Friday Roundup

News
Team Landis issued a press release about the B sample flap, full text over at Rant. Presumably they've seen the all the "what is he hiding?" responses in various locations, and felt need to respond. The main points are:

• "They got it wrong the first time, and they are trying to get it wrong again."
• The A's were negative; the retesting is illegal, and violates the WADA rules
• "Given USADA’s consistent refusal to provide relevant discovery documentation, Landis’s defense team has no expectation it would receive appropriate documentation from any proposed illegal re-testing."

AFP via France24 picks the release up.

The FFF also issued, yesterday, a release about the AFLD proceeding, which we hadn't seen.

Sportingo runs an extensive summary of yesterday's Landis news.

The San Diego Times Union thinks yesterday's AFLD hearing story is still big news as does The Cincinnati Enquirer and the New York Post which mentions that Landis wouldn't have raced in any case due to recent hip surgery (they obviously have not been keeping up on FL's progress).

ProCycling also reviews yesterdays's AFLD developments, but includes an interesting photo of Landis with the story.

Lancaster Online, Landis's hometown paper, runs with wire report spiced with quotes from locals including Mike Farrington.

VeloNews reports the other stage B sample flap without discussing the gamesmanship, leaving the impression Landis is hiding something. This would be the USADA spin. They also miss that there are non-Tour samples involved.

Cyclingnews publishes a short piece about the selection of the Landis USADA arbitrators without the usual polemic comments.

Outside runs some outtakes of an interview with Tyler Hamilton that touch on Landis and drug testing in general. Hamilton seems his chipper, optimistic self again.

USADA releases final testing numbers for 2006, but doesn't connect the dots with AAF and sanction statistics.

Letters to Velonews take the "what's he got to hide by refusing more tests" angle.

LA Times/Hiltzik report the IOC rebuking Mr. Pound for his Armstrong slams, picked up by Steroid Nation. Armstrong's spokesman calls it a "censure" meaning it's a formal wrist slap of symbolic consequence.

Blogs
Blah...Blah... Shut this Guy Up! (one of the more creative blog names we have seen) thinks that people only know half the story (as far as the WADA side is concerned) but he feels Landis is innocent nonetheless.

Dugard looks at the calendar, and thinks the tour could get a big publicity boost with the hearing, an acquittal, and the sudden arrival of a defending Landis. Did his stomach flu produce hallucinations as well as weight loss?

Rant wonders, "why Travis Tygart is on a fishing expedition?"

Steroid Nation runs down recent events, and fairly researches the background of the Arbitrators. It's editorial conclusions are hardening.

The Boulder Report suggests Landis bloggers (including himself) have been the E!Online paparazzi when it comes to all things Floyd, and that speculation has run rampant. Other good points:

Floyd threw in the towel on his 2007 season, as a concession to the AFLD if it postpones his case. Floyd agreed not to start any races in France in 2007, including a defense of his title in the Tour. I know Floyd had a hip replacement, has semi-jokingly referred to himself as "fat" and, should he be cleared, would be almost guaranteed not to be signed to a team capable of helping him defend his Tour title, but this is still kind of sad; he had to mortgage his right to defend a title just so a legally dubious court procedure (which forced him to hire an entirely new legal team) could be postponed. The hearing will still happen, and could even come to a different conclusion than the USADA arbitrators, meaning Landis could conceivably be cleared before USADA but still not allowed to race in France. In short, kiddos, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better.

Now, are we the bloggerati or the bloggerazzi?

PJ offers... "No Pee for You!"

PhillyBurbs newspaper blog runs Landis and Bonds together. Joy.

Captain Insano talks about roller racing, with links to videos to get the flavor.
Skullady describes Matt's state of mind having skipped the roller races.

Gods of Sport riff on the case, and find the Outside mag photo with the fur coat "disturbing". It takes a fur coat to make a tour-shape cyclist look like he has an upper body.

The Decline of Western Civ at THE TENSION picks the AFLD story as #8 for the day, behind the death of Anna Nicole-Smith at #1.

Potholes and Road Apples rants the Velonews guide to the Tour of California is nearly a Floyd-Free zone.

Smithers buys the USADA spin on Landis declining more tests, but gives the FFF link.

Pommi picks up SF appearance on 18-Feb.

TdFBlog covers AFLD, with pointer to BlindRobert with more pix from Brooklyn.

Nev at myspace talks about the D word (drugs) with a fresh perspective.

Common Man Syndrome announces the French have won the Landis case.

Snark O' the Day
Rob Tornoe offers a cartoon about not doing the Tour this year. Ha. Ha.

Thought for the Day

"It makes me mad when people say I turned and ran like a scared rabbit. Maybe it was like an angry rabbit, who was going to fight in another fight, away from the first fight.
-jh-

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