It's the Olympics, stupid.

A few days ago, in a comment at Joe Lindsey's excellent Boulder Report, we wrote this offhand musing:

A thought burbling through my mind lately is whether or when the stakes elevate up to geo-political Olympic levels. A (self-inflicted) breakdown in the anti-doping system now, or worse, one resolved over the next year or two could leave things in a quagmire for the Peking Games.

Well, duh! Of course that's what it's about, and has been from the start.
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It's about parts of the Olympic Movement (including it's WADA cronies) covering their own to protect their posteriors and their Interests in The Games.

This came into focus after learning that Landis arbiters McLaren and Brunet are just back from a trip together -- to Peking -- where they likely met a familiar face, that of one Hein Verbruggen, late of the UCI, and now involved in helping set up The Games. It's a Small World, after all.

What could they have talked about?

Maybe it was the same things as when Messrs. McLaren, Brunet and Pound were the (unused) panel at a recent Pan-Am games together, hanging at the hotel bar. Waiting for a call that didn't happen to come, shooting the breeze -- talking Justice and Fairness, and the search for Truth in anti-doping adjudication.

I imagine that most likely, Mr. Pound is doing the talking, mentoring, and explaining to young Mr. Brunet: This is how the Olympic Movement works, my boy! Why, if you play your cards right, you might become a valuable member of The Club!

Have a cigar! You're going to go far!

Now Brunet is playing his cards. Can McLaren and Brunet pull off the charade of appearing to be fair as they do Landis in?

Their ruling on the B-sample testing put that into doubt, and there will be plenty more chances to use the ol' 2-1 to secure the necessary "victory."

Will Campbell tire of writing dissents? History says they have little effect.

Oversight? None. CAS is comprised of the same cast of characters, with an even more international (read: Olympic) flavor.

It should be clear with the fall out of the "strict liability" policy that the WADA puppets of the IOC don't give a hoot about actual fair competition. They do care a lot about the appearance of toughness about doping they can sell as part of The Image of The Games. Collateral damage to athletes, or sports, isn't even regrettable. Both are dispensable compared to The Image of The Games.

It's all about the Olympics.

Mr. Pound is already expressing concern about laxity of doping control for Peking. No wonder The System is anxious to crush Landis now. If he shows them to be what he believes they are, then all hopes of controlling The Games next year will be a shambles, with horrible political and economic consequences, not to mention the ratings. Should a bunch of pimply-faced unknowns sweep events that are rightly owned by the Sports Powers, the viewership that supports the advertising that justifies those big fat transfers of money would dwindle, and it's easy to see where that leads.

A quote we used long ago made a point, which seemed hyperbolic at the time, and now seems understated after all we've seen:

The UCI can't let him win as that would cast doubt on the whole testing process, so expect a smear campaign to be launched both in the press and behind the scenes as this will a fight for the life of the UCI and WADA, which are bigger than Landis. At best, that is he is clean, he will be a casualty of fixing the anti-doping (after the fact, that is) machine. (link)

Well, the UCI is too confused to care about anymore. Cycling is walking wounded as a sport. Now it's about the credibility of the Olympic inspired, sponsored, and paid-for anti-doping system, and how that affects The Games.

It's the Olympics, stupid!

Landis has a hard task trying to climb this Olympus. The gods up top are trying to smite him for suggesting they are imperfect, because that is bad for business.

It certainly would be nice to be wrong, and observe a fair and honest search for truth at the hearing, and to read a reasoned, persuasive, and just 3-0 decision.

We shall see.

TBV