Tour de France 2005

[spazzdog]

Nope! Bobby J was born in Corpus Christi TX.

[spazzdog]

In case you left coasties haven't had a chance to see it yet.

What I will say is the last 10K is a edge-of-the-seat, heart-breaker and surprise ending all wrapped up into one heck of a unusual finish.

End of commentary (until you CA gals check in).

spazz

[jobob]

Nope! Bobby J was born in Corpus Christi TX.

and he grew up in Colorado. Lots of states can lay claim to him

Just like Dave Z., who came from Utah but now lives for part of the year in Be(z)rkeley California, so I'm told.

[spazzdog]

Our little man Voeckler (from last year) really hit the wall today... he's 00:10:11 off the GC after stg6. I'm thinkin' we won't see any repeats of last yrs good fortune for him.

As for Mengin, the Frenchman that led from abt 30km to the end... man, was I rooting for him. Heartbreaker...

Sad to see a grown man cry. (phot0 from eurosport.com)

[betagirl]

I agree, what a sad crash that was. Good crash today in the final sprint I liked the "YOU did it" "No no YOU did it" between the 2 guys.

[emily_in_nc]

As for Mengin, the Frenchman that led from abt 30km to the end... man, was I rooting for him. Heartbreaker...

Me too...poor guy. I felt SO bad for him. I can only imagine how he must have felt after all his hard effort. Kinda like Zabriskie in the TTT. Sigh....

Emily

[emily_in_nc]

cyclingnews.com does a "live update" during each stage. The page refreshes every 5 mins. For those unlucky enough to Not live on the west coast and get to see the whole stage Before work - I've been using that to basically get play-by-play coverage. It's not a live audio feed - but it's the closest I can get at work!

My tour-watching strategy has been working out well. I get home from work around 5:45 to 6 pm and live in the eastern timezone, where OLN repeats the stage coverage from 5-7 pm daily. I judiciously avoid any tour info/coverage/spoilers during the day. When I get home, I change right into my cycling clothes which I've laid out downstairs in the morning, hop on the trainer, and ride along in the virtual peleton as I watch the coverage from 6 to 7 pm (I ride from 30-45 minutes). Missing the first hour, I rarely miss anything, as all the exciting stuff happens in the second hour.

Since I can't ride outside yet, this is working out well. Watching the tour makes those trainer miles go by quite a bit easier. After all, I know I'm not the only one suffering, and at least I can't CRASH! I speed up for the sprints too!

Emily

[jobob]

News Flash: OLN Fires Phil Liggett

Failed to Meet Contractual Obligation to Mention Lance Armstrong Three Times Per Minute, Sources Say

Paris, July 5 (Fat Cyclist News Service) - Outdoor Life Network today severed its contract with Phil Liggett, a perennial favorite cycling announcer both in England and in the United States. A spokesperson for Outdoor Life Network said, "We regret having to let Phil go, but he knew the terms of our agreement when he signed on. Namely, he is required to allude to Lance Armstrong three times per minute, with at least one of those mentions being by name. Most importantly, at no point in time shall forty seconds ever elapse without a mention of Lance Armstrong."

"Today, sadly, Mr. Liggett broke the terms of that agreement. When David Zabriskie had his unfortunate accident today, Phil failed for 40 seconds to put it in the context of whether this would impact Lance Armstrong or whether Lance Armstrong would would have fallen, or asking what Lance Armstrong must be thinking about this accident right that moment."

When reached for comment, co-commentator Paul Sherwin said, "I had my 'Lance Stopwatch' going -- it's what we use to help remind us when it's time to mention Lance again.” Continued Sherwin, “When Zabriskie fell, Liggett started actually talking about how disastrous it was for the rider, instead of -- as is proper -- talking about this would affect Lance and how he would no doubt have words of advice on the proper way to ride a bicycle for young Zabriskie. When twenty seconds elapsed, I signaled to the timer. Then thirty seconds elapsed -- still no mention, so I made the sign of the Texas Longhorn, the code we use to signal that we need to immediately divert the conversation toward Armstrong. Still nothing.”

Visibly shaken, Sherwin finished, “After forty-five seconds, Phil managed to bring the conversation back round to Armstrong, but by then it was too late. OLN Security was knocking at the door, ready to escort Phil from the premises.”

Interviewed in his hotel room in Paris, Liggett looked like a man who has lost his best friend. “I’m a huge fan of Armstrong,” said Liggett. “I haven’t pretended to be impartial for years. But between Bob Roll and that marionette Al Trautwig, our Armstrong-centricism seemed pretty well covered, and I suppose I briefly let my guard down. I wonder what Lance Armstrong thinks about that?” Then, realizing the habit of mentioning Armstrong even when completely irrelevant was still with him, Liggett briefly looked melancholy -- which is the British equivalent of an American having a complete nervous breakdown.

OLN has moved swiftly to replace Liggett, putting former color-commentator Al Trautwig in his spot.

Said Trautwig regarding his promotion, “Lance Armstrong. Lance Lance Lance Armstrong. Armstrong Armstrong Lance Lance Lance Lance. Six-time Tour de France winner. Lance Armstrong Lance Armstrong, Lance Armstrong.”


“This is going to work out just fine,” said the OLN spokesperson.


http://spaces.msn.com/members/fatcyc...UOQA!288.entry

[spazzdog]

jobob! you is a baaaaaad bunny wabbit!

spazz

[snapdragen]

News Flash: OLN Fires Phil Liggett

You are so bad......

[jobob]

nyuk nyuk nyuk

[betagirl]

*giggle

[CorsairMac]

JoBob: OMG that was Hilarious!! Thank you sooooo much for bringing tears to my eyes!!!!

Can I also add (like anyone could stop me! lol): Is it Just me or do the cameras not seem to be as - ummmmm - sensitive to the bikers nature breaks this year as they have been in the past? I believe even Phil and Paul are surprised as attested to yesterday when Phil made a comment about Lance moving off to the side of the road and wondering if it was a mechanical until it became Very Obvious what Lance had moved off for and poor Phil said - weeeellllll we'll take a short break here and rejoin the pelaton in a moment. (ok that was funny but come one guys - there are parts of cycling I just don't need to see on TV!)

I won't give it away but I just had to say:

Holy Cow!! The end of todays stage had me standing in my den Screaming at the TV!!! The dogs took themselves outside coz they thought they were in trouble and the cats all hid themselves until I had calmed down. I'll probably watch the expanded coverage tonight Just to see that again!!

[nuthatch]

And that's why I like to listen to the live audio feed from EuroSport! Wonder who Phil and the boys are going to talk about next year??

[Dogmama]

News Flash: OLN Fires Phil Liggett

Failed to Meet Contractual Obligation to Mention Lance Armstrong Three Times Per Minute, Sources Say

[/URL]

LMAO!!!! I'm such a sucker - I actually read a couple of sentences before realizing it was a joke...


....it was, right?....