What do we make of the inspirational Lance Armstrong now?
The great Lance Armstrong was once an American hero. Question is, is he still? (AP photo)
Lance Armstrong was more than a guy on a bike. Indeed, he titled his as-told-to autobiography, “It’s Not About the Bike.” And he wasn’t just a guy who had cancer and lived to tell the tale. He was an inspiration, a role model, an object lesson regarding the power of the human will.
He beat testicular cancer and didn’t just go on with his life. He became bigger than life. He won the Tour de France seven years running. He was named Sports Illustrated’s 2002 sportsman of the year and took multiple ESPYs as the male athlete of the year. Above and beyond all that, he was the guy who gave us the yellow bracelets, the ones bearing the name of his foundation — Livestrong.
And now he stands revealed as … what? A craven cheat? The hypocrite of all hypocrites? The guy who swore his innocence right up until the point where he decided to stop swearing?
“I am … finished with this nonsense,” was Armstrong’s rationale for dropping his fight against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which took his words as an admission of guilt and moved to strip him of those seven Tour de France titles. (Though the International Cycling Union is waiting for further information to take action.) The USADA has vacated, to invoke the college sports word, everything Armstrong achieved in his sport from 1998 on.
And we’re left to do … what? To recall all the good will and admiration we directed toward Lance Armstrong all these years? To feel cheated ourselves? To feel — diving deeper here — that this beacon of hope actually was a manifestation of everything we have hoped against hope isn’t true? That the games aren’t rigged, that sports are indeed a measure of character, that the bad guys don’t always (or ever) win?
If we’d been honest with ourselves, we might have wondered if the Livestrong story was the stirring saga it appeared to be. Armstrong was under suspicion even as he was winning those Tours. (This being cycling, everybody is under suspicion.) He would dispute every allegation, but the weight of the whispers began to give some among us pause. But not, I would suggest, the masses.
Most of us still saw Armstrong as a hero. He had cancer and still he became the world’s greatest cyclist. That was the more gripping narrative, and also the more palatable. Reality, alas, tends to get complicated.
Armstrong insists that he has admitted no wrongdoing, that he has simply chosen not to keep fighting the USADA. In a statement, he said this: “USADA cannot assert control of a professional international sport and attempt to strip my seven Tour de France titles. I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours.”
And now we’re again scrambling for purchase on that slippery slope. Did Southern Cal win the 2004 BCS title or not? (The Trojans were stripped of the title owing to sanctions involving Reggie Bush, who has since returned his 2005 Heisman Trophy.) Who’s the real home run king — Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds? We have reason to suspect that Bonds didn’t generate all 762 homers on the up-and-up, but MLB kept letting him play, did it not? And, for further discussion: Should Mark McGwire be in the Hall of Fame? Should Rafael Palmeiro? Should Roger Clemens? And what of A-Rod, who might well hit 763 home runs?
This is a terrible time to be a sports fan. (Last week Melky Cabrera, this week Bartolo Colon and now Armstrong.) For all the joy that’s supposed to come from following these athletes and their trivial pursuits, we keep slamming into chilling truths, or half-truths, or truth laced so heavily with fiction that it’s not true at all. All any of us can know for sure about Lance Armstrong is that the first part of his stirring saga stands: He did beat cancer. Everything afterward is open to interpretation. Everything afterward could well have been a lie.
And all among us who have, over the years, sported those yellow bracelets? We could have shared his lie. Some feel-good story this is turning out to be, huh?
By Mark Bradley
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337 comments Add your comment
The Carnivore
August 24th, 2012
5:18 pm
*there, not their
Oakwood dawg
August 24th, 2012
5:22 pm
As usual some goverment hack has to justify his or her job, so if we just keep hounding the guy he will soon or later give up, sounds like the IRS to me not the USADA. Here are facts lance has never failed a drug test or proven to have taken prefromance drugs. just a final thought a lawyer will always tell you it is not what you know it is what you can prove. the goverments new motto we find you guilty with no proof now prove your not guilty. be careful you could be the goverments next target.
ARdawg
August 24th, 2012
5:22 pm
There’s no proof in the pudding that he did in fact fail the tests. The French hate him with a passion “because’ he won their coveted title 7 times running and he’s an American. How dare he. Even if he did inject/take the ‘roids it couldn’t IMHO counter balance the effects of the chemo on his body. Try winning that race after losing a couple of nuts to cancer and see if there is anything to give an edge.
