Hearing - Official Transcripts

An alert reader points us at the 2.3M complete transcript in a single file available at the USOC Pressbox site, all 1805 pages of it.

The document has embedded indexes, which we've summarized in the table below in the complete post.

[MORE]


The document contains two sets of conflicting page numbers. On set is that of the court reporter, and the other is that of the PDF file containing the transcript.

Note that some of these listings are out of page order, following the indexes in the transcript that follow the "Panel and appearances" entries.

Date	What	Reporter Page	PDF Page
14-May	Panel and Appearances	93	2
	Opening Statement by Young	100	9
	Opening Statement by Suh	118	26
	Shacketon direct by Young	138	43
	Shackleton cross by Jacobs	161	64
	Shackleton cross by Suh	180	82
	Shackleton cross by Suh cont'd	219	117
	Shackleton redirect by Young	221	118
	Shackleton recross by Jacobs	224	121
	Brenna direct by Young	230	126
	Brenna cross by Suh	299	189
15-May	Panel and Appearances	335	221
	Brenna cross by Suh cont'd	339	225
	Brenna redirect by Young	379	261
	Brenna recross by Suh	388	269
	Mongongu direct by Dunn	390	270
16-May	Panel and Appearances	500	370
	Mongongu cross by Jacobs	506	376
	Mongongu cross by Suh	555	421
	Mongongu redirect by Young	649	506
	Mongongu recross by Suh	658	514
	Mongongu examined by Campbell	660	516
17-May	Panel and Appearances	671	525
	Frelat direct by Dunn	675	529
	Frelat cross by Suh	680	534
	Frelat redirect by Young	744	592
	Frelat redirect by Dunn	748	595
	Frelat recross by Suh	752	599
	Lemond direct by Barnett	755	601
	Lemond cross by Jacobs	776	621
	Ayotte direct by Young	798	640
	Ayotte cross by Jacobs	833	672
18-May	Panel and appearances	870	705
	Ayotte cross by Suh	874	709
	Ayotte cross by Jacobs	936	765
	Papp direct by Barnett	974	800
	Papp cross by Suh	1000	824
	Papp redirect by Barnett	1026	847
	Papp recross by Suh	1029	850
	Buisson direct by Suh	915	746
	Goldberger direct by Jacobs	1033	853
	Goldberger cross by Young	1090	905
	Goldberger redirect by Jacobs	1106	919
19-May	Panel and appearances	1111	923
	Schanzer direct by Young	1123	934
	Schanzer examination by Campbell	1150	959
	Schanzer cross by Jacobs	1154	963
	Schanzer cross by Suh	1159	967
	Schanzer redirect by Young	1184	989
	Catlin direct by Young	1190	995
	Catlin cross by Suh	1200	1004
	Catlin redirect by Young	1245	1044
	Catlin examination by Campbell	1253	1052
	Catlin redirect by Young	1256	1055
	Landis direct by Jacobs	1258	1057
21-May	Panel and appearances	1337	1127
	Meier-Augenstein direct by Suh	1340	1131
	Meier-Augenstein cross by Young	1471	1250
	Amory direct by Jacobs	1539	1310
	Amory cross by Young	1590	1357
	Amory redirect by Jacobs	1609	1374
22-May	Panel and appearances	1629	1391
	Landis cross by Barnett	1632	1395
	Landis redirect by Jacobs	1716	1471
	Davis direct by Suh	1728	1482
23-May	Panel and appearances	1857	1598
	Brenna rebuttal by Young	1919	1655
	Brenna rebuttal cross by Suh	1955	1688
	Davis direct by Jacobs	1861	1603
	Davis cross by Young	1884	1623
	Davis redirect by Jacobs	1900	1638
	Davis examination by Campbell	1906	1644
	Davis redirect by Jacobs	1912	1648
	Davis examination by McLaren	1914	1651
	Davis recall by Suh	1979	1710
	Closing argument by Young	1996	1724
	Closing argument by Suh	2023	1750
	Closing rebuttal by Young	2075	1798

The TBV post quoting Landis on DPF talking about Lemond and the "race to the bottom" is identified as USADA exhibit 118 on reporter page 1318 line 25.

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Thursday Roundup

News
The San Francisco Chronicle posts an AP piece by Eddie Pells which points to the fact that the upcoming release of the Floyd Landis book,"Positively False" violates the gag order that was established after the recent Landis/USADA hearings. The arbitrators are still in the deliberation process and lawyers for Floyd Landis notified the panel that the book was being released next week, and that the final five chapters discuss the hearings:

The gag order was widely viewed as a method to prevent either side from holding news briefings outside the hearing room — not so much to prevent them from talking long after the hearing was closed.

