I'm fine. Thank you for your concern.

Fantastic post. I think you're spot on.

Actually, you could have stated it much more clearly. You say that you "could care less." Does that mean you actually do care about the subject? Or, as the balance of your post suggests, do you really not care? And if indeed you don't care, why such a lengthy reply. In fact, why reply at all? Why even bother reading this thread?

I can't help but think that LA and the UCI sat down and had a chat about how to handle this. Seems clear that the UCI had a lot to lose by having so many witnesses speak up.

UCI and LA sit down and they will let him keep the titles as long as he keeps quiet.

His secrets are their secrets right.

I don't know. That would set a precedent where the UCI ignored the World Anti-Doping Code, and that could have some far-reaching consequences.

Regardless, I refuse to believe that this is anything but a calculated move by LA. You don't go from being an OCD narcissist to poor witch-hunt victim that quickly. My guess is that LA knew what testimony would be brought and realized the futility of airing it out.

Also mentioned 5000 times before is the number of dopers who never tested positive.

Am I right in thinking that Arnie was never stripped of his Mr Universe titles, despite admitting doping? I do wonder who Lance p*ssed off so much that they wouldn't just let this go years back.

And why only 2 years for "tainted beef"? I don't understand the rules here.

Lance Armstrong charity sees $78K, up 25X

Updated: August 24, 2012, 7:39 PM ET
By Darren Rovell | ESPN

If the donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation are going to tail off, it certainly didn't happen on Day 1 after Armstrong decided to stop fighting charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career.

The foundation's CEO Doug Ulman told ESPN on Friday night that unsolicited donations were up almost 25 times as compared to Thursday

Ulman said $3,200 came in on Thursday to the organization's website, in the range of what it receives on a typical day. On Friday as of 4:30 p.m. ET, Ulman noted $78,000 in donations.

The number of people donating increased as well.

On Thursday, the foundation had 45 people donating through the website. On Friday, hours after the US Anti-Doping Agency said it had enough information to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour De France titles, 411 people felt compelled to donate.

Merchandise sales were up almost three-fold, from $4,000 in gear sold on Thursday to $11,000 sold on Friday.

"We've heard from our strongest supporters," Ulman said. "And while they are frustrated with the outcome, they are relieved to put this behind them and get back to business."

Every sponsor of Armstrong or the Foundation chose to publicly stand by him and the organization on Friday. Nike, Anheuser-Busch, Oakley, Johnson Health Tech, Sporting KC, FRS, Honey Stinger and American Century Investments all issued statements of support.

Over the past 15 years, the Lance Armstrong Foundation has raised more than $470 million, more than any athlete charity in history.

I don't think Ahnold was bound by any anti-doping rules at the time but I'm not sure.

The first time ban is 2 years, so all the guys who confess or get caught and cry tainted beef get a two-year ban. Multiple offenses are grounds for a lifetime ban. That's my understanding as of the last time I read the rules.

Oh dear, what are you an english teacher. You actually read all this crap. I at least was replying to someone, you on the other hand came out of left field. It was a friday afternoon after all. But even then you would have had to scroll through 17 pages of claptrap to find my response to another post. Way to go there. A true St'er. :0P

Do I care?, no. But something about the process bothers me. The words kangaroo keep popping up in my head and Salem.

There are 3 camps in regards to this decision:

- Those who think he cheated and want him to lose everything and burn
- Those who think he cheated and want to leave it with the standard penalty
- Those who think he did not cheat.

I'm stuck in two and fervently believe it was not only a peloton wide activity but team sponsored as well. I'm not sure why USADA is trying to set this precedent of stripping titles when they have no authority to do so. I'm also not sure what incentive they have doing so other than sticking it two Lance and in indirectly, their own country who claims 10 titles. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most European doping agencies begrudgingly penalize their athletes and there's no way they would motion to strip titles. I doubt Germany did with Ullrich, or Italy with Basso, and Spain with Heras.

I have no issue with the lifetime ban and if they punished athletes like this instead of 2 years it would eliminate doping by removing the risk / reward of it. You can't tell me that a domestique that make 50k a year and is stuck carrying bottles across the peloton wouldn't risk a 2 year ban if it meant the gains could push him to be competitive and make 10x more...

