NBC sucks...

i actually got up at an ungodly hour this morning hoping to catch my man Cavendish race in the Olympics. of course it's not in any of the sponsored TV stations, nor their online stream (my Mac sans intel felt the discrimination). i even ventured the less legit channels --with all the internet stuff out there you'd think it'd be easier--but no Cav.

anyway, why they don't think that an indoor cycling race with 2 man tag teams going round and round for 200 laps is mesmerizing and deserving of full coverage, i'll never know. in the old days, the Madison, as the race is called (they raced in Madison Sq. Garden), was a 6 day race where the riders were exhausted beyond their limits, and apparently people would go and watch the race as the riders' condition worsened (conditions included delusions and hallucinations, and riders wobbled and frequently fell):

The New York Times said in 1897:

"An athletic contest in which participants 'go queer' in their heads, and strain their powers until their faces become hideous with the tortures that rack them, is not sport. It is brutality. Days and weeks of recuperation will be needed to put the Garden racers in condition, and it is likely that some of them will never recover from the strain."

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said:

"The wear and tear upon their nerves and their muscles, and the loss of sleep make them [peevish and fretful]. If their desires are not met with on the moment, they break forth with a stream of abuse. Nothing pleases them. These outbreaks do not trouble the trainers with experience, for they understand the condition the men are in."

hum. i think they should go back to the good old days....imagine the ratings....NBC, are you listening?

ps- in case you were wondering, my British duo did not win a medal....if only they had me cheering...