Armstrong has nothing to be ashamed of even if he did take them which they haven’t proven he has. No, this is character a**innation plain and simple. Because he is a winner. I can’t blame him if he’s tired of dealing with it. Life is too short
creative
August 24th, 2012
5:26 pm
Ken, are you that dumb? Let’s have a contest. How many times can we get a dawg fan to say “He never tested positive” 123 GO
creative
August 24th, 2012
5:30 pm
hell yeah ARdawg
CheatStrong
August 24th, 2012
5:55 pm
@Who Cares?
Hopefully you’re next?
Who Cares?
August 24th, 2012
6:09 pm
@ CheatStrong, August 24th, 2012, 5:55 pm, only in your dreams. Are you asking or making a statement? Now, grow up, if you can.
marko
August 24th, 2012
6:11 pm
If they had been subject to security cameras, wire taps and multi million dollar investigations, perhaps the saints and the founding fathers wouldn’t have come off as hero’s either. If memory serves me well, Lance peed in a cup after every race. If they couldn’t nab him then, why now? After all these years this seems like a vendetta from a bunch of self righteous creeps. Now that we have the technology to ensure that everybody remains “perfect” will we be better off?
Jack
August 24th, 2012
6:15 pm
Mr. Bradley, have you ever had a federal agency, such as the IRS, get on you. You are immediately guilty until you can prove your innocence. Money is no object for them and when they Nifong you, you are forever tarnished. Armstrong has taken hundreds of blood and urine {read Pee) tests and has always been found to be clean. Simply said, some times ‘Nuff is ‘Nuff.
BOBBY
August 24th, 2012
6:28 pm
well if all the passed drug tests he took(he is the most tested athlete in history) doesnt clear him, nothing will. its amazing how they caught all the cheaters before and after him for the same CRAP. but not one possitve test from him. you simple minded pukes that assume he is guilty with all of the passed drug test he has taken are just jealous and weak MINDED.
marko
August 24th, 2012
6:30 pm
Big Brother Is Watching.
Hillbilly D
August 24th, 2012
6:31 pm
As a latent cyclist,
I can honestly say, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that term.
If they had been subject to security cameras, wire taps and multi million dollar investigations, perhaps the saints and the founding fathers wouldn’t have come off as hero’s either.
The Constitutional Convention was actually conducted behind closed doors with guards posted on the doors and members were not allowed to discuss it outside the Hall. Lack of openness in politics is nothing new.
Hotrod
August 24th, 2012
6:31 pm
Yep – over 500 blood tests passed.
Enjoy the rest of your life doing what you want.
AFDawg
August 24th, 2012
6:33 pm
The bottom line is — whenever someone gets asked “Who was/is the greatest cyclist of all time?”, the vast majority will say “Lance Armstrong”. So, they can’t take that away from him. It’s too bad his own team mates implicated him just to save their own hides — that’s the world we live in these days. I hope Lance has his medals and trophies hidden in a time capsule some where — he should never give them up.
jbts30228
August 24th, 2012
6:34 pm
Never failed a drug test. Might have been the most tested person in the history and sports. No one fail. At this point why spend the money to continue fighing it. He has the money to live the rest of his life. In my humble opinion he is still and will always remain one of the most impressive athletics ever.
georgianna bulltiger
August 24th, 2012
6:36 pm
If Lance did dope, and he probably did, those guys he beat in those seven TDF’s were doping too. He remains in my mind the best rider who ever competed on two wheels. All this after beating testicular cancer.
Chuck
August 24th, 2012
6:37 pm
THANK YOU, Bob the blogger! You nailed it, baby. Who honestly cares about a slow witted moron riding a bike? Google George Carlin on Lance Armstrong… He sums it up in the first line of his show!
Iconoclast
August 24th, 2012
6:49 pm
Who cares if the idols of our cult-of-personality are doping? We want endurance, athleticism, and blood-grueling drama from those who entertain us. Drugs are good! Big Pharma says so. If you have any doubts, talk to your doctor if you experience nausea, fatigue, night sweats, diarrhea, dizziness, have suicidal thoughts, or start breaking out in Judy Garland or Billie Holiday tunes.