The North County Times.Com publishes an AP story in which IOC president Jacques Rogge states that cycling should remain an Olympic sport, despite all of its' "troubles". Rogge colorfully said that we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent interviews retired pro cyclist Ron Kiefel who comments on the amount of work and dedication it takes to compete in top level cycling, and who feels that thus far Floyd Landis has gotten a bad rap and a total lack of due process in his fight against doping charges.

SI.Com has Lance Armstrong fighting back against the most recent allegations from author David Walsh in his new book, "From Lance to Landis". LA feels that Walsh is cashing in on recent doping scandals such as the one Floyd Landis is currently fighting.

Hartselle Inquirer columnist include Landis in a rundown of sport cheats, frauds, and pretenders. He admits Landis continues to deny the charges.

Blogs
RAAM 2007 catches up with one of the participants in the Race Across America, George Vargas, who loves to climb. He doesn't care what people say about Floyd Landis, he is George's hero. No wonder drug, according to George, could make anyone do what Floyd did on stage 17 in last year's Tour de France:

"Floyd Landis, stage 17, 2006 Tour de France, he dominated and whether he doped or not, no drug could make him that much stronger. He's my hero"...that's what is getting him through this stage of RAAM, right here, right now. He's laughing, he's joking, he's smiling, and damn it...he's kicking the ass of these Maryland summits

Finger Food thinks that both Jim Furyk and Floyd Landis get it. They still give support to and get support from those who are old hometown friends.

ItsTheBlog was in the mood to write about whether cheating is OK, and ruminates about the use of PEDs pro and con with Floyd Landis getting an obligatory mention as someone who used steroids.

Who Sport What attacks Lance using techniques learned against Bill Clinton: go for the golf game.

Armstrong commented on the allegations from a golf tournament being run in aid of his charitable work. His approach to shortcuts on the golf course may be the most telling sign yet of how we won those Tours at record speed: "I'm a big believer in mulligans. I'll use as many as they give me."

Digression of the Day
Speaking of testosterone, Simon Baron-Cohen (yes, related to Sasha of Borat), an english neurologist, writes of the influence of in-utero hormone levels and their correlation to later behavior. He even speaks of a "longitudinal study", which was gibberish to most of us all of a year ago.

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Nice to have presumption of innocence . .

Morning brings this AFP story appearing in today's online L'Équipe. It certainly is reassuring to know the UCI intends to follow procedures before naming names. I certainly hope none of TbV's readers engages in bizarre training regimens. If you do, don't think you can escape the UCI's watchful eyes.

According to information furnished Wednesday by Anne Gripper, anti-doping director for the UCI, six or seven top-level riders who have been suspected of doping were the object of frequent unannounced drug tests. First analyses of some of these tests were not negative.

"We were targeting six or seven riders whom we considered high risk because of their suspicious behavior and because they are expected to do well in the Tour de France," Mme Gripper explained. Several of them have already undergone three or four unannounced tests, while the 2007 UCI antidoping program requires a minimum of one unannounced test per rider per year.

"We had reports which said they trained in strange places and in bizarre manners," she continued.

Several anomalous results are said to have been noted in testing done on the cyclists for a number of weeks. "We are dealing with these results, and not all of them were negative," Mme Gripper explained. "But this will take some time, since we must respect procedures, the analysis of the B sample, before being able to make an announcement."

The UCI anti-doping director estimates that some results should be known before the start of the Tour de France in London, July 7.

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Wednesday Roundup

News
The VeloNews notes that two new cycling books are hitting the shelves next week, though a few people seem to have gotten their hands on at least one of them early. David Walsh writes his latest book on Lance Armstrong titled "From Lance to Landis" in which he once again proposes that Lance Armstrong doped his way to seven Tour de France victories. The other book is of course the Floyd Landis ghost written autobiography "Positively False." Reviews by the VeloNews are upcoming.

France24 repeats yesterday's story on the UCI decision to have all pro riders wishing to participate in this year's Tour de France sign a pledge, if they do not sign it they will not be allowed to compete according to Christian Prudhomme Tour director. The "Pledge" is as follows:

"I do solemnly declare, to my team, my colleagues, the UCI, the cycling movement and the public that I am not involved in the Puerto affair nor in any other doping case and that I will not commit any infringement to the UCI anti-doping rules.

"As proof of my commitment, I accept, if it should happen that I violate the rules and am granted a standard sanction of a two-year suspension or more, in the Puerto affair or in any other anti-doping proceedings, to pay the UCI, in addition to the standard sanctions, an amount equal to my annual salary for 2007 as a contribution to the fight against doping.

