Lance......

[Redlinerobert]

Being able to put my head down at night and know I'm not a fraud and cheat is worth a lot of money.

Worth all the money in the world. 

[Sam]

Being able to put my head down at night and know I'm not a fraud and cheat is worth a lot of money.

Dean, that is why I left the insurance agency side of the business and became an independent consultant with no insurance sales.

 

I can go to sleep knowing I did my best without screwing anybody. Makes for a good feeling and a sound sleep.

 

Sure wish it would help my hook up ratio!

[Quillback]

Saw a picture of Lance doing a victory lap in the yellow jersey while holding a large American flag.  At the time he knew he was doping and that gave him the win.  But it's a disgrace to see a cheater and a liar carrying the American flag celebrating a false victory, when I see the American flag I want to remember images like the Marines raising it on Mount Suribachi.  I don't want to see Lance near it.  Strong feelings, I know, but if you're going to wear or carry our flag you have an obligation to do it honorably.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

problem is his old test have come back positive with new technology. The man ran an extensive drug lab for his cover ups. cheating is cheating. Whether everyone is cheating or not. he has no morals or intergrity. and if you say well everyone was cheating well then you have no integrity either. no slinging insults but come on. he is a cheater. like Bonds, Clemens ect. its disgusting

The only problem I see is that they got caught. In Lances case USADA and everyone else has been gunning for him for years. That nerd Travis Tygart had an axe to grind and finally got what he was after. I honestly believe that he lost sleep over the fact that Lance was getting one by him. Lance inspired millions of people with what he did. Who cares whether he doped and lied about it. Cause EVERYONE believed he was really clean and beating the brakes off all the doped up riders in cycling. It was an extremely level playing field as far as I can see. Plus they can strip every title he has ever won. The world knows who really won those races. Tygart is in my opinion a loser. How many thousands of dollars did he waste trying to prove what everyone already knew, that Lance doped? As far as Im concerned he is one of the greatest if not the greatest cyclist of that time. Otherwise all the other doping cyclist would have beaten him. Name me 2 great cyclist from that era that were winning those kind of races and were not doping and I will retract what I said about the playing field being level. Not people that no one has ever heard of but actual Greats.

Im sorry but ALL physical sports are filled with juice. Call it fair, unfair, or whatever you want, but every athlete has the choice of juicing or not. Some do some don't. Its your personal choice as to what you want to do. However dont crucify the ones who do it. They are grown men playing childrens games. So yeah I would say the playing field can be pretty level. People are so naive if they really believe only a few athletes in football and baseball are juicing. Look at most of the players bodies. It is beyond obvious what they are doing, and dont dare say they are just working out a lot. The human body will only get so large without outside help. It is not possible to work out and eat the amount of food needed to bulk up like a lot of these men are while being on a NFL or MLB team, with all the work that entails. Why everyone gets so shocked and astounded when a player gets caught is beyond me. Again the only mistake they made was getting caught.

[flyfisher]

The only problem I see is that they got caught. In Lances case USADA and everyone else has been gunning for him for years. That nerd Travis Tygart had an axe to grind and finally got what he was after. I honestly believe that he lost sleep over the fact that Lance was getting one by him. Lance inspired millions of people with what he did. Who cares whether he doped and lied about it. Cause EVERYONE believed he was really clean and beating the brakes off all the doped up riders in cycling. It was an extremely level playing field as far as I can see. Plus they can strip every title he has ever won. The world knows who really won those races. Tygart is in my opinion a loser. How many thousands of dollars did he waste trying to prove what everyone already knew, that Lance doped? As far as Im concerned he is one of the greatest if not the greatest cyclist of that time. Otherwise all the other doping cyclist would have beaten him. Name me 2 great cyclist from that era that were winning those kind of races and were not doping and I will retract what I said about the playing field being level. Not people that no one has ever heard of but actual Greats.

Im sorry but ALL physical sports are filled with juice. Call it fair, unfair, or whatever you want, but every athlete has the choice of juicing or not. Some do some don't. Its your personal choice as to what you want to do. However dont crucify the ones who do it. They are grown men playing childrens games. So yeah I would say the playing field can be pretty level. People are so naive if they really believe only a few athletes in football and baseball are juicing. Look at most of the players bodies. It is beyond obvious what they are doing, and dont dare say they are just working out a lot. The human body will only get so large without outside help. It is not possible to work out and eat the amount of food needed to bulk up like a lot of these men are while being on a NFL or MLB team, with all the work that entails. Why everyone gets so shocked and astounded when a player gets caught is beyond me. Again the only mistake they made was getting caught.

Well stated. It just sucks that such an outstanding sport is tarnished by juicing.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Well stated. It just sucks that such an outstanding sport is tarnished by juicing.

