Speaking of

less than popular sports, ...

Much like the World Cup post from yesterday, I never really caught the Tour de Lance fever either. Sure I watched a bit the last couple of years and some of it was pretty cool, but I never really got it. I am a little puzzled, though, by the almost total disrmissal of this year's Tour by the media. Okay Lance isn't racing, but there is a really, really, really good American story in this year's race:

Let me see if you find this athlete's backstory slightly more interesting than whether Barry Bonds will get indicted or Barbaro will ever walk again.

This athlete grew up a Mennonite in Lancaster County, Pa. His parents were against his pursuing his sport on religious grounds -- they believed if he continued competing, he would go to hell -- so his father sought to discourage him by trying to exhaust him with long hours of chores during the day. To no avail. He simply trained late at night, sometimes until 2 in the morning. Outside, in the dark and the rain and the snow and the ice and the subzero temperatures.

This man also served as a lieutenant to one of the most successful and popular athletes in America, helping him win repeated championships.

He took the lead in his sport's biggest event one day and cracked physically the next day to fall hopelessly out of contention, yet somehow pulled himself back into the running the day after that with what many consider among the great performances in the sport's history.

And oh, yes, one more thing. A previously broken hip now has the same problem that ended Bo Jackson's career and will have to be replaced with an artificial one after this competition.

Interesting, huh? So why isn't more attention directed to Floyd Landis?

Good question. So if you've nothing better to do this weekend, keep an eye out for Floyd on the TV and wish him good luck. C'mon, I know it's cycling, but it's GOT to be more exciting that watching Tiger win another major, no?