Tour de Dopes

Well, I keep saying this isn't a sports blog, but then I keep writing about sports. This one, though, is big. At least in my world.

Ivan Basso, Jan Ulrich, Oscar Sevilla, Francisco Mancebo and several other riders have been suspended from the 2006 Tour de France which starts tomorrow. All of them are suspected of doping. In all, 58 pro riders have been named in connection with a Spanish doping ring that has come to be known as Operation Puerto, the details of which have been trickling out for several weeks thanks, mostly, to the efforts of a Spanish newspaper called El Paìs.

For those of you who don't follow cycling, think of this as a confluence of the stories of Barry Bonds (doping), Sammy Sosa's corked bat (no one knew they were doping), and MLB Congressional hearings (more people were doping than we thought), all on the eve of the World Series.

Admitttedly, there has been no proof that these guys are guilty, but apparently the circumstancial evidence (which involves police raids on apartments where bags of blood and financial ledgers were found bearing the riders' names or "code names") is strong enough to convince the various team directors to suspend the riders.

There is good news and bad news here:

The good news is that these directors sportifs (team coaches) are the ones doing the suspending. Even if there is evidence that they know about that we don't that clearly proves guilt, it's a little refreshing to see those guys step up and do the suspending of their own riders rather than wait for UCI (cycling's governming body) to do it. Like Phil Ligget said, cycling has long been on the front lines of the battle against doping in sports. Now, cycling seems to be voluntarily taking it on the chin again.

For the U.S., there is also good news that none of the names released today in connection with Operation Puerto are American. In fact, all but a few of the accussed riders are Spanish. (The one exception is Tyler Hamilton who retired last year after being found guilty of doping. I've seen his name mentioned in stories about Operation Puerto, but to be honest, I'm not sure if he was connected with this particular "doctor" or someone else.)

The bad news is that this ruins my fantasy TdF league and will probably ruin this year's Tour for many American fans. It opens the door for more American riders to win, but the whole race will be overshadowed by the doping story, much like the Festina scandal in 1998 in which Marco Pantani was a primary player and now every time a commentator mentions Pantani's wins or records, you have to wonder if they should have an asterisk by them.

Of course, the other bad thing about this is the timing. I suppose that was dictated by El Paìs. I wonder how long they sat on names in order to release them the day before the Tour. Maybe there are other things at work but it seems like a dirty trick. With the TdF field set, none of the suspended riders will be replaced on their teams. This is also the first year for new TdF director Christian Prudhomme. Welcome to Pro Cycling, Chrissy.

The whole thing would, of course, be less frustrating if we had all the facts or at least a clearer picture of the facts that UCI has. European journalism is maddening in its refusal to attribute. They're good at using the words "alleged" and "suspected" but not good at telling us what lead to allegations and suspicion.

Oh well, I'll still watch. And we can all pull for Floyd Landis. If the Mennonite is doping, then we really are in trouble.

Movie Review - Syriana

Here's what I like about mixed-up movies like Traffic and Syriana: they get you thinking. Here's what I don't like: they have no redeeming value. Christine and I watched Syriana last night. It took two hours to watch, but I think I can pass along the message in about two seconds. Ready?

There's trouble in the Middle East.

If that's a surprise to you, then maybe you should watch Syriana (or the national news). Otherwise, don't bother. I think there was a political message (oil companies=bad, republicans=bad, U.S. involvement in the Middle East=bad) but it was hard to care much about that because the story was so miserable. This is a movie like Cider House Rules in which everyone is a victim of his/her circumstance and no one rises above their circumstance. This is a story completely without virtue, meaning or beauty. It raises important and complex questions to be sure, but it does so while holding no hope for their resolution. It sheds light on a difficult political, religious, economic, and cultural situtation, but it does so while blending in disjointed, senseless misery. (I imagine at one point the writers said to one another: "We're not making the situation in the Middle East seem as bad as it should. We want the viewer to feel really bad about foreign oil and the like. Let's electrocute a six-year-old in an accident! Not because it makes sense. Just because we want this to be uncomfortable.)
Syriana has its points of good political philosophy. There are fleeting scenes, meant to be poignant, I think, in which Muslims wonder at Hollywood and capitalism. I liked those 30 seconds. The rest came off like a collaboration between Stephen King and Richard Engel.
I'd rather watch either.

