the real dopes
Leah and I were really enjoying the Tour de France, watching every morning and rooting (at least I was) for Michael Rasmussen, even before he started winning stages. Now they had to go and ruin the whole thing, and I'm mad. My complaint isn't with the riders who may or may not have resorted to "blood doping"—something that, from what I know about it, shouldn't remotely be discussed in the same terms as steroid use or whatever—but with the team leaders and race organizers who are wrecking up the race by dragging out all the good riders. And even worse is the media, who are trying with cycling to whip up the same storm of moralizing frenzy that they're pushing for Major League Baseball. An NPR commentator even suggested that the crowds turning out to see the Tour might only be curious to see who's caught doping next: utterly ridiculous. All those folks are there to watch a great tradition and some great racing, which unfortunately is no longer nearly as great as it was before.
But they can't stop me. I'm going to become an Astana supporter (if they manage to keep the team going) and I'm going to keep rooting for Rasmussen and whatever team he joins too. So there! I'd boycott Rabobank if, er, I even knew where in the world the company operates so I could avoid it. Or what they do. I presume provide some sort of banking services...