FLOYD!

First of all, let's get it out of the way that yes, Duke lost to arch-rival UNC Wednesday night. All Duke naysayers, rejoice, blah blah. But my Blue Devils worked their butts off, and it was a hard-fought, clean, well-played game. The Dukies should be proud of their effort, and Carolina should be proud to have beaten them. Wait 'til next time, as they say. And I'd hate to be Maryland right now (Duke's next foe, this coming Sunday).

Lucky for me, I took something before the game to dull the pain. What's the wonder drug? I got to meet, shake hands with, and joke around with, a Tour de France champion. How many people can say that?

Floyd Landis came to New York (Brooklyn) Wednesday, as part of his "Floyd Fairness Fund" fundraising efforts. I'm normally not easily star-struck, but I admit it: I just couldn't get over the fact that I was 10 feet away from a Tour de France champion -- and one responsible for one of the most legendary rides in the race's history. Awesome stuff.

There was a "town hall"-type question-and-answer session, which went on for quite a while. Floyd answered all questions with his usual candor, eloquence, and wit. He's clearly a bright guy, and having spent time with him only makes me more certain that he indeed raced clean. Some of the questions he fielded were a little uncomfortable, such as one from a supposed European journalist asking pointed questions about his financial situation. (For the record, he answered it straight and reported that without generous outside help, he'd be bankrupt inside of several months.) Some questions were quite passionate, such as that from an avid cycling fan who said that though he believed Floyd won the Tour fairly, he was disappointed that Floyd didn't display anger -- even rage -- when initially faced by the press with allegations of cheating. Floyd's response, which sounded decidedly unrehearsed and sincere, was basically: What's the point of getting angry at the questioner? People in the press were just doing their jobs. At the time the controversy erupted, he said he was just as confused as anyone else. He was trying to make sense of it like everyone else. He knew he raced clean, so he felt there must be a mistake and that things would work themselves out.

Prior to the meeting, I felt much the same way as the questioner: I really wanted to believe Floyd, but I needed a stronger denial -- not a "non-denial denial," like those made famous in All the President's Men. I too was bothered that Floyd didn't have fire in his eyes, and venom in his voice, while staring at the camera and saying, "I didn't do it." But maybe I'm just used to that response because that's how a certain other American cyclist always did it. And in retrospect, I now see Floyd's response as much more like that of an innocent man. Maybe I'm just blinded by his heroics, but the more I learn about the science, about the behavior of the lab in question, and about Floyd himself, the more innocent he appears.

After the Q&A there was an auction, through which one could bid on items that Floyd would personally sign. There were the usual jerseys and posters, but there was some clever stuff, too. For example, a bottle of Jack Daniels. And a book called High Impact Quotations, edited by -- you guessed it -- one Richard W. Pound. Guess who won THAT auction! (Floyd was great when I had him sign the book -- he laughed and immediately said, "Here, let me fix that." He grabbed the book out of my hand, and with his sharpie he deftly crossed out the "Richard" on the cover and wrote in D-, well, let's say, a not-unusual nickname for "Richard. " He was hilarious.)

Great way to get psyched and inspired for a week-long training camp that's gonna kick my butt.