MIKE & MIKE

Can the Tour De France salvage its image? Mike and Mike see a long, hard climb ahead.

GREENY: It's a shame they stopped running that Tour de France. It was a lot of fun back when Lance was competing. I really do hope they start it up again. I'm sure it would be a great success if they just decided to bring it back sometime in the upcoming years.

GOLIC: Greeny-it's still being run!

GREENY: It is? No one told me. Maybe my confusion stems from the fact that no one in the United States cares, or is even remotely interested in it.

GOLIC: I completely agree. The Tour de France is as far off the map as it could possibly be in this country. Sports fans here don't care, in large part because no one trusts the bicycle-racing establishment anymore. And without a big-name American racer involved, I don't think most people will realize it's happening.

GREENY: Even bicycle enthusiasts-and there are quite a few in America-are disgusted. And the scary thing is, if we paid more attention to the sport, we'd be even more aware that it is as farcical and laughably dirty as anything else we have. It's much worse than baseball.

GOLIC: It's right up there with track and field, in the sense that no one knows if they can believe what they see anymore. Why should we invest any time?

GREENY: My read on the Tour is that no one cares and no one believes the problems are getting any better. But, hey, other than that, it's on the up-and-up.

GOLIC: I don't even know what could salvage it. Lance was such a huge part of the sport's popularity, but even that was more because of his story than because of his cycling. Without another inspiring American winner, I don't ever see how it can come back in this country.

GREENY: Brett Favre becoming a cyclist-that's what it would take to save the sport.

GOLIC: Aw, Greeny-you got all the good lines in this one.

The Impact of Tiger's Injury

GREENY: The golf world will get on fine without Tiger. Sure, interest will be diminished, but his absence will give other players a chance to win. I'm more concerned that he will never be the same. His determination to play the U.S. Open despite the injury showed that he may be worried about that too. There's not much more he can do to his swing to ease the pressure on his knee. That could be what derails his quest to pass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.

GOLIC: Technology these days is too good. Guys with surgically repaired knees in other sports manage to hold up just fine. Is Tiger going to have to get his knee cleaned out occasionally? Sure. But he will be able to come back and finish as the greatest golfer of all time.

Predictions Sure To Go Wrong

GOLIC: A Yankee will be the All-Star MVP.

GREENY: Soon after the second half of the baseball season begins, C.C. Sabathia will be traded to a National League teamand that team will win the pennant.

A Principled Summer Movie Preview

GOLIC: I'm not going to see Dark Knight. I refuse to watch Batman movies, because he's not a superhero. He doesn't have any powers; he has a belt. Take it away and anyone can kick the crap out of him.

GREENY: Not true. Batman is a superhero because he has a super mind. He's more resourceful than any of the other superheroes-and any villain, for that matter.

GOLIC: Anytime the Justice League gets involved in crime fighting, they always end up having to save Batman. He gets in trouble first, because he has no super powers. He is a shell of a superhero.

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