[editor's note, by chris] Two related posts, from the "news of the weird" genre

Some crank sent out fake emails to UCI, IOC, and WADA, and a bunch of not too bright people are very exercised about it.

First, for anyone who may not know: It is simplicity itself to send a fake email, having fake sender return address. If you want me to send you an email from "george.bush@whitehouse.gov", just let me know.

The CN report above reports that the French police are investigating whether the LNDD server was compromised. Now I suppose that is possible, but I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut it's just an ordinary fake email, sent the same way millions of spams are every day.

"According to L'Equipe, a person with close ties to Floyd Landis has been identified as the author of the e-mails by French investigators." OK. That should be easy enough to verify, right? Prediction: check back in a week, or a month, or a year, and that person will still not have been named. l'Equipe will have accomplished their goal, though: Slander Landis.

Really: please post here the minute this malefactor's name is released. It'll never happen.

And finally, this piteous plaint from the abused director of the Montreal lab: "'Before, these kind of strategies occurred within North America,' said Ayotte, who deplored a number of manoeuvres trying to destabilize WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratories. 'Now, personal attacks of this kind increase. With the Armstrong affair, the Landis file, the LNDD has had its share. It's a shame.'"

The evil Landis and his henchmen, destabilizing WADA! That is rich.