It really is rotten that it is going on. I never would have even thought about cyclist doing things like that until Armstrong won his second tour. I had never even heard of EPO and the other forms of doping that endurance athletes use and do, until that time. I always thought of PED's as straight up juice, IE. Androgens, Tren, Winstrol, and other such anabolics.

[K_Mac]

Anyone who cares about sports should care about the use of PEDs. When they have to be used to level the playing field everyone loses, esp those who will not cheat to compete. They may have trained their entire life to play a children's game and have world class ability, only to find out that in order to play they must take performance enhancing drugs. As long as we allow it to go on, turning a blind eye while caring only about results, we all become part of the problem. Armstrong was worshiped like a god and had money by the truck load thrown at him while most everyone who had any knowledge of cycling knew that PEDs were being widely used. The real tragedy is that we care more about performance than integrity IMO.

[Jake P]

How much did Oprah pay him?  The ratings for her network are in the dumpster.  She cashed in on Whitney Huston's death, and now she's cashing in on Lance's "confession". 

Bingo!

 

If memory serves me correctly, Oprahs average show draws 330,000. Lances interview? over 4 million. Money talks!!

[Jake P]

To everyone saying, "Even though he cheated, he still helped raise alot of money so hes not a bad guy".

 

He raised money. Alot of money. I don't think anyone is hating on him for that. Everyone is more upset that everything he was about is a lie. The reason livestrong made So much money is because he was the face of the organization. A face that beat cancer and overcame so many obstacles during his rise to the top of becoming the best cyclist in the universe all without performance enhancing drugs.Without that story livestrong wouldn't be as widely known or had raised as much money as it did because lance Armstrong would be just another cyclist. Because without the drugs he wouldn't have achieved the great amount of success that he did and put Livestrong on the map.

 

No one is mad at what he did, just mad at the way he did it.

[TrippyJai]

Sports and doping go hand in hand. Who isn't on PEDs or doing testosterone replacement is the real question. I don't know how they test the riders for cycling, but I'm assuming it's a urine test which most players can pass by cycling properly and I know Olympic style testing cost to much for them to keep doing it for every single player. They need more random drug testings, but then it'll probably end up like what happened with Serena Williams who locked herself up in a washroom and called the cops because she thought it was an intruder. Was she legitimately scared for her life or hiding from the test?

 

These players who cheat will always find a way to do it by delaying tests from exemptions, submitting non-human urine, hiding or using the newest underground steroid that doesn't show up. Is there a solution to this problem in sports? I don't know, but don't be surprised if you hear the next person being caught. They are going after these players such as Bonds, Clemens and Armstrong to set an example.

[SirSnookalot]

 

 

 

How much did Oprah pay him?  The ratings for her network are in the dumpster.  She cashed in on Whitney Huston's death, and now she's cashing in on Lance's "confession". 

The interview would have happened whether it was by Oprah on her network or someone else, I don't think the interviewer should be tried in the court of public opinion, it's business.

Lance Armstrong's confession is not an apology but a tactic to get back into various competetive events,  he displayed little or no remorse.  IMO his interview did more to tarnish his image than help.

 

People Like Tiger Woods, Michael Vick and even O.J. Simpson did nothing to tarnish their sports, it was what they did in their personal lives that got them in trouble and each has paid their own price.

[Quillback]

looks like a movie is going to be made about Lance's life.  Makes me think this whole Oprah "confession" thing is just Lance generating some publicity for himself.  He's got plans, I'm sure of that, this whole confession thing is just a tactic to get him back on the road to riches.  Not that it's necessarily wrong to do this, a man's gotta make a living, but he should be seen for what he is. 

[shootermcbob]

I agree about Lance's comments that he doesn't think he cheated, he just leveled the playing field. If you follow the Tour de France, you know that EVERYONE who is anyone in the sport has been busted for doping in the last 15-20 years. I could name names, but we probably don't have enough bandwidth.

The Tour has sent ENTIRE TEAMS home for doping...the sport is absolutely filled with dopers.

 

That being said, it is not the cheating or the "leveling the playing field" that sticks in my craw. It is the way he destroyed people's personal lives..ruined them publicly, personally, and financially to cover his cheating. People who were truthful and lived their lives with morals and values.

 

That is what makes him a despicable human being.

[Neonsnow78]

anyone can go juice, it takes a real athlete to do things naturally without enhancements

[Bassn Blvd]

I do not understand some of the point of views or opinions on doping to "level the playing field."

 

IMO, no sport requires an individual to dope in order to play. It's the individual who needs to dope so he can be at the same level as the true, bad ars athlete.

 

If you have to dope to improve your indurance or skills, then YOU are not at the level required to fit in with those WHO CAN play the sport amongst their peers who don't dope.

