down the UCI."
Way to make friends and influence enemies.
Landis, by the way, has started to ride outdoors on a bike following his hip surgery earlier this month.

Friday, October 27, 2006

Cycling's Doping Culture: An Investigation

The Daily Peleton has a terrific two-part article (Part I, Part II) aptly named "Cycling's Winter of Discontent." It seems that Thursday's announcement of the 2007 Tour de France route did not generate the usual excitement that it normally does. In this post-Lance Armstrong era of rampant doping allegations, professional cycling is a beautiful sport in trouble. Obviously, it has been sick for a long time -- for at least a decade if not longer.
The article's subheads tell the story.
Part I looks at the problems:
-- The Sport of Doping Scandals
-- The Sport of Questionable Ethics
-- The Sport of Misguided Loyalty
-- The Sport of the Doping Suspect
-- The Sport of the Doctors
-- The Sport of Doping Controls
-- A Sport in Disrepute
Part II looks at the solutions:
-- More Openness
-- The Teams must start Acting as if Doping matters
-- The Cyclists must start Acting as if Doping matters
-- “Truth and Reconciliation”
-- Fight the facilitators of doping, rather than the dopers
-- Cycling must start acting as if Ethics matter
The long investigation's second part, by Michael Akinde, begins with this famous quotation:
“Now is the winter of our discontent”
-- William Shakespeare, Richard III

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thursday Wheelings and Dealings


We still may not know who really won the 2006 Tour de France, but it's time to start thinking about the 2007 Tour.
During the annual Tour presentation in Paris Thursday, the traditional eight-minute film of the preceding Tour ended with Bad Boy Floyd Landis on the winner's podium. The screen then switched to become a cracked mirror.
"The deception we felt was capital," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said.
The Crankset weeps for the French.
Oscar Pereiro still considers Landis to be the Tour de France champion, if his English is to be understood.
"I don't consider myself the winner of the Tour de France," the Spanish rider said. "The statutes show that Floyd is still the winner."
Statutes?
Statues?
Whatever.
Writes Samuel Abt in the International Herald Tribune:
The '07 Tour includes "shortening the usual first 10 flat stages to seven and pushing both long time trials into the final nine days. The Tour will start in London, as has been known for a year, on July 7 and end in Paris on July 29 after covering 3,547 kilometers, or 2,120 miles.
"There will be six daily stages in the high mountains, three first in the Alps and then three in the Pyrenees, comprising 21 major climbs, as the race travels clockwise around France. One stage in the Alps and two in the Pyrenees will finish at the summit of mountains, allowing no opportunity for riders to make up lost time on descents.
"In addition to two days in England, one stage is scheduled in Belgium, with a flypast in Spain on a stage in the Pyrenees. The Tour will include two rest days.
"There will be no team time trial but three individual races against the clock are scheduled: 8 kilometers in the prologue in London, 54 kilometers on July 21 and 55 kilometers on July 28."
Jonathan Vaughters, the American director of the TIAA-CREF team and another former Tour rider, said he thought it would be "an unpredictable Tour."
"There's no one decisive stage," he said. "It seems they're promoting an aggressive race because things will be left open till very late."
Some other stories:
-- procycling: 2007 Tour route announced
-- PEZ Insider: 2007 Tour de France Presentation
-- CyclingNews: 2007 Tour offers a modern yet classic parcours
-- VeloNews: '07 Tour route unveiled

Getting Ready for the '07 Tour

Later today, we'll officially know the route for the 2007 Tour de France July 7-29.
Cycling News has some partial details right now that include the start and first two days in London (that's Buckingham Palace to the right), the start of Stage 2 in Dunkirk and a quick visit to Belgium.
Other details:
-- There will be on team time trial for the second-straight year.
-- The Tour procedes clockwise this year, visiting the Alps (and possibly Mont Ventoux) first before heading west to the Pyrennes.
-- There will be new climb to the Tour, the Port de Bales, which has been featured in the Route de Sud race. The climb tops out near 1,750 meters and includes 20kilometres of climbing.
In the second year of the post-Lance era, not to mention the first race since all the unsettled Bad Boy Floyd controversy from the '06 race, cycling appears to be suffering a lull in interest. Or maybe it's just the Cranks?

