Jeezus H...

Okay, I'm having a really hard time with a lot of sports these days. I didn't see it, but Cory tells me that Al Troutwig went off on the sad state of sports on the Tour de France coverage the other morning. I'm right there with Al.

The Tour is particularly offensive. I, like many, jumped on the Tour de France bandwagon back in about 2000, when Lance Armstrong was going for his second of seven consecutive wins. It was tough watching last year without Lance leading the way, but I was still interested. This year, with the Operation Puerto scandal decimating the ranks of the peloton, the Tour had a rather sad pall cast over it. Then on Tuesday, Alexander Vinokourov fails a doping test and the entire Astana team (including top rider Andreas Kloden) withdraws from the race.

NOW, Michael Rasmussen, the maillot jaune and favorite to win the race,
has been dismissed and sent home. The Tour is in wreckage. The sport is in shambles. A lot of Americans, including me, are on the verge of writing cycling off completely. I used to be a fan of boxing. Boxing got so corrupt and ridiculous that I don't watch anymore. Cycling is moving that direction now. I am glad that Rabobank took a tough stand and sent their team leader home, but I REALLY wish that it hadn't been necessary.

This sucks. Seriously...