Bad Writing

Found this bit of wisdom on www.reallivepreacher.com.

Bad Writing Days

These are the mind games you play.

I have some writing tricks, but I never say that I’m going to put aside writing for a time in hopes that I can bluff my muse into giving it up. That’s like a cheap line in a single’s bar. That’s like telling a headstrong toddler that you are going to leave him in the grocery store.

“I’m leaving, Trevor. I really am. I’m going now. Goodbye Trevor.”

Here is a tip for you: Never try to bluff or seduce your muse. Instead, court her. Learn to love her. This is a marriage, not a one-night stand.

I'm in a long string of bad writing days, and I think it has to do with my keep- him- at- arms- length- because- he's- too- hard- to- seek- out- and- I've- got- other- things- to- deal- with relationship with God right now.

Still Grieving

Today, for the first time since Tuesday night, I had the strength to read a newspaper story about the Mavs. The minute the game ended Tuesday, I flipped off the TV, threw the remote across the room, and began a half-week grieving sulk. I feel like a jilted lover - "I love you but you let me down!" So depressing.


Last night, Bethany and Zach experienced their first trip to the movies! The theater in Valley Ranch is re-opening today and we went to a family sneak preview night last night with both kids. I was sure it would be a mistake but they were both really good!

Here are a few more photos from D.C.

Capitol at dusk with U.S. Army Ceremonial Band playing on the west steps.

Best time to see the monuments is at night.

Jefferson's monument is more pretenteous than the others, but the inscriptions are more inspiring.

Honest Abe is very imposing.

World War II Memorial is new, and controversial.

That's the real deal. You can take pictures of it if you don't use flash.

West front of Capitol during daylight. The statue in front is Ulysses S. Grant.

Detail of some of the carving in the Capitol rotunda.

No Time

Washington was cool. I'm glad I went but glad to be back.
Mavs are not cool. I'm going to sulk for a week.

No Travel Log

Well, my moblogging dreams have been dashed. Blogger is rejecting emails sent from my phone and the rates for Internet usage in the hotel are outrageous. And I haven't found a cyber cafe yet. So this might be my only post from DC and, since there's no card reader here, it won't include photos, of which I have many.
DC is way cool. Very pretty and very clean city. Everyone here seems to fall into two categories: visitors who are happy to be on vacation seeing the sites, or locals who are happy to see the visitors seeing the sights. It's a shame I've seen three other national capitols before I saw my own!

Some highlights:
-Took communion at the National Cathedral this morning.
-Visited the big sites on the National Mall - Capitol, Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln Monuments, Vietnam and Korea Memorials. Awe-inspiring stuff. I think Lincoln is my fav.
-Saw the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The actual original documents. Did you know a 26-year-old signed the Declaration?
-Stood in the spot where Dr. King gave his I Have a Dream speech.

There's more but I've got to quit soon. This is costing me $.79/minute.
Game 5 tonight. I'm nervous.

Not So Glorious

Watched Glory Road last night. Is it just me or is this a movie full of look-alikes? The guy who played the coach reminded me a lot of Matthew McConaughey. His wife looked like Amy Poehler from Saturday Night Live. The guy playing Coach Rupp looked like John Voigt with swamp fever. And the guy playing David Lattin (the biggest player) looked like somebody, but I couldn't tell who.
Not only are the actors look-alikes, but so is the plot. Seemed to me like some execs sat around and had this discussion:
"Hey, what movie are we going to do next?"
"I dunno. Remember how much money the Titans made?"
"Yeah. Let's do that again."
Also, there were cameos in there by Stars announcer Ralph Strangis and Mavs color man Bob Ortegel.

One more note: this will be my last post from Irving. I'm leaving town tomorrow and, unless I figure out moblogging soon, I'll be blog-less for about 5 days. I hope we all survive the ordeal.

