HOLY showtime!!! Amstrong accepts life ban!!!

[greyhoundtom]

I know where I can get a bucket of tar, and I’m sure I have suitable brush somewhere in the shed..................now if someone could find a chook we could pluck...........

[clackers]

I didnt read it that way, more the strong willed personality?

Thank you, Warthog - it's exactly what I meant. Linda seems awesome.

[wombatK]

I didnt read it that way, more the strong willed personality?

Thank you, Warthog - it's exactly what I meant. Linda seems awesome.

Linda may have been strong willed (sorry, can't say, 'coz haven't read the book).

Strong willed riders walked away from the peloton when it was cheating.

LA gave in to the temptation of drug cheating - that's the opposite : weak willed.
His failure to acknowledge his guilt is equally weak.

[warthog1]

Strong willed riders walked away from the peloton when it was cheating.

LA gave in to the temptation of drug cheating - that's the opposite : weak willed.
His failure to acknowledge his guilt is equally weak.

You can accuse LA of alot of things, I would not list weak willed amongst them

[AUbicycles]

You can accuse LA of alot of things, I would not list weak willed amongst them

I would tend to agree with you and would read it that decisions to dope or decisions to play the game are very goal orientated "What do I need to do to acheive this goal" (or the best possible results).


Hamilton said in the ABC 7:30 report that with his doping he had lied to friends and family, even parents. There is massive pressure to save face and at the moment, even if he openly admitted to doping, he has now gained so much support from loyal fans that I think many forgive him rather that turn on him in disgust - there are now two clear groups, those for and those against and I don't see any major defections (except if the USADA put their arms up and said "Whoop's sorry, we made big mistake on this".)

[Tommi]

I think LA has purely had enough. If you spend your whole life fighting against something that won't stop until it gets what it wants it can become very tiresome and monotonous. I don't blame him for not fighting it anymore and to just move on.

Sometimes it is just better to walk away and cut your losses.

[greyhoundtom]

Regardless of what has been published about LA, or what the eventual outcome will be, I will still be happy to wear my Livestrong jersey.

[darkelf921]

LA's year just got worse. He accidentally tweeted his mobile number to the world.

[mrs slocombe's pussy]

I think LA has purely had enough. If you spend your whole life fighting against something that won't stop until it gets what it wants it can become very tiresome and monotonous. I don't blame him for not fighting it anymore and to just move on.

Sometimes it is just better to walk away and cut your losses.

sometimes its better to admit the truth.

[greyhoundtom]

I think LA has purely had enough. If you spend your whole life fighting against something that won't stop until it gets what it wants it can become very tiresome and monotonous. I don't blame him for not fighting it anymore and to just move on.

Sometimes it is just better to walk away and cut your losses.

sometimes its better to admit the truth.

The truth...........you want the truth..............some people can’t handle the truth.

Does my bum look big in this?

[ColinOldnCranky]

I think LA has purely had enough. If you spend your whole life fighting against something that won't stop until it gets what it wants it can become very tiresome and monotonous. I don't blame him for not fighting it anymore and to just move on.

Sometimes it is just better to walk away and cut your losses.

But, pray tell, why didn't he walk away a step or two earlier in the process? I can hazard a guess - There were still legal games he could play to stave off facing the charges, the witness and the evidence.

Or why didn't he remain one step in the process longer. I'll hazrd a guess again. Because he would then have had to face the evidence in an environment where he risks jail time if he lies. Al la Marion Jones.

No, he "had enough" just at the penultimate moment, not a moment before and not a moment after.

In case you are under the influence of earlier spin, it is not USADA that has been fighting to keep the evidence under wraps, it has been Armstrong and his lawyers. As he has done all along, Armstrong's actions frustrated that. The next step would have seen that evidence presented and tested. Under oath. And in a place where control cannot be exercised by minders, spin doctors and people favorably disposed to you. And where it is extremely difficult to avoid responding. I'll hazard a guess as top why. That he had no way of explaining away the evidence presented. Better to not let anyone else see that evidence and so, in some minds, keep the question of his guilt questionable. Not a good outcome for an innocent but certainly a better one if guilty.

[AUbicycles]

I think LA has purely had enough.

He probably has had enough but the decision was about timing. It is the best time for him to withdraw as it allows the "question of doubt" to remain. The verdict is in though as the evidence hasn't yet been released it is, in the mind of the public, inconclusive. Once the USADA evidence is released can it be concluded. If Lance was able to continue to prolong or avoid, he would have done so and I am fairly certain his legal team has looked into all of the possibilities.


Let's have a look into the future, when the evidence from the USADA is released, will the spin machine start up again to cast doubt on the validity of it? I keep on thinking of Bill Clinton and how he is such a charismatic personality but got himself in and out of trouble - if Lance continues to play his cards right he retains his celebrity status without a Floyd Landis effect.

[wombatK]

I think LA has purely had enough.

He probably has had enough... will the spin machine start up again to cast doubt on the validity of it?

If he really has had enough,where would he find the energy to get involved or defend himself when the evidence is released ?
It would be contradictory at least, and maybe hypocritical, for him to suddenly find the energy to put his spin on the evidence.

Not saying he won't do exactly that, or that it would be worth any skerrick of credibility. Nonetheless, there'll be people
who'll believe it just like there are people who believe Bill did not have sexual relations with that woman.

Cheers

[toolonglegs]

Or why didn't he remain one step in the process longer. I'll hazrd a guess again. Because he would then have had to face the evidence in an environment where he risks jail time if he lies. Al la Marion Jones.

