Caretaker/Overlook Hotel
Well, Kobe never won 7 rings, much less in a row! And you must not have been watching much TV at the time because back then, they actually did. And not half as much as Magic's indiscretion back in the day. (Possibly the most widespread sport controversy since doping became an issue)
And while I have cable and watch channels like Speed, Nbcsp, etc. quite often and can't say for sure they haven't advertised *at all* on major U.S. networks, there hasn't much been need for the TDF to advertise in our American common syndicated channels. They do just fine without us.....
As for getting interested in any particular rider(s), one piece of advice would be to record the live broadcast instead of watching the later taped broadcasts which are much shorter. The longer ones have great rider segments.
In my first post is a guy you can root for hook, line and sinker. That's his pic after winning the final stage of the Tour of California. That was his newborn baby in his hands which they brought to him to show off. He's humble, honorable, hard working and, I believe, as clean a rider as they come.
Randy
Smaller By The Day
I just searched for it. It's on NBC tomorrow for a bit, but other than that it's all on NBCSP which isn't part of my cable package. So, I guess I'll just have to take your word for it.
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
Hip Redux
Give me the current scoop. If you're rehashing that dude from the past, I assume that its still the most exciting thing that's ever happened in your sport. Frankly, nobody finds it interesting any more.
Remember - Lance was big here because he was American. Greg Le Mond is the only other American EVER to win the Tour. That doesn't mean that there are not great, amazing riders out there right now. It's actually not necessarily the most exciting thing to happen to the sport - it's the most exciting thing Americans cared to tune in for. Yes, it was - at the time, pre-doping scandal - amazing that he won it 7 times in a row. Indurain won it 5 times in a row. Does anyone in the US know who Indurain is? Exactly.
The sport of cycling does not revolve around Americans - regardless of what we might want to think. lol That's why the media plays up the Lance stuff ad naseum, and why it drives me crazy. There's a lot of fun people to watch these days, most who are not from the US, so we have to hear about Lance because that's the only thing US TV watchers want (or at least that's the broadcasters working premise). I think the Lance stuff does more harm than good. No one in France gives a rat's ass about Lance at this point, I'm sure. But no other American right now has won the Tour, or really come all that close, and so it's Lance all the time, blech.
Given that, here are the people I find most interesting to watch for various reasons - Jens Voigt, Mark Cavendish, Tejay van Garderen, Ryder Hesdejal, Cadel Evans (though I think he sounds like a muppet), Peter Sagan, Tony Martin on a time trial, Thomas Voeckler on a break away. If you really want to know more, I'd be glad to go into detail and give you some bios, etc.
I said this about Hockey this year, and I'll say it about cycling. If you want the American market, you have to get it on a station we can watch. Until the Stanely Cup finals I couldn't watch much if any hockey. Seriously, I'm between Chicago and Detroit, and couldn't watch that series. Think long term, and accept less money to be on a station we can watch.
I think the media does a good job of getting people interested in athletes from other countries, and athletes from our country that aren't dominant when they put the product where it can be seen. I can tell you though that if I tune in and have to listen to a story that's several years old, I don't give a rip. If I can't find it on the dial, I don't give a rip. It's a huge event that happens once a year. The Indy 500 is the best comparison that I can find. I don't know most of those drivers, and many aren't American. They tell me about it, put it on national tv and I'm interested. Hell, the Kentucky Derby is a group of new horses every year. They're flippin' horses. We want to see competition. It's poor marketing.
It's a catch-22 though - I'm not sure a major US channel would get the viewership they'd want, and of course having it on NBCsports limits the audience. It does suck. We get NBCSports, but it's a shitty channel.
The US broadcast - when Lance was in the game - did a terrrrrrrible job of focusing on anything but Lance. Seriously. Even the years when he was in the back of the pack. The Euro-feed via the internet was much more balanced. It's gotten better without Lance, except when they do things like today and bring him up 40 times in the broadcast. Let it go, folks.
Thanks for the reminder that this is on. I don't follow professional cycling at all, but DH and I had a lot of fun watching the tour last year. Just the way the tactics develop over the race is really interesting. When to make a break, when to hold back, etc. There is so much strategy that goes on and it's pretty fascinating.
The TDF is my second favorite sporting event of the year behind only March Madness.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Tejay is the friend of a son of a friend (follow that?) and my friend thinks he's a great guy and really wants him to win.
But it's Chris Froome's to lose, right?
Tejay is the friend of a son of a friend (follow that?) and my friend thinks he's a great guy and really wants him to win. But it's Chris Froome's to lose, right?
It sure is!!
Tony Martin's list of injuries from yesterday's crash:
concussion
contusion on his left lung
cuts on his hip, chest, left knee, shoulder, back
very deep wound 5cm wide on his left elbow that reaches his muscles, which causes a lot of pain and a problem moving his armAnd he got back on the bike in today's stage, to ride 100 miles.
dog person
Kristian
LOL.....to Tony Martin *and* the dog story.
My wife always gnashes her teeth watching the psychos along the roads in the mountain stages when they're running along side the guys patting them on the back and stuff. She's always yelling at the TV, "I would club those guys with a baseball bat if they touched me like that!"
I politely remind her that they're used to it (bothersome as it still might be) and that she probably wouldn't make it more than 100 yards up alpe d'uez.......ON FOOT, much less on a bike!
Also, gotta say that since the advent of HDTV and the images captured of all the mid teen century archeological structures still standing, (castles, chateaus, towers, etc) it is a beautiful thing to behold. Obviously, as I can even get my old lady to watch a bit with all that beautiful landscape.
Labrat
It is what it is. I'm not saying that I was ever a fan, but if they're going to blame ONE GUY for tainting the sport then they don't have any hope of winning me over.
Bobby Julich (1998 3rd) should be red. He confessed to doping in a statement released in October 2012.
Specifically, EPO in the period 1996 to 1998 including leTour.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
TeamSky are reporting that Geraint Thomas has a hairline fracture in his Pelvis.
He started today, but is clearly struggling. I expect him to climb off and retire from the race before the end of the week.
OK, I totally want to go to Corsica now....