"At the same time, I declare to the Spanish Law, that my DNA is at its disposal, so that it can be compared with the blood samples seized in the Puerto affair. I appeal to the Spanish Law to organise this test as soon as possible or allow the UCI to organise it.

"Finally, I accept the UCI's wish to make my statement public"

Can "double secret probation" be far behind?



Blogs
Dugard, in an entry with no real direct Landis content, thinks that the world of cycling should give a big shout out to Pacman Jones of the NFL who makes cyclists look like angels. He also think that the riders will sign the UCI pledge, and then dope anyway, because it's what they have always done and what they will always do.

Sanish's Site notes how embroiled the Tour de France is in the doping scandals of the past year, and Floyd Landis is either positive, or tested positive, or something.

Bicycling Blog's "This Just In" talks with Jens Voigt who thinks Floyd Landis is a tough guy who had a tough upbringing, but is essentially nice.

Nother at Open Source wonders if the use of PEDs is really cheating, OR is it just another element in the advancement of competitive sport?:

Many of the vitriolic jeers from the stands come from Red Bull drinking, Viagra popping, Protein shake mixing guys — the same guys who demand the longest home runs, the hardest hits, and the fastest times.

Lij LOVES that two interns at work have the last names "Floyd" and "Landis". One hopes they passed any possible drug screening.

Ramblin' Egg has two new cycling books to choose from, and he is picking Floyd Landis' book "Positively False" as the one he will purchase. After all Floyd did spend all his money on his defense against USADA.

Whitey and the Professor feels that Jiffy Lube, in fighting accusations that they cheat customers, may have gone to the "Floyd Landis School of Damage Control."

The Spectacle at My Space entertains us with a "day in the life" type blog entry, and she hopes Floyd Landis doesn't join her on her ride tomorrow. Oh, and watch out for that silicone.

Rant takes a short break from his well deserved vacation to comment on the snark factor in the AOL piece on lamest sports excuses. Seems the author has little idea of what they are talking about at least as far as Floyd Landis is concerned.

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From Paris: Badges? We don't need no stinking badges.

Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France director, is quoted in l’Equipe's on-line edition (http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme/index.html) as saying that any riders who have not signed the UCI non-doping charter by July 7 will not be allowed to race in the Tour, despite the UCI document's not having any specifiic legal force. No official statement yet.

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Tuesday Roundup

News
Reuters posts, in the first news to come out of the UCI summit in Geneva Switzerland this morning, that all pro cyclists will be asked to sign an anti doping charter which would include promises to submit DNA samples to the OP investigators, and the forfeiture of a year's salary should any rider be found violating the intent of the pledge :

The letter, which begins with a declaration that the rider has not been involved in any past doping affair, will be sent to cyclists for signing by July 7.

Describing the document as "the riders' commitment to a new cycling", UCI president Pat McQuaid acknowledged that no-one could be forced to sign.

However, a full list of those who had signed and those who had not would be made publicly available on the organisation's Web site, he added.

The CyclingNews carries the same report on the UCI conference in Geneva:

The UCI has introduced a new anti-doping charter, it announced today in Geneva. Under it, all 600 ProTour riders must sign a statement before the Tour de France in which they agree to pay a year's salary if they are found to have used illegal doping products, in addition to the usual suspension they would face.

The VeloNews also covers the UCI conference held today with an AFP piece which contains this warning in the last paragraph:

Anne Gripper, head of the UCI's anti-doping program, believes that any rider who refuses to sign it would probably not start the Tour de France "not for legal reasons but because of the pressure."

Bloomberg also writes a short piece about the UCI conference held today, and adds that team doctors and officials will be asked to sign the pledge as well, since, to paraphrase Pat McQuaid, riders don't dope on their own.


The Spoof alerts us to the "burning manhood festival" which will coincide with this year's Tour de France and will celebrate the use of performance enhancement in sports. Guest of honor Floyd Landis will be presented with a key to the tent city. See disclaimer at bottom of story.


Blogs
Rants and Revelations has a guilty secret, he still loves pro cycling, and really wants to believe Floyd Landis is innocent of doping charges.

Triple Crankset thinks that since Lance Armstrong and the current doping scandal engulfing Floyd Landis, there have been few competitive Americans to root for in pro cycling, and now it looks like we may lose one more.

Pabaon Sports summarizes some of the cycling news leading up to this year's Tour de France, and almost gets our name right, thanks for the plug anyway.

Pommi is back on his bike, and back with his blog. He is conflicted about getting the Floyd Landis book "Positively False", and is still waiting for the outcome of Floyd's arbitration hearing, though he feels relative confidence in knowing what the result will be.

