I've done nothing but watch the Tour de France since July 4th so it's tough for me to touch on any topics regarding other sports. I know to a lot of people it's just about whatever Lance does... kind of like Tiger Woods and golf. So I'll dedicate this post to updating you all on some finer points of the Tour and maybe throw in some baseball ideas to make Justin happy.

1.) Lance Armstrong...

So how IS Lance doing? I am actually very surprised by Armstrong's performance thus far. I had many doubts that he would be able to keep up with the favorites after taking 3 and a half years off of biking, but he is looking just like the old Lance... or should I say younger lance. At the moment, he is in 3rd place with teammate (and race favorite) Alberto Contador ahead by 8 seconds. With the mountain stages coming up, I'm expecting Contador to put some space between himself and the rest of the field. The first of the mountain racing started today and Alberto pulled himself away from all of the other favorites pretty easily. If Lance finishes in the top 3, I would say that is a successful Tour for Lance.

2.) Other Americans to watch

Lance isn't the only rider to cheer for. Levi Leipheimer (gets my vote for coolest name in the race) is in 4th place right now and is only 39 seconds from the leader. Levi was a big name in the 2007 Tour de France as the finish between the top 3 places were separated by only 31 seconds... the closest time gap for the top 3 ever in the race. Contador won that year while Levi finished in 3rd place. Both riders were teammates in '07 and are again teammates with Lance Armstrong this year. Both Levi and Contador were not able to race last year as a result of team Astana being suspended due to Alexandre Vinikourov's blood doping. (Team Astana overhauled their team after the 2007 race which meant Levi and Contador weren't allowed to race in 08's race while the team served a one year suspension.) Last year, Christian Vandevelde stepped up for the brand new American team Garmin-Chipolte. He was in contention right up until the end but didn't have enough to overcome the favorites. He finished in 5th place, 3 minutes and 5 seconds behind the winner. Right now, Vandevelde is sitting in 8th place.

3.) Crazy Fans

I don't think there is a sport out there that has fans that are as crazy as the ones at the Tour de France. They really seem to come out in the mountain stages. It's amazing how close they are able to get to riders, often right in their face until the very last moment. Don't be surprised when you see people dressed up in costumes or running along the bikers completely nude. In the past, I've seen fans get in the way of bikers causing crashes as well as getting in the way of a motorcycle with a camaraman, also causing a crash. It's all part of the race though.

4.) Stage wins

In many of the flat stages, it may seem pretty boring to a casual observer. The main pack, usually consisting of race favorites, will just ride together, saving energy for the important mountain stages. Winning an individual stage is a very big thing in this race as it provides the rider with individual exposure as well as the team. So in each race, you will see a small group of riders try to steal a race by breaking away early. Most of the time, the main pack (known as the "pelaton" in biking termonology) will eventually catch the breakaways as they ride a bit more efficiently. (The pelaton works similar to a flock of geese flying in a V. It's much easier to ride with a large group than with 2 or 3 others) When and if the peloton catches the breakaway, the sprinters then set up to try to take a stage win. Sprinters are the guys who sit in the pack until the end and try to outsprint the entire field. With so many bikers in the same spot at the same time it can often be a recipe for lots of pushing and crashes.

5.) A few baseball game observations

I did find some time to watch a Brewer game here and there. I know I mentioned this a while back, but people still continue to wave at the camara while talking on their cell phone when sitting behind home plate or next to the mustache guy who is at every game. We need a nickname for this guy. Any suggestions?

I strongly urge you, do not wave at the camara! Also, don't take your Brewer hat off and keep pointing at it whenever you are on camara. We know you're a Brewers fan, you're at the game! I think a good solution for both of these types of fans is for the Brewers to adopt some kind of mascot similar to the "Now that's thinking with your dipstick" guy. At any point a person waves or does something stupid for the camara, this guy shows up and whacks you with his dipstick or whatever will get the job done. I don't even care if it is the Dipstick guy who does it.