Jerry Cunningham
August 24th, 2012
6:52 pm
I am writing as a cancer survivor not a sports fan. I wore a yellow bracelet through my surgery for cancer at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Being allergic to morphine and other pain medications, I often snapped that Yellow Wrist Band hard against my wrist – and gained inspiration for the offerings from Lance’s heart and his courage in winning his own battle with cancer. He also survived a whole host of debilitating chemotherapy drugs, so yeah he and I were doping to stay alive – and with the help of the Almighty – we did it! Thanks, Lance – LIVESTRONG!
zeke
August 24th, 2012
6:54 pm
don’t like that he lied about it in all probability; but think i undertand why he did it . i saw him compete before all this stuff when he was teenage triathlete. great athlete, despite what dawgdad thinks of the sport. if it weren’t for mirrots doubt dd could see his…..
Bill Arney
August 24th, 2012
7:17 pm
I listened to Travis Tygart on ESPN Radio today and he did nothing to convince me that they have any hard evidence on Lance Armestrong. All Lance did was make it easier for the USADA to say we told you so. What a joke? We’re a nation with high unemployment, in a recession and these idiots have the authority to use tax payer money for this. Big Deal. Do those morons actually think they are cleaning up sports? No, they are not. PED’s will continue to be used and this guys just think that because they feel like they reeled in the big fish that now all is well in the world. What a complete and utter waste of time. The USADA could not clean up spilled milk. Travis Tygart just got his 15 minutes of fame. What a TOOL!
KomaGawa
August 24th, 2012
7:19 pm
As you point out, the drugs run so deep and so strong and so long in our obsession for the lifestyle of the winner, and I’m not only talking about sports…. when I was working and where I was working there were workers using….other things besides fruits and vegetables…..they called them “vitamins” inside quotes in the tone of their behavior
georgianna bulltiger
August 24th, 2012
7:19 pm
Ch…yuk
I spent more than ten years of my life preparing for and competing in races. A man and a machine, nothing else. No fuels, no place to hide in a team; just you and your bicycle. For me, it was a hobby, but one that reordered my life significantly.
I will turn 63 next week. When I get ID’d at the store, or if the topic of my age comes up in a group of people, the reaction is always shocked. I’m still incredibly fit. For more than 23 years now, my wife and I have enjoyed… well, I thought it best to edit that portion….
I mostly attribute that to having spent almost ten years riding 400 to 450 miles a week “on a freakin’ bicycle.” I achieved a level of fitness that continues to this day.
I must also compliment you on your typing skills.
When you’re 63, people will be very impressed still by your ability to type. When you’re wasting away from type2 diabetes.
Lol at believers
August 24th, 2012
7:29 pm
First you can easily verify that lance is not the most tested athlete ever. That is a lie he repeats.
He failed a drug test in 1999 but was allowed to submit a prescription after he failed to explain it. Most of the time you have to submit prescriptions before the test ( to prevent fake prescriptions). Another lance lie you believe. The French retested his urine after they developed a test for epo and his urine tested positive. USADA claims they have analytical proof of doping, probably by analyzing his biological passport. If he weren’t American, you wouldn’t defend him.
Ken Stallings
August 24th, 2012
7:38 pm
Daniel,
If it were that simple then the UCI would have been leading the effort to punish Armstrong and I would have no issue if they did. But, instead UCI filed a friend of the court brief supporting Armstrong and telling the federal judge that USADA had no authority to do what they were doing.
So, are you saying that UCI (the same organization that went after so many others in their ranks including Alberto Contador) would engage in a conspiracy of silence? UCI has already notified USADA that they expect USADA to pony up everything they have and give it to UCI. UCI has also said they will rule on Armstrong only after they get a chance to investigate what USADA has. UCI is the sanctioning body for professional cycling. The directors of the Tour de France have already told the media they are refraining from making any comments until UCI has the opportunity to review the situation.
The media and a number of people appear to be taking everything Travis Tygart and his USADA are saying. USADA is NOT a government agency. They are a private company who takes millions of dollars in tax payer revenues from the US government. I think all of us should remain open-minded to hte chance that the UCI will reject the USADA’s accusations. If that is the case, then Armstrong keeps his Tour de France titles.
All USADA can strip Armstrong of is the bronze medal he won in the Sydney Olympic games, and even then should UCI reject USADA’s claims, I suspect that Armstrong will file a civil suit against USADA. I’m not saying it will happen, but I won’t be shocked that in the end this marks the end of USADA and Travis Tygart.
Ken Stallings
August 24th, 2012
7:47 pm
Carnivore,
In my view, opinions are opinions. But, what the USADA is trying to do goes beyond opinions. They are clearly trying to destroy Armstrong. Those are actions. If you carry out actions designed to cause harm to others then you better have hard facts on your side. I think USADA is walking a dangerous path for them.
