Lance Armstrong

The day the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced it was stripping Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France victories and imposing a lifetime competition ban on him was a dramatic one in the world of sports and an even more dramatic one for cancer patients and survivors ("Armstrong backs off fight," Aug. 24). It may be impossible to know whether Mr. Armstrong is innocent or guilty. But the whole "erasure" process seems to be happening a little too quickly. Where have Mr. Armstrong's teammates on the U.S. Postal and Discovery Team who have agreed to testify against him been for the past eight years?

Regarding Michael Hill's recent column on sports cheating, despite his Shakespearian rhetoric, no quarter should be granted to Lance Armstrong, who for over a decade willfully and systematically lied, cheated and thumbed his nose at ethical behavior ("Fans crave what cheating provides," Jan. 25). Unfortunately, Mr. Hill's column promulgates the message of our country's increasingly influential sports and entertainment industry, which suggests that the primary role for the masses is to watch and be entertained by a small troop of elite athletes.

Allegations that champion cyclist Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs have been around for years -- and they surfaced again today as the  U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brought formal  charges against him.  Armstrong denied the allegations, but the seven-time Tour de France winner wouldn't be the first pro athlete to be punished while proclaiming his innocence. Still, it would be sad to see Armstrong's good works sullied. He made a remarkable recovery from cancer -- a compelling tale chronicled in the book "It's Not About the Bike.

As a longtime fan of bicycle racing - I was on the finish line in Paris in 1986 when Greg LeMond became the first American to win the Tour de France - I followed Lance Armstrong's career with intense excitement as he took cycling from the wings to center stage in his country's sport consciousness. That said, it became clear that while his story of cancer survival was compelling and inspiring, Mr. Armstrong was not a pleasant person. He was selfish and self-centered. But so are many athletes.

I was kidding when I said that Lance Armstrong ought to pay me back for wasting time and money on his book "It's Not About the Bike. " But others who have taken offense at Armstrong's years of lies about using performance enhancing drugs have taken the issue a step further. USA Today reports that two readers of Armstrong's book have sued him and his publishers, claiming the book is a fraud based on lies and false advertising. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in California seeks class-action status on behalf of other readers and asks for refunds and other costs.  "Defendants knew or should have known these books were works of fiction," the suit states, according to USA Today.

Despite his lifetime ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, organizers of a Howard County race are welcoming Lance Armstrong to town with open arms. Organizers of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults announced the cyclist will race in their Half Full Triathlon on Oct. 7 alongside fellow cancer survivors in and around Centennial Park. "I couldn't be more excited to welcome Lance back to my hometown to support an event benefiting the organization I created with my family in college," Doug Ulman, the Fund founder and president and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation said in a statement.

Lance Armstrong's well-orchestrated apology tour has brought back a bad memory: all the wasted hours I spent reading his book, "It's Not About the Bike. " I was one of many readers captivated by his dramatic tale: hot-headed young rider gets felled by testicular cancer, and battles back -- against disease and doubters -- to win the Tour de France. It made me a huge fan of Armstrong and the grueling race that takes cyclists around France.  But in light of the overwhelming evidence that Armstrong was not clean when he won the tour a record seven times (and seven straight)

Regarding Michael Hill's recent column on sports cheating, despite his Shakespearian rhetoric, no quarter should be granted to Lance Armstrong, who for over a decade willfully and systematically lied, cheated and thumbed his nose at ethical behavior ("Fans crave what cheating provides," Jan. 25). Unfortunately, Mr. Hill's column promulgates the message of our country's increasingly influential sports and entertainment industry, which suggests that the primary role for the masses is to watch and be entertained by a small troop of elite athletes.

For a while there, we vacationed with Lance Armstrong every summer. And Tyler Hamilton and George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis. All the boys. They'd be in France, of course, while we were at the shore in Delaware. But the nasal British drone of Phil Liggett calling the Tour de France was as much the soundtrack of those vacations as the muffled rumble of the waves. The mountain vistas and the lovely little towns of France as recognizable as our ocean sunrises and our favorite shops and restaurants.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report on Lance Armstrong was involved in doping is loaded with explosive allegations from fellow cyclists -- which the seven-time Tour de France champion has vehemently denied. But the quirkiest bit of information is that at least one rider nicknamed a common performance-enhancing drug for Baltimore's favorite literary son. According to cyclist Christian Vande Velde, riders generally referred to the illegal substance Erythropoietin as EPO, or "Po. " But Tyler Hamilton had his own nickname for it: "Edgar" as in Edgar Allan Poe. Hamilton may be an admitted doper, but at least he's well-read.