Postponing the Inevitable

Game 3 was Miami's best chance to steal a game in this series and that's what they did - by the skin of their teeth, with the help of 2 Shaq made free throws, a missed Dirk free throw, and a Gary Payton 26-foot jumper. Ninety-nine times out of 100, those three things don't happen. So I'm still not worried about the series. The one thing that did bother me about last night was our rebounding. We outrebounded our opponents in the first 17 games of the playoffs and all of the sudden, we can't get one. And it wasn't all Shaq keeping us off the boards. We just didn't seem to be scrapping for them.

I'm also concerned about the state of sports journalism in Germany. Apparently, everyone else at ESPN Berlin is busy with World Cup so they sent Boris Becker to cover the Finals.

Neat.

When the mitten took a step inside the 3-point line and went up, I said "Good." It was good, but that's not what I meant.

Cold chillin'

"Dude, I'm right behind you."

Don't worry, Jet. It will soon be yours.

Fan Sightings

I don't know if this is good luck or not, but in the last week, I have run into both Boogie Bob and Thunder (or Turbo or whatever his name is) the lip-sync guy. Boogie Bob was at Wal-Mart. I talked to him briefly. Above, he's pictured with Sarah Dodd, reporter for CBS11 and one of our guests in the suite during Game 1 against Phoenix. I sat next to Thunder at...ready for this...church! I didn't talk to him. He slipped out before the service ended. Probably had to go warm up for the game that night.

Only seven teams in NBA history have swept the finals. The last team to do it was the 2002 Lakers vs. New Jersey. The same franchise has never done it twice. Let's make it eight.

Since 1980, only eight teams have won the Finals: Lakers (8), Celtics (3), 76ers (1), Pistons (3), Bulls (6), Rockets (2), Spurs (3). It take a while to climb to the elite in the NBA, but once you're there, it seems to stick.

From the way-back machine: check out this scouting report on Dirk from 1998. Note his upside:

"At best, he's the next Keith Van Horn."

A few more notes from Game 2:

• During some Dampier free-throw attempts in Game 2, a fan behind us was chanting "M-V-P! M-V-P!" Funny.
  
• I can't wait to revisit "Ericka-talk" after the series. Shaq enjoys calling Damp "Ericka" and cracking jokes about him playing for the Monarchs, not the Mavericks. Funny, but not as funny when Shaq is the third-best center in the Finals.
  
• Before Sunday night, there had only been six four-point plays in Finals history. Howard and Stack both had one. Stack's was tremendous - deep corner, end of the half, shot clock on his back.
• As much as I enjoyed attending Sunday night, I've got to say that I was never really on the edge of my seat. Even when the game was close, I didn't have that worried, nail-biting feeling. During other playoff games, you could have found me pacing the floor in the luxury suite, yelling at a TV in a sports bar, or standing in front of my TV because I couldn't sit down. This time, even with the score close, it was never worrisome. (Is that a word?)

Hallelujah!

Because God is good, he sent a messenger in the form of [name witheld for reasons of reputation] with the message, "Do you want to go to the game tonight?"
"Me?" I asked and fell on my face. "I am but a humble servant. I have no money or talent that you should condescend to me with such a worthy calling ... Ok, I'll go."

The game was awesome though not really as frenzied as I expected. The crowd was definitely into it (lady in front of me stood up for every rebound) but it was a blowout and, as I had heard, the Mavs did tone down the presentation a little (less Humble Billy, no sign of Champ, generally less on-court craziness).

I was so thrilled to go though. It was the first championship game I've ever attended (assuming high school and intramural don't count) and it was awesome. Did I say that already? And I think it may be the last game of the year in Dallas. A sweep is not out of the question here. And I certainly think the Mavs can win 2 of 3 in Miami. And thus two championship streaks will continue for Big D:

1. A professional sports championship has never been won in Dallas.

Super Bowls were, of course, at neutral sites, and the Stars won the cup in Buffalo.

