Now We can Get On With The Business At Hand
Now that the World Cup has mercifully ended (and, thankfully, soccer will no longer be so much as mentioned in American newspapers for the next 3.75 years), and now that some tennis tournament that apparently takes place in England every year is also over, we can focus on what's really important, the Tour de France.
But first, a final word about the World Cup.
It was fitting that the final ended in a 1 - 1 tie decided, entirely randomly, by penalty kicks. This has been the second lowest scoring tournament (and probably nmost boring) ever. And, settling a championship on the basis of a penalty kick shootout is analagous to settling the World Series on the basis of a home run derby. How sad. (I have to admit that I was spared from having to watch the final because of family responsibilities).
Now, back to what's important. I am hopeful that once again, the French are going to have to deal with the fact that an American will win the Yellow Jersey. Floyd Landis had a wonderful time trial (despite having his handlebars snap off in the middle of his ride), and, as MoC predicted on Friday, is well positioned to win the whole thing. Among the other Americans, unfortunately, George Hincapie did not do nearly as well (but is certainly within striking distance in the mountains), Levi Lepheimer had a disasterous time trial and is all but out of the competition, and Bobby Julich had an even more disaterous time trial, crashing while rounding a curve (at 30+ mph) and breaking his wrist and ending his ride.
Today is a day off and in a couple of days the riders reach the Pyranees where this year's race will probably be decided.
On the personal riding front, MoC is pleased to report that he had a strong 72 mile ride yesterday on the North Shore of Long Island. While not quite ready for the Tour de France, he believes he is more or less on target for the Alyn ride in late October.
Now that the World Cup has mercifully ended (and, thankfully, soccer will no longer be so much as mentioned in American newspapers for the next 3.75 years), and now that some tennis tournament that apparently takes place in England every year is also over, we can focus on what's really important, the Tour de France.
But first, a final word about the World Cup.
It was fitting that the final ended in a 1 - 1 tie decided, entirely randomly, by penalty kicks. This has been the second lowest scoring tournament (and probably nmost boring) ever. And, settling a championship on the basis of a penalty kick shootout is analagous to settling the World Series on the basis of a home run derby. How sad. (I have to admit that I was spared from having to watch the final because of family responsibilities).
Now, back to what's important. I am hopeful that once again, the French are going to have to deal with the fact that an American will win the Yellow Jersey. Floyd Landis had a wonderful time trial (despite having his handlebars snap off in the middle of his ride), and, as MoC predicted on Friday, is well positioned to win the whole thing. Among the other Americans, unfortunately, George Hincapie did not do nearly as well (but is certainly within striking distance in the mountains), Levi Lepheimer had a disasterous time trial and is all but out of the competition, and Bobby Julich had an even more disaterous time trial, crashing while rounding a curve (at 30+ mph) and breaking his wrist and ending his ride.
Today is a day off and in a couple of days the riders reach the Pyranees where this year's race will probably be decided.
On the personal riding front, MoC is pleased to report that he had a strong 72 mile ride yesterday on the North Shore of Long Island. While not quite ready for the Tour de France, he believes he is more or less on target for the Alyn ride in late October.
posted by MoChassid @ 10:08 AM
6 Comments:
At 11:33 AM,
DovBear said…
The final was a GREAT game. The fact that it was low scoring tells us nothing about how exciting it was. (There's no scoring whatsoever in bike riding, for exsample.) And talk about story lines! The whole world is trying to figure out what that Italian said to Zidane. (Though you may not realize it, Zidane's daprture yesterday is analogous to Roger Clemens getting thrown out of Game 7 (if it was his last game before retirment) for kicking an umpire.)
At 12:59 PM,
PsycleSteve said…
Will you two ever stop arguing? Whatever you are into is fun for that person. It's like arguing which is better, red or blue (blue, of course).
MoC - Yishar kochacha on the ride. Any idea on total elevation?
I would love for an American to win the TDF just to stick it to the French. They think that with Lance gone the American dynasty is over.
Did you read about Landis's hip problem?
At 5:31 PM,
PsycleSteve said…
Landis supposedly is suffering from a condition called "aseptic necrosis" in which the "ball" segment of the ball and socket hip joint basically withers away due to a compromised blood supply. They believe this occurred in a 2002 crash. He has been cycling in agony for the past few months as bone rubs against bone. Due to his condition race officials have allowed him to receive cortisone injections. He will need hip replacement surgery after the season.
Amazing that he can be one of the best cyclists in the world with that kind of injury. I hope he wins since this may be his swan song. He says he will return to cycling after the surgery, but it sounds like a career ender to me. Remember Bo Jackson?
At 10:31 PM,
DovBear said…
Why should we stop arguing? What's the fun in that?
And I only know about the yellow jersey. No idea what it means, or why I would want it, but Lance always seems to be wearing one. Does it mean "I tested positive?"
At 11:02 AM,
DovBear said…
The Sun's columnist is probably a vulgar, nativist xenophobe who thinks soccer sucks becuase there are no mascots, cheerleaders or exploding scoreboards.
The fact that Lance has a lefty girlfriend doesn't endear him to me. Should it?
At 11:10 AM,
PsycleSteve said…
You two are really scary. Entertaining, but scary.
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