Steppe team

The first week of the Tour has been as odd as one might expect given that Lance Armstrong is back and riding for a team of renegades sponsored by a place mostly known for its proximity to the steppe. When Armstrong was just a great story, in the early 2000s, and people like Rick Reilly weren't covering the Tour, there was a delight in following the race quietly on summer mornings. Now, like when your favorite local band goes big time, the Tour is splashed everywhere because of Armstrong's fame. And sadly, the doping-riddled Tours of the past three years are overlooked.

Armstrong, whose brushes with doping strain the credulity of his proclaimed innocence, now rides for the Cobra Kai-like Team Astana, which is sponsored by a state-run company in Borat-land. Alberto Contador, Bobby to Lance Armstrong's Johnny, also has had brushes with doping allegations. As has Andreas Kloeden, the big German who is probably third-best on the team.

Johnny and Bobby went at each other pretty hard this week, which was an unusually eventful first week of the Tour. Armstrong broke away on a relatively flat stage, gained a lot of time on Contador and nearly wound up in the yellow jersey. Contador, the pre-race favorite, wasn't pleased afterward. Then Contador went rogue the other day on a mountain stage and surged past Armstrong, leaving the Texan fuming. It's hard to know what really is going on within the team when Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's old buddy from the Postal Service team, is director. It should make for good theater the rest of the way. Let's hope another doping scandal doesn't derail things.

Sprocket dance

Seeing Lance Armstrong in a Team Astana uniform is like seeing Daniel LaRusso joining the Cobra Kai. Team Astana, owned by government-run entities in Borat's homeland of Kazakhstan, was booted from the 2007 Tour for doping . In the circus-like world of cycling, Lance Armstrong joining a team once laden with dopers hardly merits as news. Astana now includes a Star Wars cantina-like cast of characters--Alberto Contador, the young superstar, Andreas Kloeden, the Austrian who used to wear white-rimmed shades while riding, and Levi Leipheimer, the bald American with a funny name. Though Astana can hardly pay its riders the squad is considered the favorite in the Tour, which started today in Monaco. Adding to the madness is that doper Alexandre Vinokourov is hoping to return to Astana (the team, not the capital) in time for this year's Vuelta a Espana.

I've decided to root for Christian Vande Velde, another American rider with a European name, who gets written up in Chicago papers a lot because he's from Lemont, Ill. Vande Velde's team, Garmin-Slipstream, has stringent doping controls and was formed as a response to the scandals of the past couple years. I also will enjoy the commentary on Versus by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. In these crazy cycling times, they're about the only two people we can count on.

Funky songs

One of the things I like about the Beastie Boys is the names of their songs. Here is the track listing for the upcoming "Hot Sauce Committee, Part I," due in September.

1. Tadlock's Glasses 2. B-Boys In The Cut 3. Make Some Noise 4. Nonstop Disco Powerpack 5. OK 6. Too Many Rappers (featuring NAS) 7. Say It 8. The Bill Harper Collection 9. Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold) 10. Long Burn The Fire 11. Bundt Cake 12. Funky Donkey 13. Lee Majors Come Again 14. Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament 15. Pop Your Balloon 16. Crazy Ass Shit 17. Here's A Little Something For Ya

I love any band with a song called "Bundt Cake." And I wonder if "Funky Donkey" is a sequel to "Funky Boss." As an aside, young donkeys are perhaps my favorite baby animal.

Charter member

A few weeks back I posted an ode to the re-discovery of an old musical favorite. I have a variation on the same theme to report today: the beauty of discovering a great band live and in-person.

More than a week ago, I had a chance to see Nine Inch Nails at Charter One Pavilion. It was a chilly evening, but really rather perfect for a spring concert (more on the venue later). I heard an usher say something about "Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine" and didn't think much of it. The opener for NIN came on stage (Jane's Addiction had opened some shows on this tour but not this one) and I didn't really pay attention. Then the distinctive sound of a funk-metal guitar reached my ears. It was none other than Chicago native Tom Morello. The name of the band was Street Sweeper Social Club, and they had a sound that harkened back to the late 1990s heyday of rap-rock. Morello apparently has taken the project on in addition to his work as The Nightwatchman and with Rage. The vocalist is Boots Riley of Bay Area rhyme collective The Coup and drummer is Stanton Moore of Galactic. Even better, a portion of the band's proceeds fight hunger and homelessness! Check out a clip here; I highly recommend "100 Little Curses."

Not to be overlooked was the fact that this is (allegedly) Nails' last tour. To Clevelander Trent Reznor's credit, he and the group still bring it strong. Their stage show and sound system are top-notch. This show, in contrast to last summer's Lollapalooza appearance, included a long, meandering midsection with a number of moody, quiet numbers. Still, Reznor ripped through classics like "Heresy" and "Head Like a Hole," which closed the show.

Charter One Pavilion is quite the venue. I was skeptical of it at first, but there aren't many outdoor music locations in a big city like this--right next to a beach and within view of downtown. Boaters actually anchor just off-shore and listen to the shows echo across the water.

Goodbye Cleveland

Orlando unceremoniously bounced Cleveland from the playoffs last night. I'll be having Mickael Pietrus 3-pointer nightmares all summer; did he miss a shot in this series? The only thing more harrowing is that Dwight Howard can now rule the East for the next 10 years and may have surpassed LeBron as the dominant player in the game. I'll be rooting for Orlando in the Finals, though.

Official adventures

Well, that was a close call. The Cavs somehow staved off elimination tonight. The death march will continue Saturday evening in Disney World.

I'm not the only one who thinks the officiating is totally wacko. Bill Simmons, ESPN's Sports Guy, agrees.

Anvil time

If the last Cavs' loss was crushing, tonight's is like it's raining anvils. Or Orlando Magic 3-pointers as it were. Sure, Orlando has been unconscious from 3-land all series. It's hard to believe this could keep up, but it may not matter at this point--Cleveland appears to be done. The series has shown that Coach of the Year Mike Brown has some growing up to do. As does LeBron James. Jordan, Magic and Bird wouldn't miss free throws and make careless turnovers down the stretch. And Brown completely got away from the ball-movement game plan in the latter stages of the game tonight. It will take a miracle for Cleveland to win now, and nothing indicates one is coming. The only miracle so far is that Cleveland even won one game.