Personally, I don’t know if Armstrong doped. Is it possible he did? Of course it is possible. But, you don’t destroy or attack a man in a very public manner based on possibilities. Barry Bonds went to court and was found guilty of perjury. Marion Jones confessed of doping. Floyd Landis was busted by UCI tests immediately after his Tour de France victory. Tyler Hamilton was also and he is also about to publish a “tell-all” book in which he attacks Armstrong.
George Hincape is someone who has not been busted. USADA made some nebulous claims that Hincape was interviewed, but USADA still has avoided releasing all their evidence. Why is that? They certainly were quite aggressive about publicly claiming Armstrong was guilty. So, why not release all the evidence with those statements? What could they gain by keeping that information secret?
We are going to find out a lot when USADA releases their data to UCI. If they refuse to give UCI their evidence, then reasonable people can draw reasonable conclusions that USADA is playing loose and fast with fairness.
Don’t you agree that is is very strange that UCI befriended Armstrong in US District Court? I sure do! UCI was the same organization that busted Landis, Contador, Hamilton, and many many other cycling stars. Contador won three Tour de France titles and it did not stop UCI from busting him. You really think just four more titles for Armstrong would cause UCI to go from aggressive sanctioning body to complicit confederate?
Ken Stallings
August 24th, 2012
8:01 pm
I just listeed to that ESPN radio interview with Travis Tygart and one thing immediately came to my mind. Tygart is either an idiot or is lying. He said there is not test for blood packing, which he termed as blood transfusions. This is utter nonsense! Blood packing was first done decades ago in Olympic sports. So, since USADA’s actual authority is to regulate US Olympic sports, he had to have known that.
What you do is take a blood sample after the competition is over and you test for red blood cell count! That’s the test! It is effective because it was used to bust many Olympic athletes and therefore the practice was abandoned. This is old news.
Tygart spoke about having to present evidence to a court of law, but the evidence is presented to an arbitration panel, who’s members Tygart was able to select. He left that out of his interview! I wonder why? He made it also clear that in his mind he has all the legal authority to do what he is doing.
ER Steven
August 24th, 2012
8:06 pm
Even if Armstrong doped, which of course is possible, doesn’t change my opinion on him at all.
First he was known for out working every single biker during the offseason. Did drugs allow him to sit on the couch and bulk up? No
Second with so many of his other competitors in those Tour’s cheating he really wasn’t gaining a competitive advantage.
Finally and most importantly, what Lance has chosen to do with his life, with his success is truly remarkable. His foundation has raised 500 million for cancer research. As someone who has done medical research projects, that kind of money is responsible for making truly ground breaking advances in cancer treatment. Every one who writes in this blog including myself likely won’t raise 0.1% of that money in our lives.
Lets honor the man for who he is and what he has done.
Greg
August 24th, 2012
8:24 pm
If he had only gone into politics none of this would have mattered!
Tom
August 24th, 2012
8:26 pm
Say what you will. This gut won 7 Tour De France races, and all his major competitors doped. So, to keep even, he doped. I’ve thought for years, that he wasn’t “clean”. That said, he still went out there and won!!! Seven times. I don’t like that he perhaps doped (we really don’t know that), but it’s pretty clear his major competitors did…and yet he still beat them. To me, it’s this. Your have the “rules” and then you have the “RULES”. He abided by the rules that still let him plan on the levelest playing field, and he still won…and then he lived by the “RULES”. Still…he’s the best…
If you want to back in time, even some the greats admit to taking still to boost their performance…mainly caffeine and other such…I’m just sick of the whole thing and glad it’s over.
Jay Dawg
August 24th, 2012
8:30 pm
Agree with most that stated since he passed all the tests he is innocent until proven guilty. Whining from “teammates and competitors” is not proof. Definitely a witch hunt by the ADA.
SWGADAWG
August 24th, 2012
8:32 pm
And we wonder what has happened yo journalism. This has to be the saddest excuse for an article ever for MB. The headline just screams “I’m a bitter wannabe” Unbelievable……
jdawg
August 24th, 2012
9:10 pm
Come on…he is guilty as he11. He knows he would lose this legal battle, and as a result he quits because that would be better than losing. He has spent $40 million fighting this case. If he were innocent, he would sue the cycling association for defamation make a lot of that back. But he won’t. Not because he is “tired of fighting,” but because he knows when to fold.
