A seven-time All-Star, Doby batted .283 with 253 homers and 1,515 hits over 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. However, unlike Robinson, who had to endure racial epithets and slights from opposing players, Doby found resentment from his own teammates after maverick Indians owner Bill Veeck bought his contract for $15,000 from the Eagles on July 5, 1947.
As Doby recounted frequently over the years, his introduction to the Indians that day was uncomfortable to say the least.
"Lou Boudreau, the manager lined up all the players, and one by one he introduced me," Doby said. "All of the guys put out their hands except three. Those three Veeck got rid of, but it wasn't easy."
We all remember Jackie Robinson, but Larry Doby was also a trailblazer, being the first black player in the American League after resegragation. Because baseball didn't start as a segregated, it developed over the early years of the game until it was all-white by the early 1900s. It didn't make crossing the color line any easier, but I thought I'd at least point out that baseball didn't start out lilly white.
But Doby was a great player in his own right. He had to wait for the Veterans Committee to put him in the Hall, so he didn't get that honor from the BBWAA. He led the Indians to 111 wins in 1954, also leading the league in homers and RBI's. He lost the MVP voting to Yogi Berra. It was par for the course for Doby, who never seemed to get the recognition he deserved.
He's had great success as an assistant at New Jersey. He was on the "Hot List." The Nets went to back-to-back NBA Finals, and a bunch of folks said Eddie Jordan was doing their X's and O's, not Byron Scott. We know Jordan talked with the 76ers about their vacancy, so this isn't one of those typically scary Boulez situations where the Wizards are the only team interested in the guy. (Does this mean Jordan didn't want to coach Allen Iverson? So Iverson's the one guy in America who can make the Wizards' job look good?)
On the other hand this is a second chance at being a head coach for Eddie Jordan. And the first chance was a disaster. Jordan was 33-64 in a little more than one season at Sacramento. To be fair, Jordan didn't have much to work with. In those days Sacramento was lovingly referred to as "Bullets West."
Eddie Jordan is a hot coach. He could have taken the Sixers job and contended for NBA titles. Instead, he took the worst coaching job in professional sports: the Wizards. Here are some of the luminaries to tackle the position: Doug Collins, Leonard Hamilton, Gar Heard, Darrell Walker, Jim Brovelli, Bernie Bickerstaff, Jim Lyman, Wes Unseld, and Kevin Loughery. Of that list, only Collins has a career winning percentage above .500.
At least if you coach the Clippers everyone gives you a free pass. You don't suck, the Clippers do. The Wizards are every bit as incompetent as the Clippers, but once you fail in Washington, your career is essentially over. Except for Unseld, who parlayed his spectacular run of failure as a coach into an even worse run as the Bullets/Wizards GM. The last Bullets coach to get a head coaching job again was Loughery, who lost his job in 1987, resurfaced as the Heat coach in 1991, where he managed four more years as a coda to a forgettable career. Actually, it is remarkable that he was a head coach for 17 seasons and only had four winning seasons, and his best season was a 43-39 mark in 1982 with the Hawks. He never coached in the second round of the playoffs. I consider him the ultimate Bullet coach in the last 20 years.
Good luck, Eddie. You are going to need it. Remember, the franchise record is 231 coaching wins. It only took Dick Motta 6 years to ammass that many wins, that's 38.5 a year. Yes, if you go 39-43 for six years, not only will you keep your job, you'll be the greatest coach in Wizards history! Just think what will happen if you go to the playoffs for the first time since 1996, or win their first playoff series since 1987 (or, heck, their first playoff GAME since 1987).
For the record, the Clippers haven't made the playoffs since 1991, but they did win two games. They haven't won a series since 1975, when they were still the Buffalo Braves and Dr. Jack Ramsey was the coach.
posted by Poseur 6/19/2003 11:56:00 AM email
"After training, he'd always be practising, practising, practising," Ferguson said. "But his life changed when he met his wife. She's in pop and David got another image. He's developed this 'fashion thing'. I saw his transition to a different person."
Yeah, damn Beckham for having a life outside of soccer.
I ripped into Beckham yesterday, and I don't back off from my criticism. He's the most overrated player in the world, and I wouldn't spend $41 million on him (well, if I had $41 million, I'd probably spend it on booze). But this criticism is patently ridiculous. The guy is allowed to have a life. We can blame the Spice Girls for a lot of things, but ruining Beckham's career is not one of them.