2. Dallas teams with stars on their uniforms win championships.

• Cowboys have always had the star helmet and have won 5.
• Stars were winning as soon as they came to Dallas.
• Mavs started winning when Cuban bought the team and introduced new unis with a star on the back.
• If the Rangers know what's good for them, they'll put a big star behind that "T" on their chests.

Also, for the record, I think the confetti after Games 1 and 2 was premature. We should probably save that for finals and league series wins.

Let's Talk Sweep

I know I'm waaay early in saying this but, the Mavs have got this thing in the bag if they want it. They're better. Just watching them you can see it. They are better players in a better system. I think if they keep their heads about them, this whole series could turn into a week-long parade.

Which brings me to the thing that Bob Sturm has been repeating over and over again the last few days: Miami = Finland. If the Mavs are the 1980 USA Hockey Team, then San Antonio is Russia and that means that Avery better ride his team hard these last few games just as Herb Brooks did the night his team won gold.

More than anything, I keep thinking not how good both of these teams are, but how they're both such a collection of spare parts. Rewind your basketball brain to the beginning of this season and tell me what you thought of the following players.

Udonis Haslem
Adrian Griffin
James Posey
Segana Diop
Jason Williams
Erick Dampier
Gary Payton
Jerry Stackhouse

Tell me you pegged those guys to be in the Finals. Sure, Dirk and Shaq are (although there's been plenty of debate about Dirk until he silenced the critics this season). But the rest of these gusy do NOT seem like NBA Finals material to me. Again, I think it's the coaches. Both of them.

A few other notes:

• I love watching Shaq shoot free throws. Did you know he tied his own playoff record in Game 1 for most free throws attempted in a game without a make? Wonderful.
• Remember when we traded for Jason Terry? Am I wrong or was that trade Terry for Antoine Walker. Man, I wish we had that one back. Pump up the volume, Twan! You're a shooter...keep believing!

Lift Off

I'm really surprised at how easy that was last night. I may have to retract my post about the Heat being better than us on paper. They're not. Not even when Dirk and Josh BOTH have an off night. I know the Heat can play better, but so can the Mavs. After Duncan and Nash, it may turn out that Shaq and Wade don't measure up.

Game notes:

• I'm so happy that Jet had a game like that. He's due. He's such a clutch player and seems to be a likable guy. Plus, he let Ben and Skin into his house.
• I'm so happy when Antoine Walker touches the ball. I know he may break out of his 10-year slump any day now and torch us for 50, but for now, we need to get him more touches. After all, he's a "volume-shooter", remember?
  
• I'd be happier if Dirk would get to the rim more. In the second half, he started doing that thing where he puts the ball on the ground for one dribble and then pulls up for a jumper - even if he had a lane to the basket. I know Shaq is lurking in there but let's take it to him, Dirk. You're a 7-footer and he needs some fouls.
• Where was the halftime entertainment? Don't the Finals warrant an appearance by U2 or some other big-time act?
• Back to Walker, has anyone else noticed that he takes tiny steps?
• Remember when we called him J-Dub and he was on a Nike commercial? How the mighty have fallen.
  
• I tried my darndest to get tickets yesterday. Next time, I'm going with these guys and getting in free:

Let's Get It On!

Scattershooting on the day of Dallas first NBA Finals game:

• Enough waiting, already! Let's get this pawty stawted!
• I have so many non-Finals things to blog about (funny pro cycling quotes, Washington D.C. trip, William Shatner the Rocketman) but for now, they'll have to wait.
• Do you know how hard it is to find Mavs gear in this town? All I want is a T-shirt!
• Even harder to get tickets. I've been hawking stubhub, ebay, etc. and the prices are incredible. Cheapest I've seen is $225 for nosebleed. And I've heard rumors of $70k for floor seats. Let's see...pay off the house or go to Game 1...hmmm.
• The Dallas Morning News had a funny Top 10 on their editorial page yesterday, "Top 10 Reasons Dallas Deserves the NBA Finals Trophy More Than Miami." Funniest line: "No one ever asks who shot Crockett and Tubbs." Second funniest: "If David Hasselhoff is for us, who can be against us?"
• This series is as much about the coaches as the players. If you measure the player talent only, I think Miami has us beat. But the Little General's system makes our team better than the sum of its parts. Let's just hope it doesn't come down to Avery drawing up a last-minute play.
  

