So, guess I created a sh** storm.  I would like to say thanks to everyone who has commented on my last post.  I am a big believer that everyone’s opinion counts so, good or bad, thanks for commenting.  I wanted to do a follow up post to clarify a few issues.

First, I don’t spell well so if spell check screws me then I am screwed.  I was a great student but the whole spelling thing defies me so I am sorry if I butcher a few words.

Second, I know a lot of you out there are not big fans of mine.  That is cool, and I know that no matter what I say or do that will never change.  Plus, I have never been real tied to the whole “I need to me liked” thing.  I am what I am, and everyone else is what they are, so as long as I am consistent then that is all I can ask of myself.  If you want to get personal and throw insults and accusations then go for it, but I won’t waste my time fighting back in these blogs.

Finally, and most important, I want to clarify my position on my last post about Joe Papp.  The post was more about a guy begging for forgiveness and understanding after he got caught doing wrong than it was about a guy who used performance enhancing drugs.  What I have trouble stomaching is the fact that the guy is an adult, made an adult decision to use drugs, got caught and only then gave a crap about what the effects were and what everyone thought about him.  And lets face it, he was not pressured, he was not young and dumb, but he did make a well thought out decision to try and get an advantage.  He boasted about it.  He rode on the high of being high, and only after he was backed into a corner did he change his approach and throw himself on the mercy of everyone else.  Plus, according to his own statements, he refused to do the fake urine thing and then got caught which means he took all these steps to enhance himself over the years and then got to a point when he knew he might get popped and then backed away?  What?  If you are going “all in” then go “all in” for gosh sake.  What’s bush is that  I might….might understand if he had come clean, admitted he was wrong, and then vanished.  The key fact still remains that the general public reads about him and continues to equate cycling and drugs.  Papp’s claims about his importance are equivalent to a community college graduate, I fall into this category, claiming they have a Masters from Harvard.  How disrespectful is it to the Harvard grad who grinded their way through that mine field.  Plus, if you read the amount of stuff that Papp was taking, I think he needs to go ask for a refund becasue he should have been winning the Tour on that amount of stuff.

One other point I would like to make, I have a hard time accussing someone of taking drugs if I have not seen it with my own eyes.  That is like accusing someone of a serious crime by heresay and rumor; see Duke Lacrosse team.  I just can’t bring myself to really believe a guy is doing something if I have not seen the drugs going in.  So I can’t really buy into accusations about this guy or that guy doing drugs if they have not been caught by a governing body doing so.  I came to grips with the fact that there are a lot better bike riders than myself a long time ago.  I know a lot of people will not agree with me on this, but I am strong in my resolve on this issue.  But in this case, we are clean becasue Joe admitted he did it all.  Funny thing is I could see this guy trying to backtrack in a few months.

I have some sponsors for my blog coming on board, so this entry is brought to you by the guy who designs and makes Don Cherry’s suits.