France defeats Germany

The French don't get a lot of respect these days, and deservedly so -- whether it's because of their rampant anti-semitism, their ineffectual attempts to aid tsunami victims, their troops deliberately firing on unarmed civillians in the Ivory Coast, or their officials taking bribes from Saddam Hussein.

So it's only fair to give them credit when they do something right.

Much as I hate to admit it, the French kicked all kinds of ass in this year's Paris-Dakar Rally. French rider Cyril Despres took first place in the motorcycle division. And his countrymen Stephane Peterhansel and Luc Alphand finished first and second in the car division, beating German Jutta Kleinschmidt, who took third. It was Peterhansel's second win in a row.

Cynics, however, will note that the French one-two finish in the car division involved running away as fast as possible from a German trying to catch them -- a discipline in which French excellence has never been in doubt.