55/Rad

Correction...

That jerk Bonds can break the HR record, and people in San Francisco just say "he's awesome, best hitter ever", while his trainer rots in jail.

Miyatarama

I see one problem with Slipstream - they have no title sponsor and they have been looking for one for a long time. What happens when they run out of capital in two years? Has cycling become a sport where you need a patron to throw away tens of millions of dollars in order to run a team?

Hipcycler

It appears this news means Slipstream is our new American hope.
I for one am glad we have something to grab on to....however, I would prefer they were not adorned in argyle. I guess those diamond patterned kits are a love it or hate it thing....I happen to hate it.

Snicklefritz

I live near SF and I am digusted with Bonds. What a doofus.

benbaconlewis

It is not the "atmosphere" of guys being "dropped on a whim or a rumor" that has caused sponsors to walk away from pro cycling, it is doping.

Strict doping controls should drive doping out of the sport, give the sport back some of its lost integrity and draw in more sponsors in the long run.

55-11

Slipstream's new line up:
Bachstadt, Millar, Zabriskie, Van de Velde and in my opinion the best of this bunch...JULIEN DEAN!!!

I think we'll see some great cycling with these guys in '08
...although I think there is something wrong with MB and Millar, I wouldn't sign his cheatin' @$$.

dmotoguy

they should get danielson.. few other teams would want him..

fhall1

Why not a Microsoft sponsored team? Sheesh...BillG and his orginal crew of MS founding billionaires probably wouldn't stoop to pick up $15M if they dropped it.

FixdGearHead

Sure...if Slipstream wants to focus on one-day Hill climb races.

rapidcarbon

big deal! it's just a team, like any team out there.

alanbikehouston

I've seen dozens of posts in the "Forum" over the years where folks ask "What is wrong with using dope to ride faster...everybody does it...might as well just let riders take all the dope they want..."

With the "support" of "clear-thinking" fans such as those, the pro peloton turned into a rolling pack of drugged-out liars, cheats and criminals.

And, THIS is exactly the attitude in cycling that killed the Discovery Team. Just as you will not see Barry Bonds making any commercials for McDonalds or Pepsi, you will not see many legitimate corporations looking to sponsor a pro cycling team.

Cycling's best hope for sponsors will be to look for sponsors who make money from drug abuse. The company that makes EPO has sponsored a bike race, so maybe there are other crime-related corporations looking to sponsor a team. A Las Vegas casino, with "investors" from New Jersey, perhaps. But, most legitimate companies are finished with cycling.

prendrefeu

I live in Los Angeles and I am disgusted with the Giants. What doofi.

Treefox

Maybe we'll see Barloworld brought up into the Protour now - they were great in the TDF this year.

DMF 

Press releases rarely tell the whole story. You may not recall the televised press conference where Armstrong and Campbell announced that Discovery Channel would be the new sponsor. The deal was clearly more than a straight sponsorship arrangement. In particular, since Lance was bound to retire shortly DC signed him to a personal services contract to ensure that he remained visibly associated with the sponsor. Further, the actual term of the contract(s) wasn't revealed that I recall, but it was implied that they were set up for a long term, probably with renewal options.

Now, long-term contracts such as this invariably contain transfer and termination clauses, and terms triggered by a change in status of one of the parties (e.g. if Discovery Channel was bought by someone).

According to the articles, sponsors were found but no deal was finalized. Also, "Tailwind spokesman PJ Rabice told VeloNews Friday morning that the decision was not based on 'a failure to find a new sponsor'." That says to me that money was on the table, but that there were hangups on specific terms. But what hangups could there be of you're writing the new contract from scratch?

I suspect that the real problem is baggage from the Discovery Channel deal. It's probably written so that if Tailwind finds a new sponsor, then they are responsible for terminating any associated contracts such as an LA personal services deal. I bet the new management at Discovery Channel wants several $M back, or is making other demands that no prospective sponsor is willing to meet. Disbanding the team may be the only way to shed the baggage.

So don't simply think that Tailwind Sports can't find a sponsor. We don't know the whole story.

ggg300

https://www.abcnews.go.com/Business/F...3459688&page=1

Well drugs do impact value...in Base ball too...

Sports memorabilia collectors aren't exactly looking ahead with rabid enthusiasm to Barry Bonds' record 756th home run ball hitting the auction market.

Now that Bonds has passed Henry Aaron's career home run mark, memorabilia dealers are resigned to the reality that the historic ball won't be worth nearly what they would have expected a few years ago. And steroid suspicions, which have cast a pall over the accomplishments of the recent crop of home run hitters, are only part of the story....

The $3 million that McGwire's 70th home run ball fetched that year is now estimated at less than a million. The fastball that Bonds smashed over the fence in right center field at AT&T Park for career homer No. 756 figures to go for about $500,000, according to auction house experts. That's far less than what they would have guessed a few years ago, not to mention $150,000 below what Aaron's 755th went for in the mid-'90s.

jibi

I have a TDF cap signed by Ivan Basso !!!!!

worthless now

C'est la vie!!!

george

dmotoguy

All of their riders are one-day guys anyways

wvxc

Generally the one that breaks the record isn't worth as much as the one that sets the final record, especially in a case like this. If he hits 25 more homers before he retires the last one will be worth more than the one that broke the record.

fhall1

nm....this was merged in from another thread

DigitalRJH

Well it kind of is a big deal. For this country anyway. To have an American sponsered team, first with USPS, then Discovery and all the success they've had, it hurts American cycling to see them go. That team did more for the popularity of cycling in America over the past 10 yrs than anything ever has. Granted allot of that had to do with Lance, but if it wasn't for USPS in '98, Lance may never have made the comeback. It is a sad and disapointing day.

I wonder if Trek would be interested in forming their own team, they certainly have the finances to do it.

NickExxon

Just read over on ESPN.com a newswire that states Johan Bruyneel is also retiring from the sport.

shakeNbake

Sucks.

dcvelo

So wait, the BF members are responsible for doping in pro cycling? Yes, I guess that makes more sense than blaming the large financial stakes....

I'll give you Bonds, but T-Mobile obviously didn't get the memo.

bikindan

Why throw down the dollars to sponsor a team if you might get the Unibet treatment...shat upon

Snicklefritz

maybe they won't be just "one day riders" anymore if they keeping catching dopers in the grand tours.