"If these reports are accurate, the ACC apparently will stop at nothing to destroy the Big East as a football conference," said Mark Fabiani, a spokesman for the five Big East schools that have sued the ACC, Boston College and Miami in an attempt to keep the Big East together. "We have continued to receive assurances from Virginia Tech that it is committed to protecting the Big East and that it, in good conscience, could not accept an offer from the ACC. For our part, we will continue to do everything possible to keep the Big East intact, including pursuing all of our available legal options."
This just keeps getting uglier and uglier. First off, suing your members so they will not leave is not a good plan for longterm survival. It might delay teams from leaving, but it won't stop it. In fact, it probably will encourage them to leave.
Two, the ACC doesn't care about the Big East one way or another. They aren't bent on destroying the Big East, they are bent on adding teams so they can get a lucrative championship game for football. and one of those teams must be Miami to make a counterweight to FSU.
Three, the Big East is trying to raid C-USA, so they can shove their moral highground where the sun don't shine.
Four, the Big East has continually mistreated the Hokies. They should bolt at the first opportunity. When the football conference first formed, the football-only schools weren't allowed to join in other sports. Then, the Big East eventually extended invitations to the football-only schools... except Virginia Tech (and Temple, who was happy in the A-10). VT was the last football school to finally get added as afull member, and that was when the football team started contending for the national title. In short, the Big East has treated VT's athletic department as completely undesirable until their football team became awesome. So the Hokies owe the Big East jack.
Losing Big East football is no great loss. And an all-Catholic conference for basketball and other sports would be really cool, and would be the "new" Big East. OK, UConn and Rutgers get absolutely screwed in the deal, but Pitt can go call the Big Ten. Conference realignement has to happen. This is the beginning of the consolidation.
posted by Poseur 6/19/2003 11:23:00 AM email
I'm not buying that the Hosts of Heaven root for any one competitor or group of competitors over another. Except for maybe the Anaheim Angels. Everybody else in the competitive arena is equal. Victors can pray all they want, give as much postgame credit as they want, they can sing praises until kingdom come.
God, meanwhile, is busy watching over the welfare of souls, not the back and forth of the NBA Finals.
He's fully engaged, trying to soothe the world, to curb the spread of evil, to cherish children, to proliferate peace and charity and goodness among all of humankind.
Blessed are the pure in heart, not the San Antonio Spurs.
Sports, hard as it is to believe, probably doesn't rank among Providence's top priorities.
I forget the comedian who said he just once wants to see an athlete say, "We were going to win until Jesus made me drop that pass. He hates us."
It is pretty ridiculous for athletes to invoke the name of the Allmighty whenever they win a big event. God doesn't care who wins the game. He's got more important things to worry about. Like the effects of Bush's foreign policy.
Stacy Young was big -- about 240 pounds . . . and she was strong. She had lifted weights in high school.
But she wasn't a fighter. In fact, she never picked a fight with anyone in her life.
"It's funny now looking back," Linda Lewis said of her 30-yearold daughter. "I always admired her ability to not get angry and to let things go. She called me Friday and said she was going to fight just once so she could brag that she had the nerve to do it and to make her husband proud."
Well, now her husband can be proud of his dead wife.
Really, this is just sad. People should not go into a boxing ring unless they have had some training. So, now, in order to show how tough she is, Stacy Young ended up dead. Good job.
Is there a more overrated player than David Beckham?
OK, even non-soccer fans know that Man U sold Beckham for $41 million to Real Madrid. There's a general outcry and all of the usual jazz, but personally, I think Real is getting ripped off. Beckham is a huge star, but is he productive? von Nistelrooy led the Premiership in goals scored with 25. He's the finisher on that squad, not Beckham. And with a midfield of Scholes, Butt, Keane, and Stewart; it's not like Man U is missing star power. Those are some of the most productive midfielders in the game. Beckham is probably the best of the lot (though I'd take Scholes), but with the embarrassment of riches Man U has, why not take the $41 mil?