Lying to the face of the USADA won't get you sent to jail, it is not a court of law... Marion Jones was facing a federal panel ( or whatever you call it ), the federal case that involved LA was dropped.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Or why didn't he remain one step in the process longer. I'll hazrd a guess again. Because he would then have had to face the evidence in an environment where he risks jail time if he lies. Al la Marion Jones.

Lying to the face of the USADA won't get you sent to jail, it is not a court of law... Marion Jones was facing a federal panel ( or whatever you call it ), the federal case that involved LA was dropped.

Ironically it would be the many witnesses and not Armstrong, if their testimony to USADA was inconsistent with their testimony to the Grand Jury, who would be at risk of jail time.

[alex]

Lying to the face of the USADA won't get you sent to jail, it is not a court of law... Marion Jones was facing a federal panel ( or whatever you call it ), the federal case that involved LA was dropped.

the case has been dropped but has not been 'closed' - personally i expect it will get moving again after the election and after the 'mysterious witnesses' all receive their sanctions

we don't know if cancer jesus has made any statements to the federal investigators. but if he has then you can be assured that he lied to them. perhaps that is the reason for his continuing denial, to stay out of jail...

[roller]

if armstrong had really had enough, he wouldn't be lobbying behind the scenes to get the political wheels in motion to shut the USADA down:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/ ... 57593548/1

[norbs]

Having just finished "The Secret Race", either Hamilton is a brilliant fiction writer, or Lance is a cheat, bully, liar and coward!

I thought I had a reasonable handle on the doping thing, until I read that book. Wow.

[AUbicycles]

He probably has had enough... will the spin machine start up again to cast doubt on the validity of it?

If he really has had enough,where would he find the energy to get involved or defend himself when the evidence is released ?
It would be contradictory at least, and maybe hypocritical, for him to suddenly find the energy to put his spin on the evidence.

Not saying he won't do exactly that, or that it would be worth any skerrick of credibility.

To expand on this, he has still chosen the right moment to officially withdraw rather because he has no more energy to continue his defense.

The link to the USAtoday article (linked above) covering the group of state lawmakers who want Congress to investigate his agency in the wake of the Lance Armstrong sanctions is interesting. As Lance was actively defending his case by the USADA he used political influence to try and get the case thrown out but didn't suceed.

This is an interesting quote from that article - a Senator questioning the finances and operations of the USADA:

We ought to have a fair and just process to determine whether or not speculation leads to someone being guilty...

Of course the investigation if there was an investigation in the USADA and their (financial) books were not in order, of course that would mean the case against Lance in invalid... right? All the more reason for the evidence to come out.

Nonetheless, there'll be people who'll believe it just like there are people who believe Bill did not have sexual relations with that woman.

In context I meant about the credibility of the person rather than the deed.

[alex]

We ought to have a fair and just process to determine whether or not speculation leads to someone being guilty...

that has already been decided by the courts

[AUbicycles]

The previous suggestion was that spin and lobby work is still in progress by Lance Armstrong and currently Senators are again raising challenge to this USADA decision.
So I found the quote from Senator Rubio to be somewhat off the mark.

[Xplora]

We ought to have a fair and just process to determine whether or not speculation leads to someone being guilty...

that has already been decided by the courts

This is totally missing the point of the SENATOR'S comment. These bodies are controlled by rules that people like him in the "Parliament" vote for and review. The rules are only what they are because someone has made them and others agreed. They are subject to change... the USADA is to serve the people, the people aren't there to serve the USADA.

The court would have found a completely different answer if the statutes prescribed them. Common law never beats the Parliament.

[wombatK]

This is totally missing the point of the SENATOR'S comment. These bodies are controlled by rules that people like him in the "Parliament" vote for and review.

Rules ? Then speculation has absolutely nothing to do with it, and a Senator ought to know better than to
be suggesting that USADA acts on anything less than the rules laid out by the legislature.

[high_tea]

This is totally missing the point of the SENATOR'S comment. These bodies are controlled by rules that people like him in the "Parliament" vote for and review.

Rules ? Then speculation has absolutely nothing to do with it, and a Senator ought to know better than to
be suggesting that USADA acts on anything less than the rules laid out by the legislature.

I thought the senator was arguing for a more formal process. A tribunal with appeals lying to a local court or something. That's a pretty parochial view, quite apart from the fact that regulating bike racers ought to be fairly low on any sane person's agenda.

What statute does the USADA operate under anyway? Honest question.

[zero]

This is totally missing the point of the SENATOR'S comment. These bodies are controlled by rules that people like him in the "Parliament" vote for and review.

Rules ? Then speculation has absolutely nothing to do with it, and a Senator ought to know better than to
be suggesting that USADA acts on anything less than the rules laid out by the legislature.

I thought the senator was arguing for a more formal process. A tribunal with appeals lying to a local court or something. That's a pretty parochial view, quite apart from the fact that regulating bike racers ought to be fairly low on any sane person's agenda.

What statute does the USADA operate under anyway? Honest question.

USADA operates as an outsourcing supplier to USOC (though it is a seperate non profit corp USOC created for the purpose) - USOC itself was created and authorised by the Ted Stevens act of congress.

It already is a tribunal - the panel selection is 1 by the athlete, 1 by USADA, and a neutral they both agree on, and the right of appeal also exists, but it goes to CAS, not a local court, which IMO makes sense.
Basically its all an exercise in forum shopping by armstrong anyway.