Didi's beloved Cerberus had a nice run at le Tour this year, but it seems his blood lust has yet to be sated. Global warming must be luring Hades' creatures to the surface or something.

from the Paceline:

"Tuesday in Valencia, DC mainstay Matt White sustained a double skull fracture after being thrown from his bike--but is doing fine, confirms Johan Bruyneel.
Matt White sustained a pair of skull fractures in a training crash Tuesday. He's resting and OK.

Out for a routine training ride with Julian Dean, "Whitey," 32, fell hard after a dog ran out in the road. Matt's bike made contact with the animal (who walked away) but he was thrown straight over the handlebars and hit headfirst. It appears that the double skull fracture is his only major injury.

Matt will remain in the hospital for at least 4-5 days. Although he is quite "banged up and tired" according to wife Jane, but is otherwise OK. Send "Get well!" wishes to Whitey at dearwhitey@thepaceline.com."

Cool beans, finally, something positive to report.

There was a discussion here a month or so ago about TD wherein we questioned his constitution and future as a pro tour rider due to his frequent illnesses, among other things. Well, whatdyaknow. The Durango Herald published an interview with Tom yesterday that will answer a few of your questions and confirm some of your speculations. It seems Tom has had a nasty critter or two taking up residence in his tum-tum and they've inconsiderately refused to leave, possibly since 2003 when he rode in Malaysia. Specifically, he was diagnosed with Giardia, a diarrheal illness caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite.

A month after being properly diagnosed, Tom again won the Mount Evans Hillclimb and will be competing in San Sebastian, the Deutschland Tour, and the Vuelta.

here's the article: Danielson addresses cycling, tour, life in general

I've been quick to criticize cyclists, whether dopers or not, for their tacit acceptance of doping by not speaking out publicly. To me, they've been aiding and abetting the problem by their silence. Perhaps that's a bit harsh, but the sport is not going to survive unless and until more riders come forward. Bobby J. gives me hope.

My generation must continue to tell young riders not to cheat

I applaud the members of this site who are usually pretty good at refraining from political commentary, as tempting as it often is, but every once in a while I see something that really irks me. Maybe I'm flying solo here, or maybe you think I'm being hypersensitive, but every political comment I've read on this site leans in one direction, while I unabashedly lean the other. Until now, I've resisted my instinct to respond in kind because I don't want to see this site turn into one of the plethora of existing sites that have devolved into virtual foghorns, blasting out non-constructive, vitriolic rhetoric that unnecessarily exasperates the country's political divide. I imagine others feel the same and have similarly decided to keep quiet. But my life is deluged with enough legal/political discussion/debate as it is, and the Podium Cafe is one place I visit regularly to escape all that ugliness and have some fun.

So please folks, don't ruin that.

Okay, excoriate away.