And he's going to go to a Real team which is absolutely loaded. They already have some pretty good midfielders in Figo and Zidane, maybe you've heard of them. and the srikers? My God. Raul and Ronaldo? Are you kidding me? That's 6 of the last 7 FIFA players of the year (though Ronaldo has won 3 times). The one they don't have is also English, but it's not Beckham, it's Michael Owen.
Beckham is a fine player. He's lethal on set plays and he is one of the best players in the world. but he's not Figo. He's not Zidane. He's not even Owen. He sells jerseys, he puts people in the seats, but he's not a vital cog. Real would win without him, and so will Man U.
posted by Poseur 6/18/2003 11:58:00 AM email
Not a whole lot of surprises so far. In fact, the two favorites are both sitting at 2-0 and get to watch the remaining teams eliminate each other. It's not even a surprise that SMS, the supreme underdogs, and LSU, the team without a bullpen, went home first.
It makes commentary sort of difficult. Um, Rice and CSF won because they are better teams, okay?
posted by Poseur 6/17/2003 12:38:00 PM email
Krajicek out of Wimbledon
Hmmm... he was willing to play yesterday. what could have changed? I don't know, maybe his draw? He was scheduled to play Lleyton Hewitt in the second, maybe his (unspecified body part) flared up upon seeing Hewitt's grass court game. I swear to God, it's an unspecified injury, he didn't even have the decency to make something up.
posted by Poseur 6/17/2003 12:34:00 PM email
He's won six Cy Young awards and 300 games and is only one of three pitchers with 4,000 strikeouts. Roger Clemens has written his own ticket to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The question is, will he be in Cooperstown on the day of his eventual induction?
Clemens said Saturday he will not attend his own induction ceremony if he is not allowed to go into the Hall of Fame as a member of the New York Yankees.
Wow, Clemens is already planning to boycott an event six years in the future. He's one fo the best pitchers ever. Seriously. He's right up there with Lefty Grove, Walter Johnson, and Tom Seaver. He's the best pitcher of my lifetime. But my God, is he an intolerable SOB or what?
This went on for only a few days until broadcaster Jim Kaat raised a stink, but it was the kind of wonderfully impetuous, borderline whack-job Steinbrenner nonsense that led to the Yankees' going pennantless from 1982 through 1995, the longest such stretch since before Babe Ruth arrived.
You want to know why people hate the Yankees? Because they insist on referring to a 14-year stretch of decent baseball as the Dark Ages of their club history. First off, for the record, they won the division in the strike-shortend 1994 and made the Wild Card in 1995. So it's really 1982-1993. So they were in the "wilderness for 12 years.
In that span, they posted a losing record five times. They finished last one time. Only the 1990 team was truly awful, going 67-95, year two of four straight losing seasons. But from that point on, they would increase their win total each year (and position in the standings), so that three years later, they would finish second to the World Champion Blue Jays in 1993. End of dark ages.
The Yankees finished 2nd three times during this span, once winning 97 games but losing an epic pennant race. They won 90 games three times, once it was only good for 3rd place (1983). Oh yeah, they also got to enjoy a Hall of Famer in Dave Winfield and a borderline HoF guy in Don Mattingly. This isn't a bad stretch. I'm sorry, it just isn't.
During this same stretch, the Milwaukee Brewers won one division title, the famed Harvey Wallbanger's team of 1982. Since 1982, the Brewers have five winning seasons. One of those was 1983, when the Yankees were busy winning 90 games and finishing in third, the Brewers won 87 and finished FIFTH. They won 90 games twice, 1987 and 1992. They finished 2nd one time.
As for the losing, they've had 10 straight losing seasons since 1992.
Ten. They've lost 90 games four times and 100 games once. So while the Yankees had 5 losing seasons in 12 years, the Brewers have had 5 awful seasons in 20. That's a bad stretch.
So, the next time you hear a Yankee fan complaining about the 1980s, point out the Brewers (or the Indians, Phillies, Tigers, fill in the blank here) and just punch him in the face.
posted by Poseur 6/17/2003 12:26:00 PM email
I've been pretty clear in my downright loathing towards the man, but I'm interested in the public reaction to him in comparison with Price and Eustachy, two coaches I defended even as the media and overwhelming public opinion was that both should be fired.
It comes down to this, we don't think gambling is wrong. I don't, actually. I play the ponies and I've been known to wager on a game every now and again (cough, cough). So we understand Neuheisel's sin. to condemn him is to, well, condemn us. And we don't want to do that.
