Vino in Vain

I was bitterly disappointed to see Alexandre Vinokourov thrown out of this year's Tour de France for blood doping.

He is one of the pre-race favourites, but a heavy crash early on seriously dented his hope of winning the race. And after a dismal day in the Alps, he fell outside the top 20 in the standings.

Undaunted, he bounced back and won the individual time trial in astonishing fashion, annihilating the rest of the field by minutes. Two days later, he won again on a solo breakaway in the Pyrenees.

I always like Vino, for his unbreakable spirits and being a good leader. I can never forget how grateful Antonio Colom was when Vino gifted him the victory in Stage 5 of this year's Dauphine Libere, when the pair worked so hard to escape from the rest of the field.

Sadly, Vino decided to take the risk, one which not only gets him expelled, but also his team, which was leading the team classification, also kicked out of the Tour.

Still Dreaming

Apparently Danica Patrick loves taking a nap just before the race gets going.

Her latest exploit: A slow moving car leading to the collision with Tony Kanaan and Marco Andretti, with the latter flipping his car to boot, during the race in Mid-Ohio.

Patrick has been involved in similar accidents before, most notably the shunt in Iowa when she was still swerving her car sideways to warm up the tyres, even though others around her were all going in full throttle. The result: A multi-car shunt in which Kanaan was amazingly lucky not to collect a stationary car at full speed.

My advice to Danica: Get some sleep the night before a race.

Dream Debut

Believe it or not, Spyker driver Markus Winkelhock, on his Formula One debut, led the first few laps during the chaotic European Grand Prix, thanks to his team's shrewd decision to change into intermediate tyres just before the start.

All in all he led in six laps in total, and as soon as the safety car peeled off the track when the race finally resumed, he was gobbled up by the likes of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

And although Winkelhock retired after 15 laps due to mechanical problems, his name is forever etched into the record books.

He has become the 153rd driver in Formula One history to have led a race.

And he is among just a handful of drivers to have done so on his debut.

Getting Away

Hey, I will be out of town from 12 to 19 July, and won't be able to have any new postings during this period. I will be back with more and stay tuned, please.

Adios, Dan!

Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years.

I remember how much fun I had when I first watched ESPN in Hong Kong some 10 years ago, with Patrick and Keith Olbermann being the anchors of Sportscenter. They are as great a team as you will ever see.

I always like Patrick's easy-going but persuasive style, and love Olbermann's sharp wit and excellent humour.

I wish I could be as eloquent and articulate as they are. But I know I never will.

Soon after, Olbermann left ESPN and no tandem come close to what they did. Kenny Mayne is great with his dry humour and hysteric yelling, but that is just different. To me, Patrick seems to be Mayne's doctor in a psychiatric institution more than anything else.

That's why I was so happy to know that I can download the podcast of Patrick and Olbermann's The Big Show daily. After a day of hard and boring work, it is just so refreshing for me to listen to them arguing with and teasing one another.

Is Patrick really going to be the new host for The Price is Right as the rumours say? I'm not sure.

I just hope that some day, he will do an Olbermann-esque U-turn and team-up with Olbermann again for their great Big Show.

Boonen Botches As Steegmans Steals It

Somehow, I am addicted to (watching) cycling.

I love the flat stages where the sprinters sprinting like there is no tomorrow in often dangerous circumstances.

I love the climbing stages where all riders suffer and grimace all the way up the insurmountable hills.

I love the stunning scenery where people could just spend days after days there doing absolutely nothing, which is one of my all-time goals.

That's why I have been spending lots of times recently watching the Giro d'Italia, Dauphine Libere and Tour de France on TV.

Okay, back to the races.

The first couple of stages in the Tour are not exciting as expected, with all the big names preserving energy for the upcoming mountain stages. While the lesser-known have been mounting attacks after attacks, so far all of them have been reeled in and eaten up by the peloton eventually.

So the big crash some two kilometres before the end of stage two in Belgium is THE highlight of the Tour so far.

With barriers at the side of the road in the final kilometres (as per cycling rules), a fallen rider in front will give those behind nowhere to go. And that is exactly what had happened and, worse still, Fabian Cancellara, the maillot jaune, was also involved and could be seen favouring his left arm as he gingerly crossed the finish line. But the good news is, he looked okay during the trophy presentation afterwards.