 

How many kids were inspired by Lance? IMO, kids were inspired by a cheat and a liar- not someone I would considere a role model.

 

But what about the money he provided for cancer research?  Quite possibly done out of guilt for cheating. Oh, it's ok to be a cheat, liar and thief as long as you give a little bit of your loot to charity or the community?

 

Geeez, if doping was made legal in sports then I could understand the less talented ones doing it. Imagine how great the great ones would have played if they doped.

[shootermcbob]

I do not understand some of the point of views or opinions on doping to "level the playing field."

 

IMO, no sport requires an individual to dope in order to play. It's the individual who needs to dope so he can be at the same level as the true, bad ars athlete.

 

If you have to dope to improve your indurance or skills, then YOU are not at the level required to fit in with those WHO CAN play the sport amongst their peers who don't dope.

 

How many kids were inspired by Lance? IMO, kids were inspired by a cheat and a liar- not someone I would considere a role model.

 

But what about the money he provided for cancer research?  Quite possibly done out of guilt for cheating. Oh, it's ok to be a cheat, liar and thief as long as you give a little bit of your loot to charity or the community?

 

Geeez, if doping was made legal in sports then I could understand the less talented ones doing it. Imagine how great the great ones would have played if they doped.

I think you are making my point. I don't agree with the doping at all. However, when you consider that cycling is absolutely filled, top to bottom with dopers(at the highest levels), then you either doped or you could not compete...no matter how dedicated or in shape you were.

 

It has nothing to do with talent or skill, and everything to do with the immeasurable advantage doping gives. Look at Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Armstrong, Lyle Alzado (RIP), and others who have doped.

 

Carl Lewis was the fastest man in the world for a few years, all of the sudden, he can't even COMPETE with Ben Johnson...why...steroids, HGH, EPO. Nothing to do with Lewis talent, skill, or even work ethic, and everything to do with the advantage that doping gives the dishonest athlete.

[flyfisher]

Not sure how many people,posting follow cycling at all but the sport is dirty top to bottom. Worse than any other sport by a long shot. While I think lance doping was inexcusable his reason for doing so is legitimate, but not justified.

That is part of why I am not supporting him at all. I wanted to believe he was clean and doing the right thing and winning, proof that good guys don't finish last but I was wrong. He was a cheat like everyone else.

And if this is a reason to allow people to use PED's then I will not be watching any cycling going forward because it loses what little integrity is left.

I am not even sure who is left that has never been tied to doping......Evans and the one shleck brother maybe?

[K_Mac]

Shootermcbob sums it it up exactly.  Doping makes it impossible for any athlete to compete, regardless of ability, without using.   

[sparks63]

Gentlemen,

 

For those of you that get Showtime, please catch 60 Minutes Sports this month.  It has a very good story about Mr. Armstrong and his team.

 

Tight lines!

 

Scott

[Bassn Blvd]

Shooter.

I hear ya. I don't know the first thing about cycling or the amount of doping that goes on. 

 

I understand how someone could have mixed feelings on doping in a particular sport. Someone mentioned that doping is RAMPANT in cycling and probably almost everyone does it. Well, if cycling is your sport and the only way for a TOP athlete to compete is to to dope, then i could understand how some folk might be ok with that.

 

On the other hand, the sport itself does not require any form of doping to be compete. It's human against human. You're either good or you're not. It appears the people who run the sport have laxed testing or no testing at all. perhaps they turn the other cheek, I don't know.

If I had to dope in order to compete in my favorite sport because the majority of the field doped, then perhaps I'd become an advocate for better testing and stiffer penalties.

 

It seems some folk think it's okay to dope because everyone else does it.  

[flyfisher]

I think you are making my point. I don't agree with the doping at all. However, when you consider that cycling is absolutely filled, top to bottom with dopers(at the highest levels), then you either doped or you could not compete...no matter how dedicated or in shape you were.

 

It has nothing to do with talent or skill, and everything to do with the immeasurable advantage doping gives. Look at Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Armstrong, Lyle Alzado (RIP), and others who have doped.

 

Carl Lewis was the fastest man in the world for a few years, all of the sudden, he can't even COMPETE with Ben Johnson...why...steroids, HGH, EPO. Nothing to do with Lewis talent, skill, or even work ethic, and everything to do with the advantage that doping gives the dishonest athlete.

I disagree that PED's make you an elite athlete just by taking them. The biggest advantage for a cyclist is the ability to recover more quickly from a long stage. You make it sound like anyone who takes them automatically are going to dominate and that is not the case.