Did those doctors work with American cyclists?

Not sure if it's been said yet, but LA now has more testicles than Tour de France titles.

So I wonder if Travis Tygart is going to be the Van Helsing of sports now...taking on all myths, legends, etc...hunting them down whether they do or don't exist. Could be a good movie there! Then again that is his job.

A lot of people are angry at him for going after a retired guy, whether they think it is a witch hunt or not, I believe that is the duty of USADA and Travis, like it or not. The obvious targets are the fastest guys/girls, LA is the biggest cycling has.

If I had the millions LA had, were innocent and knew it, with my career of past and possible future at risk, heck, I'd fight. Period. The best way to crush USADA & prove they were full of it & bluffing would be to say, "show me the evidence" which they would do in court. LA's press release said USADA is convicting him without evidence...yet, he refused the offer to go to court & see that evidence, not exactly correct Mr. Armstrong. Imagine how much more LA could benefit his charity by not only putting the final hurdle of USADA on the losing side of a case & continue with his race career promoting his cause in that avenue. It would also cause USADA to come up with new standards for overwhelming collection of evidence before they ever went after another athlete--knowing they got burned trying to tackle LA (hypothetically here...)

As LA, I could fight, prove them wrong and move on. Or if I knew I fought that I would lose (knowing something that isn't public yet), there wouldn't be a point in going to court as he has chosen. He doesn't have to recognize USADA's authority here, as WADA backs him, which from what I understand, all the federations signed on to. He can deny the authority and claim he's singled out, but it doesn't change the facts there is authority over him in this case & he is using this denial as a stance to claim "unfair" here. Possibly hoping to rally the masses and get folks on his side if they fall for it. Again, I'd have all the resources needed & much more was lost if he is innocent--by his choice that he took. Not to mention the millions that some may try to get back from what can be deemed as fraud, from bonuses from sponsors, etc. There is much more to fight for & I'm not believing it for a second that he is just "tired" of fighting. He saw this coming months ago which is why he stated he would not fight--it appears he knew he could not by the looks of things. That said, it is just how I'm viewing all this & I don't really know because I do not know ALL the facts...so this is all just fiction floating around based off of a few facts that have been made public. Speculation. But it does seem to me how it played out.

IF he is really guilty & knows it, then he made the best decision for himself & all he is involved in at this time. Otherwise, not so much.

....so kind of damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Never test positive....and your.....clean???, no wait, dirty, no wait, clean.....NO WAIT Dirty, no wait - oh hell, I give up. Everyone must be dirty including JV as his win was impossible - right!!??

Oh this must just really PISS OFF the haters....Ha Ha!

I have a feeling it will never be valid enough information for some people.

jheebner wrote:

Not sure if it's been said yet, but LA now has more testicles than Tour de France titles.

He has 8, or are you just jumping the gun a little?

Is he free to race IMH now ? Or is he really retired now?
One thing for sure is I see why he got hammered a few days ago at that wedding :0(

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Wow....8 balls? And people seriously think he didn't dope?

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The point is that a positive test means you chose your doping people poorly. A negative test means nothing.

I was wondering if anyone was actually going to read what Armstrong's legal team has done. The media have been inaccurately reporting this since it broke last night. Armstrong has basically said pound sand, you have no authority over me. The reason USADA and their political leader have shut up is because their lawyers have told them to. They have no authority over Armstrong and they can't strip him of anything other then his professional license to compete in events they sanction. He will keep his titles. At a minimum the statute of limitations of 8 years the USADA itself has ignored will absolve him. The reality is that this IS a political witch hunt taken by an organization with a leader who is attempting to use the Armstrong case to further his own career. In the end it will have no bearing on Armstrong or his Livestrong Foundation.

Except that the UCI is apparently bound to accept the decision of USADA under the World Anti-Doping Code. But yes, since LA and the UCI seem to have been "more than friends" for some time now, I think he likes his chances with the UCI better than with USADA.

Wow! This is a sobering reminder for the haters