Meanwhile, most of us don't have sex with strippers or get drunk at college parties (unless we're still in college). So it's easy for us to climb up on our moral highground and say, "Price is a sexual deviant" or "Eustachy shouldn't be drinking with people half his age." But neither one of them broke any laws or violated their contract.
Neuheisel did. Is gambling on the NCAA tourney wrong? I don't think so. But there is a clear NCAA rule forbidding him from doing so. To bet a material amount on NCAA sports subjects him not only to dismissal, but the UW program to probation. And the Huskies are close to that 10-year window and would be eligible for serious sanctions for "lack of institutional control." It's selfish and reckless behavior.
Now, I think everyone is willing to look the other way if it's an office pool. You slap down five bucks, fill out the bracket, and watch the admin in accounting take home 200 bucks or so. But once the coach starts throwing down 5k, it's no longer small stakes. And whether it's right or wrong is immaterial. It's against NCAA rules.
Wimbledon acquired a new favourite as the Stella Artois acquired a new champion. In the space of a week Andy Roddick, who now has Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert at his shoulder and empowering his elbow, has emerged as the man to beat when the All England Club gates swing open a week today.
On Saturday he defeated Agassi and yesterday, on an afternoon of intense heat here, the 20-year-old American pulverised Sébastien Grosjean 6-3, 6-3 in 59 minutes of brutal serving for his seventh career title and his first on grass.
There's some key points in this article. One, Brad Gilbert. Actually, he's probably points Two and Three as well. You may not remember, but Agassi was just an undsiciplined hotshot until Gilbert came on as his coach. Without Gilbert's influence, it's entirely possible we only remember Agassi for appearing in a Nike ad with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I can't say enough about Gilbert as a coach.
Two, Roddick's only 20. The media has been quick to label him a disappointment, but the guy's career is just getting under way. Yes, he's got the huge serve, but his 149 MPH serve tied Greg Rusedski's record, and what did he ever win?
He's not a sure thing. But he's the annointed favorite. Not bad for a 20-year old who supposedly can't hit the backhand. Final exams start next week at Wimbledon.
I heard Jim Furyk won. Good for him. Only four players shot below par, and shot an 8-under. That's just onscene.
However, I'm most interested, like every other casual fan, in Tom Watson's brief flirtation with the leaderboard. The added stroy of his caddy having ALS just made it all the more enjoyable for all and his one last hurrah. Watson used his moment in the sun to speak out for ALS research, and I was struck by the fact Watson was willing to use his fae a cause he views as right.
It's not the first time. Watson will never be confused for a left-winger, neither will golf in general, but he made headlines back in 1990 when he resigned from his childhood course in Kansas City because they wouldn't allow a Jewish member. It was a stand that cost him not only many of his longtime friends, but caused a horrible rift with his father. It was a wrong and Watson set to right it, even at personal cost.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods can't take a stand on the Masters. Tiger's more concerned with endorsemnt dollars, cash which will evaporate if he bceomes a polarizing political figure, so it's tough to blame him. This is his livleyhood, after all. But sports has been such a force for socail change: Billy Jean King, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Anika Sorenstam... you get the picture. I don't mean to pick on just Tiger, but he's the biggest golfer in the world, and he doesn't have what one would say is the courage of his convictions. It's the Michael Jordan school of being everything to everybody. And it sucks.
Let’s give it up for David Robinson. Most of the time when a great player retires, there’s just an absurd amount of media coverage, but there’s been nary a peep for Robinson, one of the all-time great players and great people in the game. I’m going to focus on his all-time numbers, but remember, this is a guy who missed out on some of his early years because of his commitments to the Navy.
He ranks 24th all-time in points with 20,790. However, because of a shortened career, he didn’t even play in 1000 games. Only five other players in the top 25 socrers can say that (Pettit, West, Dantley, Baylor, and Bird).
He ranks 25th in rebounds with 10,497. Some of the older players don’t have the offensive/defensive breakdown, but among those who do, the Admiral ranks 11th all-time in offensive boards with 3,083.
He ranks 4th all-time in blocks, but that’s a newer stat. Still, his 2,954 is pretty damn impressive.
