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Graham Watson is just one more LA's blabber?!

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Jun 26, 2009
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Bluebeard said:
Firstly - who has read the question that was asked of Watson? Hands up. You, boy at the back, oh, you're just scratching your head. Because the question asks "Do you think Alberto is trying to intimidate Lance early?". Now read the answer again.
I have read a question and it didn't provoke any of dirty hints in answer.
 
powderpuff said:
I know for a fact Graham gives ALL riders free use of any photos he takes of them, so I don't think money is an issue.

Um, the the point being made was that better access to the riders means better photographs that can be sold to publications for more money.

Maybe the local photog who shoots you on Sunday makes some dough selling you pics of that last crit you rode, but no one has ever suggested that any photojournalists sell pics back to their pro peloton subjects.
 
python said:
c'mon.

all your points are missing the mark.

in just several dozen characters watson publicly laid down heaps of misinformation, distortions and plain untruths about contador, his character and his team.

I can't recall reading so much garbage in so few words.

That is the beauty of Twitter. The opportunity to post as much crap as possible in such a condensed format.

What I find strange is, Contador's career is going to last longer than Armstrong's. Yet Watson, Liggett, Sherwen et all have behaved as if Contador is merely an annoyance on the road to Armstrong's 15th straight Tour victory.

If Watson is showing such favoritism and bias towards Armstrong in exchange for access, how much longer is that going to last him? Another year or so at the most? Then what? Is he then going to switch camps and come around on Contador?

If Contador were to behave like Armstrong, then he would not forget all those little barbs and negative comments and would do everything in his power to make them eat crow. Maybe those on Armstrong's payroll prefer it that way. They'd rather behave like pathetic fanboys regardless of the rapidly approaching expiration date on his comeback. How sad.
 
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Anonymous

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Reality Check

...umm. This is sports we're talking about, not something that is, buy any stretch IMPORTANT. So what's with the "journalistic intergity?"

AND please do not be dissing Abbot and Costello. They tried to be funny. A much better analogy for Phill, Paull and Bob is "Larry, Mo and Curly Joe".
 
Mar 19, 2009
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Shame on you, Mr. Watson

There must be a natural law that says the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something foolish. Twitter increases that likelihood exponentially, even for people of years who ought to know better.

This type of gossip brings out the worst in everybody.

Respect to the Astana organization and their sponsors.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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I'm not defending Watson, but as a photographic journalist he obviously knows where his bread is buttered. Firstly, LA, whether we true hardcore road cycling fans like it or not, raises the profile of cycling to the non-cycling public. So Watson is just riding that wave and trying to sell more photos. Secondly, LA is well known to ban journalists who say/print things about him that he does not like. Why kill off the cash cow? Then there is the possibility that he actually likes the guy!:confused:
 
May 8, 2009
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KazakhNeRider said:
Honestly - I didn't expect that kind of statement from Graham Watson at all!!!

in his twitter - "@trek60 ..no, I don't think Alberto has the ruthlessness in him to try that, nor the right entourage to guide him. His motivation might be a lack of start money in Catalunya, and a wish to embed him and Astana with ASO prior to the Tour; Astana needs an invite as well. There are already rumours that salaries are unpaid, that Contador might need to play up to ASO to get into the Tour...on another team."

Boy, I think you are all getting worked up over a few opinions, guesses and rumors. Watson was asked his opinion and he gives it and guesses why Contador switched his schedule, big deal.

As for rumors of payment problems with Astana, would anyone really be surprised if that were true based on their history? Would anyone be surprised if there wasn't a rumor going around about that? The pro peloton is a big gossipy sewing circle. As for the UCI guaranty, it is not the source of rider payment until the team fails to make payroll (hence the term guaranty). I doubt you can dip into it to cover a few late payments.

I guess if you are parsing every statement made by anyone related to cycling as to whether they are pro Armstrong/anti Contador or vice versa, have at it, but I just don't see it here.
 
JayZee said:
As for rumors of payment problems with Astana, would anyone really be surprised if that were true based on their history?

Solid logic there. Hey, no evidence, but it's happened in the past so, why not toss some BS out there and see if it sticks.

