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5224. alistairconnor - 10/18/2006 3:44:32 PM Because _their_ guy isn't winning?
Who might he be? I want names! (there hasn't been a credible French candidate in a decade...)
I'm beginning to think the three-week bicycle race is fundamentally a bad idea, because the human organism can't keep up that level of intense athletic effort without cheating.
How about replacing the Tour de France with ten one-day events, spread over a month, with two rest days between each stage? 5225. wabbit - 10/18/2006 4:36:49 PM I don't know that we'll ever know the who, if there is one (or more). The samples could have been mishandled/mislabeled right from the time of collection. Lab incompetence in this case seems obvious, but that might be dealt with by sending samples to a few different labs. Maybe someone simply screwed up and in an attempt to hide their error, the whole thing snowballed into a huge mess. I doubt anyone will be coming forward to confess to either collusion or incompetence.
What I would like to know is who decided to go forward with testing the Landis sample in the first place. From the synopsis, it looks like that shouldn't have happened (see screen 10 of the Floyd Landis SS_final.pdf). Or is this synopsis misinterpreting the rules?
AC, isn't there some discussion going on about rethinking the TdF format? I swear I read something about just that very idea not more than a month ago. 5226. wabbit - 10/18/2006 4:42:28 PM Message # 5221 - great pics, wonkers2! 5227. iiibbb - 10/18/2006 5:31:53 PM Message # 5224
You were caught by my rouse... I don't believe in conspiracy.
Besides... if you believe that Landis was despirate enough to cheat with such and obvious method; given there are supposively a miriad of ways to cheat that can't be detected (according to LeMond and others)... then why is it so hard to believe that someone would buy off a lab worker to spike Landis' samples?
Regardless, what I think happened was simply a lab error, and I don't necessarily assing any malevolence to it. A lab mistake is very plausible, particularly mislabling of samples. I've made such mistakes many times myself... and I consider myself to be very diligent about such things. I am diligent because when you make a labling error or whatnot it often means a trip back out to the field, or restarting a procedure.
So what Wabbit says is plausible. Somebody botched the chain of custody or a lab procedure and it's snowballed to the point that they'd be stupid to admit it now. The only thing the lab can do is change it's protocols for future tests. They can't salvage this whether someone thinks Landis was guilty or not.
So if there is a conspiracy... I would tend to think it is coming out of administrative side of cycling, which does seem to be highly influenced by politics. It doesn't seem that far of a stretch that they're driving the adgenda. The TDF organizers already consider Landis to not be the winner (before everything is settled). The cycling powers that be thing it is crazy to question a lab's proceedures. The tests were leaked prematurely to the press.
So a conspiracy from within cylcling seems as plausible as Landis cheating using such an unsophisticated and easily detected method... if we are to beleive it is so easy to hide cheating these days. 5228. alistairconnor - 10/18/2006 5:59:40 PM It's possible that, following a botched lab job and a possibly malevolent leak indicating a positive test for Landis, the authorities felt obliged to declare him guilty. Think how bad it would have looked if they'd "covered it up"!
In this scenario, Floyd is definitely a scapegoat. 5229. jexster - 10/19/2006 2:24:35 PM I love that comedian on Imus..hate Imus..love comedian
Omar Minaya Thank ju for that uninspired welcome you maricones!
I hate Tony Larussa..GO METS! Battle of the Macacans the The WS
You gotta believe! 5230. wabbit - 10/20/2006 3:57:09 PM  Justin Rose dropped his putter, put his hands on his knees and dropped his head. He paused, looked up and managed a wry smile, knowing just how close he came to shooting a 59 on Thursday. Rose missed a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 18, leaving him a stroke away from matching the PGA Tour record shared by Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999). The 26-year-old Englishman settled for a 12-under 60, course and tournament records, and a four-stroke lead Thursday in the Funai Classic at Disney.
Rose hit a 6-iron from 190 yards on the 433-yard 18th. The ball bounced 6 inches from the hole, rolled past and stopped near the fringe. Rose tipped his hat several times as he walked toward the green and couldn't stop smiling. He lined up the putt from both sides, took two practice swings, then pulled it just left. After his initial reaction, he tapped in for his best round ever on the PGA Tour, three shots better than his previous low set in the 2002 Deutsche Bank Championship and matched in the 2004 Canadian Open.