Across the Great Divide got an email invite to the "Word for Word" Bryant Park event with Floyd Landis and John Eustice happening June 27th in NYC. and couldn't suppress the urge to go with sarcasm in his response. Here's some info on the event itself:

Floyd Landis, Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France

* Wednesday, June 27
* 12:30pm – 1:45pm
* Bryant Park Reading Room

Hosted by: John Eustice, Champion Bicyclist and Journalist

Floyd Landis relays his side of the story after being accused of taking banned performance–enhancing-drugs to win last year’s Tour de France.

The country's most celebrated authors speak about recent successes and their thoughts on being a writer. Introductions by the Bryant Park Bookworm, Miriam Tuliao, Librarian at the New York Public Library.

Rain Venue:
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
555 Fifth Avenue (at 46th Street)
212-697-3048

TriFuel uses Landis as an example of how to misuse your new power meter -- by trying to do what he does, 425w/hr. The advice is to know when to put out 0 watts, and loaf along at less than threshold.

MalibuAdventures talked about the excitement of having the hearings at Pepperdine -- first we've seen it.

Zappoman still believes Landis, and thinks the UCI is a bunch of hypocrites.

WhoSportWhat somehow believes that the Landis USADA hearings will be decided before the start of the Tour De France this year. And with the UCI proclamation from today plus the cloud over Lance Armstrong the same doubts that pervaded the TdF last year still seem to be present.

Whitey and the Professor says a malfeasant corporation must have gone to the "Floyd Landis School of Damage Control." We'll assume it's not intended as a compliment on attacking on Stage 17.

Floyd Landis.com has been seen carrying an ad for Ambien CR, a sleeping pill; the first thing we read clicking on the link is, "Why spend another sleepless night?" Let's hope it isn't an endorsement, but placement along the lines of the steroid and supplement ads Google sometimes puts over there on the right hand side of TBV.

The Leadville100 entrant list doesn't seem to include Landis. Possibilities include blindness at TBV, clerical error, special dispensation, or that he's chickening out along with Lance. As long as Ned doesn't show up, maybe Fatty has a chance.

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Monday Roundup

News
Hall of Fame Magazine looks beyond "Planet Floyd" to see that the cycling world may be the better for opening the Pandora's box of PEDs and that the discussion can now never be held in private back rooms because the beauty of sport is bigger than any one issue or person:

Landis' heartfelt plea to judge him on character as well as evidence had his fans wringing hands and squirming on saddles. Something just didn't seem right. And still doesn't. And that's the odd beauty imputed in this pathos – professional cycling will never, can never, be the same. The hazardous material response team has arrived even if we aren't sure who they are.

The CyclingNews reports that nothing much is to be expected from tomorrow's UCI pro team manager meeting which had been purported as a discussion on OP and possible rider exclusions from the upcoming Tour de France. There may however be more news from another meeting scheduled tomorrow:

However, another meeting on the same day might prove more interesting.The International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT) will debate which members uphold its Code of Ethics, and which members risk expulsion because they do not uphold it. While the IPCT cannot enforce its decision, it could influence the Tour de France organizers who have indicated that they might make exclusions to the race's start list.

"It is time for names to be named," said Gerolsteiner team manager Hans-Michael Holczer to Tagesspiegel.de. "It is an unbearable situation that some 200 blood bags from alleged Fuentes clients are stored in Spain, and with a with a DNA comparison we could find out which rider they belong to. But which we can't do right now under the law."

Blogs
Phantom Reflections is ruminating on doping and the Tour de France. He applauds Ivan Basso for coming forward and thinks that Floyd Landis, though innocent, is a sacrifice to doping politics:

Floyd got caught up in the doping politics. It has destroyed him, his finances, and turned many fans away from cycling. The politics within the sport need to be ripped away so we can get back to racing. There is no doubt in my mind that we have cheaters, and we will in the future. But let's be honest about the testing process and enforcement.

CFLcyclist thinks that "Positively False" is a good read, and is well written and entertaining. He does however cite EPO as the PED Floyd is accused of using which is incorrect.


Male Pattern Fitness considers society's selective indignation about PEDs in sport to reflect our ambivalence about all kinds of drug use. He agrees with criticism of WADA, but not with the thought drugs are not a problem in sport.

Dugard spent the weekend with his family in Mammouth before sending his oldest off for a week back East, and read about Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis. Thus Marty, who was the original ghost writer for "Positively False", found himself upset about the Basso situation, and frustrated and angry with what he read about Floyd's book.

Velogal got a correction from Rep. Zoe Lofgren, now admitting USADA gets US Government funding, and referring VG to Henry Waxman. Velogal was grateful for some follow up, but not overly impressed by Lofgren's memory -- she was on a committee that USADA's funding passed through.

