Yeah, I was a year ahead of you guys, I guess. I didn't really know him... which isn't surprising, since I was a basketball player, not a runner, swimmer, cyclist or triathlete. My limited interaction with him led me to conclude he was yet another extremely talented athlete who thought that entitled him to be a prick.

I don't know Lance today, and I doubt he'd have any idea who I am. I'm in awe of his drive and his ability. However, he is not my hero or someone I want to be like in any sense... except that I wish I had 1/10 of his ability.

I suppose I've been pulling for him for the same reason I pulled for Jimmy King (of the Fab Four from University of Michigan) to make it in the NBA (which, of course, he hasn't). Hometown kid makes good.

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Steve Perkins

Correction:

Lance is not the best bike racer. He's the best Tour de France rider right now but by far the best bike racer.

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

Maybe. Do you think this happens more frequently and with greater intensity in participatory sports like cycling than in spectator sports like football, or auto racing?

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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."

That's an asinine statement. In order to be a top athlete you have to be an ass?

I think it happens when you author books about yourself and put yourself out there as a public figure. You are inviting a higher level of scrutiny. More apt in individual sports because you are clearly accountable for your performance.

you don't need to be an ass, but I think arrogance is a key part of becoming #1. As with many others here, I don't particularly want LA to win the TdF, (ie. love him) but I certainly respect his prowess. He deserves what he gets (winning) especially when you see him against the field.

I honestly can't judge people's characters that I've never met (Lance, Tyler, Jan) - the media obviously portrays them the way they want to. But I will say that some of the more gifted athletes that I have met over my -short- lifetime (olympics qualifiers, national champions) are also some of the nicest, quietest, reserved individuals I know. They have brought more to their sport in their communities, (ie. kids programs, coaching ) than anybody could have imagined.

Lance Rocks! Who cares about his personal life, I love the way he crushes his competition. I also like his crusade for cancer, helping others and fighting a cause.

I would assume that you need some confidence and cockiness to be such an intense competitor and believe that you can win. And who knows about his marriage, knowone really knows what happened, its all speculation, ive heard his ex aint no angel.

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that IS a ridiculous statement.

I think in order to achieve greatness you have to have total confidence in yourself, which in turn can be sometimes seen as arrogance. Maybe it is arrogance, but it doesn't have to be, I think it's more likely to be cockiness. I have no issue with cockiness but I draw the line at arrogance. Arrogance to me means one feels superior to others. At the end of the day he's still a guy that rides a bike. However, I do give him a lot of credit for the work his foundation does for cancer victims.

Exceptional success in anything doesn't mean you have carte blance to be a dickhead or an ass. An ex-girlfriend of mine wisely said (while seeing someone berate a waitress), "the true measure of a person's character is how they treat people who can do absolutely nothing for them".

Your ex is truly a feminine version of Confucious. I find it funny that someone would say that regarding a waitress... in a restaurant... LOL...

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


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

You dated Ann Landers?

;)

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Dude! that was hilarious. Thanks for that, I've been having a shit day at work and that made me laugh so hard I had to shut my door. No, she's definitely no Ann Landers. She's a hot one and a 3:10 marathoner. Too bad I found a way to F that one up, but I always do.

Ann Landers, damn, I'm still laughing.

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


Can you point in the direction of the source for this? Do you know for a fact Lance dropped Kristin? Maybe she wanted out. Maybe he suggested marriage counseling to see if they could make amends. Maybe she still said no way.

I've followed the last 5 years of Lance as closely as any cycling fan, but nowhere have I ever heard or read that Lance wanted out of his marriage.

For the record, I think Lance's racing is fun to watch, but I'd much rather see Tyler win the Tour. If forced to label myself a fan of someone in the TDF, it wouldn't be Lance.

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

Looks like the marriage was all about Lance.....



As a five-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong knows more than most people about the importance of hard work. In his book, Every Second Counts, Armstrong describes his regret that he did not put the same hard work into his marriage that he put into his bike racing.

Kristin Armstrong (February 2003): Marriage problems were "brought on gradually by a number of pressures, rather than one big blow-up. We've been together 4 1/2 years, and we've had six homes, three languages, three countries, one cancer comeback, three children, four Tour de France wins and one rise to celebrity. You're not supposed to cram such a huge amount of events into such a small period of time."

Lance Armstrong (September 2003): "The craziest thing is, we're closer now and better friends than ever before. We're truly committed to maintaining a good relationship, but not a marriage."

While they have been very quiet about the details, in the latest Runner's World, Kristin talks about being devastated when she and Lance got divorced. That is not typically the feeling you have when you are the person who wants the divorce. She deserves a great deal of respect(and his cash) for being so devoted to him, raising his three kids, and keeping mum about all things Lance.

