Al T. makes it official - He's bored

"OnThaBeach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Be sure to watch the tail end of the OLN post race show on Sunday.

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No

time

Quoted message said:

trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

Bob, Phil and Paul took Al to the clearners after that comment. Maybe ESPN

will

Quoted message said:

book Al on "Pardon the Interuption."

Bryan

I saw that as well. So much for his claim that he's a cycling fan. He has
no clue how a stage race is raced. He complained about it being just
another long, boring stage with three guys in a breakaway and then cut off
Paul as Paul attempted to explain the subtleties of the stage. He may have
called a race or two (Olympics maybe), but the guy is clueless. And to make
it worse... he's loudly proclaims his clueless-ness.

Keep flooding OLN with email. Remember, NBC changed its primetime coverage
of the Utah Winter Olympics after the first few days because of all the
negative feedback. Al needs to come down with a case of the "flu" for two
weeks.

"Bestest Handsander" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"OnThaBeach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Be sure to watch the tail end of the OLN post race show on Sunday.

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains.

No

Quoted message said:

time

Quoted message said:

trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

Bob, Phil and Paul took Al to the clearners after that comment. Maybe

ESPN

Quoted message said:

will

Quoted message said:

book Al on "Pardon the Interuption."

Bryan

I saw that as well. So much for his claim that he's a cycling fan. He

has

Quoted message said:

no clue how a stage race is raced. He complained about it being just
another long, boring stage with three guys in a breakaway and then cut off
Paul as Paul attempted to explain the subtleties of the stage. He may

have

Quoted message said:

called a race or two (Olympics maybe), but the guy is clueless. And to

make

Quoted message said:

it worse... he's loudly proclaims his clueless-ness.

Keep flooding OLN with email. Remember, NBC changed its primetime

coverage

Quoted message said:

of the Utah Winter Olympics after the first few days because of all the
negative feedback. Al needs to come down with a case of the "flu" for two
weeks.

Perhaps they can get him a two week gig at The Scooter Store.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(OnThaBeach) said:

Be sure to watch the tail end of the OLN post race show on Sunday.

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No
time
trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

Bob, Phil and Paul took Al to the clearners after that comment. Maybe ESPN
will
book Al on "Pardon the Interuption."

That was frigging retarded. Al is bored after a brilliant rising-sprint
finish won by Hushovd's superb show of power, after a couple of daring
breakaways, and after some pretty good action.

The worst part was his boredom didn't seem to be based on the actual
racing action, but on the fact that the GC riders hadn't established
their leadership yet.

It was a dumb comment, informed by the idea that the GC is the only
contest that matters, and that nothing can affect the GC chase in the
early, flat days (tell that to Mayo. Tell that to Leipheimer or
Hamilton).

I sort of understand the perspective: the Tour organizers set up a
program that was as likely as possible to not cause any notable GC
differentiation before Bastille Day (and will I be staying home and
watching that one live? Oh yeah. Flex days rule). It seems almost cruel,
though it has given USA Today lots of chances to write man-bites-dog
stories about how it's not a big deal that Lance lost the yellow jersey
by nine minutes. Maybe USPS did that on purpose so that American
journalists would have to write some articles explaining how the GC
strategies work.

On the other hand, I think that Trautwig, to his credit, is there to
play a combo of devil's (the other one) advocate, and to ask the "naïve"
questions that your typical once-a-year Lance fan might be asking.
Actually, they're the same questions all my co-workers keep asking me
(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal). It's a dirty job, but OLN gets lots of viewers for its
coverage, and I suspect most of them know about as much about cycling as
this newsgroup does about bull-riding (why are cowboys such lousy
lovers? They think 8 seconds is a good ride). OLN can't just let the
commentators nerd out about how Ullrich is the Zoetemelk of his era,
because most of the audience has never heard of Joop, has barely heard
of Jan, and doesn't know what the point of comparison would be.

And another moment of praise: has anyone heard Phil describe the pack as
"literally exploding" this year? Whatever OLN used to treat that
particular verbal tic, it worked.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Quoted message said:

Keep flooding OLN with email. Remember, NBC changed its primetime coverage

of the Utah Winter Olympics after the first few days because of all the
negative feedback. Al needs to come down with a case of the "flu" for two
weeks.<

Maybe Brent Musberger is available?????