Chris Butler Dopers Suck shows us a picture illustrating why interviews during the recently held Teva Mountain Games were no walk in the park for Floyd Landis. Classy guy.

Team-Armada is about 1/2 way through "Positively False", and thinks it is candid and revealing, and recommends it to anyone interested in competitive cycling.


Podium Cafe is disgusted with Floyd Landis, and didn't want to buy "Positively False" but got it for the early chapters when Floyd was still someone he could like. It's self serving ephemera according to PC, he suggests waiting for it to hit the bargain bins. It's turning into one snarky day.

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Hearing Exhibits (partial)

The USOC Pressbox collection of Landis material is starting to get exhibits from the hearing. It is not complete, and the organization is confusing, so we'll update this as we figure more out.

We've consolidated what we found in these overlapping and misnamed USOC releases -- There are NO TRANSCRIPTS, despite what the titles below suggest.

	06/16/2007	LANDIS HEARING DOCUMENTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/16/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS
	06/15/2007	LANDIS HEARING TRANSCRIPTS

Identification (exhibit number?)	Description	size
001.PDF	UCI Cycling Regulations Part 14 Anti-Doping Rules of the UCI	3.8M
002.PDF	Bylaws of the United States Olympic Committee	3.9M
003.PDF	USADA Protocol for Olympic Movement Testing (scanned)	3.4M
004.PDF	WADA World Anti-Doping Code (2003)	2.5M
005.PDF	WADA 2006 Prohibited List	450k
006.PDF	WADA International Standard for Testing Version 3.0 June 2003	1.7M
007.PDF	Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code, 1999;partial - pages 16 and 17. Speaks to proof bypresumption, definitive conclusions by IRMS,200 ng/ml value of epitestosterone, andirrelevance of success or failure of use.	85k
008.PDF	WADA International Standard for Laboratories Version 4.0 August 2004	3.1M
009.PDF	WADA TD2004EAAS, Reporting and Evaluation Guidance for Testosterone, Epitestosterone, T/E ration and other endogenous steroids	830k
010.PDF	WADA TD2004MRPL, Minimum Required Performance Limits for detection of prohibited substances	140k
011.PDF	WADA TD2003LDOC, Laboratory Documentation Packages	121k
012.PDF	WADA TD2003 IDCR, Identification Criteria for Qualitative Assays Incorporating Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry	297k
013.PDF	American Arbitration Association NA-CAS, Award USADA v. George Hartman, June 19 2006. Claimed therapeutic use of testosterone rejected, decision by Campbell.	976k
014.PDF	CAS Award, Viviana SUSIN v. FINA, 2004, IRMS accepted, with 6.9 T/E taken as corroborative despite longitidunal, and that B sample degradation did not affect IRMS results.	3.1M
015.PDF	CAS Award, IAAF v. Fariane dos Santos, 2002. T/E > 25; Ayott'e's IRMS with two metabolites accepted.	3.5M
016.PDF	CAS Award WADA v Coetzee Wium, 2005. T/E degradation rejected because of IRMS; Chain of custody arguments rejected. I didn't see any IRMS details.	1.2M
017.PDF	CAS Award IAAF v Roman Zubek 2002. Exogenous DHEA found by IRMS; Chain of custody complaints rejected.	680k
018.PDF	CAS Award UCI v Claus Moller 1999 T/E validated with longitudinal; no IRMS.	917k
019.PDF	CAS Award UCI v. Erwin Bakker 2005. IRMS upheld, no real challenge by athlete.	658k
020.PDF	CAS Award UCI v Michael SKELDE 1998. Danish ADA withdrew from case appealed by UCI; T/E accepted, didn't see longitudinal results	1.3M
021.PDF	Arbitration Award UCI v "S." 1998. Longitudinal supported T/E and IRMS positive for DHEA. Various other procedural issues of limited relevance.	1.4M
022.PDF	CAS Award UCI v. Landaluce 2006. Get-out-of-jail because same technicians used on A and B samples, no effort by federation to rectify with corroborative evidence.	3.4M
023.PDF	ISO/IEC 17025 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratoried	3.7M
025.PDF	Landis B Sample 995474 Laboratory Documentation Package, USADA 224-370	9.8M
027.PDF	Landis Doping Control form for 995474 20-Jul-2006, TUE noted	113k
027A.PDF	Redacted Doping Control form for 994179 29-Jul-2006, no TUE noted	520k
027B.PDF	Redacted Doping Control form for 994077 19-Jul-2006, TUEs noted	734k
028.PDF	Landis Applicant Declaration to USA Cycling 16-Jan-2006	228k
029.PDF	Table of urine results from WADA Labs for Floyd Landis, 44 values from May 2002-Aug 2006 Values for Stage 17 are in a box.	78k
030.PDF	Table of urine results from WADA Labs for Floyd Landis, 44 values from May 2002-Aug 2006 Values for Stage 17 are in a box; also computes average and STDEV of T/E results for longitudinal.	80k
031.PDF	A blue-tinted picture of a blue box, which might be a transit container.	1.0M
032.PDF	Some pictures: A machine; screenshot of Optima GC 1.67-2; back of machine showing vacuum pump.	3.2M
032A.PDF	Some USADA responses to Landis' "alleged documentation errors".	180k
032B.PDF	USADA 251, 252, 264, 277, 278, 280, 279, 282, 281, 288, with some items highlighted.
033.PDF	Parts of Baker Slide show, "Sample Clearly Mislabelled", probably what 32B above is cited to refute.
ATT9N41M.PDF	Appears to duplicate 006.PDF
ATTAB3J4.PDF	Appears to duplicate 031.PDF
ATTK9KLP.PDF	Appears to duplicate 017.PDF
ATTMSQLF.PDF	Appears to duplicate 007.PDF