Richard Johnson was alone in second place, four shots back. Tag Ridings, Steve Flesch, Bob Tway, Charles Howell III and J.J. Henry were five strokes behind Rose.
Howell's 65 may have been the most impressive considering he played the much tougher Magnolia Course. The others, including Rose and Johnson, played the Palm Course -- the easiest course on tour last year by nearly a full stroke. Howell will play the Palm in the second round Friday, while Rose and the rest of the leaders move to the Mag, which played about a stroke and a half tougher than the Palm on Thursday.
5231. wabbit - 10/20/2006 3:57:49 PM  The first long drive to left field wound up in the webbing of Endy Chavez's glove as he crashed against the wall. The second one sailed clear over his head. And that's what sent Yadier Molina and the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series. Molina's tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning and another Game 7 gem by Jeff Suppan helped St. Louis overcome Chavez's astounding grab, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 victory over the New York Mets on a rainy Thursday night for the NL championship.
Adam Wainwright wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth, striking out St. Louis nemesis Carlos Beltran to end it and leaving a stunned crowd in deflated silence just moments after it had Shea Stadium shaking.
With that, the Cardinals earned their second pennant in three years and a date with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night in Game 1 of the World Series.
Sorry, Jexster. Maybe next year...
5232. wonkers2 - 10/21/2006 6:19:10 PM I wonder what the Vegas odds are. Probably the Tigers are favored a bit? 5233. wonkers2 - 10/21/2006 6:23:04 PM BoDog says Tigers 2 to 1 for the World Series. 5234. jexster - 10/22/2006 2:52:58 AM You just Pu-jol'ed
Too big for yer britches Deetroit
4-1 5235. wabbit - 10/23/2006 1:57:56 AM  Robert Cheruiyot held off fellow Kenyan Daniel Njenga to win the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, taken from the course in a wheelchair after slipping and banging his head near the finish line. Cheruiyot, winner of this year's Boston Marathon, stayed down for several minutes after hitting his head. He was placed in a golf cart and headed to a hospital for a precautionary exam. Race officials said he was not seriously injured. Although Cheruiyot slipped before the tape, he did cross the finish line. It was a painful ending to a race in which he sprinted away from Njenga in the final stretch and finished in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 35 seconds. Jimmy Muindi of Kenya was third (2:07:51), and Abdi Abdirahman, a U.S. citizen born in Somalia, finished fourth in 2:08:56.
Ethiopia's Berhane Adere won the women's race in 2:20:42 for her first marathon victory, followed by Russia's Galina Bogomolova (2:20:47), Australia's Benita Johnson (2:22:36) and Mexico's Madai Perez Carrillo (2:22:59). Romania's Constantina Tomescu-Dita (2:24:25) dropped to fifth after leading the first 21 miles.
5236. wabbit - 10/23/2006 1:58:07 AM  Joe Durant didn't forget how to win on the PGA Tour. Durant shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 in the final round of the Funai Classic at Disney on Sunday, finished 25 under and picked up his first tour victory since March 2001. He beat Troy Matteson (70) and Frank Lickliter II (62) by four strokes. First- and second-round leader Justin Rose (69) was fourth. The 42-year-old Durant played mistake-free golf down the stretch for his fourth career victory. He started the day one shot behind leader Matteson and dropped another stroke back after the first hole on the Magnolia Course. But Durant made up ground with smart decisions, a steady short game and several clutch putts. He made a 13-footer from the fringe on the par-3 third and followed with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 fourth. He took the lead for good on the par-5 10th, getting up and down for birdie from the sand. He sealed his long-awaited victory with three birdies — and several astute moves — over the next six holes.
South Korea's Hee-Won Han won her sixth career LPGA Tour title Sunday, closing with a 5-under 67 in hot conditions for a five-stroke victory over Diana D'Alessio in the inaugural Honda LPGA Thailand. Han, two strokes behind Nicole Castrale entering play Sunday, had eight birdies and three bogeys in the final round. She finished with a 14-under 202 total on the Amata Spring Country Club course and earned $195,000 for her second win of the year. D'Alessio finished with a 70.
