Kirsten Gum on OLN

MGM

nice tities, how old is she

-=KingFisher=-

I thought Ligget was from cycling royalty last year... this year, I thought he just sounded tired and old... not a happy man... I couldn't believe Sherwin at the end of yesterday's final stage... he said something like 'although I visited Lance in the hospital when he had no hair, and no eyebrows, and was told he had only 3 months to live... I think he's the greatest Tour de France champion, but, Merckx is still the greatest champion'...

Someone enlighten me... what the hell makes this guy Merckx so great?

The man pulled himself back from the brink of death through science and determination when I would have just rolled over and died (and I'm no pushover)... he's put cycling on the map for an entire continent (Lemond who?)... he's an inspiration to cancer patients and cancer survivors world-wide (and others challenged with or without this specific disease)... and he's beaten the world's top athletes 6 years in a row, who tried to train as much as he did, who tried to gather and attract corporate sponsors as much as he did, and who tried to recruit a dream team...

So someone help me out... why would Sherwin (the schmuck) throw down cold rain on Lance's coronation... instead of just giving the man his due -- on his day.

-=KingFisher=-

Thank you Pat... I thought it was only me... someone give us the scoop...

-=KingFisher=-

beg to differ... I found that Liggit would just say whatever popped into his head... with the coverage bouncing back and forth between the leaders, and chase 1, chase 2, and the peleton... everyone's trying to figure out what is going on... instead of telling us... he just kept guessing!... 'here's Basso being dropped by the peleton, no wait, it's Jan Voigt... no it's not team CSC... it's actually Robbie Mcewan, and he's not been dropped, he's sprinting for the King of the Mountain, I mean the blue jersey, no the... Paul help me out!

my favourite was Andreas Kloden has won this race... there's the move... no one can catch him... I could call the race too... if I just said what came off the top of my head... and then just kept correcting myself in real-time... astonishing!

well, i don't know about you... but, i feel better now.

Pat Lee

Kirsten Gum,

I know you're out there. What happened to you? I hope you had a good time despite the bad things I've said. I'm just trying to understand the network's decision.

You may send me a private communiqué, s'il vous voudrez.

MGM

I disagree....my favorite call from ligget was last year stage 9 when lance went through the corn field. Second favorite was this year stage 12 I believe at la mongie (?) when Basso won the stage, ligget didn't know where the line was, he though basso was leading out armstrong but lance let him win, ligget was confused as fuck

saherring

Hey...she is a heck of a lot better than Adrian Karsten ever thought about being several years ago. He was absolutely terrible. And what about some of the idiots that ESPN had prior to OLN taking over. I think that Kirsten Gum really ads some "class" to the broadcast.

saherring

I don't know if you noticed...but she was on for a week before disappearing. But she showed back up during the last week of the tour in a different role.

donhix1

I think you have to realize they are calling the race by looking at a television feed that they have no control over. It is French TV with French producers deciding which camera shot to use. It is much tougher than being in a stadium calling a sporting event where everyone has large numbers on their back and they have spotters feeding them information all the time and they have control of the cameras via a producer.
Just the dynamics of a bike race makes it difficult to cover a bike race, especially in the Tour when there are no circuits around the finishing area like you get in the Giro.

__________________
Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.

donhix1

I think Americans have to realize that there are other races besides the Tour. The only thing Lance has up on Merckx is his 6 Tour de France vicories.
It would be difficult to find anyone who has ever dominated a sport the way Merckx did cycling.


5 Tour de Frances
5 Tour of Italy
4 World Championships
7 Milan-San Remo Classics
5 Liege-Bastogne-Liege
3 Paris-Roubaix
3 Wallonis Races
1 Tour of Spain
2 Tours of Belgium
2 Tours of Lombardy
1 Tour of Switzerland
32 international classics
17 6 days
world hour record
Sportsman of the year worldwide ISK (1969,1971, and 1974)
Super Prestige Trophy 7 times (1969-1975)
Athlete of the century Belgium
UCI trophy for the best cyclist of the 20th century

In one tour he won all the jerseys Yellow, Green and Polka dot
He would have won a sixth tour if a fan hadn't punched him.
His career was cut short by a back injury.

__________________
Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.

donhix1

I needed to include that he had over 400 wins as a pro.
He lead the Tour for 90 some stages, Lance Just broke 60.

__________________
Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.

saherring

Not to mention that Merckx won over 500 races in his career...a feat that will probably never ever be approached.

ddavenport

I've got to hand her the benefit of the doubt, she sure does have a nice rack.

KIRSTEN, YOU ROCK!

__________________
Proud to be a GUMMANIAC!

rejobako

Wow; it was just an aside. I'm an Armstrong fan, but even I think that Phil/Paul crawl way too far up his behind in the superlatives they use to describe him on every day of the TdF coverage. Sounds to me like Phil was merely explaining why he chose to describe Lance as the greatest TdF champion instead of "greatest cyclist ever", a title not even Armstrong would claim for himself.

BTW: having your accomplishments mentioned in comparison to that of Eddy Merckx is a compliment in and of itself. I do not wish to belittle you or engage in the snooty attitude of some in this forum who profess to have superior knowledge to the rest of us, but by asking the question of "what was so great about Eddy Merckx", I would submit you've outed yourself as someone who isn't familiar with the Cannibal's accomplishments.

Lance Armstrong has a significant palmares beyond the TdF, something which his detractors try to detract from. And there is no doubt that 7 consecutive TdF titles is a phenomenon that stands out as undoubtedly the most notable body of achievement in a single event in the history of cycling. That being said, Merckx raced everywhere, in every event and discipline, beat everyone, and did it in a raging-bull style that still causes goosebumps by those who can recollect it.

So, for all those reasons, I would suggest Phil wasn't trying to be disrespectful or take anything away from Armstrong's achievements, merely giving the moment a bit of historical perspective.