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Sunday Roundup

News
Sportingo writes that the wheels have come off of professional cycling, and that it's become merely a mobile science experiment.

The SJA wonders if a London start to the Tour de France can be a success given all of the doping scandals, especially the one involving last year's winner Floyd Landis. Why should any fan invest emotion and time in a sport so fraught with problems?

Velonews notes Moreau won the Dauphiné Libéré, with Zabriskie 5th and Leipheimer close to winning the last stage except for a crash. This makes Moreau a favorite for the Tour.

Blogs
Spinopsys thinks Landis keeps jumping the shark, this time with the claims USADA dropped cases to chase him. Phil wants Landis to name the names. There's a catch-22 here on identifying the cases.

Shakedown Sports snarks a study being done:

FIFA is currently conducting a study that seeks to determine if people from different ethnic groups have different naturally occurring testosterone levels. The goal is to find out which athletes can cheat without being detected because they have low levels, and which athletes are wrongly sanctioned because they have high levels. Floyd Landis has already declared that the study will exonerate him when it shows Mennonite cyclists with an affinity for Jack Daniel’s have extremely high levels.

SweetKerry shakes her fist at pro cycling, thinks Landis doped at the tour, and is only trying to get off because everyone else is doping too.


Forums
Team Estrogen's DH had a dream ride attacking Floyd Landis yesterday in a training ride with 200 people in Riverside , CA. There are some nice pictures along with the description of the ride.

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Saturday Roundup

News
The LA Times Michael Hiltzik seems to have gotten his hands on a copy of "Positively False" the biography written by Floyd Landis with Loren Mooney, and asserts, among other things, that Pat McQuaid called Floyd Landis and threatened to make sure he was penniless if he chose to fight doping allegations:

"I'm sure you weren't doing anything that everyone else wasn't doing," McQuaid said, according to the book. "You're just the unlucky one who got caught." Landis says McQuaid advised him to "accept a suspension because there's no way you can win." When Landis said he would defend himself through the arbitration process established under the World Anti-Doping Code — a system that heavily favors the prosecutors — McQuaid replied, "You'll end up penniless." Indeed, Landis has said that his defense has cost nearly $2 million to date.

The San Diego Union Tribune's Mark Zeigler takes a quick look at various stories from yesterday on Floyd Landis' new book, "Postively False",which is due out at the end of the month.

NZZ Online posts a story expressing concerns about attendance at the upcoming Tour de Suisse because of doping scandals and the lack of the presence of any previous Tour de France winner, such as Floyd Landis. Tour de Suisse director Armin Meier believes that it may be impossible to actually win the Tour de France clean, and feels the race should be shortened.

The Boulder Report, in a piece with no direct Landis content,wonders what would happen if the inmates took over the prison, or at least if the athletes edited ESPN The Magazine. Joe Lindsey laments the fact that ESPN feels it's fair to trade objectivity in reporting for access to athletes. On another note, Joe talks about the recent cancer diagnosis of Dario Pegoretti, master bike builder and creator of Floyd Landis' now famous "Jack Handey" bike.


Blogs
Rant had a late night last night and wrote all about "Your Cheatin' Heart".Ivan Basso received a two year suspension for "intending" to dope, Rant also mentions Canadian athlete Jeff Adams' recent woes, and the fact that there will be no defending Tour de France winner in London at the "grande depart" this year:

I have mixed feelings about the Tour — and for that matter about the state of professional cycling right now. On the one hand, all these doping scandals could be a sign that maybe — just maybe — the sport is getting a grip on an ancient problem. And it is truly an old, old problem (dare I say “tradition”?) in professional cycling. But scandals don’t always lead to solutions. And what disheartens me most is the mess of an anti-doping system that currently exists.The Floyd Landis case certainly opened my eyes to that...