5237. wabbit - 10/23/2006 1:58:26 AM  Matt Bryant nailed a 62-yard field goal -- the third-longest in NFL history -- to give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers an improbable 23-21 last-second victory over Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. The kick ruined a gallant comeback engineered by McNabb after the Bucs built a 17-0 lead, mostly on the strength of two interceptions that Ronde Barber returned for touchdowns. It was the longest of Bryant's career by 12 yards, and came on just his third attempt of 50 or more yards in five seasons. Tom Dempsey and Jason Elam share the league record for the longest field goal -- 63 yards. The only other kickers who have been successful from beyond 59 yards are Steve Cox and Morten Andersen, who both booted 60-yarders.
One LT led San Diego's comeback. Another LT thwarted it. Lawrence Tynes hit a career-long 53-yard field goal with 6 seconds left, atoning for a first-quarter miss and giving the Kansas City Chiefs a 30-27 victory over the Chargers on Sunday. LaDainian Tomlinson figured in two fourth-quarter TD throws, one as the receiver and one as the passer, as the Chargers (4-2) came back from an early 17-point deficit to tie the game at 27-all. But after the Chiefs (3-3) took over on their own 18 with 33 seconds left, Damon Huard completed three passes for 52 yards to get them in position for Tynes' winner. Tony Gonzalez had two catches for 37 yards on the drive, capping a six-catch, 138-yard day for the Pro Bowl tight end.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was knocked out of Sunday's game against Atlanta after taking a blow to the head in the third quarter, leaving his status uncertain for next week's game at Oakland. Roethlisberger did not return and watched the end of the Falcons' 41-38 win in overtime from the sideline. Roethlisberger appeared to receive a helmet-to-helmet hit in the face mask from defensive end Chauncey Davis immediately after releasing a pass, which was dropped by Hines Ward with 7:40 left in the third. Defensive end Patrick Kerney and linebacker Ed Hartwell also hit the quarterback on the play.
NFL scores
5238. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 10/23/2006 2:33:38 AM Good luck to the Tigers tonight, wonk! 5239. wonkers2 - 10/23/2006 3:16:11 AM Thanks! Horrible night for a ball game. 5240. iiibbb - 10/23/2006 3:22:37 AM BASE jumper dies at bridge day.
It was the longest single span bridge in the US until recently. At 850 ft at the river it's pretty up there.
Once a year, the Park Service closes one side and opens the bridge to base jumpers and rappellers.
I went to bridge day many years ago, but I was on a team that won the rope lottery, so we were there to rappel it. Not many spots for the rappelling.
What's funny is the base jumpers always looked at us like we were nuts... and vice versa.
 5241. iiibbb - 10/23/2006 5:33:30 AM I should note that if someone died when I was there... I wouldn't have kept playng. 5242. wabbit - 10/23/2006 4:29:05 PM I dunno, I think I'd feel a lot better with at least 2000 feet for the chute to open. I guess it's enough, since they have so many successful jumps, but 850 sounds a little tight to me. 5243. wabbit - 10/23/2006 4:30:10 PM 
Kenny Rogers of the Detroit Tigers had a smudge on the palm of his left hand while he was pitching in the first inning Sunday night. What it was and why it was there and whether it had an impact on Rogers’s outing against the St. Louis Cardinals is fuzzy. What was clear is that Rogers pitched eight shutout innings to boost his scoreless streak to 23 innings and help the Tigers to a 3-1 victory in Game 2 of the World Series. What is not clear is whether Rogers had something illegal on his hand during one of those innings... Television cameras showed close-ups of Rogers’s hand in the first and the second innings, and the brown smudge that was there in the first was gone by the second. Rogers, who gave up one hit with the smudge on his hand in the first, gave up only one more hit for the next seven innings... What is fuzzy about a possible impact on the game? Two hits? Whatever it was, it didn't seem to make any difference. Series tied, 1-1.
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