Friday Roundup

News
The NY Times this morning says that it appears there may be no known professional or Olympic athletes involved, either as distributors or users, in the steroid network busted earlier this week by the DEA. However distribution of steroids by an athlete would be viewed by USADA and WADA as just as ,if not more, serious an offense as a failed doping control:

Gary I. Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency and an associate professor at New York University School of Medicine, said that every drug policy should explain that failing a drug test should not be necessary to receive a sanction. The penalty for receiving, distributing or buying banned drugs should be the same as using them, he said, following the WADA’s code.


“Sure, we’ve talked about Floyd Landis and his failed drug test, but the paradigm has changed,” Wadler said. “So much of the story now deals with stings and federal investigations and law enforcement, and the leagues have to specifically address that shift in their drug policies. They can’t just view doping as a positive test. Those days are long gone.”

The Deseret Morning News interviews Levi Leipheimer about his future plans, he is rumored to be heading to Astana, and inevitably asks him about doping in cycling which unfortunately brings up Floyd Landis' name:

The Floyd Landis saga, particularly, has been a challenge to deal with. Questions about doping haunt cyclists everywhere they go, and Leipheimer has heard just about all of them.


"Yep, that's pretty much all we talk about," he said, only half sarcastically over dinner. "I hope now that Floyd's deal is kind of over, that we can move on. Everyone acts like we're the dirtiest athletes in the world, when I think the reality is we are the cleanest. We get tested all the time. They show up at your door unannounced and test you. We're tested before races and after races. We're tested all the time.

The Daily Cardinal points out the many examples of cheating in sports that seem to abound now and explores what motivates those who cheat to do so. Floyd Landis is included on the list and the piece warns that he has much more to be concerned about than just losing his Tour de France title.

The Tracy Press has plenty to say about cheating too.

The North County Times posts an editorial on the dangers of steroids to young athletes, and uses Floyd Landis' current woes as "exhibit A" as a warning to kids considering getting an edge on the competition.

Sportingo reviews the doping controversies leading up to this year's World Cycling Championships.


The CyclingNews opens up it's Friday mailbag to reveal lots of letters commenting on last week's decision in the Landis case. Most of the letters expressed dismay at the ambiguity of the decision wondering how the majority arbitrators could criticize the lab as they did , but still uphold a suspension for Landis.

And the CyclingNews is full of more "UCI vs everyone else" news, and this includes the mayor of Stuttgart who has gotten in on the act. It also publishes the now rather confusing Pro Tour calendar, and the usual unfortunate doping updates.

Blogs
The National Lampoon Splog makes an unoriginal crack about the Landis family. Funny it's not, but at least this one got the right religion.

Rog has two things on his mind this AM about Floyd Landis. One is that he hopes that Floyd is innocent, because if not Rog feels like a sucker. The second thing is that he hopes Floyd saves his money and doesn't appeal last week's decision, after all they can't take Floyd's memories. He also stole David Walsh's book "From Landis to Landis". Walsh may be a good writer, but he lies by omission, and it's only 1% Landis anyways. So don't buy it, though following Rog's advice on how to get the book may get you in trouble with Mr. Bookman.

High Voltage Report speaks about the dangers of riding, even in groups, and the Floyd Landis decision which has him more convinced than ever that Floyd got the shaft. Thanks for the plug!

Rant equates today's version of professional cycling to the "soap opera" it has become, without the sex that is.

Net.wars does a nice job of writing about doping enforcement and how it has been misapplied in some cases. She read "Positively False" and feels Floyd Landis did a better job than she expected in explaining the inaccuracies of the tests that showed he was positive for PEDs. She feels no one, including Dick Pound, can claim any glory:

Landis has, I think legitimately, pointed out flaws in the anti-doping system as it's presently constituted. For one thing, its courts are not governed by the due process and civil liberties that normally apply. The testing regime is privacy-invasive: urine or blood samples may be demanded at any time, without notice, and a missed test is treated as a positive test. In the case of a positive test, athletes can only call on assistance from experts who are not part of the WADA system – which means almost all the experts on the subject. Finally, the system is set up to presume guilt.