ADVENTURE SPORTS BY WINA STURGEON 7/15
TOUR DE FRANCE WAY DOWN IN RATINGS
Riders in the Tour de France just finished stage 10, the Col du Tourmalet, the hardest mountain climb of the race. But the hard part for organizers is that few followers seem to care. TV viewer ratings are way down, and the formerly huge American base has lost interest. Tour news is relegated to back pages of newspaper sports sections, and former European Tour fans have deserted in droves, no longer bringing tents or RV's to camp out and watch the race, leaving many traditional camping sites nearly empty. Part of the problem, as much or more than drugs, are the actions of race owners, the ASO group, which has arbitrarily banned teams for this year's event.
Australian Cadel Evans is currently the leader, but his hold on the yellow jersey is tenuous. He's only one second ahead of Luxembourg's Frank Schleck, with more tough climbs still to come. But the predicted Tour winner, Spain's Alejandro Valverde's, is now out of the running. His chain broke on the Tourmalet climb, and a spectator had to help him fix it, while the pelaton rode past. By the time Valverde was able to remount, he had lost five minutes, a deficit almost impossible to make up this far into the race.
$85 MILLION? WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED IT?
Ever hear of Vincent Lecavaller? Well, he's a very rich man.
Lecavaller is a hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Four years ago, the top scoring forward signed a four-year contract with the team for $27 million. Then he helped the Lightning win their first ever Stanley Cup championship. Now, with one year remaining on his original contract, the 28-year-old has signed a new 11-year contract for a staggering $85 million bucks.
Not many people realized there was that much money in hockey.
A BAD FIRST FOR DEER VALLEY
Deer Valley's Stein Ericksen Lodge is one of the most elegant hotels in ritzy Park City, with impeccable service and beautifully decorated rooms. But former Florida Gators basketball player Edward Dupay tarnished the Lodge's stainless reputation when police responded to a call for help from a woman guest, which led to charges of felony rape, kidnapping and aggravated assault against co-guest Dupay.
Dupay, 29, denies the charges, which were made by a woman with whom he has been in a long-term relationship. He appeared in a Park City court last week and didn't enter a plea, but denies abusing the woman. She is claiming that he hit and kicked her at least 150 times before the rape. Investigators say two of her ribs were broken, and she was bruised and scratched.
Dupay, who claims to be in love with the accuser, will be back in court August 11. If convicted, he can get up to life in prison.
AFGHAN'S ONLY FEMALE OLYMPIAN DISAPPEARS
Mehbooba Ahadyar is gone. The 19-year-old runner, who was the only woman on Afghan's Olympic team, was a hero to many women in Afghanistan because she defied the Taliban to be a runner. Under increasingly belligerent (and returning) Taliban control in the country, women are not allowed to participate in sports. In addition, they are not allowed to leave their homes without being accompanied by a male relative, and must always be covered from neck to feet by shapeless robes, with only hands and face visable.
Ahadyar, who was to participate in both the 1500 and 3000 meter events, was training with a group of Italian Olympic runners when she disappeared, along with her luggage and passport. She was allegedly terrified by numerous assassination threats from Islamic hardliners and Taliban extremists over her Olympic participation. There are reports that the Afghan athlete left to seek asylum in a more tolerant European country.
SWIMSUIT SPARKS LAWSUIT AND NAME CALLING
The uproar over Speedo's multi-record-breaking LZR swimsuit continues. Now TYR Sport, one of the world's largest swimsuit manufacturers, is suing Speedo and U. S. swimming over an innocuous comment made by the head U. S. swimming coach.
Coach Mark Shubert said during the recent U. S. Olympic trials, that swimmers who want to make the team should wear the Speedo suit, or they may end up watching the Olympics on TV. TYR Sport filed a lawsuit claiming the remark "disparaged" Speedo's competitors. TYR's lawsuit against Speedo is claiming restraint of trade and false advertising. Speedo says the sour grapes legal action is 'without merit.' An irate Italian coach has called the LZR "technological doping."
From the time the LZR suit, developed in part by NASA, became available in February, nearly 40 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing the Speedo product.
AMAZING WAY TO FIND OUT ANYTHING ABOUT ANYWHERE IN U.S.
Want to find out everything about any city or town in America? There's an amazing web site called "citytowninfo.com" that has it all, from mileage counters to lists of hotels (with reservation information), to statistics on population, points of interest and even crime rates. Whether you want to visit or are thinking of moving, this site is your one-source repository of all the complete information you could ever want or need.