The news the past couple days has been less than joyful.
I'm a sports fan but it's becoming harder and harder to enjoy sports as all the news about them seem to be about anything but the sport that is being reported on. In baseball, we have a steroid problem, basketball has a gambling ref, football has wife beaters, dog fighting, lots of guns, and the occassional murder. Oh and in the news today, big surprise: Tour de France rider Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a banned blood transfusion after winning last weekend's time trial, prompting his Astana team to pull out of the race Tuesday. I was actually respecting this guy as he's been rocking it in the mountains. Even after a crash that left him stitched up in the knees and elbows, he went on to win stages. Now those wins are tainted with "Now we know why"

Well, at least I have soccer (football). The Beckhams have arrived and it looks like I'll get to go see good ole David kick some balls when San Jose ( about an hour south of me) joins the MLS next year.

In other news, I haven't reached a level where I feel the need to inject anything into me to do better at my races. I went to a meeting about Ironman (IM) training programs last night and over the period of 15 minutes I changed my mind about which race I'd like to give a go at. When I showed up at the meeting, I was set on trying Ironman Wisconsin as it's the closest IM to my family and a lot of friends. I then thought maybe I would try to get into Ironman Cor D'Alene in Idaho as a lot of people at the meeting were going to be doing that and I thought it would be nice to do a race with the people I'll be training with. By the end of the meeting, IM Brazil became the race of choice. I shouldn't have a problem getting into it as it hasn't filled up in recent years and it's in May so that gives me time to enjoy my summer and make it to my friend Brandon's wedding. So IM Brazil it is, I'll start saving up for it as just the application is $350 plus the IM training programs, flights, gear... well, you get the idea. This race will probably be the race I fundraise for with most, if not all, of the donations going to a charity. This past year I raised just over a $1000 dollars for the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Oh, and if you were thinking of giving me a Christmas/ Birthday present, save it and donate it towards my race fund. I didn't plan on my entry today to end like this but hey, it's on a good note. Start with bad sports stuff, end with great sports stuff.

And later this week, I'll be giving my thoughts on Attorney General Gonzales and why I think it's crazy that he thinks he should stay on to repair the image of the Justice Dept. I'm afraid it's just not going to happen.