Nothin’ but news…

• I don’t recall if the Tour of California Santa Clarita stage on February 24rd is one that blogger Bob is attending, but if it is, he could shell out $100 the night before to meet Greg LeMond.
• Jan Ullrich has submitted a saliva sample for a DNA test to authorities in Konstanz. And now the cycling world holds its collective breath.
• The UCI and ASO are still arguing, and it’s getting uglier. The UCI “sent a message to the managers of the ProTour teams at the Tour of Qatar which suggested that … Paris-Nice … be removed from the ProTour calendar if the ASO did not comply with the rules.” There’s more about the UCI’s response here.
• Some of the quotes from riders reacting to the UCI-ASO spat are great (especially as it gives them something else to think about besides doping scandals). Tom Boonen: “This quarrel has lasted for months - they’re behaving just like children.” Alexandre Vinokourov: “Cycling already suffers from an image problem, because of repeated doping affairs. If we add other conflicts, nobody will follow us anymore.”
• Quick-Step dominated the Tour of Qatar, with Tom Boonen’s four individual stage wins and Wilfried Cretskens’ overall victory.
• Malaysia’s Le Tour de Langkawi is underway - Ceramiche Panaria Navigare’s Maximiliano Richeze won stage two and has taken the overall lead.
• Cycling isn’t the only sport with a doping control problem. The NFL says it won’t be able to test players for human growth hormone until a better test exists. Anti-doping officials aren’t buying that.
• PezCycling has an interview with Dave Zabriskie pre-Tour of California (when did it get shortened to ToCA?).
• A new film called Il Pirata - Marco Pantani about the late cyclist will air on Italian TV’s Rai Uno on Monday. The story is apparently a fictional account of Pantani’s life.