I was kidding when I said that Lance Armstrong ought to pay me back for wasting time and money on his book "It's Not About the Bike. " But others who have taken offense at Armstrong's years of lies about using performance enhancing drugs have taken the issue a step further. USA Today reports that two readers of Armstrong's book have sued him and his publishers, claiming the book is a fraud based on lies and false advertising. The suit filed in U.S. District Court in California seeks class-action status on behalf of other readers and asks for refunds and other costs.  "Defendants knew or should have known these books were works of fiction," the suit states, according to USA Today.

Like many Americans, for years I wanted to believe Lance Armstrong. He had the aura of a hero, a testicular cancer survivor's story and seven consecutive Tour de France victories ("Armstrong lays out story of his doping," Jan. 18). In hindsight, the scenario was too perfect. For so long, we truly wanted to believe while not allowing our minds to ponder the unthinkable. At one time, Armstrong walked on rarefied air. He was an international megastar, and he was one of our own. That same air is suddenly rife with the stench of a cheat, a liar and a scourge of the masses who once revered him. Patrick R. Lynch, Nottingham Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Time will tell whether self-described "bully" Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey can repair the good name he lost when the United States Anti-Doping Agency revealed the truth behind his carefully crafted "narrative" of survival and sports glory. For me, to forgive Mr. Armstrong or not isn't the issue. Instead, Mr. Armstrong's fall illustrates how effectively we regulate Olympic movement athletics in the United States, and how that model for regulation can enhance the integrity of college and professional sports.

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Tuesday morning on CBS, Oprah Winfrey said that Lance Armstrong "brought it" to the interview she had taped with him the day before. Now that we've seen the interview Thursday night, we know that isn't exactly true. Yes, he admitted to doping and lying and lying and doping and lying and doping some more. But what else could he do? The evidence gathered and the actions taken by the United States Anti-Doping Agency have made it impossible for him to do anything else. But anyone who watched the 90-minute conversation and didn't walk away understanding they were listening to a sociopath who still thinks he's the smartest guy in the culture wasn't paying attention.

Lance Armstrong's well-orchestrated apology tour has brought back a bad memory: all the wasted hours I spent reading his book, "It's Not About the Bike. " I was one of many readers captivated by his dramatic tale: hot-headed young rider gets felled by testicular cancer, and battles back -- against disease and doubters -- to win the Tour de France. It made me a huge fan of Armstrong and the grueling race that takes cyclists around France.  But in light of the overwhelming evidence that Armstrong was not clean when he won the tour a record seven times (and seven straight)

In describing the status of cyclist Lance Armstrong, reporter Jill Rosen somehow managed to turn from straight reportage to editorializing ("To host Lance Armstrong, triathlon drops sanctioning," Sept. 21). Mr. Armstrong has not been proven guilty of anything and has been pursued by the several anti-doping authorities for most of his career. I can only assume that he finally gave up fighting the USADA's most recent attacks because he was worn out after all of this fighting - or maybe it was just the continuing financial cost of defending himself.

Before he competes in a local triathlon this weekend, Lance Armstrong will speak at a panel discussion in Ellicott City. Armstrong will appear Saturday at a discussion being called Lance Unplugged where, among other things, he promises to address why he decided to compete in Ulman's Half Full Triathlon which happens the following day in and around Centennial Park in Howard County. Ulman announced two weeks ago that Armstrong would compete in the event's half distance, which includes a .9-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. He'll race with cancer survivors in and around Centennial Park while athletes compete in a different segment of the race.

When Lance Armstrong met last month with his own personal Javert , Travis Tygart of the anti-doping agency, he said after the frustrating meeting, "You don't hold the keys to my redemption. "Only one person holds the keys to my redemption, and that's me," he said, according to reporting in The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Armstrong was vacationing in Hawaii over Christmas, where Oprah Winfrey has a home, and it was then that she reached out to him. They met for lunch, and he agreed to a come-clean interview with her. Upon reflection, it appears, Mr. Armstrong decided that Oprah holds the key to his redemption.

Throw the book at him Philip Hersh Chicago Tribune Before assuming Lance Armstrong comes fully clean, not to Oprah Winfrey but to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency under oath — quite an assumption, given his decade of lies — it is worth noting there is a rule covering reinstatement. The World Anti-Doping Code allows reduction in the period of ineligibility for a person who provides "substantial assistance in discovering or establishing anti-doping rule violations. " In the case of a lifetime ban, as Armstrong received, the code says the new ban must be no less than eight years.