He won the rookie of the year in 1990, and MVP in 1995, and the defensive player of the year in 1992. And he won two NBA titles. He’s not Jordan, he’s not Kareem, but he’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. So tip your cap to the Admiral.
Luckily, the worst NBA Finals in recent memory has come to its conclusion. The Spurs won. Yay. Most of us are just happy this abomination is off our TV sets and we can go on to more important programming, like the Home Shopping Network.
For most of the night, it looked like we were faced with the unimaginable, a seventh game. But since the Bill of Rights forbids cruel and unusual punishment, the NBA wrapped this thing up quickly by virtue of a 19-0 collapse on the part of the Nets. A thankful nation gives its praise, but let’s look at how a team can so utterly and completely implode. I mean, this was Greg Norman at the Masters kind of implosion.
So here it is, recreated via ESPN’s wonderful play-by-play function.
8:38 Dikembe Mutombo Shooting Foul. Malik Rose hits two free throws. 72-65.
8:22 Rodney Rogers missed Layup. Blocked by Tim Duncan. Duncan was a machine out there, blocking a total of eight shots. Of course, the Spurs don’t convert yet. Leading to the next Nets possession.
7:58 Jason Kidd missed Jumper. An a recurring theme, the Nets used less than ten seconds on the shot clock. There’s eight minutes to play, you have a 7-point lead, and your all-World point guard is jacking up jumpers with double digits on the shot clock?
7:41 Malik Rose made Layup. OK, the Spurs have now outscored the Nets 4-0 over the span of a minute. The Nets aren’t in trouble yet. 72-67.
7:26 Kenyon Martin missed 15 ft Jumper. And now they are. Once again, a short possession by the Nets, and the shot they get is from Martin away from the basket? Are you kidding me? Are they just trying to lose at this point?
7:11 Stephen Jackson made 24 ft Three Point Jumper. Nets call timeout. Well, there’s trouble, and that starts with T… 72-70.
6:50 Kenyon Martin missed 7 ft Jumper. Blocked by Tim Duncan. Martin’s getting frustrated, and why on earth would you go to Kenyon on two straight possessions? They called a timeout for this?
6:33 Stephen Jackson made 25 ft Three Point Jumper. And the Spurs take the lead. In two minutes, the Nets have surrendered a nine-point lead. Their best shot in this span was a rushed jumper by Kidd. 72-73.
6:16 Jason Kidd missed 13 ft Jumper. For the record, 10 seconds are on the shot clock. Kidd is in full-fledged panic mode.
6:05 Tim Duncan missed 6 ft Jumper. Blocked by Dikembe Mutombo. David Robinson made Layup. When it goes bad, it goes bad. When the Spurs block a shot, they get the rebound. When the Nets block a shot, the Spurs get the rebound and an easy putback. 72-75.
5:43 72-75 Emanuel Ginobili Shooting Foul. Lucious Harris misses both free throws. Harris shot 80% from the line this year. This was the Nets best chance to stem the tide. Hit two free throws, set your defense, it’s a one-point game going down the stretch. It didn’t happen. Jefferson comes into the game, so now is a good time to mention that both Jefferson and Kittles watched this part of the run from the bench. Apparently Scott wanted them to be rested for the after-game party.
5:26 72-77 Speedy Claxton made 15 ft Jumper. New Jersey calls another timeout, because the first one turned out so well. 72-77.
5:11 Kenyon Martin missed 6 ft Jumper. Nine second possession, one of the worst shooters on the team gets the ball. At this point, everyone in the building knows the Nets are pulling an unbelievable choke job.
4:48 72-80 Stephen Jackson made 25 ft Three Point Jumper. And Jackson is now 3-3 from three during the run. He was 0-4 throughout the rest of the game. During the series, not counting this stretch of brilliance, he was 7-25. So while the Nets incompetence keyed the run, so did the sudden transformation of Jackson into a good three-point shooter. 72-80.
4:33 Aaron Williams missed 18 ft Jumper. New Jersey gets their first offensive rebound of the run, and they respond with…
4:20 Kerry Kittles missed 22 ft Three Point Jumper. Blocked by Tim Duncan. Yeah, Duncan blocked a three. Things were getting ridiculous.
