OK, so here's some cycling content and thoughts from the past few days ...

• I think Granny is more into CyclingTV than I am. However, if you are a Mac user, or have a preference for Flash video streaming, our friends from Cycling TV now provides a dedicated Cycling.tv Free2View Flash player. This will ultimately provide access to all of the 2007 Free2View archived racing calendar, including Gent Wevelgem, Tour de Romandie, Le Tour 2003, much of the Spring Classics, Pais Vasco, and much more, including special Cycling.tv features like the "Armstrong Years." The Free2View Flash player also includes an expandable player feature for a full-screen option. Here's the Free2View Flash player.
• New York Times: Vive le Tour! Bien Sur!
• Monaco will stage the prologue to the 2009 Tour de France. Budapest has applied for 2010.
• Samuel Abt of the International Herald Tribune: Teams Hold a Crisis Meeting
• Ivan Basso has been suspended for two years by the Italian Cycling Federation. Three unidentified teams have already approached him to join them when the suspension ends in 2009 -- in time for Monaco! "I made a mistake but I have never asked for discounts or pity," says Basso in yet another poorly translated bit of Italian.
• Remember Tom Danielson? He won't be making his Tour de France debut this year. Recurring stomach ailments, which forced him to pull out of the first stage of the Dauphiné Libéré, have sidelined the 29-year-old Discovery Channel rider. "Tom is off the Tour team," Discovery Channel director Johan Bruyneel told VeloNews. "He's sick. We're trying to find out exactly what the problem is. He's had stomach problems throughout the year at several key moments. It's definitely a disappointment." Danielson was both surprised by the announcement and unhappy about it. Maybe he'll jump ship with George Hincapie.