Spinopsys feels that Floyd Landis should name names when it comes to the allegation that USADA forestalled prosecution of other athletes in its' quest for Landis' hide. Spin also thinks that Floyd has more than jumped the shark.

Bike Hugger takes note of the upcoming Floyd Landis book tour for "Positively False" and wonders if Floyd will be tested for drugs during it.

Steroid Nation feel that after reading the accounts leaked by the press about the new Floyd Landis book"Positively False" Floyd is close to becoming an annoyance or worse, and should just clam up.

Sweetkerryberry shakes her fist at pro cycling, and thinks not only Floyd Landis but everyone dopes.

Triple Crankset illustrates how Floyd Landis might have appeared on dartboards at USADA meetings last fall, according to Floyd that is.

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Friday Roundup

News
The NY Times Edward Wyatt writes about the release of "Positively False" the Floyd Landis book due in bookstores on June 26. In it Wyatt finds the majority of the material to be previously known, but he does see a contradiction in some of Landis' statements about the consequences from the LeMond testimony during his USADA hearings in May:

In an epilogue, Landis writes that he witnessed Geoghegan’s phone call and was shocked by his manager’s attempt to intimidate LeMond by bringing up LeMond’s previously undisclosed history of being sexually abused as a child. So shocked, he writes, that he immediately decided Geoghegan should be fired.

“The only thing I knew right away was that Will needed to go,” Landis writes. “I went to his room and helped him pack his things

AP's Eddie Pells has filed a story about the book, describing claims by Landis that USADA dropped other cases to divert resources to prosecuting him.

The North County Times writes about a Tuesday night appearance by Floyd Landis at a California bike shop in the Inlands Empire. Landis spoke before approximately 100 people about his upbringing in Lancaster, PA ,among other topics, but is under a gag order and cannot speak to issues surrounding his recent hearings until after the descision has been rendered:

Despite the emotional, and financial, strain he has been under, Landis appeared relaxed and at ease, every now and then flashing his sense of humor. At one point, he even poked fun of his predicament.

"If it wasn't me, I would definitely be laughing," Landis said

The San Bernardino County Sun also writes about Tuesday's FFF fundraiser with Floyd Landis before a sympathetic and enthusiastic crowd at Don's Bicycles. Though people's questions were limited by the gag order placed on Landis after his recent USADA hearings, Floyd answered any and all other queries with grace and appreciation:

"The fact that there's still support, I'm honored," he said.

His demeanor matched his casual attire - jeans and a blue polo shirt. Sitting on a stool, the easygoing, 170-pound Landis answered serious questions at times with humorous remarks about how he trains for races and what winning the title - now in question - is like.

Landis will be back at the bike shop on Saturday at 8AM for a free 20 mile training ride.


The CyclingNews opens its' Friday mailbag and finds a couple of Landis related notes. One by Bill Adkins agrees with last week's letter which wondered about Greg LeMond's motives in testifying at the Landis hearings, and another by A. Woods still questions where all that energy Landis showed on stage 17 in last summer's Tour de France came from.

CyclingNews also reports that Basso has been given a full two-year suspension, but also credited with some time served, which is odd to us:

The disciplinary commission subtracted 236 days for the sum of the days Basso has already spent under suspension.

"Based on what?" we wonder. We seem to recall him working for Leipheimer in the Tour of California a few months ago. Not clear if the UCI will appeal based on this credit.

AP story via TSN says pretty much the same about Basso.


USAToday SportsScope follows up on Johnnie Morton, and comes out confused about his test result. We think the 83.9 means it's a T/E violation, because it sounds like a real number. As we know. 76.4% of all statistics are made up.


Blogs
Dugard read the NYT piece on "Positively False" this morning and other than the LeMond reference in the epilogue he thinks it will be pretty much the same old story. Dugard wonders why, if Landis is trying to sell books and get some word of mouth going, he doesn't mention more about Lance and spill a few Postal secrets while launching the book at the Tour itself ?:

The original plan with Floyd's book was to launch in London as the Tour gets underway. Leakng a few copies early sure helps. Launching in London, however, will not ingratiate himself with the Tour, WADA, UCI, or anyone else running the world of cycling. At this point, it appears that he doesn't care -- nor should he. He's a good man trying to clear his name. Better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.

