Conference noted::bicycle

    	Ed,
    
    	I assume that you found out about LeMond being on Today too
    	late to tape it.
    
    	Did anyone tape this?
    
    	LeMond shoulda gotten up and smacked Bryant in the kisser.
    
    	Scott

    Well, what was LeMonds' answer?
    
    
    

    As I said, I herd about all of this, I also heard that his reply was
    polite.
    
    Most of us know what happens to those "real athletes" on Sunday afternoon
    when they actually have to move for more than 10 minutes in one afternoon. 
    (For those who don't know, the average combined length of the "action"
    parts of a football game is 12 minutes.)
    
    When do we get respect?
    
    ed

     Greg was on yesterdays show, and he wasn't on very long but, then who
    is on the Today show. I a small part of the show but, do not remember
    that question.
    
     Greg was also at the White House a week or so ago and gave the Pres. a 
    TDF leaders jersery. Pres Bush said he doubted it would fit. Greg said
    it wouldn't fit him either because he had not ridden in a while and had
    gained six or eight pounds.

    
    
     Why the %#$@ did Greg give the Pres a leaders jersey for? Should 'a
    been the other way around for winning the toughest bike race in the
    world, after am amazing effort in the final stage, after a long
    recovery after just about croaking.

    If you thought Greg on the Today show was bad (I caught it - it was),
    then you *had* to see Greg on the Tonight Show being interviewed by
    Carson.  At least Gumbel was once a sportscaster.  It was relatively
    embarassing for Greg it appeared.  Yep, now that Greg is back in the
    states for a short time he's plastered all over the tube. 

    I saw that show and remember the question being a little bit different.
    I believe Gumble asked him why more top American athletes don't
    go into cycling.  Greg's answer suggested that more would if the
    sport got more exposure in the U.S. and that he thought that his
    success would lead more young Americans to take up the sport seriously.
    
    All in all, the interview was no better or worse than most Today
    interviews.  There was too little time to discuss the sport or Greg's
    accomplishments intelligently.  In addition, Today must appeal to
    the least common denominator of its audience.  When it comes to
    bicycle racing, I suspect that that denominator is quite low.  The
    interview, which focused on Greg's success in a sport in which few
    Americans have succeeded at a world-class level, was about as deep
    as the show could get.                          
    
    That is my humble attempt at being a media critic.
    
                      

    RE.5
    
     It's like winning the NBA series the Super Bowl or the World Series
    they also give the Pres a jersey. I think since the winner of these
    games are always invited to the White House that it's great that Greg
    was also invited. Too bad the press didn't give it as much airplay.
    
     Also on CNN Headline News this morning was a quote by Greg "I don't
    know how I'm going to spend all of the money I'm making". I'd bet CNN
    would not have said that about John Elway or Majic Johnson.

    
    Elway and Johnson would not make that comment!  They would complain
    that they were not getting enough and would probably hold-out for more
    next year.
    
    At least Lamond shows a little honesty.  Although I am sure he knows
    quite well what to do with his $$$$$$$$$$!  
    
    

    <.9 RIGHT ON! If there's a pattern of gentlemenly conduct, Mr.
                  LeMond has honed to a fine cutting edge!
    
                  Chip

    RE.9
    
     I agree with what you say but, my point was I'm sure Greg had many
    more comments worth repeating more than a comment about money.
    
    Joe

    RE: the Gumble comment. This shouldn't surprise us, even considering
    his background in sports journalism. Several years ago, while covering
    one of the major marathons for ABC Sports -- Boston or NYC -- Jim
    McKay made the following comment, paraphrased here: "Now we see
    a group of runners struggling across the finish line to finish at
    2:25." No kidding. As if these guys were couch potatoes out for
    a Sunday jog who managed to run sub-2:30 marathons!
                           
    Ken :-)

More on the Gumble comment 

    I didn't see the interview so... Gumble may have been rude depending on
    how he asked the question but it is a good question.  Greg LeMond is an
    anomaly, someone who rose to the top of his sport despite the nearly
    total indifference of his countrymen.  I hope (and assume) that Gumble
    was not implying that LeMond was not a good athlete and is only at the
    top because none of the good athletes go into cycling.  We all love the
    sport, think it's the greatest, but we shouldn't kid ourselves, cycling
    is NOT a big sport in America.

    The question remains, what WOULD happen if more of Americas best
    athletes went into cycling?


    You all must have seen the Bo Jackson Nike TV commercials "Bo Knows ..."
    I never saw it but I've heard that they had one earlier where he is out
    riding bike and he turns to the camera and says:

        "So when is this Tour de France thing?"

     Sorry, given Gumble's past track record I'm not giving him anything
    close to what can be misinterpreted as a benefit of doubt. You're
    right. The sport (from a pure definition of organized sports) is
    not big. From a participatory/recreational perspective it is huge
    and growing rapidly. Read this as exaggeration= almost 5 out of every
    10  cars I see has a bike rack on it, not counting the bikes I see.
    
     I am really optimisticthat the organized element will take off over
    the next 2-3 years so that we will see ATHLETES and frequent
    competitive events in the N.E. area.
    
      Chip