Puerto forever, the colors of Oz and TV wars

Dear Explainer,
Operación Puerto has been lingering since 2006. So when does this become a book mark in the doping files?

We’ve lost quite a few riders this year due to what seems to be some residual effect from past doping incidents. If the UCI can’t pin-down everyone involved in a drug bust within a two months, screw it and move forward.
Randy Young
Mitchell, Indiana

Dear Randy,
The whole Puerto case has been caught up in a struggle involving the Spanish courts, the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency. Puerto was a recurring theme at WADA’s last world conference on doping in sport back in November of 2007 and even back then the big players were saying it had already dragged on for too long. Well, here we are at the end of 2009 and the Court of Arbitration for Sport is still wrestling with the issue. We could see some progress after CAS hears the two cases involving Alejandro Valverde. We’ll see.

So, come May, we’ll be “celebrating” the fourth anniversary of the original Puerto raids, involving the offices of Madrid doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. How long do those involved need to keep looking over their backs?

Well, the World Anti-Doping Code says that we could see Puerto-related suspensions for another four years. According to Article 17 of the Code:

No action may be commenced against an Athlete or other Person for a violation of an anti-doping rule contained in the Code unless such action is commenced within eight years from the date the violation occurred.

The powers that be at WADA and the UCI certainly don’t buy into your “two-months-or-be-done” approach.

In doping circles at least, Puerto is the gift that keeps on giving. Indeed, even after the eight year statute of limitations expires, Puerto evidence may be dredged up if one of those involved is sanctioned for another violation. So let’s assume that one of the riders named in the original Puerto case is never charged in that case, but later tests positive for a performance-enhancing substance in an unrelated matter.

If the rider is subsequently found to have violated the rules in the second case, the rules do not keep the doping panel from considering evidence from Puerto in assessing a possible penalty. In other words, that could mean that even ten years after the fact, Puerto evidence could be used in slapping the offending rider with even a life-time ban for what would otherwise be his first offense.
Charles

Dear Explainer,
In the world championships and Olympics the Aussies kit seem to be using the colors green and yellow as opposed to red white and blue which is the flag colors. Why is this?

Thanks for your time,

Yaacov Rabinowitz

Dear Yaccov,
While the Aussies’ national flag is, indeed, red-white-and-blue, those are not Australia’s national colors.

Australian sports teams have long used the green and gold, with the country’s national cricket squad first using the color combination on a world tour at the end of the 19th century. The Australian Olympic Committee began using green and gold on some team uniforms as early as 1908.

Despite the color combination’s history in sports, it wasn’t until the mid-1980s that Australia formally adopted the green and gold as its national color scheme. The move really represents a step in the direction of underscoring Australia’s autonomy, despite its membership in the British Commonwealth. Sure the flag sports the Union Jack and the red-white-and-blue color scheme, but the designation of green and gold as its national color combination was distinctly Australian. As one Aussie put it, “green for the money, gold for the vegemite.”

Charles

Dear Explainer,
I was wondering if you had any inside information on the status of the dispute between DirecTV and Comcast over the Versus channel. With no cable in my area, I am reliant on satellite TV. It appears at the moment that my TV viewing of the Tour and other cycling has come to an end.

John Greet
Boulder County, Colorado

Dear John,
We really don’t have a lot of inside information on this one, but we do know that we, like many cycling fans, were disappointed by the corporate battle between DirecTV and Versus’ parent company, Comcast.

Yup, that’s the same Comcast that owns cable TV systems around the country and charges other distributors – both cable and satellite – for the right to offer its programming on their systems. While Comcast has reached deals with other carriers – EchoStar is a good example – the war with DirecTV has only heated up. The two have long argued over pricing and distribution, a dispute that goes back to the old Outdoor Life Network’s coverage of the National Hockey League. We won’t go into great detail here, but suffice it to say that the issue came to a head last summer when DirecTV declined to agree to Comcast’s proposed rate hike of around 20 percent.

While I’m not enough of a viewer to comment on the quality of Versus’ non-cycling content, one quote from the negotiators at DirecTV actually did catch my eye, when he noted that paying more “for what is basically a paid programming and infomercial channel with occasional sporting events of interest is simply piggish.”

I’m sure as heck not picking sides in this corporate version of World Extreme Cagefighting, but I do have to admit that my interest in the network tends to fade after the cycling season is over. I am not, for example, much of a fan of bull-riding, the Ultimate Fighting Championships or repeats of “Survivor” and I can safely say I have never ordered an Alabama Wiggler from anyone, ever. Aside from listening to Phil and Paul, the last thing I watched on Versus was a repeat of “The Big Lebowski,” which I own on DVD anyway.

No matter who’s right and who’s wrong, the rhetorical battle continues, with Comcast taking out newspaper ads proclaiming “Worthless! That’s what DirecTV thinks of the sports you love.” The ads go on to suggest that viewers consider other content providers, among which, we have to assume, would be Comcast.

As you mentioned, though, cable isn’t an option for you, so you may have to consider other satellite providers.

DirectTV has also offered disappointed viewers the chance to lobby by writing them at Versus@Directv.com.

It may be worth writing them. It may be worth dropping Comcast a note. Either way, somebody needs to light the ol’ blue touchpaper under someone’s rear and get this stuff resolved by July.

You might also consider doing what I did and just get rid of cable or satellite TV entirely. I made the jump a few months back, running my big-screen TV off of the ‘net. Versus.com offers on-line broadcasts of its TV content and that has extended to the Giro and the Tour in the past. These days, you can pretty much find anything that was broadcast on the Tube on a website somewhere. The only downside for me is that I actually watch more TV now than I did when I was paying 90 bucks a month and watching on someone else’s schedule.
Charles

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Charles Pelkey

Charles Pelkey joined VeloNews in 1994 after serving as press secretary for former GOP Whip Alan K. Simpson in the U.S. Senate. Pelkey has worked as a journalist since 1985 and held a number of editorial positions at VeloNews including Senior Editor of VeloNews.com. Pelkey earned a JD from the University of Wyoming College of Law and lives in Laramie, Wyoming, with Diana, his wife of 25 years, and their two children, Philip and Annika, whose presence serves as a constant reminder of what really matters. Pelkey left VeloNews in July, 2011, but continues to be a regular contributor. Charles can now be found at liveupdateguy.com

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