"Gentlemen, I think you'll find those the same measurements as our court back home in Hickory."

Ramping Up

A few things to think about as the Finals draw near:

• Shaq is getting better. He's still the least talented hall-of-fame player ever, but he's improving.
• I don't think Avery will employ the hack-a-Shaq tactic. Doesn't seem like his style. But we WILL have to foul Shaq a lot becuase he WILL get the ball in the post and then we have no answer. We need big minutes out of Damp and Diop. And more than help defense on Shaq, we need solid peremeter defense on the guards so it's not easy for them to feed Shaq down low.
• Shaq and D Wade will present the biggest problems we've faced on defense so far. San Antonio might have caused big problems but they decided to go small. Miami won't. Mavs fans should really be afraid of those two combining for 100 points.
• We have a bad history of losing to Shaq.
• But the last time we met Miami we beat them by a million.
• This Mavs team doesn't score points in bunches. If they get a 20-point run, like they did in Game 6 vs. Phoenix, it's 28-8, not 20-0. They're much more methodic and plodding than Mavs teams of the past. So we need to have a lead or a small deficit going into the fourth quarter because we're not good at catching up quick.

Some other thoughts:

I like Avery's watch.

The big winner in this year's finals? American Airlines.

Halfway down the Mavs homepage under "Other News", you can download the "Diop Diop" video. Genius.

6.6.06

Today is not a good day if you suffer from

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

Finals, Finally

Where to begin? So much to say about reaching the NBA Finals. I have so many people to thank and so many memories...

First of all, if the Mavs don't win another game this season, I believe the season is a success. I wouldn't have said that if they hadn't beaten Phoenix because the bar was set at a conference championship. That's one game better than the franchise has ever done and I think that's what Dallas was expecting out of this team. I also think that they've come far enough this year that if they lose the Finals, contrary to my earlier post, they still would have a good chance to win it next year. But still, I think their best chance is right in front of them right now.

No offense to Brad Davis or Rolando Blackmon, but I'm so glad that the Mavs finally have a real reason to hang a banner in the AAC! Our first real banner!


I haven't been following the Mavs for all of their 26 years, but I've been a fan long enough that this year's success feels well-deserved. Let's take a moment to thank all of those Mavs who helped (or didn't help) along the way. Remember when we used to hang our hopes on the likes of Gary Trent and Eric Strickland? When Gary Trent was our bruiser inside? And we relied on Calvin Booth to his a last-second bunny to win playoff games? I was at the game at Reunion when A.C. Green broke the record for most consecutive games played. And I rolled my eyes with the rest of Dallas when Cuban signed Dennis Rodman. Christian Laettner, Robert Pack, Kurt Thomas, Raef LeFrenz all carried our hopes along the way and, often, dropped them like a Suns second-half lead.


Some of those former Mavs (most notably and sympathetically Michael Finley) have been on the losing end against their former team this year. This playoff run has knocked our Finley, Steve Nash, Nick Van Exel, and Raja Bell. And next up is the "volume shooter" Antoine Walker. I felt for Fin and Nash when we beat them. I'm going to love beating Walker. I was never his fan.

That's enough Mavs Musings for today. Tomorrow, we'll tackle the Shaq factor, American Airlines, and what Vegas has to say.

Peace, out.

Potty Talk

Big news from the Sanders home:
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!
Bethany went PeePee in the Potty!

No Finals Yet

If you've read this blog much over the past few weeks you know that it's been very Mavs-intensive. So you would expect the first post after the Mavs win the West to be about basketball. But I met a family yesterday whose character trumps basketball.

