Drugs and Cycling - a relationship that needs to be broken

World class cycling is quickly becoming akin to Major League Baseball. I’m not speaking of television ratings, which would be a boon to the sport, but the use of enhancement drugs.

There is no doubt that every American was aware that Lance Armstrong was nearly stripped of his record making 7 in a row wins at the Tour De France. But how many across the world are familiar with the real history of the Tour De France? How many can recall the abuses back in the 1900’s?

The fact is that before there were steroids world class cycling was plagued by riders using alcohol, drugs and even ether in their attempts to win. While alcohol and ether have long been abandoned, performance enhancing drugs of all types have crept into their place. Perhaps most famous was the effect of amphetamines in the 1967 race. It lead to the death of cyclist Tom Simpson.

But more recent memories will turn to 1998 and the scandal surrounding Willy Voet and the TVM team. The fact police raided the rooms of riders and their tactics lead to a sit-down and quitting of a majority of the teams in the 17th stage. In 2004 three cyclists - Philippe Gaumont, David Millar, and Jesus Manzano – all opened up about the rampant use of banned enhancing drugs. And of course there was the 2006 scandal that implicated over 17 cyclists, including Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, ultimately leading to Floyd Landis being stripped of his winning title. In 2007 add Alexander Vinokourov, Cristian Moreni, Michael Rasmussen, Manuel Beltrán, Erik Zabel, Bjarne Riis and Moisés Dueñas in 2008.

Today we can add Riccardo Ricco to this seemingly growing and unyielding list of actual and suspected drug users.

Something must be done. The fact that riders from everywhere in the sport allege requirements by teams to use drugs, that multiple riders are being caught year after year, and that only specific types of enhancement drugs are precluded spell disaster for the future of this sport.

Either all enhancing drugs will have to be allowed, which no sponsor nor responsible organization would accept, or all of them must be disallowed – including any drugs produced in the future that do not show up in tests today. And penalties must be made far more severe. It is a beyond obvious fact that suspensions from racing are not nearly enough of a deterrent for any team or rider. And while some former winner are now coming forward to admit their drug use, and unknown number have not – not that there is any recourse they might fear.

Actually I am wrong in the premise I started this with. World class cycling is not like the MLB, it’s worse. And like any addict this sport is going to fall apart, wither and die. Will it take another death of a rider, or God forbid a dozen, to change things?

Fans need to make their outrage vocal. Teams need to value the health of their riders and the sport above sponsorships. And sponsors need to require their money be tied to clean teams, or they get their money back with interest. Oh and the international world cycling body, needs to work with authorities to ensure that those that break the rules don’t just get suspended, they need to be arrested.

Did I miss anything? Let me know.

Dave Winfield remembers what Major League Baseball and WWII movies forget

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. The invasion of Normandy. And the major media barely takes notice. I mean in an environment where ultra-liberals are screaming that America turn tail and run away from Iraq, and cities slap insult after insult on our military – refusing to allow recruiters to do their jobs and hiding our Armed Forces in the back doors of airports if they let them into the ports at all [look up San Fransisco or Marines at VASS]– how do we expect more?

But America is not just forgetting to remember the sacrifices of the old and current soldiers that ensure the freedoms we enjoy without a second thought. In our luxury of sitting in our homes and the only bomb blasts occurring on our HDTV screens, we forget that 2302 days have passed without a single terrorist attack in America. If anyone thinks this is not because of our brave men and women, and their sacrifices, they are in my opinion fools and willfully ignorant.

America loves to forget the things in our past that don’t match with what we want to think of today. Like past wars and the soldiers that fought them. Like the decades it took for the Tuskegee Airmen to get the recognition they deserved, or the fact that beyond Spike Lee’s upcoming film I cannot name another major (or minor) movie that recognizes that African Americans served in WWII. Then again you would be hard pressed to find Hollywood mentioning that Blacks have served in ever war or conflict America has ever had including the American Revolution.

