This is freaking huge:

A doping scandal knocked Tour de France favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso out of the race Friday and threw the world's most glamorous cycling event into chaos.

The decision to prevent Ullrich, Basso and likely dozens of others from competing was made a day before the Tour began. Tour director Christian Prudhomme said the organizers’ determination to fight doping was "total."

That's last year's second, third and fourth place finishers.  No Americans have been named... yet.  This was apparently fallout from a raid in Spain that was supplying cyclists with doping materials, and frozen blood to be used to try to get around tests.  It sounds similar to the controversy which shocked baseball last year.

Now I have no idea who to watch next week on OLN.  And yes... I do religiously watch the Tour.  It's a hell of a lot more exciting than baseball.