Bottom line is that it is cheating and goes against everything that sports are about in my mind. It is unfortunate that someone as talented as lance felt the need to cheat in order to compete with all the other cheaters. It makes me wonder how he would have done since he says, and I believe him, that he didn't take PED's for his comeback run and came in 2nd after the top guy was busted for doping...lol

To me if cycling or any sport wants to get serious it is going to be stiffer penalties. My thought would be first offense you are out for a year....everyone screws up and deserve a second shot in my mind. Second offense you are banned for life, period. Can't coach, can't play can't be involved with a team in any way shape or form.

[shootermcbob]

I disagree that PED's make you an elite athlete just by taking them. The biggest advantage for a cyclist is the ability to recover more quickly from a long stage. You make it sound like anyone who takes them automatically are going to dominate and that is not the case. Bottom line is that it is cheating and goes against everything that sports are about in my mind. It is unfortunate that someone as talented as lance felt the need to cheat in order to compete with all the other cheaters. It makes me wonder how he would have done since he says, and I believe him, that he didn't take PED's for his comeback run and came in 2nd after the top guy was busted for doping...lol To me if cycling or any sport wants to get serious it is going to be stiffer penalties. My thought would be first offense you are out for a year....everyone screws up and deserve a second shot in my mind. Second offense you are banned for life, period. Can't coach, can't play can't be involved with a team in any way shape or form.

I didn't say taking the PED's automatically makes one an elite athlete. I am aware, just as you stated, that one big advantage is recovery time...which is huge for an event like the "tour" where you are riding every day, every other day. The other advantages include much faster increases in strength, explosiveness, and endurance. Coupled with the blood doping, you have a stronger faster athlete who is more capable of of performing longer and utilizing oxygen in their blood better further increasing endurance.

 

I also disagree with the doping in all sports. NOT a fan of Barry Bonds, Lyle Alzado, Mark McGuire, Marion Jones, Ben Johnson and countless others.

 

The facts remain that when an athlete is competing at the highest of levels of their sport, those that dope have a DISTINCT advantage. To take that one step further, an athlete that dopes that is competing against other "like" athletes...those of similar skill or ability...has a DISTINCT advantage. Said doping athlete still must put in the work and training to gain the advantage. Obviously, if I dope and sit on my couch, I am still not gonna be able to beat Lance in a time trial.

 

But to make the comparison, If Lance dopes, and for instance...Cadel Evans does not, and they train the same...Lance will have a huge advantage that actually grows over time...considering that they are both roughly the same talent-wise and age-wise.

[flyfisher]

Lets sum it all up here:

1-doping is never ok in any sport or circumstance

2-two athletes that are similar but one dopes the doper has a distinct advantage

3-all athletes that dope should be banned on a second failed test

4-lance is a pompous arrogant *******-applies to many others as well but not gonna list them all

5-lance did do a lot of good for cancer research but that does not negate him cheating to gain notoriety

6-I wish I was out fishing instead if discussing lance on an Internet forum

7-I am hungry

8-my chipotle corn chowder is almost done cooking

[Raider Nation Fisher]

Maybe Im the only one on here that feels this way, but every sport I played or am playing I have always played to win. Its the whole "Victory or Death" mentality that I have. I go above and beyond everything to make sure I have trained harder, faster, longer, and better than any and ALL of my competition. I have NEVER used juice to enhance my athletic performance, and all supplements I take are 100% legal, so that argument does not apply. I have beaten people who were/are on the juice just because of the insane way that I train, and the absolute hell I put myself and my body through to make sure I am one of the best. I have also lost to people who were on the juice, but that was my fault and not the fact that they were juicing. So no juicing is not the see all and be all of every sport, if you train hard enough then it is possible to overcome those who are cheating. Not many people feel the way I do though so juicing is prevalent in most sports. It is possible to overcome but it takes a hell of a lot more effort than most are willing to put in to it.

However, if it were to get to the point where I am getting my tail handed to me by the bulk of the competition that is on the juice. Then yeah, I would without doubt shoot it in. Losing is not an option and winning is everything. Only the people who are crummy at their sport say it isnt everything. Winning IS EVERYTHING, it is what drives us, it is what motivates us to be the best. It is what drives society as whole. So yeah if I were in that position I would do the same thing.

Fortunately for me I dont play endurance sports, and the one sport I do play being massive is not going to help at all.

I am finished tooting my own horn and done with my soap box now.

[TrippyJai]

If you follow the Tour de France, you know that EVERYONE who is anyone in the sport has been busted for doping in the last 15-20 years. I could name names, but we probably don't have enough bandwidth.

The Tour has sent ENTIRE TEAMS home for doping...the sport is absolutely filled with dopers.

 

Shooter is right, everyone in cycling dopes and if they didn't, they can not complete these rigorous races. It's almost physically impossible to do it.