Along those same lines of forgetting selected parts of our past, there is an example of someone that is remembering. Dave Winfeild, former NY Yankee, has not forgotten those that came before him and enabled him (and every other non-White pro team athlete) to enjoy being the pinnacle of American major league sports. Who has he remembered that was forgotten? The players of the Negro Leagues.

The original National Association of Base Ball Players, formed in 1867, banned black athletes. In 1920 the Negro National League was formed. It would be another 27 years before Jackie Robinson would break the barrier created 80 years prior. But Jackie Robinson was not a man in a vaccum, nor plucked from some street corner. He was one player among a league of hundreds, a number of which are believed to have been equal or superior to Robinson – each of them denied solely because of the color of their skin.

Today there are hundreds of players that are of virtually every race found on the Earth in American major league sports. Yet even the most avid fans in the nation’s preimer sport are hard pressed to name more than 2 players from the Negro Leagues – Jackie Robinson and Saitchel Paige. Such a shun and a desire to ignore the racist and ill-concieved past of the nation and baseball is maddening. And while it’s many years too late, Dave Winfeild has made sure something is done about it.

30 members of the Negro Leagues, people that I doubt most sports fans have ever heard of – because the history books and stadiums were closed to them – are to be recognized in a way that at least symbolically ensures their place in baseball history. These men will be drafted by the major teams prior to the MLB amateur draft. Emilio “Millito” Navarro, now 103 and the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues, will be drafted by the New York Yankees.

In a country finally celebrating the potential of the first African American that may become the President of the United States, finally recognizing that African Americans fought and died as bravely in every war we ever fought, finally recognizing that Blacks have been as integral to the foundation and growth of this nation as any (and perhaps more) other group, I say that such recognition is beyond long overdue.

The major media may feel such events are cursory. They may feel that focusing on a fist bump by Senator Obama on the night he locked the Democratic Presidential nomination is more news worthy. But I will not allow my blog to miss these important facts. I remember those that came before me, I thank them. And I will share that acknowledgement. If nothing else, it’s the very least we can do.

Don’t you agree?

Roger Clemens vs. Congress - 2.13.2008.1

Is it just me, or do most agree that the current Congressional inquiry on steroids in baseball a waste of money and time. I mean I really don’t care if Roger Clemens used steroids or not. It doesn’t change a thing in the world nor improve my life at all.

This is going to cost the American public tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. It’s taken multiple days so far, and who knows how many more in the future. In the end, nothing dramatic will change. There might be a few notations in the stats, and maybe a player or 2 will be denied entry into the baseball Hall of Fame. And life as well as the MLB will continue unabated.

This is not worthy of the attention it is garnering. It’s not worth the money. It’s really pointless for Congress to delve into this. It’s an internal baseball issue, one that fans can address by refusing to go to games until assurances can be made that every player is steroids free. But the actual fact is most fans don’t care. They just want to be entertained.

If Roger Clemens goes to jail, there will still be steroids in baseball. If he does not go to jail, there will be steroids in baseball. There is too much money at stake for there not to be steroids in baseball, football, basketball and every other professional sport that exists today (with the exception of perhaps curling). That is a reality that invalidates all the hoopla that is surrounding the Congressional hearing today.

But the news is wasting our time covering every word. Congressman Waxman is again involved in an action that serves no purpose beyond wasting the taxpayers’ money. [If I recall correctly Congressman Waxman was involved in the investigation of Alberto Gonzalez and the firing of attorneys that had positions at the pleasure of the President. At the end of that waste of money and time in 2007, the conclusion was that no law was broken – as that was impossible to break a law - and that the individuals were still fired. No change except for spending my taxes and the time that was not spent on important issues like Darfur, or the Child Soldier Prevention Act.]

Am I wrong? Do you care about this? Will this affect your lives in any manner? I really would like to hear a justification for this waste.

Real confidence in a product

I saw this live on Fox News and had to find the YouTube of it. This is the ultimate example of a guy who believes in his product. He is so confident that Mark Littell took a 90 mile an hour baseball to the family jewels on live TV. He didn't even blink because of his NuttyBuddy. That's a product that works. See for yourself.