(As per cycling rules, riders who have fallen within the final three kilometres will be credited with the same time as the group they were in at the time of crash. As all the riders were bunched up together when the crash happened, none of the riders will lose time as they will all be credited with the same finishing time.)

Only some 20-plus riders were lucky enough to be ahead of the crash and emerge unscathed. In the end Gert Steegmans won the stage, ahead of his team leader Tom Boonen, to give Belgium a rare one-two on home soil.

To me though, it looked like the result of a miscommunication by the two as Steegmans was supposed to lead out Boonen for the finish line. But Boonen somehow was unable to overtake Steegmans, while the latter did not slow down just enough for his team leader through.

They will say all the want about how proud they are to give Belgium a one-two on home soil. Well, who knows what will happen in their team truck?

Hate Father, Hate Son

If you (Tony Kanaan, in 7-Eleven overall) can't beat him (Sam Hornish Jr., in red Marlboro overall), beat up his dad (the white-hair guy in the middle of the skirmish).

Okay, to be fair to Kanaan, he didn't beat up the two Hornish-es. It was Hornish Sr. who came out of nowhere and gave Kanaan a good shove during a heated argument between the two drivers, after the race at Watkins Glen.

So answer me, what kind of guy needs his father to protect him during an argument?

What a Draw

I have always found soccer in South America interesting.

And the draw for the Copa America is even more interesting.

Since the tournament was expanded to 12 teams (with two invitees from other federations) in 1993, where the teams are divided into three groups of four, only once was Venezuela, the weakest team in South America, not in the same group as the host nation (1999).

1993
Host nation: Ecuador
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Uruguay, USA, Venezuela
Host nation's results in the group: Won 3-Drawn 0-Lost 0

1995
Host nation: Uruguay
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela
Host nation's results in the group: W2-D1-L0

1997
Host nation: Bolivia
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
Host nation's results in the group: W3-D0-L0

1999:
Host nation: Paraguay
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Bolivia, Japan, Peru
Host nation's results in the group: W2-D1-L0

2002
Host nation: Colombia
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Chile, Ecuador, Venezuela
Host nation's results in the group: W3-D0-L0

2004
Host nation: Peru
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela
Host nation's results in the group: W1-D2-L0

2007
Host nation: Venezuela
Other teams in the same group as the host nation: Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay
Host nation's results in the group: W1-D2-L0

Well, I should probably have left out 2007 as Venezuela is the host nation. But incidentally, the three other teams in the group are some of the, if not the, weakest teams in South America at the moment.

The top two teams of each group, plus the two best third-placed teams, will all qualify for the second round. History tells us that four points from three matches will usually be good enough for qualification.

Let's see. If you can beat the hell out of Venezuela (which has only one win, in 1967, prior to this year's tournament), and then eke out a draw against either of the remaining teams, then you are through.

Now you can see why Venezuela is always in the same group as the host nation.

The question is: How does the host nation manage to team itself with Venezuela year after year, despite the supposedly and apparently fair draw process?

Soccer Math

If the price of a soccer player reflects its value and contribution to the team, then I don't (and won't ever) get this:

Thierry Henry: Sold from Arsenal to Barcelona for 16 million pounds.

Darren Bent: Sold from Charlton Athletic to Tottenham Hotspur for 16.5 million pounds.

Anyone who can explain to me why Bent is 500,000 quid more expensive than Henry deserves an OBE.

An Overpriced Buying Error, that is.

The Marion Mess

There is a recent report that Marion Jones, once the fastest woman on earth, is broke.

Her multi-million dollar mansion has been foreclosed, and she now only has around US$2,000 at her disposal.

Once the diva in track and field, she could command a four-figure appearance fee in the events around the world.

Yet she eventually was involved in the banned substance scandal and while she has never been tested positive for banned substances, her reputation has forever been tarnished.

Jones going broke, I think, has more to do with her lifestyle than anything else. She would bask in the limelight and opt for the most lavish lifestyle, with an entourage so huge that would even make Mike Tyson humble. Like many before her, she found fame and fortune easily, but lost them all just as quickly.

Doesn't it sound like the effects of taking banned substances?

Personally I feel sorry for her. I once considered naming my child Marion (after Marion Barber though) Eventually, we opted for Daryl, after Daryl Johnston.

Luckily I didn't. Otherwise my child would definitely blame me for making such a poor decision.

Just like what the poor Marion Jones has been doing over the years.