Lance Armstrong

[Fins4ever]

Lance has been fighting this for years and I don't blame him for finally getting "worn down". I can only imagine what his legal bills have been like. I think this is another clear cut case of the government flexing their muscle and bullying to get their way in a matter that they have no fing business.

On a positive note, I read that donations to Armstrong's "Cure Cance" non profit group is up 25%.

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

I too think this was a witch hunt....good for him for moving on with his life. He knows he won those races and that is all that matters.

[bsmooth]

USADA head recently stated the most they could have taken away from Lance was his last two Tour victories.

[masterfins]

Reading the USADA's news release it stated they advised him they were going to investigate him and five others on June 12, 2012.  Sixteen days later on June 28th the investigation was over, the results were reviewed, and they advised him they were going to charge him.  Lance sued, and the lawsuit was dismissed on Aug 20th, afterwhich the USADA gave him until Aug 23rd to meet with an arbitration panel.  Communist countries don't even have that speedy of a trial system.  The USADA also said he would lose his winnings and any prizes, I want to see them try and collect that.

[bsmooth]

Reading the USADA's news release it stated they advised him they were going to investigate him and five others on June 12, 2012.  Sixteen days later on June 28th the investigation was over, the results were reviewed, and they advised him they were going to charge him.  Lance sued, and the lawsuit was dismissed on Aug 20th, afterwhich the USADA gave him until Aug 23rd to meet with an arbitration panel.  Communist countries don't even have that speedy of a trial system.  The USADA also said he would lose his winnings and any prizes, I want to see them try and collect that.

Not to mention the International Cycling Union supported Lance.

[Fins4ever]

Not to mention the International Cycling Union supported Lance.

It is shit like this that Big Brother needs to get out of. Clemons in front of Congress....TWICE!!! You gotta be kidding me. Country is 16 TRILLON (16,000,000,000,000.00) and the govt. is worried about crap like this? Is it November yet??

The sad irony is they have more money than you and will break you financially or wear you down emotionally until the bastards win. He did the smart thing and it is not an admission of nothing!

 I am surprised he wasn't suspended for riding with only 1 testicle. Unfair weight advantage!!!!

[CF DolFan]

OK, obviously I was wrong. It's sad for two reasons. One because it never was what we thought. The other thing that bothers me is how he was able to continually pass drug tests. It just makes me wonder how many others that seem above average are really just ahead of the testing curve.   

[Fins4ever]

ESPN reported this morning that as many as 11 other cyclist threw him under the bus. Don't know the details.

[Sunstroke]

When I was stationed in Berlin as an signal intell analyst during the 80's, I was drug tested regularly for three years (once every 2 weeks during first year, once per month the last 2 years). They tested specifically for THC.  During that time, I smoked hash pretty regularly, but never got caught...simply because I knew a way to beat the test.

Granted, the tests may have been very primitive back then compared to what Lance went through, but I believe the evolution of drug testing has been shadowed pretty closely by the evolution of ways to beat drug testing.  Bottom line: "Not getting caught" does not necessarily equal "not doing the deed."

[EKnight]

It just makes me wonder how many others that seem above average are really just ahead of the testing curve.   

I can tell you from some personal experience drug testing is pretty close to pointless. I was a tested strength athlete for over a decade, and I knew 20 or more guys who were completely open about what they were cycling and still passed the tests. If guys competing in powerlifting for little or no money, without access to all of the designer drugs and people to cover things that pro athletes have access to can pass tests, the pros can certainly do it. When was I convinced that more than half of pro athletes are on something? When a lanky 180 pound Luis Gonzalez jacked 57 homeruns in one season, after never hitting more than 31 in any season before or after. Massive strength and power gains from LUGO,  never to be repeated, and 57 was only enough to finish THIRD in HR's that year. -EK

[Spider-Dan]

From ESPN:

Longtime sponsors Nike, Trek bicycles and Anheuser-Busch dropped him last week, and Armstrong also stepped down last week as chairman of Livestrong, the cancer-awareness charity he founded 15 years ago after surviving testicular cancer, which spread to his lungs and brain.

After the UCI decision Monday, another longtime Armstrong sponsor, Oakley sunglasses, cut ties with the rider.

I hate to say I told you so, but... well, OK, I don't hate it.

[masterfins]

Just about any sports writer would say that the sport of cycling was filled with just about every cyclist using performance enhancing drugs during the time period in question.  I still think the whole investigation was a waste of taxpayer dollars so long after the fact.  Are they going to perform an indepth investigation of every other team that raced to determine if any of them used drugs?  Who's gonna get the trophy the 12th place team??  I'm sure Roger Goodell could find some Super Bowl players that used drugs, are we going to start taking away Super Bowl Trophy's??

[Phishfan]

I still think the whole investigation was a waste of taxpayer dollars so long after the fact. 

This was not a government investigation. Does that change your opinion at all?

[masterfins]

This was not a government investigation. Does that change your opinion at all?

  No, doesn't change my opinion.  The USADA is partially funded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, a government agency, and also receives funds from the US Olympic Committee, which does receive some government funding from time to time.  So, indirectly there are taxpayer funds used.  Additionally, when the Judge who dismissed Armstrong's lawsuit calls into question the motives of the USADA in pursuing this investigation, I think that says something about the case.  According to the USADA's timeline the investigation took place during the 16 day period from 6/12/12 - 06/28/12, there's just no way they compiled all this information during that period.  Don't get me wrong I'm sure Lance used something at some period, but he got away with it (as did others), and I don't think we should be re-writing the history books 10 years after the fact with a lot of circumstantial evidence.

[MaineDolFan]

So, clearly, this wasn't a "witch hunt."

Turns out he was one of the biggest cheats ever. 

Two aspects of this burn me the most:

1:  His use of PED's most likely gave him cancer to begin with, he continued to use them after recovering.
2:  Dragging people into court and WINNING to clear his name...when he was lying the entire time.

Now it's out there.  The blood is in the water and the sharks are circling.  He won't have a penny to his name when this is all said and done, but he's finally done the right thing.