GoFasterJim wants Patric Clerc to be more careful about what he says when he states that it's clear that Floyd Landis is not the winner of the 2006 Tour de France:

What an ignorant comment. Until the USADA (and if necessary the CAS) issues its ruling, Landis is not guilty of anything. This comment illustrates one of the main problems with the way these cases are carried out, namely, that the cycling powers that be shoot their mouths off until the appropriate court has ruled.

Brittanica Blog talks about the spring's top-10 PED stories, rating the Landis hearing #7. We get a plug.

Triple Crankset notes the early "read" on the Landis biography,"Positively False" which is due out at the end of June, but apparently is in the hands of some people already.

100% Injury Rate thinks that there are a LOT of well deserved asterisks out there in the sports world.

Muckraked.com looks at "Positively False" and has nothing kind to say, dismissing complaints by Landis about Mr. Pound.

DrunkCyclist looks at "Positively False" and says it's another case of, "deny, deny, deny." And why didn't Landis fire Geoghegan on the spot?

JohnnyBaseball thinks "Positively False" will have little new, and looks like a boilerplate jock autobiography.

Race Junkie thinks the leaked but cleared Iban Mayo shows the UCI can be fair, unlike what it did to Landis.

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Thursday Roundup

News
The Houston Chronicle's Dale Robertson takes a look back at the "smarmy" Landis hearings while a decision is waited for. He thinks that no one looks good in this mess: USADA/WADA looks bad because of sloppy lab procedures, and Landis looks bad because of the "character issue". Roberson speculates that Floyd will go down in a 2 to 1 verdict by the arb panel and will not appeal to the CAS:

The latest conventional wisdom is he won't appeal to the Court of International Arbitration for Sport because he has run out of money, and his legal team is disenchanted with him

France24 takes a report from Basque TV stating that Iban Mayo tested positive for testosterone in a case that is starting to sound eerily familiar:

Mayo reportedly tested positive for testosterone, the banned male sex hormone which snared Floyd Landis on his way to overall victory in last year's Tour de France.

Mayo's 'A' sample will now be re-submitted for further testing.

Velonews carries a flash from the UCI that Mayo was cleared by IRMS followup, and bemoaning leaks and press reports. We still don't know why the IRMS was not done at Rome.

ESPN.com has a wire reports that drags Landis into a discussion of ex-NFL player Johnie Morton, who has drug testing problems in his attempt to be a professional "Mixed Martial Arts" fighter. Not only did he get knocked out in 38 seconds, and refuse a post-fight test, but his pre-fight test showed a T/E of, wait for it, here it comes, 83.

Blogs
Rant tells us that "someone" jumped the gun again on leaking doping results, and that Iban Mayo has been cleared.

Marty's Ride Across America notes that the training for the big ride continues, and though Martty is not much of a techo geek about the bike, he does have those "special" Floyd Landis water bottles holders.

Racejunkie wants someone to explain to him "why" in the wake of yesterday's three Giro non-negatives two of which may turn out to be TUEs, Floyd Landis is getting the shaft as the rest of the pampered peloton goes on its merry way?

WBRS Sports Blog wonders what athletes will think of next when coming up with "doping excuses" So far they have ranged from Jack Daniels to flaxseed oil, but the case of a Canadian wheelchair athlete may be the most inventive of all.

The Spoof offers the "humorous" suggestion that Landis appeal to The People's Court, beginning with a stool sample. Har. Har.

Velogal follows up her post of yesterday about Rep. Zoe Lofgren's letter saying the US didn't fund USADA or provide any oversight, pointing to Rant.

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Playing Fair

A comment points us to The Washington University, St. Louis, Journal of Law and Policy. It has published an article entitled, "Playing Fair: Why the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Performance-Enhanced Adjudications Should Be Treated as State Action", available in PDF form here.

It covers some of the same issues as the Straubel law review article we've discussed before. This is another must-read for due-process believers. It observes USADA used a "beyond reasonable doubt" standard before the WADA code was introduced. It then explores challenges that might be made to the use of the WADA standard in the United States. From the outline,

Part I of this Note describes the creation of the USADA, its current adjudication process, and the similarities between this process and the American criminal justice system.

Part II poses a hypothetical due process challenge to the new standard of proof, and briefly explains some of the significant constitutional hurdles an athlete must overcome in order to succeed.

Part III explores the Supreme Court’s state action jurisprudence and the various tests it has developed to distinguish private conduct from state action.

Finally, Part IV argues that the USADA’s imposition of sanctions upon suspected dopers, following a proceeding using the comfortable satisfaction standard, is state action to which constitutional protections should apply.

Must reading for our legally inclined readers. As often the case with law review articles, there's some good stuff in the footnotes.

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Wednesday Roundup

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