Dream Tennis Match

Seriously....could anyone imagine a better looking match? At the LA Open Marat Safin is playing Tommy Haas. Sigh.

Okay...I'm not ready to be over it

Here's a picture that (almost) perfectly illustrates one of my dream scenarios - with this slight tweaking - Wiggo on a podium and Dave Z standing by with torch to light Jonathan's sideburns.

Bradley way to double fist them beers - I imagine that after finishing the TdF that is a group of skinny cheap drunks.

Lilly, !Jens! has found a way to beat Astana!! And he's recovering. - Star

Maybe Tour of Missouri!! WWJD?!?! Get back on his bike and say "Shut up body and just pedal!!" - boo

Post-Tour letdown

Despite having 4 more free hours in my day, I miss the tour.

So, here's a couple photos to cheer you (and me) up.

US Men's indoor V-ball has been on espn2 lately, but I think they are old games which is weird, but I guess it's summer and old volleyball games are better than baseball. It's so amazing to see such tall guys dig, its also very scary to see them hit. Happy eyes indeed (that's right- I'm talking to you #3)

Completely Random

-Guy who writes in the OWH made a funny about Rogerer, "...when the twins were born, they slapped the babies to make them start crying, then they slapped Roger to make him stop..."

-Sad comment on SC after yet another KC loss, "... Zach Greinke, and that rhymes with Future Yankee..." NOOOOOOO!!!! He would be a disaster in NYC, too much of a head case.

-Shout out to the "Irish Mist", took 5th in the Bayview Mackinac Yacht Race, a 239 nautical mile race in Lake Michigan. Yacht racing just doesn't get the press it should.... The race took 3 days, the winds are fickle. Congrats to Skipper David Spiers. I don't know him, but his daughter-in-law is a friend of a friend. And I would love to go up the Mackinac Island. Looks gorgeous.

-Belated Congrats to the niece on a hard-fought 3rd place finish at the State Softball tourney a couple weeks ago. They lost the first game, and had to play 7 in a row out of the losers bracket.

- Umm, that's all I've got. -boo

Le Tour...Le Fail

Not so much win...

Astana - rhymes with drama for a reason. Can't even began to chronicle it. I toss a water bottle of fail at your heads (except for you, Levi, and you, Kloden, and you, Popo).

Lance's butterfly bike - decorated with real butterfly wings - just cause you can, doesn't mean you should. "I'm so rich I'm gonna make solid gold bike shorts, look at me everybody" (say in texas accent)

That hole in the road that brought down Jens- not fair! not cool!

Cav talking.... or celebrating. (But a complete win on enthusiastically hugging his teammates, I guess if George is your teammate it makes it easy-watch out for his collarbone!)

Contador winning ITT - Really? over Fabian? REALLY?

The Schleck's biceps (or the place where their biceps should be)

Tyler's haircut- noooooooo!- to much time spent with russian bike monkeys.

George not getting yellow - I'm not blaming anyone, I'm just sayin' its a shame.

Frankie's lame ass interviews. "So, how'd you go today? So, how you gonna go tomorrow?

Johan's....well...existence.

The curb that broke Levi's wrist. Come on curb pick on someone you own size. -Star

A musette full of snickers (WIN!)

A list of win for Le Tour....

Le Tour in HD-more beautiful than ever.

Phil & Paul - when things start to get grippy you can count on them. Except when they get confused, which on mountain stages is often.

Team Columbia - throwing Tony M & Kim K to the wolves that climb the mountains, they came to win flat stages...and they did. With authority.

French teams - not sucking completely this tour, things are looking up, well, probably not.

The Giant St. Bernard - it was at the start line the next day too. Careful! don't sit on Little Al you'll squish him.

Garmin-Slipstream - Wiggo (surprise!) VdV (total stud) Millar (not as pasty as usual) Dave Z (brilliant- crazy mad man) & the rest. Including Matty White - thanks for saving me from Jonathan's disturbing sideburns. Gutsy call on TTT - way to roll the dice and drop the other 4. Well done argyle.

Fab Fabian, Stuey & ¡Jens! - way to hammer.

Thor in Green (for you boo)

Spotted jersey podium girls outfits - all kinds of love, love love....

I did hear Paul say that Bradley held onto his 4th place by the skin of his bike shorts. That must be 3 seconds.

Quote of the Tour goes to Dave Z about G-S chef “He’s even making me beets, which I like a lot. Helps move things along.”

Here's a interview of Christian, there's more on the website. A few by Dave Z, which is always interesting.

Astana's Gregory Rast, he's Swiss too - watch out Fabian.

Only 48 weeks until the next Tour!!! -Star

Tour de France - the stage all riders have been waiting for

Well done France for once again hosting the greatest sporting event ever.
I think Cav has sent the message that he is the fastest man on 2 wheels. Even his leadout man got second they were going so fast.
Just taking a guess that Alberto is not going to be on Team Radio Shack. I wonder which party Johan went to?
I have to give a shout out to Garmin-Slipstream. Who though a little upstart team from the US in the first year as a proteam could place 2 riders in the top 10 of the Tour de France? I didn't think they could, but glad they did. -Star
It was great to see G-S do so well. It must be the team doctoring... or was he just the chiropractor? Hopefully he can get that extra gear out of Tyler. He deserves a stage or two. Is he riding the Vuelta, or will he be at the ToM? - boo
I finally found the pic of Dave Z warming up for the time trial. Have I mentioned he's crazy.
I don't know if Tyler is doing the Vuelta or Missori. Cav did the Giro, so he won't be in Spain.-Star

America Loves a Winner....or how I learned to stop worrying and embrace the failed breakaway

Cycling & Soccer, both huge in Europe, are somewhat tepidly embraced by the U.S. sporting public- and that's only if an American/American team is doing well in them. Something in those sports doesn't translate to the U.S. viewing audience.

From my own experience- I started watching Le Tour for Lance and only then realized that he was taking an american approach to the race - while those europeans embraced their tragic losers & fallen heros.

What is it that gets lost in translation? One would think sport is sport and it transcends culture. But those europeans love their scoreless ties in soccer, their Jan Ullrichs', Carlos Sastres', tragic, beautiful, futile breakaways spilling guts down the road.

Maybe it's because we are the world's only superpower, we only respect #1, the winners, the champions. It seems to be a healthier attitude to embrace the humanity in sport, the failure, the loser, the trying & not succeeding. Life is full of much more trying & failing than winning going away.

At least that's my half glass analysis (truthfully, 3.5 beer analysis) - Lil

Tour de France - Stage 20

Bradley Wiggins, you have made all of Britain so proud. Phil & Paul could hardly contain themselves.
I kind of thought that the climb would switch things up a little more then just switching 5th & 6th place. It looked like Frank Schleck had a bad day, which kept him from jumping over Wiggo & Lance.
It is good to see Little Al being a good teammate.....it only took 20 stages, but still he learned.
Chill the champagne, it's on to Paris. -Star

Must be that titanium plate blocks the empathy & strategy part of his brain.

Way to go Wiggo - 4 seconds is 4 seconds. - Lil

US Open Series - Indianapolis

There were seats a-plenty for the match between the two highest seeds - #3 Sam Querry vs #7 Marc Gicquil*. Not exactly a marquee matchup. But with Andy R nursing a bad hip, Rafa with the knees, and Rogerer with two new babies, (WHAT!?!?) it looks like the best they can do.
Glad we didn't get tickets to go out and watch. But watching tennis made my run a little easier. - boo

*In case you are curious about the Gicguil picture, he had just taken a 208KPH serve to the technicals.