Weak sauce from the Cartstrong camp. Meanwhile, Contador is putting the wood to RadioShack.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Nobody is taking him to task over baseless rumours - but he is outright lying when he says Astana needs an invite to the Tour. There's absolutely no excuse for him not to know that they are in the race as of right unless he's spreading deliberate mistruths. The only team that should have to suck up to ASO are Radioshack - it's unfortunate they're a shoo in for a wild card because, apart from reputation, they've done absolutely nothing to justify their inclusion in the race.
 
Aug 19, 2009
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Moose McKnuckles said:
What does liking Armstrong have to do with spreading unsubstantiated rumors about Astana? It's absolutely lame on Watson's part. It's amazing how people undergo a transformation into utter douchebags simply through proximity to Armstrong. Osmosis I guess.

I'd say he's probably fanning the flames while he still can. The polarity between Armstrong and Contador had to be very good for his business. The prospect of an out of shape Armstrong showing up at Crit. Int. must feel like bags of money vanishing for GW.
 
Dec 4, 2009
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so much truth in this thread.....

from ligget and sherwen's furious crushes on armstrong, and watson's newly announced flanking maneuver, we bring you "The War on Contador!!!!"

it' depressing to see so much effort spent glorifying a small and petty man like armstrong (yes, he's one of the great Tour riders, but he's a very bratty little guy as we all saw last tour and have since......)

and now add watson to the mix? it's just sad, particularly when he says something about "no ruthlessness"....right after contador took the last stage of PN and stomped everyone silly. he didn't have to. were i his DS i'd have told him not too....just stick to valverde and call it a day, i'd have said.

but AC felt good and felt like pounding people. this is ruthlessness in cycling, mr watson.....
 
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Bag_O_Wallet said:
I'd say he's probably fanning the flames while he still can. The polarity between Armstrong and Contador had to be very good for his business. The prospect of an out of shape Armstrong showing up at Crit. Int. must feel like bags of money vanishing for GW.

uh-huh. The only way he'll get them in picture together is either if AC punctures and he has to come up through the back of peloton, or with a very wide-angle lens. :p
 
Aug 19, 2009
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bianchigirl said:
Nobody is taking him to task over baseless rumours - but he is outright lying when he says Astana needs an invite to the Tour. There's absolutely no excuse for him not to know that they are in the race as of right unless he's spreading deliberate mistruths. The only team that should have to suck up to ASO are Radioshack - it's unfortunate they're a shoo in for a wild card because, apart from reputation, they've done absolutely nothing to justify their inclusion in the race.

He's not actually saying Astana needs an invite. He's saying Contador might not be on Astana by the time the Tour rolls around - and therefore, he might need to suck up personally to ASO.

"...Contador might need to play up to ASO to get into the Tour...on another team."
 
Sep 25, 2009
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JayZee said:
Boy, I think you are all getting worked up over a few opinions, guesses and rumors. Watson was asked his opinion and he gives it and guesses why Contador switched his schedule, big deal.

As for rumors of payment problems with Astana, would anyone really be surprised if that were true based on their history? Would anyone be surprised if there wasn't a rumor going around about that? The pro peloton is a big gossipy sewing circle. As for the UCI guaranty, it is not the source of rider payment until the team fails to make payroll (hence the term guaranty). I doubt you can dip into it to cover a few late payments.

I guess if you are parsing every statement made by anyone related to cycling as to whether they are pro Armstrong/anti Contador or vice versa, have at it, but I just don't see it here.
sorry but i think you are parsing. yes, im saying this to your face.

why you didn't analyze truthfulness of attacks on contadors characte ?
why did you not refute his false statements about contador lacking 'right entourage' ?
why did watson not provide a single known instance of contador demanding) appearance fees (unlike armstrong) and why you did not analyze this.

you focused on unsubstantiated rumours for which there is not a single other source.

sorry, it's you who parsed a real garbage and watson was clearly repeating talking points from various armstrong interviews and tweets.
 
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Anonymous

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I guess it's just me but I think many are reading into his comment way too much.

