Will there even be a Tour-de-France winner?

According to ESPN, German authorities have proof that Tour-de-France winner Alberto Contador was involved with doping. Apparently Contador had been taking HGH and an asthma product called TGN. Is it this bad that this many cyclists have been busted for doping? It’s not just cycling, it’s increased in every sport (especially in the US), and these athletes don’t seem to get it. Sports have become too greedy, too competitive, and too scandalous to even consider the fact that these guys ave natural talent. This stuff was inconspicuous in the 70s and 80s, but back then, they didn’t have the technology and inside information that we have today. You know sports today is messed up when there are accusations of GOLFERS taking steroids. If Howard Cosell were still alive, he’d be shaking his head at all of these lies and scandals in each and every sport.

Athletics around the world (and mainly the USA) are not headed for a great direction, and it may stay that way for a long time.

Freddy Adu to Benfica

It has been confirmed that soccer star Freddy Adu will move from the Mercifully Lousy Soccer league, other wise known as the MLS. There were reports of him going to the EPL side Manchester United, or even the Scottish Premier League squad Celtic. Instead, he will he will go to Portugese Liga squad Benfica. He’s already proven himself in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, in which he had a hat trick, and several assists in the US U-20’s surprising run to the quarterfinals.

Sadly, he lacks any recognition in the MLS. He lacked any playing time, no one seemed to want to pass to him, and in over 100 appearances, he scored only 14 goals (all with D.C United). He was transferred to alleged soccer squad Real Salt Lake, who are in danger of playing with the local school kids. He never shined in Salt Lake, and once he turned 18, it was on to Europe. The one reason for his failure in the MLS is because they don’t want him to overshadow Landon Donovan or that Beckham guy. If he goes to any major club in Europe, he will get the recognition he deserves.

Good luck to Freddy in Portugal, let’s see if you can be one of the rare American stars to succeed in Europe.

Breaking News: Bill Walsh Dead at 75

Originally written at ArmchairGM.

This is tough for anyone who has followed the San Francisco 49ers like me. The sports community has lost a legend in Bill Walsh, who succumbed to leukemia today at the age of 75. There will be more information on his death as this story develops. Source: [[1]]. Walsh died at his home around 11:00 AM PST.

I may not have seen him coach with the 9ers because I was born way after 1988 (his last year coaching with San Francisco), but as a sports enthusiast, I know that the man was a genius when it came to coaching. He was the mastermind of the West Coast Offense (which a certain Atlanta QB can’t grasp), never lost in a Super Bowl, and is the pinnacle of sports in the Bay Area.

Walsh is responsible for many coaches getting top jobs in the NFL (with great success). Including Mike Holmgren, Sam Wyche, and Jim Fassel.

We’ve lost a legend in this sport, and you have to feel sorry for the 49ers. This is the 2nd year in a row when they’re dealing with death. Last year, it was Thomas Herrion. This year, it’s the most famous Niner of them all.

RIP

Bill Walsh

1931-2007.

That’s a head scratcher

The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed a 2 year deal with none other than…………….

TIM COUCH!!!!!

Seriously, why? You have 3 QB’s that are somewhat good if they aren’t injured, so why get Couch? I don’t get it. The dude has proven that he can’t live up to that great draft class of 1999. He was on the Browns team that made the playoffs a couple years back, but Kelly Holcomb was the one doing well, not him.

That is almost as dumb as the Raiders signing Jeff George, or the Tennessee Titans signing Kerry Collins. If Byron Leftwich gets hurt (which is certain), he may be the backup. The one thing with Leftwich, David Garrard, and Quinn Gray, is that they are mobile. Couch is immobile, injury prone, and inaccurate all the time.

San Jose Sabercats win Arena Bowl XXI

The San Jose Sabercats have won their 3rd Arena Football title, with a victory over the Columbus Destroyers 55-33. I would’ve watched the game, but as soon as I heard it was Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic calling the game, that turned me off. So for the recap, go here.

Five Spot

The Five Spot is always on the weekends and the Ten Spot is on Wednesday’s only. Send your links to tjxanda@gmail.com to make my job easier.

