David Millar is back in the spotlight, not of his own doing, because WADA ruled that athletes can’t be banned from the Olympics after a positive drug test and that the British Olympic Association is appealing the decision to CAS.

In this article from Cyclingnews.com, this is a quote from Millar – “It [doping] was the difference between going to a race and hoping to win and going to a race and guaranteeing to win,” he said. “The reason I did it is because I knew I could get away with it.”

Finally, someone says it like it is. “Guaranteeing to win” was the quote. I have always hated reading when people say that these oxygen manipulating drugs just make you a little better. They make you so much better the results are unbelievable. That is a fact.

The problem is that David Millar says a lot of stuff. I did a couple posts last year on Millar and his stupid quotes. So, I can’t really use this new statement as prove of my beliefs if I discard most of the previous stuff he has said. Here is a link to a post that has a video of him saying that he didn’t even need to use EPO to win the World TT Championships because he won by so far he would have won without it. Considering how rampant that the drug use was in those days, he kind of contradicts himself because there were lots of other guys using it and he was the guy that won, “guaranteed”.

David goes on to state in the recent article – “People do make mistakes and I think they should be punished. But they should be forgiven and given the opportunity for a second chance. We are human beings. Why should sports men and women get punished harder than people in the normal world?”

David needs to get real here. Punished more than people in the normal world? Does he think that not being able to participate in the Olympics is more punishment than “normal world” people are treated. Wow. I’d love to see the trial of the admitted, serial rapist when the judge is deciding the punishment after the guilty plead and the judge says, “Sir, you’re not going to be allowed to race bicycles in the Olympic games.” I bet the rapist would be devastated with that punishment.

Athletics isn’t a right dude. Personally, I don’t think you should be racing bikes at all, sorry. And for sure, you shouldn’t get a “second chance” to win a medal at the Olympic games. You blew that a long time ago.

David striking a pose, after tossing his bike over the barriers, a few years back, in the Giro when he broke his chain.

I don’t see the difference between having allergies and just being sick. As far as I’m concerned, the symptoms are the same, so it is pretty much the same thing.

I don’t know why allergies are such a big deal now. I guess people just want something to complain about. It has always been a big deal to athletes. Not that I’m saying that athletes have a right to complain about things more than the general population, but when you make your livelihood from sports and your body doesn’t allow you to perform up to its maximum level, then it seems okay to whine more. Athletes definitely seem to whine more about stupid stuff pertaining to how they feel. I definitely do.

My grandmother lived to 99 years old. I moved in with her when I was 12. She was 81. I never heard here say one word about feeling bad. Not one. She would be sick, break bones, etc. not one complaint.

One time she had fallen down and broke her wrist. She was in her 90’s by then. A week or two later, she asked me if I would look at her back because she was having trouble sleeping and thought maybe something was the matter. She only wore dresses, she never owned a pair of pants. So we unzipped her house dress, looked, and her back was a million shades of black and purple. It was unreal. So, we loaded her up and took her to the doctor. She had broken nearly all the ribs on one side of her back and maybe a couple others. I’ve broken ribs a few times in my life and I think it is one of the most painful bones to break. The healing process is so slow and any movement, laughter, coughing, just breathing exacerbates the pain. Her whole side of ribs were broken, but she never said a peep about pain.

Anyway, I’ve been hearing a ton on the news about how bad the allergies are because of this early spring, blooming throughout the country. I saw down in Georgia, that the pollen counts are at record highs and that they are 6X higher than a really bad year. That would not be a good place from me to be right now. I check out the pollen reports where ever I’m heading. Not that I’m going to avoid going there, but just the knowledge that there is a reason I might feel subpar is good.

The pollen counts here in Kansas are extremely high right now. Mainly tree pollen, which is bad for me. I started taking Zyrtec allergy stuff a couple days ago. I’ve never had much luck with pills for allergies, but at least mentally, I think I’m addressing some of the issue. It might be a long Spring for some of us this year. It is only March.

My grandmother and me.

Tree pollen every morning on the car.