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Lance Armstrong


Rocky4

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Erased from sports history. Stripped of all wins. He's lost all his sponsorships, and an insurance company wants their 5.75 million back. All the Live Strong stuff is tarnished. How did he think he could get away with it? I realize cycling is one of the dirtiest sports, but to go on so defiant for so long is disturbing. Why can't athletes play on a level field? Do they enjoy their wins as much knowing they had an unfair advantage? I guess it's all about the cash.

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IMO there is much 'dirty linen' in some other sports too...

 

As competitors push the boundaries of human strength/endurance

 

The temptation is to use drugs for that extra edge...

 

This particular case appears to be completely over the top though

 

With open coercion of other team members

 

Showing the fantasy, false world at the 'top' of certain sports

 

Once the big media money and sponsorships wade in...the pressure to win becomes critical and ruthless

 

In the same league as 'throwing a match or game'...to collect on a big bet against a favourite...

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Once again, we see that the unforgivable sin in sports is having the audacity to deny an accusation. I think about the steroids issue in baseball. Lots of guys were implicated and some were smart enough to admit to it early on. Andy Petitte and Jason Giambi both admitted to using and it was quickly forgotten. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and other high profile players denied it and they became the face of the issue. I believe Pete Rose would be in the Hall of Fame today if he'd come clean about his gambling early on instead of lying about it. The buying public can forgive a cheater, but apparently despises a liar. Lance Armstrong is just another in a list of athletes who thought he could outlast his critics but lost. In sports, the combination of cheating and arrogance is the most lethal one.

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Thanks for the topic.

 

It is mondo sad. Even a bigger bummer because you didn't have to be a bike snob to really appreciate what Lance helped do. He's helped tons of people. He inspired everybody.

 

He's a hometown hero here.

 

yeah, this is lame. I just hope the folks who depend on the LiveStrong Cancer Foundation charities don't get the shaft over this.

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Yup. If true then it's a great blow for cycling especially.

 

There was an interview with one Tour rider who stated that to give a recent T-d-France 'Win' to the first definitely clean rider after Armstrong and the rest were disqualified it'd be someone who finished back in fifth or sixth place.

 

...an insurance company wants their 5.75 million back...

They should have taken out a policy against fraud.

 

P.

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Once again, we see that the unforgivable sin in sports is having the audacity to deny an accusation. I think about the steroids issue in baseball. Lots of guys were implicated and some were smart enough to admit to it early on. Andy Petitte and Jason Giambi both admitted to using and it was quickly forgotten. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and other high profile players denied it and they became the face of the issue. I believe Pete Rose would be in the Hall of Fame today if he'd come clean about his gambling early on instead of lying about it. The buying public can forgive a cheater, but apparently despises a liar. Lance Armstrong is just another in a list of athletes who thought he could outlast his critics but lost. In sports, the combination of cheating and arrogance is the most lethal one.

In the nutshell. Liars are the lowest scums.

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But didn't this all come down after Armstrong decided to stop fighting the allegations? My understanding is that allegations from the anti doping agency are almost impossible to fight.

 

Whether he is guilty or not, I don't really care, but is there any weight to the fact that he never tested positive? How easy is it to fool the tests?

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So what was the smoking gun? What was the actual proof(s) that he did infact cheat?

 

I think it was mostly his former team mates ratting him out. Tyler Hamilton, a former team mate and disgraced cyclist, wrote a hole book about drugs in cycling, and named Armstrong one of the worst.

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The sad part is that if they try to name a replacement winner fro Armstrong they have to go back 3 or 4 places because all of the first 3 places have been busted for doping too.

 

All and all, the tour is a farce.

 

Like somebody already said, Lance's dope was better.

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He's inocent.

He's been charged with no crimes.

No court of law proved him guilty.

Just because some "government agency" declares your accomplishments null and void, doesn't meen you're guilty.

It's too bad about his sponsorships canning him and the resulting fall out from the aleged allegations.

He needed to resign from Live Strong. I get it.

He's done a lot for cancer survivors and cancer research.

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"Cycling's governing body agreed Monday to stripping Armstrong of his Tour de France titles, following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams.

 

UCI President Pat McQuaid announced that the federation accepted the USADA's report on Armstrong and would not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport." -CBS News Report

 

Apparently, Armstrong's doping was pretty common knowledge, just as it is common knowledge that doping has been rampant in the sport. It is tough on fans to find out that favorite athletes are cheaters. The bigger disappointment is that Lance feels he must distance himself from the charities he has been so instrumental in helping to create and support.

 

USADA's report

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All this is very difficult, sophisticated and also plagued with hypocrisy. It is all about winning and how to win. There is no such thing as sportsmanship anymore. Many governing sports officials and organization set to make the sport "fair" so to speak, to have a fair/even playing field. When substances or performance enhancing drugs are suggested or mentioned, it is scrutinized as it gives and unfair advantage........well, what about performance enhancing equipments? Why are they allowed more acceptably as these equipments can also give an unfair advantage? For example, the light weight carbon/titanium tennis rackets that are so stiff and rigid allowing the tennis player to hit harder and have better precision? This goes also with light weight bicycles. I think now it comes down to the point, perhaps allowing performance enhancing drugs to be used by athletes would allow the playing field to be even, because the option is there, as with performance enhancing equipments.

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He's ok with me. Raised over 500 MILLION for cancer !!! ALL of the pro cyclists have been doing this for 20 yrs.

 

Me too. Let's all just get fat, drink cherry cola, and watch tv for the rest of our lives. The Carlin piece was funny though. [biggrin]

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I think it was mostly his former team mates ratting him out. Tyler Hamilton, a former team mate and disgraced cyclist, wrote a hole book about drugs in cycling, and named Armstrong one of the worst.

 

Yes, but Hamilton tested positive, while Armstrong never did. Were they on different drugs, then? Perhaps by the time Hamilton tested positive. At that point in the argument it becomes hard to separate speculation from fact.

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No!!!!!!11!!

Meh! He raised lots of $ for cancer.

He's getting sh*t because he's THE cyclist, surely not the only pro-sportster to cheat.

Here we are, shaming him for cheating though he raised cancer awareness.

 

Why not shame our politicos for blatantly BS-ing constituents?

Wait, the powers governing our leaders own the media. No shaming will befal our leaders. We may be branded terrorists if we try.

 

Lets shame crooked cops!

Wait, that wouldn't sell magazines. Not juicy enough.

 

Back to famous people shaming...

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BG, it's not only about having a level playing field but the health of the athletes, whether personal health or in the case of contact sports the health of your opponents. Can we go ahead and strip those home run titles now?

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