U.S. Olympians Get New Duds; Cycling's Doping Problems

Ralph Lauren
Dashiell Bennett 1,033 Views Jul 10, 2012

Today in Sports: More doping problems for cycling, Americans get dressed for London, and the NFL's attendance problem.

  • Two doctors who have worked with previous Lance Armstrong cycling teams have been banned for life by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Luis Garcia del Moral and Michele Ferrari had been accused in the past of supplying doping agents and illegal blood treatments to pro cyclists, including Armstrong, who promised to sever his relationship with Ferrari after he plead guilty to medical malpractice in 2004. A lawsuit filed by Armstrong against the USADA to stop the investigation leveled against himself was thrown out by a judge yesterday. [Bloomberg]
  • Speaking of cycling and doping, the 2012 Tour de France had its first rest day and its first doping scandal as French rider Remy di Gregorio was arrested on Tuesday during a raid on his team hotel. Di Gregorio was immediately suspended and his team announced that he will be fired if the accusations are confirmed. Authorities were mum on the specific allegations, but the Tour has cracked down hard in recent years following a decade of cheating scandals, suspensions, and raider stripped for the championships. [France24]
  • Most U.S. Olympic athletes make less than $15,000 a year training full-time to perfect their sports, and will return from London sponsor-less and broke if they fail to win the gold. Unlike most nations, the U.S. government does not subsidize its Olympic athletes and most don't earn enough from sponsors to have insurance or a full salary. [CNN Money]
  • Speaking of the Olympics, Ralph Lauren has revealed the uniforms that the U.S. team will wear during the Opening Ceremony. The berets don't exactly scream U.S.A., do they? [MSNBC]
  • Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson has been asked to stay away from the New York Yankees clubhouse after a Sports Illustrated interview in which Jackson criticized the team's current third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, for using performance-enhancing drugs. Jackson, who won two World Series with the club in the 1970s is officially a "special adviser" to the team, but has been told that his services won't be needed for awhile, after saying, "As much as I like [A-Rod], what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records." [Yahoo]
  • Despite record revenues and TV ratings (or because of them?) the NFL's in-stadium attendance has declined every years since 2007. Last year's total attendance (which worked out to an average of 64,698 per game) was the lowest the league has seen since it expanded to 32 teams in 2002. ProFootballTalk blames rising prices for tickets to state-of-the-art stadiums and overpriced concessions that still can't match the experience of watching at home in HD. [ProFootballTalk]

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