3:59 Stephen Jackson missed 25 ft Three Point Jumper. At least some return to normalcy. But Robinson grabbed the rebound, dished to Claxton, and…
3:45 Speedy Claxton made 17 ft Jumper. Boys and girls, we have a 19-0 run. 72-82 Spurs. Put the kids to bed.
3:20 Jason Kidd made 18 ft Jumper. Kidd stops the bleeding. And note, they finally started to use a little clock. Too little too late.
After a series in which neither team could buy a basket, the Spurs went on a tear in the fourth quarter to turn a double digit deficit into their second NBA championship. Congrats to San Antonio.
Barry Melrose called it a couple weeks ago when he said during some intermission report--In the NBA, the team with the best player always wins. San Antonio has the best player; they'll win. That was supposed to be a friendly dig at the NBA, but it's true. In the final game Tim Duncan scored 21 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, and blocked 8 shots. It was the first tripple-double in the Finals since Charles Barkley did it a decade ago. He also set a Finals record for blocked shots in a series (Patrick Ewing set the previous record in a 7 game series!).
Yeah, Duncan is the best player.
Let's not overlook the fact that the Spurs really were the best team--they did have the league's best record, and they did it playing in the more competitive Western Conference. This win should be a shock to no one.
Other notes...
It was the final game in the career of David Robinson. It amazes me how many people say they hate Robinson. They must have a problem with an intelligent, articulate, charitable, religious man. Oh, he's a pretty good player too. Now that Robinson is gone, we can focus on the real ambassadors of the game who are busy getting arrested for packing heat, buying dope, and brutalizing women.
In all the post-game hoopla, ABC forgot to talk about Stephen Jackson, who sparked the Spurs fourth quarter surge with 3 three pointers.
Forty-year-old journeyman Kevin Willis won his first NBA championship. I bet when he joined the league they still had short shorts.
After the game Nets guard Jason Kidd said he didn't know if he'd be back with the team next year. I appreciate his honesty, but "no way in hell" would have been more appropriate. He's gone. He'll be back to visit NJ in another uniform to be booed by their surly fans. Maybe he'll go to Boston?
Not that anyone was watching (with all that golf going on), the NCAA had its outdoor track & field national championships over the weekend. While SEC teams were having a rough time at the CWS in Omaha, they were putting on a clinic in Sacramento.
In the men's competition, Arkansas claimed its 10th team title. Auburn was runner-up and Southern Cal took third. Four other SEC schools finished in the top 10 (LSU, 4th; Florida, 6th; Tennessee, 7th; South Carolina, 10th); that's half the conference in the top 10. Georgia & Mississippi St. finished in the top 20.
The Hogs were anchored by distance runners Alistarr Cragg and Dan Lincoln. Lincoln won the steeplchase and 10,000m. Cragg was second in the 10,000m and first in the 5,000m. The men's 400 had perhaps the most exciting event of the meet. Minnesota's Alvin Steele beat teammate Mitch Potter and S. Carolina's Otis Harris by a mere 17 hundreths of a second. Their races were the best three times in the 400m in the world this year!
In the women's side, the LSU Tigers won their 13th national championship, the 25th in the career of coach Pat Henry. Ho hum.
The Lady Tigers only won one event, but were anchored by sprinter Muna Lee, who finished second in both the 100m and the 200m. In both events she was beaten by South Carolina's Aleen Bailey.
Behind LSU were Texas and South Carolina. The SEC dominted the women's competition too, placing half the conference in the top 20 (Florida, Georgia, Auburn, & Arkansas).
Lance Armstrong quieted the nay-sayers Sunday and won his second consecutive Dauphiné Libéré after holding off yet more attacks from the indefatigable Iban Mayo in the 174km finale from Briançon to Grenoble.
"The best thing to happen to me this week was the time trial and the worst was the accident," said Armstrong, who finished sixth behind Vasseur. "The time trial showed I have consistency and strength while the crash was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me on the bike."
The Dauphine Libere is a week long bike race with a couple mountain climbs and an individual time trial, so it's a perfect tune-up for the Tour de France. Last year Armstrong won the event just before winning his fourth Tour. So, we now know Lance is in fine form. As to the crash he suffered in the event, it obviously didn't prevent him from winning. It probably will not be a factor in the Tour de France, except to make Armstrong more cautious. A crash might be the greatest threat to Lance's designs on a fifth Tour de France title.
