Friday, July 28, 2006
Floyd Landis - How Would It Play Out ?
Vindication or Disgrace * The Warrior Princess In A Cream Colored Suit
We have become blasé about use of performance enhancing drugs by athletes. The problem is endemic and it is almost taken for granted that the stars in professional sports use them. Yet the news about failed drug test by Floyd Landis caused shock and dismay. His victory in Tour de France made us proud and happy. We rejoiced at his superb recovery after falling behind from 1st place to 11th in the most challenging segment of the race and in his victory.
Then came the shocker about the drug test. Landis appeared at a press conference in Madrid to tell his side of the story. A second test might vindicate him or it might not. Apparently, the tests are not infallible. Among the glut of reports about Floyd Landis I liked Mike Freeman's column in CBS SportsLine.com:
"We know all of this. We know the sport is one test tube away from becoming the WWE and is the dirtiest one of all. We know many cyclists dabble in drugs and violate rules by toiling in technologies designed to create supermen. Only instead of capes, they don yellow jerseys. But Landis? Wasn't he supposed to be different? Wasn't he the anti-Lance Armstrong? There weren't supposed to be steroid rumors swirling around Landis as there have been around Armstrong. There was not supposed to be a smoking needle, err, gun. There is a chance a plausible explanation exists for the elevated testosterone levels allegedly discovered in the Landis sample. He might be completely innocent. His second sample could be clean. He could also be the victim of bullied blood work. The French and others have been accused by American cyclists of being sophisticated saboteurs. Armstrong has had numerous run-ins with their various cycling bodies and pernicious French media. The French, we are told, would love to be riggers of the Petri dish. They hate American cyclists so much that when one tests positive for some illicit substance, the moment is treated like Bastille Day. Please let it be that. Please let it be some legitimate mistake or conspiracy. Because how many more times can our Tour de France champions, or even our NFL and baseball heroes, go through performance enhancing drug scandals before we all become so cynical we don't care if our athletes cheat? Or have we long passed that point?" |
The Gloating Secretary of State
One person who is revelling in the Lebanon crisis is Condoleezza Rice. The news clips show her obvious pleasure at being in the center of action, calling the shots, talking about "enduring" peace, which became "sustainable" peace in the Rome Conference while hapless Lebanese civilians are bearing the brunt of Israel's ceaseless pounding. She is doing what her boss wants but there can be no doubt that Condoleezza Rice is out to make her own place in history. Eugene Robinson in the Post: "Lebanon has now become Condi's war. You can argue whether legal title to the tragic mess in Iraq properly belongs to Rummy or Cheney or to the Decider himself, but as far as Lebanon is concerned, it's Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who has stepped front and center to handle the crisis and show the world who's boss."
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Is this the same Condi Rice who could not imagine anyone flying fuel laden jets into buildings? Wonder where she has been. The bad guys tried to do this very thing to the Eifel Tower in the early nineties but could not fly the plane and were eventually foiled by French commandoes.Maybe Condi was playing the piano when this went down?
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