World’s Press Isn’t Neutral on Armstrong

Lance Armstrong an international hero? Depends on which newspaper you read.

El Pais in Madrid published this about the Tour de France winner: “The triumph of Terminatour comes ... as questions are asked in various quarters if he won these six Tours cleanly or with the help of stimulants, although he has never tested positive.”

Switzerland’s Tribune de Geneve assailed the cyclist’s personality and compared him to a “typically American business that scorns humanity. Mankind is not fond of those who gorge themselves on success without suffering and without showing compassion for their fellows.”

Perhaps surprisingly, it was the French newspaper Le Figaro that stood up for the American, referring to him as “a legend of the Tour.”

Trivia time: Who was the winner of the 100-meter dash in the first modern Olympic Games, held in 1896 in Athens, and what was his time?

Optimistic: UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell, on the Bruin football team’s No. 8 preseason ranking in the Pacific 10 Conference: “We’ve got to start somewhere. We’ll be better than eighth though. And don’t be surprised if we’re in the top two or three. We’re going to be a very good football team.”

Buc stops here: In a marketing ploy aimed at ensuring a good crowd for their home opener, the Oakland Raiders are making available tickets for the Tampa Bay game on Sept. 26 -- a reunion with Jon Gruden -- only through a three-game package that includes the home opener a week earlier against Buffalo.

Further insulting to fans, the third game cannot be Kansas City or Denver.

Writes John Ryan of the San Jose Mercury News: “With the $9.25 service charge, three games and two tickets so you can bring a friend (or, heaven forbid, a date), the cost is $541.”

Steamed: Memphis Grizzlies’ center Lorenzen Wright was relieved in more ways than one during a recent trip to a day spa. He was relieved of a $120,000 bracelet, a $70,000 watch and a $12,000 ring. All were reportedly stolen from his locker and police are investigating.

Said Wright: “I’ve been working out hard lifting weights, so I went to get a massage and somebody just took my jewelry.”

Olympic protection: Condom manufacturer Durex has donated 130,000 prophylactics and 30,000 sachets of lubricant for the Athens Games, the New York Daily News reported.

The condoms will be distributed to more than 17,000 athletes and officials at the pharmacy in the Olympic village.

At the 2000 Sydney Games, each athlete received 51 condoms, but another 20,000 were shipped in when supplies ran low.

Trivia answer: American Tom Burke, with a time of 12 seconds. For the sake of comparison, U.S. sprinter Tim Montgomery currently holds the distinction of being the world’s fastest man, with a time of 9.78 seconds in the 100.

And finally: Barry Sanders, who unexpectedly left football five years ago, on the abrupt retirement of the Miami Dolphins’ Ricky Williams: “Even for me, it seems very strange.”