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Some Sunday Crank-iness

The good thing about the Internet is that there is a lot of stuff in cyberspace.
The bad thing about the Internet is that a lot that stuff is crap.
Most of the crap these days involves Our Boy Lance and his boy-toy pal, Matthew McConaughey, and all the "are they gay" rumors.
Gossip sites like SpotLightingNews and The Bosh will print almost anything -- and generally do. Conventional wisdom goes that if they can break up with babes like Sheryl Crow and Penelope Cruz to hang out with each other, then, like duh, they must be gay ("Not that there's anything wrong with that," as Jerry Seinfeld once so-famously said).
The point to be made here, though, is that you can find almost anything about everything on the Internet these days. Is Lance gay? Not gay? Do you care?
Hopefully, we all care more about whether OBL doped or not. So far, there's been no conclusive proof. That doesn't mean there won't be. Just keep reading on the Internet.

Speaking of doping, the Daily Peleton has a terrific article, "Lance Armstrong – No More Heroes," as does the incomparable Samuel Abt in the International Herald Tribune, "Cycling: Much off-season ado about doping charges."

And finally, I love to bike on Cape Cod. So I was pleased to read this story in today's Travel Section of the New York Times: "On Two Wheels, It’s Still High Season on Cape Cod."
(Photo is the Vineyard Haven bike path.)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Arrrrggghhh! Not Another Lance Expose!

Our Boy Lance has assailed yet another new book (read: cottage industry) going on sale in France today as "another baseless attack" against the seven-time Tour de France champion. The book, "L.A. Official" by Pierre Ballester and David Walsh, is based on testimony given in a legal dispute between Lance Armstrong and Dallas-based SCA Promotions that had a bonus contract with the cyclist.
The VeloNews has OBL's full statement.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Arrrrggghhh! Not Another George Hincapie Story!


Yup. British import procycling magazine calls it "A Season of Discovery":
"George Hincapie and his Discovery Channel team-mates soon discovered this year that life without Lance Armstrong was much tougher than expected. We spoke to Hincapie in his South Carolina home ... and looked back over a season that delivered more frustration than success, and found out what he thinks are his strengths having seen both the Classics and the Tour pass him by this year."
Stale, stale, stale.
Isn't there anybody new on the cycling scene to splash across the cover?
Who would YOU like to see on the cover(s) of upcoming cycling magazines?
(YOU are out there, aren't you?)
How about second-year Discovery Channel pro Janez Brajkovic?
Or doesn't he sell magazines (yet)?

Does He or Doesn't He?

So, Ivan Basso is a free man.
The Giro d'Italia winner has left the CSC team in the wake of doping allegations that resulted in him being dropped just prior to the start of this year's Tour de France.
Basso was cleared to resume racing last week when the Italian Olympic Committee recommended that all charges against him be dropped.
But CSC still didn't want him back.
"It has been a very difficult decision, but both parties agree it is time to move on," said CSC team manager Bjarne Riis.
Basso, who is 29, told French sports daily L'Equipe on Monday that he has been courted by Discovery Channel.
"They made me a concrete proposal but I am open to other solutions," he said.
It doesn't sound like Our Boy Lance's old team made Basso an offer he couldn't refuse.
Basso said there was also a chance he could join an Italian team.

Car Up!

