Sports-Packed Sunday On The Way

It’s not football season, uneventful pre-season friendlies notwithstanding, but tomorrow could nonetheless be a great day of sport.

Now, as a Galwegian, you might think that I’m about to blog about the fortunes of my county’s footballers. I should, I know, and I hope we beat Mayo, and follow the example of our hurlers who were impressive in the second half of tonight’s win over Cork. However, I won’t.

I may not even watch tomorrow’s match. My interests tomorrow lie in the fate of two very different sportsmen. Though both are American, there’s little else to unite Tom Watson and Lance Armstrong. While Kansas native Watson is amiable, likeable and easy to root for, Armstrong is divisive, brash, arrogant and a controversial figure. Depending on the outcome of their prospective events tomorrow, this pair could vie with each other for the sports story of the year.

Hard as it would have been to believe just three days ago, Tom Watson goes into tomorrow’s final round of the Open Championship at Turnberry with the outright lead. He’s looking for his sixth Championship, a mere 26 years after his last. Nicklaus’ 1986 Masters triumph was great, but a Watson win tomorrow would eclipse even that.



Watson has already lifted the Claret Jug at Turnberry, though the last time was in 1977. On that day, Watson was involved in an epic duel with Nicklaus. He had shot 65 on the Saturday and did so again on the Sunday to take the title by just one shot. Good? This was one of golf’s and arguably Watson’s finest ever hour. Tomorrow could beat both.

Another...storied competitor in his sport is Armstrong. I wanted to say legend there but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. My feelings on him are clear. Armstrong, a cancer survivor who has been called a cancer to his sport, has had as many drugs accusations levied at him as Michael Jackson and he needs a good result in tomorrow’s mountain top finish in Verbiers. 8 days ago I tweeted that Armstrong’s 2009 Tour was over when his teammate Alberto Contador blitzed him and the other competitors near the end of the mountain-top finish in Andorra-Arcalis. I’m not sure if that’s the case anymore. Armstrong looked strong in yesterday’s climb up the Col du Platzerwasal but whether that was a fleeting show of force or a sign of things to come, only time will tell.



Armstrong is one of those men who won’t go away...hence his current comeback. He’s also, despite his many, many, many faults, one of the fiercest competitors in sport. He can end tomorrow in yellow. He can win an eighth Tour de France. Will he? Probably not. But you can bet that he won’t give up battling until he crosses the line atop Mont Ventoux next Saturday.

Tomorrow afternoon, I and several other sports fans will sit at our television screens to watch both of these events. It will be a brilliant day of sport, with drama and intrigue. Watson and Armstrong will be at the centre of events in Turnberry and Verbiers. I know which one I will be rooting for.

***

PS Congratulations to Nicholas Roche on his fine performance today. Second place was a great achievement and a good performance in the mountains could cement a place on the Grand Tours for him in years to come. Was great to see an Irishman doing well in Le Tour for the first time since the days of his dad and Seán Kelly.

The Tour Hits B-Arse-elona

I’ve spent the last few hours online searching for today’s Tour De France action, Stage 6, in full.

The video of it I mean. I saw a lot of it live and I’m convinced there was an anal sex joke in the coverage. Allow me to explain.

With 36.4km remaining in the stage, shots of one of Barcelona’s most famous buildings appeared, the Agbar Tower. After showing this, there was a dissolve into a close-up of the bum of a cyclist.
Subtle, it was not. Funny, it was.

I’ve drawn an artist’s impression below. Well I say an artist...it’s not very good. You’ll have to use your imagination.



Now all I have to do is find a video. I’ve checked and checked but so far, no luck. It wasn’t in Eurosport’s highlights package. TG4 don’t have the full stage archived on their site. I’m at a loss.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!

Tough Times For Le Tour

Just noticed this article on Sports Illustrated. RIDER IN DRUG TEST SHOCK. It seems that they now regard it as news for a cyclist to be tested for drugs. How sad. I love the Tour De France. Genuinely. For drama there is little to equal it. By that I only refer to what happens on the roads. The drugs lark afterwards merely saddens me.

I'm also deeply annoyed by the coverage of the Tour, particularly by the American media. They're not interested that Frank Schleck is in yellow, more that he is being tested. They're not looking to talk about the race but in the race to catch the next cheat (with the notable exception of former rider Bobby Julich on ESPN).

This does not help cycling. As a sport, it is ridding itself of the scurge of drugs. It could ignore the problem of steroids like the NFL and MLB have done, but instead cheats are outed, champions are stripped of their crowns and teams who have transgressed the rules are no longer welcome back.

What always got to me was the coverage of Lance Armstrong. Europeans are cheats but he is a legend. The cancer survivor could do no wrong in the eyes of some. Nike ordained him a hero, his autobiography was lapped up by his fans and for a time, cycling was the sport to follow for three weeks every July. The smell of EPO may have tainted his wins in Europe, but on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Lance could do no wrong.

I'm not saying that Lance Armstrong took performance enhancing drugs. Let me make that clear...if only for legal reasons! I'm sure there are plenty of legitimate reasons for the sudden improvement in form that he expeienced post-cancer. I like this one, taken from his Wikipedia.

A recent article claims that the American legend's testicular cancer actually helped him during the Tour de France.[8] The article outlines that surgical removal of testicles (even one) re-positions the body's hormonal system, playing with the feedback system of normal testosterone production. Consequently, a cascade of events which allegedly favour or enhance endurance performance is proposed by the authors.

I'm sure.

Armstrong has never tested positive for drugs and is, officially, clean. That must be made clear. However, one other thing should also be pointed out. Last week, Manuel Beltran tested positive for EPO. This is the same Manuel Beltran who spent three years as a team-mate to Armstrong at U.S Postal/Discovery Channel, during the last three years of Lance's domination of Le Tour. Lance was also, at one stage or another, helped to his titles by Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton, Roberto Heras, Floyd Landis and Gianpaolo Mondini who have all tested positive or admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. This is not proof of systematic doping at the team, but if it were the team of a leading French/Italian/German/Spaniard as opposed to an American, then the US press would certainly take a different tone.

So please, continue to follow the tour. If you are not a fan of cycling then at least watch Wednesday's stage, finishing at the summit of the fearsome Alpe D'Huez. However, be mindful of coverage which is filtered through Lance-tinted glasses.