Lance Admits Some Stuff, People Still Pissed

((HT: OWN/youtube))

Shocking no one, Lance Armstrong's attempts at saving his own hide started on tape-delay Thursday evening with his interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Armstrong admitted he wasn't afraid of being caught. He claimed it wasn't "that sophisticated" a doping operation- not as bad as the East Germans of the 1970s in the five-ringed circus and their competitions.

Armstrong admitted to EPO "cocktails" and that while he was a part of the doping culture, he made no effort to stop the culture. He admitted that the seven Tours de France that he won were on doping episodes, but the 2009 and 2010 tours were non-doping tours.

Betsy Andreu, wife of former teammate and Armstrong friend Frankie Andreu, immediately went on the attack against the interview and what wasn't said as much as what was said. She appeared on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" and went after the entire interview and its content.

"It's hard to know what to believe now," Andreu said as part of the discussion group on set with Cooper.

More when we know more... and when CNN turns the Andreu segments- which are must-watch TV...

Here's Betsy Andreu...
((HT: CNN))

Sporting KC Severs Ties With Livestrong

((HT: KSHB-TV))

The agreement between the Lance-created charity, Livestrong, and Major League Soccer franchise Sporting KC has come to a crashing halt after only 22 months instead of the scheduled 6 years.

The amount of the donation Sporting was set to give the organization was going to be US$7.5-million, but club CEO Robb Heineman has had enough of their strong-arm tactics in staying with their affiliation:

"Over the course of the past year, it became clear that LIVESTRONG no longer shared the same spirit of partnership, despite our perseverance to the contrary. We realized at the time this could be the beginning of a tumultuous period for the foundation. We were patient as they sorted through these issues," Heineman said in a prepared statement.

"This morning we were disappointed to learn LIVESTRONG is utilizing aggressive tactics designed to force us into an unsatisfactory arrangement. We willingly admit we were not expecting the foundation to treat a partner in this manner. Our faith and trust in this partnership have been permanently damaged; therefore we are terminating our agreement with LIVESTRONG, effectively immediately."

The full statement is hyah...

Livestrong is saying, on the flip side, that Sporting wasn't living up to its end of the bargain and hadn't fulfilled its yearly obligations.

Sporting disagrees...

The Reinvention Of Lance Begins

((HT: KXAN-TV Austin))

He sat down with Oprah for 2-and-a-half hours for an interview where he got emotional and, apparently, didn't go into any great detail...

But the larger impact of his Livestrong Foundation and legacy needed to be saved immediately if not sooner. All the good that idea had created was on the verge of getting flushed down the toilet forever if a tremendous amount of damage control didn't start right effing now...

And so it goes... the first steps are in Austin, Texas in front of Livestrong HQ

Report: Lance apologizes to Livestrong staff

"I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I'll answer the questions directly," Lance told the Associated Press over the weekend. Apparently, he got away with a jog and being a normal person until he got stalked by the media. Here's Lance saying that he never doped seven times in 75 seconds

Report: Armstrong Apology Tour Official: Will Admit to Doping

((ht: usatoday.com))

So, you are surprised about what you are reading in the headline of this story?

Nah, you shouldn't be.

USA Today reports that disgraced bicycling champ Lance Armstrong plans to fess up to Oprah about doping during his run to Tour De France glory.

He supposedly won't do much other than say he did it and spare us the details of how.

And after being exposed by the US Anti-Doping Agency a couple of months ago, the admission is just a formality.

Read the USA Today Story RIGHT HERE

No, we aren't surprised that Armstrong is going to give a blanket apology to Oprah Winfrey. After all, he has some good P.R people and we are quite sure they have told him to do this.

Having seen athletes go through this before, we are quite sure what this is. There are already rumors that he may be doing a book, which may explain, in more detail exactly how he got away with it for so long, but don't expect to see it for awhile. At least not until potential legal proceedings are taken care of.

DEVELOPING: Armstrong Out At Livestrong, Nike Severs Ties

In the next step in the Lance Armstrong-Nike, did he or didn't he, non-denial-denial act from the fallout in the USADA doping allegations, two more actions have come forward.

First, Nike has severed ties with Lance while, at the same time, making sure they say something positive about his efforts with the Livestrong Foundation...

In a carefully-worded statement, the Swoosh said:

"Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him. Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner. Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer."

Here's Lance giving a speech at the World Cancer Congress from the 29th... days after the revelation...
((HT: GlobalNational))


At the same time, Lance has announced his duties leading the board will be turned over to vice chairman Jeff Garvey, who was founding chairman of Livestrong back in 1997.

"This organization, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart," Armstrong said in a statement. "Today therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship."

Garvey also takes over the public appearance duties that Armstrong had done tirelessly...

More when we know more...

USADA Presents Lance Armstrong Evidence To Public

((HT: ESPN))

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) came to show everyone what the beef was with Lance Armstrong... and Travis Tygart held nothing back...

The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.

The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding.

15 members of the then-US Postal Service were interviewed by USADA, 11 of them teammates: Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tom Danielson, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen Swart, Christian Vande Velde, Jonathan Vaughters and David Zabriskie.

More from Tygart:

The evidence demonstrates that the ‘Code of Silence’ of performance enhancing drug use in the sport of cycling has been shattered, but there is more to do. From day one, we always hoped this investigation would bring to a close this troubling chapter in cycling’s history and we hope the sport will use this tragedy to prevent it from ever happening again.

TJ Quinn discusses...if only for a minute...


Three other members of US Postal, including DS Johan Bruyneel, have chosen to take their cases to arbitration. Two others, both team physicians, received lifetime bans from the sport.

Armstrong has long contested the charges saying he was one of the most tested athletes in the history of sport- never contracting a positive test.

His attorney, Tim Herman, called the report "a one-sided hatchet job -- a taxpayer funded tabloid piece rehashing old, disproved, unreliable allegations based largely on axe-grinders, serial perjurers, coerced testimony, sweetheart deals and threat-induced stories."

Which, of course, is what Armstrong's lawyer would say...

More when the documents are released...

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