I was right ...

SandM said:

In my older post I speculated on the possibility of the current situation.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.racing/browse_thread/thre...

I guess that it is going to get much worse before it gets better. Worse in
terms of major sponsors bailing. Perhaps Dr. Phil, Geraldo or Jerry Springer
will do features on the sport formerly known as cycling. When that happens,
you know the rock bottom has been hit.

Of course you were right -- not a tough call. Sports' sponsorship is
all about "eyeballs" and in primarily fitness sports (e.g. track &
field, x-country skiing, cycling, etc.) vs. skill sports (soccer,
gridiron football, baseball) drug usage will be seen by fans as being
too decisive to the outcomes and the already thin audience numbers (in
the U.S. certainly) will further erode and sponsors will spend their $
$ on other sports. Doping will hurt US viewership in cycling far more
than it ever will in gridiron or baseball.
Best,
Bill Black