KatheM
August 24th, 2012
9:13 pm
What stands out about this is that Armstrong — whether he doped or not — was denied due process by a quasi-government agency who used people who had been bullied into offering “testimony” to protect themselves. That is not transparency or fairness — that is bullying. The government, with its gadzillions of dollars, armies of scientists and laboratories, couldn’t get him. So they turned to USADA — which as the judge noted — has a much lower standard.
Screw them. I don’t know if Armstrong is guilty or not, but he deserves the same fairness we would all want for ourselves when accused of wrongdoing.
This is an agency that urgently needs to be dismantled and replaced with something more equitable.
Flo- Ri- Duh
August 24th, 2012
9:36 pm
Lance Armstrong is a hero to all cancer survivors. He has been tested and retested time and time again and all tests came back clean. He has been hounded for years and simply got tired of it. There is no evidence that he did anything wrong – just hearsay. In a court of law he would b found not guilty. You need evidence – not hearsay to find someone guilty. Where is the evidence? God bless Lance Armstrong.
Linda
August 24th, 2012
9:38 pm
This is a travesty. He has only been accused and has never failed a drug test.
Who is so jealous of this man’s talents to not only put him through this emotional trauma, but then have the unmitigated gaul to strip the man of his medals and ban him from sports.
Where is the proof? Only comments from another cyclist who has lost to Armstrong in the past. Sounds like sour grapes to me
Flo- Ri- Duh
August 24th, 2012
9:43 pm
Big gub’ment is out of control and we need to reign it in and put it in it’s place. Lance Armstrong should get a lawyer if his achievements are stripped from him. He is innocent until PROVEN guilty.
Ken Stallings
August 24th, 2012
9:46 pm
jdawg,
Please get the basic facts correct. The “cycling body” is the UCI (International Cycling Union). The letters are reversed because the Union is based in France and that’s how it is spelled in French. The UCI appeared in US District Court as a friend of Lance Armstrong. Do you understand this? It a very vital point. UCI rejects that USADA has any jurisdiction over professional cycling. UCI has now demanded that USADA turn over all evidence it has against Lance Armstrong so that UCI can independently review and analyze it.
UCI and only UCI has the actual authority to strip Lance Armstrong of Tour de France titles. UCI is the governing body of international professional cycling events such as the Tour de France. And right now, UCI says that Armstrong is clean and in good standing. The organizers of the Tour de France are very quiet right now because they are waiting to see what UCI decides.
If USADA really wanted to clean up professional cycling, why did they not turn over all their evidence to UCI very quietly and monitor UCI’s actions? Why did they not allow UCI to review the evidence? If the evidence is truly compelling, why would USADA believe that UCI would do nothing with it?
USADA has semi-accused UCI of discovering a positive drug test from the samples that Armstrong submitted during his last Tour de France in 2009. Yet, that would be a first for UCI who again has busted nearly every top ranking professional cyclist in the sports recent history. No one can reasonably say that UCI has been soft on dopers in professional cycling.
In fact, UCI has had the toughest drug testing procedures in professional sports. Their standards of testing make what the NFL and MLB do look like a joke! In fact, perhaps only the IOC (International Olympic Committee) can claim to be as aggressive as UCI in busting dopers.
I am very much a law and order kind of person. Go back and read what I have written in blogs for Jeff Schultz’s many columns on doping in sports. But, beyond that, I also believe in jurisprudence. I believe that peoples’ rights are vital and should be safeguarded. If Lance Armstrong had busted just one UCI drug test I would have rejected him immediately and agreed he was a cheat.
But, UCI tried every which way it could to catch the dopers in their sport, including random sampling throughout the season, during events, and at all kinds of hours at cyclists’ homes, training facilities, and hotels on tours. That is why they busted so many cyclists. That is why so many members of Armstrong’s own US Postal Team have already been formally busted by UCI.
Yet, UCI has never busted Armstrong. So, we are supposed to believe Armstrong and only Armstrong could do it and get away with it? You know, that is an appealing argument. “If they all cheated then so did Lance Armstrong.” Yeah, there’s some appeal to that line of reasoning. But, to conclude that you have to have a logical way to answer a basic question: How could Lance get away with it an no one else — not even members of the very US Postal Team who’s cyclists were lined up and all given some levels of immunity if they testified against Lance Armstrong?
You know, try as I might, I cannot form a logical answer to that one. Would you assert that Lance hung his fellow cyclists on the USPS team out to dry, to deliberately set it up so they got busted and he would not? Are you saying Lance was too stupid to realize if that was his intent it would not come back to haunt him?
