Today in the world of sports...

So, I tend to follow the more esoteric sports.... In fact, if it involves a ball at all, I'm only interested at the margin. However, if it involves a more pure form of human athleticism (specifically, human-powered transport), I'm sooo in. So, here are the major stories today in Steve's wide world of sports:

(1) Great stage of the Tour de France today. After crashing yesterday and nearly breaking his collarbone, Cadel Evans took the malliot jaune as former leader Kim Kirchen got dropped on the last climb (he is from Luxembourg, after all).



This has been a terribly exciting tour, by the way, with a real stage on day 1 (instead of a largely ceremonial prologue) and 10 full stages before the rest day, with attacks coming every day. Also, cheers to Versus for doing a great job with the coverage.

(2) Today is the start of the Badwater 135 ultramarathon. This 135 mile race takes crazy people competitors from Death Valley (the lowest place on earth) to the slopes of Mt. Whitney (at it's peak, the highest point in the continental U.S.) Look for an epic battle between Dean Karnazes and Akos Konya... they should finish sometime tomorrow afternoon, with other racers overflowing into Wednesday.



3. Finally, today is the day that Jamie Whitmore has surgery to remove a second tumor from a nerve in her hip. She had surgery once in March and was undergoing radiation, but a new tumor grew in the same place. Jamie is a former XTERRA Triathlon world champion (2004) and U.S. Champion (2007).



She and her husband are also fighting to get on ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, so if you want to help you can go here. Jamie is asking for prayers for the surgery and the recovery, so if you're the kind that's inclined to do that, you can join me.

Yes, these are all sports. And, yes, some people do still care.

Peace.