Ellen (my sister-in-law) moved to an apartment in Irving a couple of months ago and is still getting settled. A doctor who she works with is moving to North Carolina and offered to give her some furniture. I went over to the doc's condo yesterday to help Ellen move the stuff. When we got there, I learned that this was not a case of a rich doctor giving away junky old stuff to get new stuff.

First of all, the furniture was very nice. Had they sold it, I'm sure they could have collected $500 or so. But instead, they said, they decided to "give it to someone who could use it."

And the doctor is also an Army emergency medic, paratrooper, and police SWAT medic. He regularly goes along on Irving SWAT jobs to attend to wounded officers or suspects. He, his pregnant wife, and two-year-old son are moving to Ft. Bragg because Uncle Sam has "requested" such. And next month, he will leave for a tour in Iraq.

He helped us load, haul, unload, and set up the furniture and when I thanked him profusely as he was leaving, he said, "It was the right thing to do." Something tells me that the good doctor does a lot of the things because "it's the right thing to do."

I'll probably never see that family again, but it's encouraging to have met them and know they're out there.

Be safe, doc.

Give Me 50!

Remember this line: 50 points, 12 rebounds, 5 three-pointers. In the second half: 33 points, 9-for-13 from the floor, 3-for-3 from 3-point range, 12-for-12 from the line, 8 rebounds. The big, goofy German did what Mavs fans have wanted him to do for three years - carry the team when it counted most.

I think NBA coaches and players overthing things sometimes.

• Whether to play Diop or "go small" to match Phoenix. Is this really a hard choice? This is basketball. It's good to be tall and athletic. Play Diop. He rocks.
• I know you don't expect Tim Thomas to beat you singlehandedly, but if he keeps hitting threes, put a man on him! We kept doubling Nash off the screen and leaving Thomas open. I think Avery was even yelling at Devin Harris to do it. Thomas wouldn't have been blowing many kisses if we hadn't been leaving him wide open looks. That leads me to a rant about defense...
• Seems like all NBA defenses now are too help-oriented. There will be one guy on the ball and everyone else is sagging off their men waiting for the dribbler to drive. What if NBA teams played defense the way you learned in high school? If your man is one pass away, get up on him and put a hand in the passing lane. If your man is two passes away, sag and help. The only reason that might not work is that guys like Nash would get around there defenders more often. But my answer to that is that maybe our defenders should learn to move their feet. I never see a defender slide over to cut off a dribble any more. And if he does, he's doing it with the intention of flopping and drawing the charge. We could stop quick guys like Nash a lot more if we slid over in front of them, or if they're getting past, cross over and start to run with them. That's especially true with Nash since he doesn't change directions very quickly. And if he does get by, his dish options would be fewer if all our guys were covering their own guys. How many times have you seen Nash drive and by the time he gets to the lane he's got four Mavs collapsing on him and his choice of four teammates to feed?

Ok, but enough of the negative talk. What a game that was last night! Dirk was amazing. Here are a few other highlights:

Three shot clock violations by the Suns in the first half. They probably haven't had three shot clock violations in the whole season!

Two Mavs turnovers in the second half.

I wonder what our record is when this act performs at halftime.
Josh Howard: 23 points including five dunks and a block.

Here's a pregame pic of me, Dirk, and Mark Wahlberg.

The best sign of the night made a very brief appearance in the post-game: "Someone push Barkley back into the ocean."

Second best sign: "Free D.J. Mbenga."

Did anyone else notice the way Steve Kerr pronounced Mbenga during Game 4? "Mmmmmm-benga!"

I've decided that there is not a single basketball broadcaster in the world that I like. Plus, do we really need TWO sideline reporters?

TNT's best work is done away from the court. Funny Ali G spots here.

Terrific behind-the-scenes analysis from Matt Mosley here.

What's the deal with Avery and Nash doing post-game press conference in golf shirts? I thought there was a dress code.

Politics

For the past three weeks or so, some friends and I have been cussing and discussing politics on Steve Hayes' blog. We're up to about 8,000 words now of what has turned out to be a very congenial, thoughtful, balanced discussion of topics as inflamatory as taxes and the war in Iraq.
You can read it here.