The one thing Travis Tygart said that was factual in nature during today’s ESPN Radio interview on the Mike and Mike in the Morning Show was that the eyewitnesses said Armstrong and all the members of the US Postal Team engaged in organized “blood transfusions,” which is Tygart’s way of saying they engaged in what is more widely termed blood packing. This is where you take a few pints of whole blood from an athlete, but it in the fridge, and then wait a few months for the competition. Then, you “pack” the athletes blood by putting that extra pint in his blood system, giving him more red blood cells to promote increased aerobic conditioning.
It is illegal. Like I wrote, it was first used by Warsaw Pact nations’ Olympic teams. They got away with it for a while, but word got out and the test to discover was easy. Like I wrote, you just take a blood sample immediately after competition. If that sample shows elevated red blood cell count, then the athlete packed his blood! When the East European athletes got busted, the practice stopped. Yet, Tygart claims in todays interview that there is no test against it! Nope, just flat out wrong!
I want to see what else Tygart and his USADA have as evidence. I want it turned over to UCI and let’s see what the cycling body has to say about it. If UCI rules Armstrong cheated, then I’ll say Armstrong was a cheat. But frankly, I don’t trust Travis Tygart and therefore I don’t trust his USADA organization.
Flo- Ri- Duh
August 24th, 2012
9:49 pm
Bradley where in there did you state the fact that Armstrong never failed a drug test or doping test? There is NO evidence against him- just jealous talk. This is not justice and I will not accept talk as guilt. If he is guilty prove it or leave him alone.
Paul in NH
August 24th, 2012
10:17 pm
Somehow I don’t think most of the people saying Lance is innocent, he never failed a drug test, would be quite so understanding if the person being accused was a female East German swimmer, a male Russian weightlifter or a Chinese girl who swam the final 50 m of the IM faster than Ryan Lochte.
Freehawk
August 24th, 2012
10:26 pm
I disliked him since he dumped his wife for Sheryl Crow and the SI writer said Aw, aren’t they a cute couple.
MysteryMoves
August 24th, 2012
10:37 pm
I’m glad this is over. Armstrong cheated as well as robbed so many other athletes of the opportunity to win and prosper, but they didn’t cheat. I knew he was cheater long ago, as I’m sure many others had same thoughts.
Pete
August 24th, 2012
10:39 pm
Who funds this USADA ? There needs to be a hard look given to this group that spends all this time and money to strip an American of French titles; just to get some attention for themselves. Why aren’t they doing all this digging into other Tour de France winners?
cloudodust
August 24th, 2012
10:41 pm
Modern day witch hunt. How can one be so successful without doping? Let’s ask Hank or get deep into the bloodstream of Bolt.
G-Dawg
August 24th, 2012
10:51 pm
Completely disagree. It is a great time to be a sports fan. A double amputee just ran in the olympics. The Fab Five just got done capturing America’s heart. High School football is about to start. Great memories are about to be made. It is not a horrible time to be a sports fan just because some cheaters got caught.
dartrav
August 24th, 2012
10:55 pm
Marion Jones did fail a drug test, that’s why she gave in.
Lance Armstrong has never failed a drug test in over 500 times being tested.
Think about that!
Bryant
August 24th, 2012
10:55 pm
Let me understand this. You harrass someone for almost 14 years, make accusations that you can’t prove, and when that person says I am not going to put up with you any more, you claim a victory and say he cheated? The fact that he put up with them for almost 14 years says a lot about him. It is a little ironic that when/if he loses his Tour de France titles, the person who came in second, a person who was proven to be a cheater will be declared the winner. WHAT A JOKE! Sounds like the inmates are running this prison!
Tide Rising
August 24th, 2012
11:01 pm
Mark,
Seems to me you’re missing something. The man passed hundreds of drug tests. Hundreds of them. The only “evidence” against him is a couple of dopers who got caught who have questionable motives. The hundreds of tests are what they are. You are insinuating in this post that he is guilty. How??? The drug tests disagree with you.
RGB
August 24th, 2012
11:03 pm
All I want to do is have some fun….’til the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.
Mark
August 24th, 2012
11:16 pm
You’re a writer and voter in the AP. The final BCS comes out before the NC game is played. Yes, the BCS’s goal is to pick who plays for the NC, but there is no BCS poll after the game is played.
Rather, the AP and Coaches choose the NC after the game is played. The AP has been and probably always will be the poll most people prefer.
All this being said, just when did the AP vote to rescind the Trojans NC vote? Please point me to that article. It didn’t happen. USC is still the National Champ by AP vote.