Unbelievable. I didn't like him anyway. Especially with his candy ass 5
Battles Won. But this is truly outrageous. Here's what I sent OLN...

"
If Al is so bored with the Tour, why not get someone else that understands
the race? You would think it would be better for ratings to discuss how
exciting the Tour is and its subleties rather than arguing over how boring
it is. I'd get rid of him quick so save your ratings and cycling in the US.
It's hard enough to get people interested without the show lead himself
dismissing it as boring!!!"

"OnThaBeach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Be sure to watch the tail end of the OLN post race show on Sunday.

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No

time

Quoted message said:

trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

Bob, Phil and Paul took Al to the clearners after that comment. Maybe ESPN

will

Quoted message said:

book Al on "Pardon the Interuption."

Bryan

On 07/11/2004 04:51 PM, in article
[email hidden], "Ryan Cousineau"

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

So what has Isidro Nozal done that he's raised the ire of the Colombians?

--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net
bellum pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est
ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee sea aye tee why you ti ay aitch
aitch tee tea pea colon [for word] slash [four ward] slash double-you
double-yew double-ewe dot veloworks dot com [four word] slash

Quoted message said:

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No time
trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

I'll admit that I only watch the TdF, so my knowledge of bike racing is
not extensive. But it ain't boring! I'm sitting in front of my TV every
day for a few hours watching guys ride their bikes, and what makes it
interesting is all the different races within the race, the insight that
the commentators offer, etc. For me it's not about Lance going for 6.
It's about the races for the other jerseys other than yellow, the
tactics used by various teams, the breakaways and the chases, etc. I
wish we could hear what the riders are saying over radio to their team
cars, to give a different perspective on what we are seeing. I can do
without ignorant asses like Al and the Cutters. On paper I'm their
audience, but they are not what I want to watch.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steven L. Sheffield said:

On 07/11/2004 04:51 PM, in article
[email hidden], "Ryan Cousineau"

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

So what has Isidro Nozal done that he's raised the ire of the Colombians?

Took Victor Hugo Pena's spot on the team, and so far has proven
incapable of keeping up in the TTT. Pena was the first Colombian to wear
the yellow jersey.

To Nozal's credit, his job doesn't start until the course turns upward.
We'll see if he's ready for the mountains.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

max taylor said:

Quoted message said:

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains.
No time
trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

I'll admit that I only watch the TdF, so my knowledge of bike racing is
not extensive. But it ain't boring! I'm sitting in front of my TV every
day for a few hours watching guys ride their bikes, and what makes it
interesting is all the different races within the race, the insight that
the commentators offer, etc. For me it's not about Lance going for 6.
It's about the races for the other jerseys other than yellow, the
tactics used by various teams, the breakaways and the chases, etc. I
wish we could hear what the riders are saying over radio to their team
cars, to give a different perspective on what we are seeing. I can do
without ignorant asses like Al and the Cutters. On paper I'm their
audience, but they are not what I want to watch.

It's a bit like watching golf too, in that they scenery is usually
interesting. It makes good background noise/video while being productive.

Al T. is playing Devil's Advocate, trying to get P&P to explain why
these flat stages are interesting. They didn't do a very good job of
taking the bait.

I've taken a couple of these flat rides into the indoor cycling room as
an instructor. They are NOT boring if you're riding them, or even
pretending to ride them for 45 minutes.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

Ryan Cousineau said:

Quoted message said:

So what has Isidro Nozal done that he's raised the ire of the
Colombians?

Took Victor Hugo Pena's spot on the team

NOVVVVVVVVAL, not Nozal. There's Bennie Noval (US Postal-Berry
Floor-Discovery-AMD professional cycling team), and Isi Nozal (Liberty
Seguros).

in article [email hidden], max taylor at m@t wrote on 7/11/04
8:23 PM:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No
time
trial. Just Lance, Jan and Tyler hiding out in the pack.

I'll admit that I only watch the TdF, so my knowledge of bike racing is
not extensive. But it ain't boring! I'm sitting in front of my TV every
day for a few hours watching guys ride their bikes, and what makes it
interesting is all the different races within the race, the insight that
the commentators offer, etc. For me it's not about Lance going for 6.
It's about the races for the other jerseys other than yellow, the
tactics used by various teams, the breakaways and the chases, etc. I
wish we could hear what the riders are saying over radio to their team
cars, to give a different perspective on what we are seeing. I can do
without ignorant asses like Al and the Cutters. On paper I'm their
audience, but they are not what I want to watch.