He mentions that "There are already rumors..." He's not insinuating that Astana is broke. He's just passing on what he heard. And frankly, he's so much closer to the peleton than any of us will ever be so I'm sure he hears more than we'll ever know. And the immediate past has shown that Astana, even with a ProTour license, had issues regarding payment to their riders. (See 2009 season around Tour time...)

And I can't get onto Twitter from work but he states: "no, I don't think Alberto has the ruthlessness in him to try that, nor the right entourage to guide him"

In what context did he make that statement? What did "@trek60" say prior to that for GW to make that comment? Try what? I don't think it's stated in the OP's post. From just the posted quote it's hard to really make any judgement without first learning what invoked that comment.

Just sayin...
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Bag_O_Wallet said:
He's not actually saying Astana needs an invite. He's saying Contador might not be on Astana by the time the Tour rolls around - and therefore, he might need to suck up personally to ASO.

"...Contador might need to play up to ASO to get into the Tour...on another team."

Not sure which part of 'embed him and Astana with ASO prior to the Tour; Astana needs an invite as well' you didn't understand?
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Gee333 said:
In what context did he make that statement? What did "@trek60" say prior to that for GW to make that comment? Try what? I don't think it's stated in the OP's post. From just the posted quote it's hard to really make any judgement without first learning what invoked that comment.

Just sayin...

trek60 asked if, in Watson's opinion, AC was riding Crit Int to get in Armstrong's face - for Watson to insinuate that Astana needs a TdF invite and that was AC's reason for cosying up to ASO is a lie when the teams with a guaranteed ride are as follows:

16 ProTeams covered by September, 2008 agreement and guaranteed Tour de France invitations:

1. AG2R La Mondiale
2. Astana
3. Bbox Bouygues Telecom
4. Caisse d'Epargne
5. Cofidis
6. Columbia
7. Euskaltel
8. Francaise des Jeux
9. Footon Servetto (formerly Fuji)
10. Lampre
11. Liquigas
12. Milram
13. Quick Step
14. Rabobank
15. Saxo Bank
16. Silence-Lotto
 
lostincosmos said:
from ligget and sherwen's furious crushes on armstrong, and watson's newly announced flanking maneuver, we bring you "The War on Contador!!!!"

it' depressing to see so much effort spent glorifying a small and petty man like armstrong (yes, he's one of the great Tour riders, but he's a very bratty little guy as we all saw last tour and have since......)

and now add watson to the mix? it's just sad, particularly when he says something about "no ruthlessness"....right after contador took the last stage of PN and stomped everyone silly. he didn't have to. were i his DS i'd have told him not too....just stick to valverde and call it a day, i'd have said.

but AC felt good and felt like pounding people. this is ruthlessness in cycling, mr watson.....

Absolutely correct; ALSO the way "ruthlessness" is traditionally expressed in cycling is with the legs, on the bike, never the mouth.

Contador is reminding the cycling world how a champion should behave; let the legs do the talking.

Big Mig Indurain's legacy lives on.
 
Jan 31, 2010
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www.tindonkey.com
It is not surprising that Graham Watson (whom I think is an excellent photographer, perhaps not so much a commentator) is keen on LA. He has mentioned that when the Uniballer retired, his photo sales fell off pretty dramatically. I supposed that Watson sells most of his pictures to the English-speaking world and most of those shots are not of Fabian Cancellara. It's the same mind-set as Cycle Sport, where the pecking order is: a) British riders; b) Other native English speakers; c) Foreigners who ride with an English-speaking team or in support of an English-speaking rider; and d) Bloody Foreigners who somehow manage to win races. And be sure to put LA on every single cover, even though the editors Love to Hate Him.
 
Feb 1, 2010
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In circumstances like this I always wonder why someone like Watson was asked the question in the first place? Sure he's closer to the peleton than us but he's a photograher for the other camp. I consider the source and file it accordingly. Doesn't take Watson off the hook if he's spreading misinformation but I'll need much more stronger evidence/information from other sources to believe everything Watson said.
 
Aug 19, 2009
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bianchigirl said:
Not sure which part of 'embed him and Astana with ASO prior to the Tour; Astana needs an invite as well' you didn't understand?

Obviously all of it. Sorry. If there was an emoticon of a head hung in shame I'd insert.