1. The Sports Flow shows its brilliant problem solving skills.

2. Complete Sports can’t seem to comment on WordPress blogs.

3. Awful Announcing with some NFL Network news.

4. Signal to Noise thinks he’ll be stuck to watching the San Francisco Giants games.

5. The Big Picture has an interesting story on Jerame Tuman.

Iraq: The Incredible Story

It’s amazing how Iraq is able to muster up a soccer team when you consider the fact that there is a war going on. But as they always do, they competed in the 2007 Asian Cup. This was a tournament in which Iraq was never considered to be a favorite, but Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea were. The Iraqi’s had never even made it to an Asian Cup final, so of course they were unlikely to win. Not only did they win in their group, they had dominated another Pre-Tournament favorite in Australia, winning 3-1.

They had won their games over Vietnam, and stunned South Korea on penalty kicks to advance to their first Asian Cup final ever. What made this bittersweet, were the suicide bombers blowing up sections of the country, and several soccer fans celebrating their team’s improbable run.

So now their final opponent was the Asian soccer powerhouse in Saudi Arabia. Iraq were heavy underdogs in this match, but they had been underdogs in half of their tournament games, so it really didn’t matter. Iraq dominated the match and stunned the Saudis 1-0 to do the impossible, and win the Asian Cup. This should not just make headlines in Jakarta, Indonesia(where the final was held), or throughout Iraq. It should make headlines around the world.

You have to put politics aside, and celebrate the most global sport in the world. Because Iraq has shown that nothing is impossible. They should be the model team of the world when it comes to determination. We should all be happy, no matter what nationality you are, that a war torn country could have a national soccer team that could not only participate, but win a soccer tournament.

Iraq

2007 Asian Cup Champions

Sorry

Internet down at our home nearly all day. No linkage today, and I’ll move what I had planned to do from today to Sunday. Again, I apologize, and I’m currently looking for the heads of the Comcast tech people I’ll see you tomorrow.

My fake article on Randy Johnson

Disclaimer: It’s fake, the only thing that is real is Randy Johnson’s injury.

Randy Johnson’s Mustache Causes Season Ending Surgery on Back

(Phoenix)-AP

In a bizarre twist today, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson injured his back after the weight of his mustache caused him to collapse. Reliable source The Onion said that it was a strain on his back, and that he wouldn’t be able to play the rest of the year. Doctors have confirmed that his mustache must be shaved off, to prevent more injuries to his back. There will be more to this story as it develops.

The MLS needs to be more diverse

Originally posted on ArmchairGM.

I say the MLS needs to be more diverse so we can pride ourselves in having a global league. Embracing people from around the world. The point I made in another article, was that “Outside of Beckham, they try to shut everyone out so they can make it a 95% American league. That way, they can boast about the MLS being the best in the world in the wild dream that they do well in the 2010 world cup. Most other leagues in Europe don’t do that. They try and make it diverse.”

To which Tyduffy replied

“SS Reporters, that is the biggest load of BS I have ever heard. They don’t “shut anyone out” to make it a 95% American league. The league is loaded with Latin American and Caribbean players. The MLS’ brightest young star is Juan Toja whom they scouted from Columbia. Their second big signing this year was Blanco. Do some research before just spouting off about something you know nothing about.”

Ty, I hate to break it to you, but Latin America and the Caribbean doesn’t make up most of the world. That is not even close to being diverse when they are both within either ocean. When I last checked, there are other parts of the earth outside the vicinity of the US. Also, I know my stuff, so don’t say I know nothing about this subject.

Anyway, I have counted the number of Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australians, and Oceanians on every roster in the US only, and the total for each team is….

DC United: 2

Chicago Fire: 1

Kansas City Wizards: 1

New England Revs: 3

Red Bull New York: 6

Chivas USA: 3

Colorado Rapids: 4

FC Dallas: 2

Houston Dynamo: 3

LA Beckhams: 2

Real Salt Lake: 1

Columbus Crew: 3

So collectively, the number of Non-Latin American and Non-Caribbean in all of the MLS is……………….

31 out of approximately 300 MLS players. That is about 2 per team on average.

That’s pretty low in my opinion. Get more Europeans, Africans, diversify the MLS. It’s a global game, it deserves a global cast of characters.

So what do you think?