Tennis player Gasquet ain't no dope

...convinced his secondhand-smoke explanation was plausible. Of course, it's not as creative as cyclist Tyler Hamilton's "I had a twin who died in the womb" excuse or AC Milan forward Marco...

Cycling season offers perfect mix of drama and dirt

Jim is pumped for a cycling season that includes Lance's return and plenty of drama and dirt.

2004: BALCO and the end of irrational sports exuberance

In Page 2's tour of the most memorable sports years, Patrick Hruby remembers 2004 as the year we lost our innocence.

Can you pass our drug test?

It was a banner year for drugs in sports. Were you paying attention? Take our quiz and find out.

My dog ate my urine sample

Can you distinguish the real excuse from the made-up ones? Take Patrick Hruby's first (but not last) Steroid Excuse Quiz.

Hidden steroids? It isn't fair!

If Rafael Palmeiro and everybody else who tests positive find steroids hidden in their supplements, why can't Patrick Hruby?

Raffy's underwhelming mistake

Don't worry, Raffy, your steroid transgression is so boring people are going to forget about it soon enough.

The year that wasn't

In a year filled with the unbelievable, Page 2's Jim Caple gives a wrap up of what went down ... sort of.

Lance's title brought to you by OLN

Why fly to France? Page 2's Brian Murphy found a better way to watch Lance Armstrong win the Tour de France.

Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler and Brad Whitford of Aerosmith (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for HK Management - Aerosmith

Welcome to the chaos of Oakland

If unpredictability and unintentional comedy is your thing, then Oakland is your kind of sports town.

NCAA renaissance peaks with great weekend

I keep hearing the same points from readers over and over again: • I can't remember enjoying March Madness as much as I've enjoyed it thi...

Sixty-five thoughts on this year's Big Dance

With March Madness about to begin, Tim Keown offers 65 thoughts on the upcoming NCAA tournament.

A fascinating Super Bowl, from start to finish

With the play of the year in the game of the year, Super Bowl XLIII reminded Gregg Easterbrook why he loves sports.

The Armchair Decathlon: Questions

You wanted the questions to the armchair decathlon? Careful what you ask for, because here they are.