BikeNut’s profile

I'm supposed to believe he used steroids through his college career and then stopped when he got to the NFL. Give me a break!

posted at 08:50 AM on October 01

I just don't understand the motivation for this. I don't buy argument money is issue - the guy is still pulling in millions a year in endorsements. And I think while cancer publicity is clearly something extremely important to him, there would seem to be easier ways to get that message out.

I think it all boils down to his need for competition plus still having a chip on his shoulder with anyone who doubts him. TdF Director Christian Prudhomme has already said Lance is welcome back provided he and his team complies with drug testing regulations.

My guess is barring injury, he's going to be riding TdF next year. He usually follows through on anything he announces publicly. I wouldn't bet against him winning #8, but it is a very high risk move on his part. I'd put his biggest competition as Alberto Contador - if he signs on with Astana (which is likely), he'll have neutralized him. But there's still a lot of things that can go wrong to derail what looks like a sure thing TdF win - just ask Cadel Evans.

posted at 12:15 PM on September 10

Dissapointing, but not surprising. When you start with a "presumption that it (LNDD) conducted sample analysis in accordance with international laboratory standards", its easy to see that CAS never had any intention of considering the Landis arguments based on procedural errors by the lab. With that argument gone, he really didn't have a leg to stand on. I find the imposition of a $100,000 fine strange. Doesn't the athlete have a legal right to pursue an appeal? Why penalize him further when he loses? Was this intended to support potential lawsuit by WADA to recover their legal fees? Now that this has reached its conclusion, I wonder what's in future for Landis. His competitive career is over - I don't think any team would touch him, even after Jan 2009. Could he end up in a coaching role? After all, other highly respected teams have sports directors who have admitted doping in past (CSC with Riis). My guess - I wouldn't be suprised to see Landis linked to Rock Racing in some role in the not too distant future.

posted at 11:21 AM on June 30

Is anyone really surprised by this? And does anyone truly think the '70's Steelers were the only team of their era using steroids? What's really shocking is 30 years later, the NFL continues with a weak policy that really does not provide sufficient penalty and incentive to players and teams to discontinue steroid use. Anyone who thinks today's teams aren't using just as much or more than the '70's Steelers is living in a dream world.

posted at 12:57 PM on June 26

I hope these guys and their coach get the book thrown at them. This is one of the worst examples of poor sportsmanship I've ever seen. I used to catch a little in college. Although I may have gotten crossed up, I can't remember it ever causing me to drop to my knees and duck.

posted at 02:29 PM on June 18

As a cycling fan and former racer, I'm happy to see the efforts made to eliminate drugs from professional cycling. At the same time, I think cycling gets penalized by the public for the very reason that it is working to clean things up. Every time a rider is caught, the media is full of stories about how "dirty" cycling is. And yet, cycling imposes extremely tough penalties - typically at least 2 year suspension (4 years from the pro ranks). Given the short careers of most pro cycllsts, this amounts to a lifetime ban for most. I've always wondered how NFL, NBA, or MLB fans would react if players caught using drugs in their sports were suspended for 2 to 4 years.

posted at 07:57 AM on May 29

Great post. Thanks!

posted at 07:32 PM on March 12

Have you looked at the Orioles roster recently? Ripken could still suit up and be better than most of them, hurt or not.

posted at 11:24 AM on March 04

Sorry to see him go, but I don't blame him for hanging them up. I couldn't imagine trying to play the game at his age. All of Wisconsin is going to have a really bad day today.

posted at 09:51 AM on March 04

I thought he was using one of those pocket warmers. It was a handwarmer. I live in Wisconsin - it was -20 at my home on Sunday morning (actual temp - not wind chill). I can't believe so many of the players went with bare arms - frostbite does not make you macho (or improve your play). My bet is Favre comes back for one more season. He may have blown it on Sunday night, but he had a lot of help (Al Harris on Burress, no running game, dumb penalties on defense that sustained Giant drives). He did lead the Packers to a 13-3 season when most people thought they'd be lucky to go 8-8. With benefit of playing in a weak division, he's got to believe he's got a better than average shot of making playoffs again next year.

posted at 02:32 PM on January 21

Sorry to see the Packers lose - would have been neat to see Favre make it to one more Super Bowl. Giants defense did great job making Packers offense one dimensional. The Packers gave up on the run very early. Packers also helped out the Giants offense with penalties at key moments that kept Giants drives going. Good luck to Giants against Pats. I think they're going to need to play mistake free and get a few turnovers againts Pats to pull it off.

posted at 08:02 AM on January 21

I live in Wisconsin and have heard a lot of local coverage on this. Most of it sounds like this guy is a moron who did something really stupid while he's in middle of a divorce. I'd say his chances at any child custody hearings are about as close to zero as they can get.

posted at 06:38 PM on January 17

I've watched this play out in cycliing numerous times. Once you're named in media, you're screwed, no matter what you do. Clemens and other baseball players have advantage of a strong players union and a lot more money to defend themselves - but the bottom line is his future endorsement value has been damaged and his future legacy in question. The only way this gets cleaned up is if the players, teams, and coaches all commit to making the sport clean. You can't enforce your way out of this without everyone's support.

posted at 08:17 AM on December 20

Interesting that she got off using an argument similar to one made by Landis. Difference may be she focused on one specific violation rather than throwing multiple arguments at the Panel as the Landis' team did.

posted at 09:08 AM on December 15

It will be interesting to see how MLB deals with this. If the implicated players were cyclists, they would immediately be fired by their teams, subject to 2 year bans by WADA, and forced to refund all salary/bonuses paid them during time they used steroids. I'm guessing MLB reaction will be minimal. Given the difference - which sports really have a drug problem? The ones that are handing out harsh penalties to anyone caught? Or the ones that ignore the problem and try to sweep it under the rug?

posted at 01:38 PM on December 13