Nothing adds more drama to sports than dramatic victories, charisma, and, unfortunately, drugs. Tom Boonen, the LeBron James of Belgian cycling, has tested positive for cocaine. For the second, consecutive time. White lines. Could this be the premature end to an already illustrious career? I hope not.
Photo Nicolas Götz (Flickr.com)
Tom Van Hout 
Sad day indeed. Saw the news this AM. The only good news, and this is minor relative to his life in total, is that this is not cheating so he cycling wins are all clean. Wish it weren’t so.
Hi Bob, true it’s not cheating, but Tom Boonen has dug himself quite a hole. In his only television interview yesterday, he said that he cannot seem to control himself when he’s drinking – he has yet to admit to using cocaine – and that he had a black out on that particular night. Sigh. On the plus side, he seems to realize that he needs help.
In a way, I feel sorry for him (and his teammates, managers, relatives). The public opinion will all but feather and tar the Boonen clan. Anyway, I hope that 1. he comes to grips with whatever substance issue he has and 2. that he can come back to cycling.