freestyle and Brian286?

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I went to the best school in the world for looking at a set of things and making an analysis.

I am very concerned. The downside to this has become so enormous that our exposure to risk is too great.

The last time there was this much sensationalized, circumstantial discussion about something it caused us to invade a country.

I really embrace the idea of the conquering hero. Those beautiful Nike commercials actually brought tears to my eyes- literally. It is all so fairy tale.

And that (among other reasons) is why I am concerned. I so hope I am just being a paranoid old fool. I am so hoping that. God, I hope that.......

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I don't like Lance...

Having met him, viewed his actions and rhetoric from afar over the last five years, and having talked to people who know him well, I can say without hesitation or remorse that I do not like him. I think he is great for cycling but I think he's an ass and if more people would get past the idol worship and listen to what he has to say and view his actions objectively, they would come to a similar conclusion.

Tom, you started using drugs?

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what, you think we're going to invade France?

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Amen to that.

He was a pompous ass in high school. Today, I don't know. He survived cancer, and has made invaluable contributions to the sport of cycling and to his fellow human beings. No one is perfect, and if he's still an ass, who cares? There are an awful lot of asses in this world who haven't contributed nearly as much to their fellow human beings as has LA.

Whether he's an ass or not, I'm still pulling for him.

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Steve Perkins

I think Lance is great. Now name a top athlete that is not an ass. Having played baseball at a pretty high level I can tell you that most baseball players be it rookie league college and all the way to the majors are for the most part ass. My cousin was/is a football coach in Boulder and on a number of occassions has told me about a certain former top US Marathoner who consistently complains loudly and is extremly rude to others that are on the track at the same time he has. With greatness comes arrogance.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Tyler Hamilton, Eric Wholberg both very nice guys. Eric did a homestay with us several years ago and would be welcome back in the house any time.

"Now name a top athlete that is not an ass"

You've GOT to be kidding right?

You're justification for LA's arrogance speaks volumes...

I am not a Lance fan.

I don't know if I love him, but I have a deep and abiding respect for what he has achieved and the good he has done for many people in the world.

I look at it like this: He may be an asshole. I don't know, but if so, that's his personality. (I'm a bit of an asshole myself.) But you have to take everything into account when you measure the man. He does what he wants, the way he wants, and he steamrolls you when you get in his way. And he wins. Not just at cycling, but at other things as well. Further, he takes that winning ambition and uses it to raise millions for his cancer foundations. How many really nice cyclists do you know that do as much charitable fundraising as he does? That have their own Foundations?

The only thing that I fault him for is leaving his wife. I don't know all the circumstances, but based on how devastated she was by the breakup(read the latest Runner's World), I am not convinced that it was a mutual decision.

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Not a Lance fan, either. He ruined it when he dropped his wife and took up with the skank.

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Have you hugged Your Mom today?

I <3 Lance!

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"One thing I have found there are just two ways to go
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow"- Robert Earlk Keen Jr.

Current players only major sports (first two that come to mind per sport):

Tim Duncan
Steve Nash
Derek Jeter
Alex Rodrigez
Zindene Zidane
Terry Henry
Ernie Els
Phil Mickelson
Andre Agassi
Lindsey Davenport
Jarome Iglina
Joe Thorton
Mark Martin
Bill Elliot

That wasn't so hard was it?

I don't see any hero worship going on. I don't equate calling him the best bike racer to a hero. Praising him for being a great bike rider and competitor is not hero worship. It's merely acknowledgement of his ability.

I went to HS w/him, and yes, he was an ass. Guy never had one kind word to say to me even though we competed on the track team together. I was willing to accept that he had changed a bit after cancer survival, but judging from things I heard from people working for his foundation and others who had some contact w/him when I lived in Austin, he was still fundamentally the same guy.

Strangely, I've started to soften a little on my Lance stance this last year or so. I don't want to go into too much detail here, but I think we have had to deal with some similar issues in our lives, and it just appears to me that he has made some serious strides in the last couple of years which have nothing at all to do with cancer survival. Maybe that's why he's starting to grow on me a bit. I was hoping for someone new to win this year(I've been rooting for Jan, Mayo, Levi, and Roberto), but you've really got to appreciate what Lance has done. The guy's single-mindedness is amazing. He's got one goal - to win the Tour, and he does everything in his power to reach that goal. I think there are other guys who are probably as strong as he is, but Lance's overall preparation is 2nd to none. Off-season prep, team shaping, technological awareness, race strategy, timing his peak, natural talent, hard work - no one else appears to have the same package.

I am awed by Lance's accomplishments in the sport. He is a joy to watch.

I am a little put off by people who delve deeper than that, whether they're for him or against him. I don't know if he's an ass or not, and I don't care. I'm only interested in him as an athlete, and as far as that goes, he's great.

Why the need to demonize/canonize the man?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Just the nature of the beast. He's a famous athlete - it usually comes with the job.

"Now name a top athlete that is not an ass"



Jan Ullrich. You said name one, I could name many more.

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com