Landis’ flunky deserves hellish fate for attempting to run over LeMond

Admittedly, "Rants & Raves" has no way of knowing whether American cyclist Floyd Landis was juicing during last year's Tour de France victory; we "suspect" he was. But there is no defense for what Landis' now-former manager did last week in trying to intimidate former Tour winner Greg LeMond, who was to provide damaging testimony against Landis at his public hearing:

• What sick, pathetic bastard -- and that's the nicest phrasing we can think of to describe Will Geoghegan -- would use private information about a childhood sexual abuse incident in an effort to scare away a witness? To his credit, LeMond, who was based out of Reno during his Tour championship days in 1986, '89 and '90, didn't throttle the contemptuous weasel for threatening to embarrass him with the traumatizing story.

To Landis' credit, he fired Geoghegan immediately. ...

• Geoghegan on Monday was to enter a rehab center to deal with his issues. We believe it's the People Who Should Spend Eternity in Hell Treatment Center. ...

• With apologies to Utah basketball fans, there's no way the Jazz should still be in the NBA playoffs and the Phoenix Suns should be sitting home.

Yes, we know the upstart Jazz simply did what it was supposed to do against upstart Golden State in the conference semifinals -- while the vaunted Suns were ousted by the vaunted San Antonio Spurs. But here's casting our vote for reseeding after each round to enhance the chances that the most talented teams advance.

If the Jazz even get a sniff at a victory against the Spurs in their best-of-7 series, we'll be surprised. (Just for the record, we felt the same way when Golden State upset the favored Dallas Mavericks in the West's first round.) ...

• If true that already-suspended Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry failed a court-mandated drug test, then NFL commissioner Roger Goodell must drive home the point about improving the integrity of the league by banning Henry for the 2008 season. Not just the final eight games of '07, after Henry sits out the first eight for prior transgressions. All of 2008.

Henry reportedly tested positive for opiates. His attorney is arguing the results. Still, Henry has been arrested four times since 2005, so testing positive isn't a stretch.

Simply put, it's time for the tail to stop wagging the dog. Goodell must come down hard with the heel of his dress shoe on the league's cockroaches. ...

• Baseball's interleague play is in its 11th season, and we're still on the center field fence as to whether or not we like it -- overall, that is.

But as diehard Giants fans, we can't help but love the way the Los Angeles Angels stuck it to the Los Angeles Dodgers this past weekend. (Please, no mention of what the Oakland Athletics did to the Giants.) ...

• We checked with the boss, and the increasingly unpopular "Chasing Hank Aaron" graphic at the top of the Review-Journal Sports page will remain there until that cheating Barry Bonds finally passes the home run king.

Bonds has been stuck at 745 home runs -- 10 behind Aaron -- since May 8. Considering he hasn't homered since the graphic appeared, that day may be NEVER! ...

• Any baseball discussion that starts with "I'm tellin' ya, pallie, it's time for the Boss to fire Torre" in order to supposedly light a fire under the struggling New York Yankees should have, well, a fire hose taken to it. Such combustible conversation is ludicrous.

Let's see -- even with today's 20-23 record, in what definitely has been a trying start for Yankees fans -- Joe Torre is 1,099-721 (.604) with New York over the past 11-plus seasons, has won 10 American League East titles, has reached the World Series six times and has won four world championships.

Who out there has done more?

Moreover, who out there could do more?

Does the Yankees faithful really want owner George Steinbrenner to bring in some managerial retread -- hey, Bobby Valentine is working in Japan! -- to jump-start a team that Torre knows more about than anyone else, including the Boss? PUH-leeeze. ...

• Contemplating Torre's recent travails led us to recall one of the greatest quotes in baseball history, dating back to July 21, 1975, when Torre, then playing for the New York Mets, grounded into a National League-record four double plays with Felix Millan, who had singled all four times, on first base.

Torre deadpanned to reporters afterward, "I'd like to thank Felix Millan for making all of this possible."

Maybe it's just us, but by the fourth time Torre came to the plate we would have started the baserunner.

Joe Hawk's "Rants & Raves" column is published Tuesdays. He can be reached at 387-2912 or jhawk@reviewjournal.com.