Oprah Winfrey got a very big scoop apparently. In an interview with Lance Armstrong, which will air on Thursday night on her network OWN (check local listings for channel number), he admits to doping and says that he will testify against others who doped. Juliet Macur of the New York Times says while its unclear how deep into one of the most sophisticated doping programs he goes, he does name names and is willing to bring down everyone involved. The AP story suggests that Armstrong came not to withhold any information but to be as forthcoming as he could. Some believe that his willingness to be a whistle blower against others is a way for him to escape further legal damage coming from numerous lawsuits that seek to recoup money Armstrong won because of years of having to cover up his doping despite people fervently believing that he was guilty.
Lance Armstrong is a case of everything being too good to be true. In what is quickly being seen as the dirtiest sport, the sport of organized cycling will take a major blow if and when Lance begins naming names. These could be well-placed individuals in different camps who have aided Lance in winning 7 consecutive Tour de France titles. These could be high ranking officials on the US Postal Service team that he was a part of for so many years. Who knows. But this interview, set to air Thursday, will for the first time have Lance Armstrong admitting to the world that he is indeed guilty of using substances to enhance his performance. I don’t think about what he represented as a cyclist, dominating the world’s greatest race on a yearly basis for such an extended period of time. I think about what he represented as a figurehead in the battle against cancer. His Livestrong campaign was one of the strongest. You saw those yellow bands everywhere and now, the face of that board, is a disgraced human being with nothing more than the cancer that is currently living in remission.
From the articles I’ve read about Lance Armstrong, he was not a nice person to those who crossed his path and dared to stop him from cheating. Yes, cheating is rampant in the sport, but it didn’t make it ok and Lance felt he was above the rules. He was one of the most adored athletes in the world, except to the French newspapers who for years carried on, what seemed like a vengeful vendetta against the man who was dominating their country’s annual athletic event. I always thought to myself, man those guys just keep coming after him. Why? Never once did I imagine a scenario in which he was guilty. I thought, here’s a guy who’s battling cancer. How could this guy cheat? But now that we know, now what? Cycling has lost its one true star. The entire sport is dirty and will take years to clean up. All because one man was so selfish as to use his power and influence to stop people from stopping himself. When this movie gets made, I can’t wait. For now, we’ll just have to listen to the rumors and read the stories. Listen to everything but trust nothing. Lance is just another guy now. He’s just another person walking this earth. He’s no longer one of the elites. A far fall from grace from a man we all thought was fighting a noble fight. It turns out the noble fight was the one the few who dared to stand against him, were fighting.
In other news, the Jets are beginning to interview a few new candidates for their open offensive coordinator position including Cam Cameron, Pat Shurmur and Marty Morningweig according to this report in the Daily News by Manish Mehta.
File this under the weird but true section: James Dolan had surveillance equipment pick up every word that Carmelo Anthony was saying during a game last week. That’s our James Dolan!
Also, Shump is back.…do the shumpty shump!
Sorry for the limited news, will have more during the day.
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