From the latest Adventure Cycling Association newsletter, Bike Bits:
"Your reference to 'Car back!' in the last Bike Bits [Vol. 8 No. 19] reminds me of how strange that sounded when I rode for the first time with a bunch of Americans on this year's TransAm ... In Britain, it's [more typically] 'Oil up!' or 'Oil down!' (up being a car coming up from behind, down being one bearing down on you). France, where I live, has nothing that exciting. Here, the lads just shout 'Voiture!' (Car!) What, I wonder, do they shout in Canada, in Germany, Mexico, and Brazil?"
-- Les Woodland, Puymirol, France

All About the Boy Toys

So, Our Boy Lance and Matthew McConaughey.
What's up with that, anyway?
The November issue of Details magazine goes where I'm not going to go, but you can go there if you want.

Ready for the Tour of Missouri? Kevin Livingston Is

The Cranks remember and think fondly of Kevin Livingston, a former U.S. Postal teammate of Our Boy Lance. Livingston rode with Cranks' Trek Travel group during the '03 Tour de France (that's me, Tour of '03 with Kevin) and imparted cycling tips that have helped make all of us better riders.

Livingston's name popped up in a story I read this morning about the 600-mile Tour of Missouri, a stage race expected to draw 128 riders Sept. 11-16 that organizers hope will rival the interest that the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia have created for professional cycling in the United States.

Who knows? Maybe the sports will be talking about the American classics someday (OK -- maybe not!).

How tough is Missouri?

"It's quite undulating in the Ozarks area, up-and-down, up-and-down," first-year pro Brad Huff said of potential courses in southwest Missouri. "It's all shorter, steeper," he said of the terrain. "Some gradual climbs down in the Branson area. It's short, and steep, and unforgiving."
Livingston, who helped Lance Armstrong to two Tour de France wins, will play a major role in laying out the Tour's course.

Sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale and USA Cycling, the race must have five foreign teams compete.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Is Basso the Latest Discovery?

There isn't a top rider who, at some time or other, isn't rumored to be heading to the Discovery Channel team.
Only the best, after all, for Our Boy Lance's mantle, right?
Did you really think that Levi Leipheimer was the answer?
So, after the silly rumors about Jan Ullrich, and the non-starters surrounding Bad Boy Floyd, it was inevitable that Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso, looking to race again after the Italian Olympic Committee recommended that doping allegations against him be dropped, would be rumored to be courted by Lance Armstrong's former team.
"They made me a concrete proposal but I am open to other solutions," the Italian rider said in an interview published on Monday by French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Lance's favorite newspaper.
Discovery has been looking for a replacement for Armstrong, who retired after winning his seventh consecutive Tour de France in 2005.
Basso could stay with his current team, CSC, or join an Italian team (which would make sense).
"Everything is possible, but at the moment -- and I am being sincere -- I hope that I can continue with CSC," said Basso, who is contracted with the Danish team until 2008.
Basso and Ullrich were excluded from this year's Tour after they and/or teammates were implicated in the Spanish doping investigation. The riders were alleged to have had contact with a Spanish doctor accused of running a blood doping clinic.
Basso denied the allegations. All cyclists deny doping allegations. All cyclists probably dope. That's the nature of the sport and no great discovery.
Stay tuned.

Getting Back to Cranking

As Granny and Tooth well know, life often interferes with blogging.
Fortunately, my absense has only been a matter of time management, not more serious matters.
As my fellow Cranks know, I teach cross-platform journalism at George Mason University. I teach three classes, oversee the Journalism concentration (one of five) in the Communication Department, and coordinate the Electronic Journalism minor. I'm also proposing a new Sports Communication minor. It keeps me busy!

But back to cranking out some cycling tidbits (and I've been saving up plenty) ...

I couldn't resist this little piece of information from Jane Greig of the Austin American-Statesman this morning about Our Boy Lance:
Q: What is Lance Armstrong's height and weight? Has he gained any weight since he retired from racing?
A: Yes. The retired Tour de France competitor has bulked up to about 180 pounds. He has "put on about 15 pounds of muscle," says Mark Higgins, Armstrong's manager at Capital Sports and Entertainment. Height? 5 feet 11 inches.

