The Tour de France starts Saturday in Monaco and finishes July 26 in Paris. The race’s image has been severely damaged by numerous doping scandals in recent years. Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong is back for this year’s race. Armstrong has been fighting doping allegations for years.

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DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s leader praised President Barack Obama’s outreach for dialogue and invited him to visit Damascus in remarks released Friday just days after the United States said it plans to return its ambassador to Syria after a four year

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Jim Coon is a recreational cyclist in Portland, Oregon, who says he’s bothered by reports of doping in the the Tour de France — but doesn’t focus on the issue. Veteran cycling journalist Joe Lindsey says he has to focus on the charges of doping because of his job covering the race.

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Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there.

I’m Andrew Pfister, your new Senior Games Editor. What I’ll actually be doing for the site is in that nebulous and exciting "planning stage," but it will definitely involve writing words about videogames. That much I can promise you.
 
If you’ve seen or heard my name before, you’re either a long-time reader of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a listener of the 1UP.com podcasts (of which I was producer), or you went to high school with me. Sadly, I am not the heir to the Pfister Pfaucet Pfortune, I am unrelated to Academy Award-nominated Director of Photography Wally Pfister, and I am unaffiliated with the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee, though it is indeed a lovely hotel.
 
Who I am is a guy who paid close enough attention in school (go Bucky), made the right friends, wrote the right things, and found myself with excellent jobs, working with excellent people in excellent places: now that list includes G4tv.com. I’m platform-agnostic (everyone has high points and low points), terrible at real-time strategy but can hold my own in nearly everything else, and I can grow a wicked beard in a matter of weeks. My favorite game is your favorite game — how crazy is that?!?
 
Oh, I’m also incapable of answering interview questions seriously.

Interview: Andrew Pfister - Senior Games Editor, G4tv.com
By: Patrick Klepick

Patrick: You’ve moved from Milwaukee to San Francisco to Los Angeles. Tell me, how did you end up at G4TV?
 
Andrew: Billy’s hiring protocols are entirely geographic. "Senior Games Editor" is actually code for "Only Other Guy in Office Who Knows How to Properly Cook Beer Brats," but that won’t fit on my business card. I’m actually one of the worst writers you’ve ever seen, and I hold controllers upside down because I think these game things are silly.

Patrick: What’s your most vivid first memory playing a video game?
 
Andrew: Our neighbors down the street had a Commodore, which was unfortunate for them because I would frequently knock on the door solely to play Summer Games and Ghostbusters. But that was just flirtation — I fell in love the day when our family went over to a business friend of my Dad’s, and while the adults had dinner downstairs, his son had this "Nintendo" thing up in his room. At first sight of Super Mario Bros., it was all over. We got an NES (with Zapper and R.O.B.) the following Christmas, and that’s why I’m here today.
 
Patrick: Describe the last time you threw the controller at the wall while playing a game. (Note: he does this all the time.)
 
Andrew: This question made me throw my keyboard across the room. (Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Athena — Cheap A.I. that magically knows my exact location and movement can die in a fire.)
 
Patrick: If you could only play one game series for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Andrew: Super Mario Bros., just as long as Miyamoto, Koizumi, and Kondo are allowed to live as long as I do.
 
Patrick: What will you do with your life when the last LOST episode airs next year?

Andrew: I’m glad you asked! I’d like to take this opportunity to announce Nikki and Paolo Are Dead!, my new off-Broadway roller-skating musical that explores what happens to the other survivors — the original Others! — when Jack and Friends are off moping or torturing each other in the jungle. It’s 10% Abrams mystique, 90% Starlight Express, and 100% Fun for the Entire Family!

Featuring such songs as:
"Ol’ Smokey Doesn’t Care About Me"
"Every Rose Has Its Bernard"
and
"Love Explosion (Arzt’s Theme)"

Patrick: How do you feel about the fact that the Packers will never be as good as the Bears? Does that make you sob at night? I hope so.

Andrew: Number of Super Bowl wins in the past 20 years:

• Packers: 1
• Bears: 0

And since you said "never"…

Number of overall Super Bowl/NFL championships:

• Packers: 12
• Bears: 9

Patrick: Your feelings about Pearl Jam and Rock Band working together. Describe them in 140 characters or less. I’m counting!

Andrew: OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOM
GOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOM
 
Patrick: So, the big one — why do you play video games?

Andrew: It’s the interaction. I love movies, music, television, and books, but there’s just something about being actively involved in my media that those forms can’t reproduce. I’m fairly open when it comes to entertainment, and there’s not one thing I’m looking for a game to be. I get a little frustrated when I hear people try and dictate what or for whom a game "should" be (art, fun, challenge, product, story, et al). That all of those elements can peacefully co-exist is why I play games.

*hugs and rainbows*

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Congress returns to Washington next week with health care on its mind. President Obama and the Democrats agree with Republicans that legislation overhauling health care should be bipartisan. And there may be no stronger advocate for bipartisanship on health care than Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance Committee.

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It has been suggested that Michael Jackson’s memorial service might be held at the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles, if Jackson’s family approves of the venue.

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US President Barack Obama is still unsure about how he is going to deal with the most dangerous terror detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.

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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has somehow wormed its way into America’s collective heart, earning mega bucks at the box office. Don’t hold it against us that we were a little hesitant at first to check out the movie’s video game sibling. We’ve been burned in the past by movie spin-offs (yeah, Wanted, I’m looking at you) and didn’t know if we could take having our fragile little hearts broken again.

However, X-Play’s Transformers expert Matt Keil reviewed the game and it wasn’t all that bad. From his review: 

"If you loved the movie, and for some reason a lot of people did, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is worth a weekend rental. It gets more things right than the first film’s game, but still doesn’t quite rise above the “average” threshold. There’s clearly a good game to be had out of the Transformers property, though, so here’s hoping Activision keeps trying while they have access to the license. Spider-Man: Web of Shadows proved that you don’t need a movie tie-in to make a good licensed game, so maybe next year’s recently announced Transformers title will follow suit."

Click here to read the rest of the written review and watch the X-Play video!

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Al Franken’s victory in the long-running U.S. Senate race in Minnesota gives Democrats their 58th senator and gives them — with help from independents — a 60-member majority. But Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) says though the party’s majority doesn’t guarantee 60 votes.

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This funny, fast-paced multiplayer shooter will have you repeatedly begging your friends for just one more rematch.

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