Wednesday Roundup

News
The Aspen Times reports on a forum moderated by CBS newsman Bob Schieffer in which Lance Armstrong proclaimed that he continues to believe Floyd Landis is innocent of the doping charges leveled against him last summer after the 2006 Tour de France. Armstrong, however, also believes that Landis will lose his arbitration hearing with USADA because of the track record that the anti doping agencies have in cases against athletes:

"I think conventional wisdom is that he will lose, because USADA has never lost a case," said Armstrong, the guest speaker at an Aspen Ideas Festival health forum discussion CBS anchor Bob Schieffer moderated. "The arbitrators don't ever rule for the athletes. Quite frankly the system is set up against the athletes. ... Unfortunately for him, I don't think he did it. That's always been my position and still is today, but I'm not sure that's he going to get a fair shake in this trial."

The Prospect posts a history of the Tour de Frances based on three books about the subject. It concludes that even though the Tour de France has been rocked by drug scandals, and brought to a new low by the Floyd Landis affair, popular interest in the Tour seems undiminished. Perhaps the author hasn't seen the decline in TV ratings since Lance Armstrong retired.

The Washington Post points out that the Tour de France has lost its' luster, and this is due in part to the Landis doping scandal and subsequent USADA hearings that ensued.

An all-out public relations assault on the anti-doping establishment by Landis and his public relations consultants after his positive test during last year's Tour kept his case in the spotlight for nearly a year. Then a staggering day of testimony involving former Tour winner Greg LeMond in mid-May served only to enlarge the headlines.

Golf.com talks about Tiger Woods, with comparison to Landis.

Telegraph (UK) ranks Landis #12 on "imperfect" sporting moments, behind #11 Tom Simpson, and ahead of #18, the "Black" Sox baseball scandal that let to the first baseball commissioner, Judge Landis.

Independent (UK) wonders if cycling has any credibility left, citing the usual suspects.

The Competitors has a two hour podcast interview with Walsh. Haven't listened, but we're downloading it for a convenient time.

Blogs
Boulder Blog's Joe Lindsey takes the "Dazed and Confused" theme one step further by noting that pro athletes are in reality teenagers in men's bodies, so why not actually cast a new version of "Dazed and Confused" based on the UCI's pledge and just the general state of pro cycling now? Why not indeed. Below is the cast, the brilliant scenes follow, and there is some language that a few may find objectionable:

The Cast:

Dave Zabriskie as Randall “Pink” Floyd
Alexandre Vinokourov as Benny O’Donnell
Alejandro Valverde as Don Dawson
Lance Armstrong as Fred O’Bannion
Tyler Hamilton as Ron Slater
Floyd Landis as Mitch Kramer
Eufemiano Fuentes as Kevin Pickford
Bjarne Riis as the Assistant Coach
Pat McQuaid as Head Coach Conrad
And featuring:
Francesco Moser as David Wooderson

Erik's Cycling and Social Commentary reviews "Positively False" and liked it with some reservations. He recommends it if you have been keeping up with the case as an easy read with some insight into the likable Floyd Landis.

Rant liked Positively False a lot, and thinks it is very good for the public that isn't following the case as crazily as some of us.

Only the truly dedicated followers of Floyd’s story will find nothing new in these pages. For those who’ve followed the situation, but not followed it obsessively, these behind-the-scenes stories drive home the drama and the toll that the events of the last year have extracted from Landis and those closest to him.

The Countertop Chronicles snarks about Floyd Landis and seems convinced that Floyd will ultimately be stripped of his Tour de France title, and he believes Lance Armstrong cheated too.

Lantana went to the book singing event for "Positively False" last night in DC and thought some of the questions asked of Landis were amusing, interesting, and not all about the case itself . They were apparently not all supportive of Floyd either.

Dubious Quality thinks it's telling that Loren Mooney's name is so small on the cover of Positively False, indicating another lie.

Peloton Jim's ruling watch continues. No smoke.

Cycling Fans Anonymous points us to The Competitors podcast interview of Walsh.