meanwhile, cycling news reports:

But, much more important than this seems to be that the tests performed on Landis’ A sample included an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) procedure, used to determine whether the testosterone is exogenous (contained within, but originating from outside the body) or endogenous (produced by the body itself). In the case of the American, L’Equipe reported that the analysis found testosterone of artificial origin. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jul06/jul31news

oops! if that’s true, game over for poor floyd.

my only disagreement with frank’s legalize it theory is that it would mean athletes unwilling to put themselves at risk would probably never be competitive. that would be sad. but we are getting used to a lot of sad things in this brave new world.

i’m so depressed, i’m heading for the freezer.

So here it goes: I guess I’ve finally moved all the way into the legalize-it camp. Let’s just acknowledge that the future of sports is the 9 second 100 meter dash, the tour at 35 mph, the mile in close to three minutes. What will be lost will be any sense that the athletes performing these feats have any physiological denominators that mere humans can relate to but I’m tired of being the sucker. I’d much rather watch the sport, admire the efforts on an enhanced but level playing field, and then pour over the published drug regimens of each athlete the way I used to look at batting averages on the back of baseball cards.

And while we are at it: let’s legalize non-performance enhancing drugs too.

I agree: the Jack Daniels defense is about as good as Dan White’s Twinkie Defense. I’m not buying it.

And here’s another thought. Floyd has been tested how many dozen times this year? And last year? In competition and out of competition. And he signed a contract that subjected him to suspension if under investigation for doping. But neither he nor his handlers (or lawyers) ever thought to hire professionals to test him to set a baseline for his testosterone, hematocrit, and all other levels that matter in modern doping and testing?

I find it more than a little naive–almost shocking, but not quite–that a guy who pees in a cup after every race can say “I think I have a higher than normal testosterone level,” or “I’m taking some drugs that might interact with other drugs and cause a false positive.” Might?

I remember listening to a French cycling fan argue in 1989 (pretty convincingly, as I recall) that Laurent Fignon was not a bike shop mechanic. That he didn’t care a damn about aerodynamics; he just got on whatever bike you gave hime and rode his heart out. He trained in the Alpes, not in the wind tunnel. My point is that that speech would have fallen flat in 1990 or thereafter. After some point you are just being naive and behind the times.

That’s how I feel about Floyd now. A few years ago I might have just believed Floyd. Now, after all that’s gone on with Armstrong and others, I think it’s up to Floyd to know what the truth is about his body, and to be able to tell us. Naive just isn’t an option. I like the Landis back-story–easygoing guy from Mennonite Pennsylvania, etc.–but it’s not going to help him through this crisis. My gut feeling is that he’s guilty and he’s cooked.