How about a tricycle race as part of the opening-day festivities in London for the '07 Tour de France?
"The Tricycle Association have opened negotiations with London and the Tour de France organisers for a tricycle race to feature as one of the warm-up races as part of the build-up to the opening prologue stage of the Tour, " says Wayne Baker, a tricyclist.
The story says that the prospect of racing in London and being part of the Tour de France would be a huge boost for tricycle racing, "giving this little-known sport the opportunity of international media exposure."
Since professional cycling is already a three-ring circus thanks to doping scandals, well, why not?
I wonder if tricyclists dope?

And speaking of doping, how about this story from the Townsville Bulletin, a South Queensland newspaper:
"Matt DeCanio, a confessed drug cheat and now an anti-doping crusader, tells tomorrow night's Insight program on SBS TV that he's willing to go before an inquiry and name cyclists, including any Australians, who are using drugs. 'At the highest level I would say 99 per cent of the guys are on it (drugs). If I were to have to bet my life on how many athletes in the Tour de France are on drugs, I would say one guy was clean,' " the 29-year-old told the program entitled "The Cheating Game."

And more to come ...

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Match Made In Heaven...

Or possibly in Rachel Ray's kitchen. C'mon even Oude Granny with my febile and senile mind (not from age necessarily, but from too many of a Piraat. All hail to Belgian Triple Boch Beer!) could've put this match together. "You just keep putting 'em up and I'll keep knockin' 'em down." For the uninformed, check out the Colavita website.

From Cyclingnews.com:

Colavita and Cooking Light add Sutter Home


Sutter Home Winery has joined Colavita USA and Cooking Light to sponsor the Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light, one of only two U.S.-based women’s team to qualify for cycling’s prestigious UCI designation for the 2007 season.

The Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light will be led by Tina Pic, ranked #1 among women cyclists in the U.S. Joining her will be teammates Dotsie Bausch (USA), Sarah Tillotson (USA), and Iona Wynter-Parks (JAM). The team has also added Canadian powerhouse Alex Wrubleski, who currently holds the twin titles of Canadian National Road Race Champion and National Time Trial Champion, Candice Blickem (USA), Mackenzie Dickey (USA), Andrea Dvorak (USA), Stacey Spencer (CAN), and Alison Powers (USA).

"We are thrilled with the roster we’ve lined up for the upcoming season," said Team Director Jim Williams. "We’ve got a well-balanced squad, which will allow us to compete for the overall win in stage races as well as one-day events. I’m looking forward to working with this great group of accomplished riders."

The Colavita/Sutter Home Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light will race against the top U.S. and European teams at UCI events in 2007, including Australia’s Geelong Women’s Tour and World Cup and Italy’s Giro d’Italia Femminile.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Good Things Come...

To Those That Wait (or in T-o-03's case, "Whipping Boy Comes To America.")

According to Hedwig Kroner at Cyclingnews.com, Der Kaiser may be headed to Discovery Channel Pro Cycling.

"In the light of the latest news coming out of Spain, according to which the information from the Operación Puerto investigation cannot be used for sports-disciplinary proceedings, Discovery Channel is reported to have made the first move on Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich, who may be free to choose a new team if he is cleared. Spanish AS.com reports that Johan Bruyneel has made the German champ an offer to lead his team during the next season."

Yes, T-o-03 you might be seeing a lot more of Mr. Ullrich in the future.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

The Latest on Floyd II

My USA TODAY friend and cycling writer, Sal Ruibal, has an online exclusive with Bad Boy Floyd. The story updates Landis' surgery and legal battles to clear his name from doping allegations resulting from a positive test during the Tour de France that could end up costing him the title (AP photo).
The story was posted at 6:07 p.m. ET Saturday, off of USAT's Monday-to-Friday publishing cycling.
Good for Sal.
Good for USAT.
Good for print journalism in general, which finally realizes that you don't have to wait for the paper to publish the news.