You sound like my kind of guy. Stick with us awhile, you'll have a lot of
fun following the other races as well. The Tour is only one landmark of the
season, and there are many many others... my personal favorite being the
traditional Italian season closer, November's one-day Giro di Lombardia, the
"race of the falling leaves." It really is a great thing to follow the
season as it develops, day in and day out...

-Sonarrat.

in article [email hidden], Ryan Cousineau at
[email hidden] wrote on 7/11/04 9:28 PM:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steven L. Sheffield said:

On 07/11/2004 04:51 PM, in article
[email hidden], "Ryan Cousineau"

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

So what has Isidro Nozal done that he's raised the ire of the Colombians?

Took Victor Hugo Pena's spot on the team, and so far has proven
incapable of keeping up in the TTT. Pena was the first Colombian to wear
the yellow jersey.

To Nozal's credit, his job doesn't start until the course turns upward.
We'll see if he's ready for the mountains.

Wrong team.

On 07/11/2004 10:28 PM, in article
[email hidden], "Ryan Cousineau"

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Steven L. Sheffield said:

On 07/11/2004 04:51 PM, in article
[email hidden], "Ryan Cousineau"

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

So what has Isidro Nozal done that he's raised the ire of the Colombians?

Took Victor Hugo Pena's spot on the team, and so far has proven
incapable of keeping up in the TTT. Pena was the first Colombian to wear
the yellow jersey.

But Isidro Nozal rides for Liberty Seguros, whilst Victor Hugo Pena rides
for USPS-Berry Floor.

Could you perhaps be referring to Benjamin Noval, who crashed heavily the
day before the TTT, as the riders were about to hit the first cobbled
section, on the stage to Wasquehal?

Quoted message said:

To Nozal's credit, his job doesn't start until the course turns upward.
We'll see if he's ready for the mountains.

--
Steven L. Sheffield
stevens at veloworks dot com
veloworks at worldnet dot ay tea tee dot net
bellum pax est libertas servitus est ignoratio vis est
ess ay ell tea ell ay kay ee sea aye tee why you ti ay aitch
aitch tee tea pea colon [for word] slash [four ward] slash double-you
double-yew double-ewe dot veloworks dot com [four word] slash

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] (OnThaBeach) wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

[snip]

Noval. Benjamin Noval. Not Nozal, as in Isidro Nozal the rider for
Liberty Seguros.

I suppose even Big Al might get that right more often then rbr
posters.

"Richard Adams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Noval. Benjamin Noval. Not Nozal, as in Isidro Nozal the rider for
Liberty Seguros.

I suppose even Big Al might get that right more often then rbr
posters.

But can he spell Dierckxsens?

Bestest Handsander said:

"OnThaBeach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For the A.M. live edition, Al let loose that he's bored. No mountains. No

I saw that as well. So much for his claim that he's a cycling fan. He has
no clue how a stage race is raced.

It struck me that what irritates me about Big Al, Kirsten Gum, Bob
Varsha, Adrian Karsten, etc going back is that they don't even try and
hide the fact that they're just here for a temp gig. They'll do it a
year, then go on to something else and say they've done cycling. [censored]
'em. Phil & Paul & Bob Roll do it because they've loved it their whole
lives, & they'll keep on doing it until they're retired.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Richard Adams) said:

Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] (OnThaBeach) wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

(except the Colombians; they just keep going around muttering stuff
about Nozal).

[snip]

Noval. Benjamin Noval. Not Nozal, as in Isidro Nozal the rider for
Liberty Seguros.

I suppose even Big Al might get that right more often then rbr
posters.

D'oh. I are a dumbass.

Yes. Noval. The USPS rider. D'oh.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Carl Sundquist said:

"Richard Adams" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Noval. Benjamin Noval. Not Nozal, as in Isidro Nozal the rider for
Liberty Seguros.

I suppose even Big Al might get that right more often then rbr
posters.

But can he spell Dierckxsens?

Heck, that's easy, it's:

D-I-E-R-C-K-X-J-E-F-F-J-O-N-E-S