Think about it: His life is the Tour, the fame, the money, the slut-, er, other things that fame and money brings. Her life was him. How likely is it that she wanted out? Anyway, when is the last time you saw a picture or article about Kristin being with someone else? And how soon after the breakup was Lance with Sheryl? (Hint: it was less than four months when the rumors started.)

Conclusive evidence? No. But this isn't a court of law, so you can use your common sense.

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Off the top of my head I can think of about 10 reasons she would want out.

I can't think of any for Lance.

Sure he may have been a lousy husband in some respects, but that doesn't mean he wanted it to end. In fact, his lousiness seems exactly the type of thing that would push Kristin to take action and get out.

Aside from that... The fame, the travelling, the unannounced doping checks, the pressure on Lance to win... Those seem like pretty compelling reasons for the OTHER person to want a different life. A life Lance couldn't offer.

Seems straight forward to me. Why would Lance want out? In the end it seems like another case of guilty until proven innocent. All we know is what we've read and none of that says who specifically wanted out. If we believe everything we've read then Lance is a doper, as is everyone in the peleton. So, tell me again why people blame Lance for his divorce?

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

Marriage is a compromise. Lance didn't compromise. She did. Got tired of it. And left.

It is with the deepest of regrets that I have to say that Joe Thornton IS an ass. I say this as a lifelong Bruins fan, and I say it as someone who has defended Thornton against any number of arrogant Montreal fans. But there he is, the captain of the team, requesting a trade because management seems to be letting a number of players "walk". As captain, it is Thornton's right and duty to appeal his case to the top brass, but what kind of captain is he if he is willing to abandon a (lord how I hate to say this!) sinking ship? When training camp begins, and beyond, how can the rest of the players respect this guy if his main interst is being on a "winner"?

As for the original idea of this thread, no, I do not love Lance. I respect him as a cyclist and an advocate for cancer awareness, but beyond that I won't/can't commit. Part of me wants to see him win #6, parts wants to see an upset. But watching the fire as he finished today's stage -- mercy!

Because despite all that he has been through, his career is more important to him than his family. Consequently, he was not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be a proper husband and father.

It's not for me to say that he should throw away what might be the most impressive career in the history of cycling, perhaps even sports, so that he could be with his family. My guess is that Kristin was not happy with the amount of time he spent out doing Lance "Tour de France Champion" Armstrong things, and he was not willing to compromise by spending more time with the family.

In reading what little the two of them say about the whole thing, he comes off as very matter of fact about it, while she seems very honest and affected. Perhaps he is more closed than her emotionally.

Personally, when I got divorced, it was quite some time before I was ready to start seeing anyone again. Therefore, I interpret his being with Sheryl Crow so soon as an indicator that he wasn't all that broken up by the divorce. Perhaps I'm projecting, but I think that hwo soon you start seeing people again after a breakup reflects your investment in the relationship.

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Not that it should be an excuse but Armstrong never really had a strong father figure in his life. Makes it harder to be a father and a husband when there's no one directly in his life to set the proper example.

Oh my good God, you all are a bunch of old hens. If gossip mongering was a sport, this would be the world championships.

Let it go, already- it's just a bike race, for crying out loud.

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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."

- To be with Sheryl Crow (not sure why)

- To avoid the responsibilities of raising your children

- To be able to focus solely on HIMSELF.


I'll give you the last one.

The other two are pure BS/speculation/nonsense/.

None of you have any facts to back up your assertion. All you can say for sure is they got divorced and now Lance has a girlfriend. The rest is just how y'all imagine life is with the Armstrongs. Get over it. This is the classic guilty until proven innocent. At least admit that.

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Justin in Austin, get it? :)

Cool races:
- Redman
- Desoto American Triple T

Wow you guys know the ins and outs of Lances divorce, you even know he doesn't want to raise his kid and he an Crow hooked up before the divorce. Wow.

You know how you seperate the dead crabs from the live crabs in a barrel? You grab a crab and lift. The live ones latch on to the first crab then each other, a lot like they want to pull the others back into the barrel. Some of you are nothing but petty crabs in a barrel.

You do not know why he divorced or even if he did it. Yo have no evidence and y'alls cheesy Dr. Philing of what you see as facts means nothing.

He is not your friend and not your buddy. If he is a real fucker it is really no of your buisness. Sometimes I see myself as one pathitic jerk but all the Lance haters make me feel better about myself.

I like him because he is a local boy who did good. I have met him and he was a single son of a single mother who had the worlds biggest chip on his shoulder. So what? I bet there are thousnads of cancer paitents and survivors who think is a great guy.

What is the need to put so much emotion into an athlete?

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Henpecking gossipers reading info from the enquirer.