That's not what the judge said according to all the news articles I saw. What
I saw reported was that the judge determined that USADA had jurisdiction and
that the case belonged in that process. In his opinion the court had no reason
to intervene- Lance brought it to court trying to get the process stopped, the
USADA did not file the case in the court.
As a former bike racing fan for some 40 years, I followed the Tour de France
and a hundred other races every year very closely. Lance was a star rider
before his cancer and his comeback to win his first Tour was tremendous. And
then he won year after year with famous (and infamous) determination and drive.
Then the doping stories came out. Not about Lance but about the racers he
defeated at the top of the leader board and the also-rans. And I started
wondering how a man could dominate, year after year, a field full of dopers.
The obvious answer was that he was doping too and that he was a lot better at
it than his competitors. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt and
defended him, but the obvious became too obvious.
Doping in pro cycling is a very long tradition dating back since the start of
the sport. I think that accounts for the willingness of the UCI and race
organizers to look the other way. In Europe, pro cycling is big money and
money buys closed eyes; a lot of money buys a lot of closed eyes- sort of like
Congress and lobbyists. Pro bike racing seems to be about as honest as
professional wrestling.
So I came to believe that Lance doped. I watched closely as Floyd Landis and
Tyler Hamilton and Jan Ullrich and others proclaimed their innocence and waged
a media battle and sometimes bizarre legal battles. Now we've seen Lance
sounding exactly like Floyd and Tyler: strident and whiny. Lance even pulled
out the "unconstitutional" card, claiming that the lawfully created American
oversight body for sports and doping doesn't have the authority to oversee HIM.
Funny that he didn't make that argument when it was Floyd and Tyler in the
crosshairs. Lance also forgot the truth that "patriotism is the last refuge of
a scoundrel," as he invoked the Constitution to hide behind.
So what we are left with is a tacit admission of guilt by Lance Amstrong. The
strong suspicion must be that he gave up the fight not because it was unfair or
unconstitutional but because he was going to lose. By quitting now he protects
some ambiguity. Why is this important? Because Lance was paid millions of
taxpayer dollars as a professional athlete whose results were the result of
cheating. He appears to have perpetrated fraud against the American people
personally and financially. This actually is a big deal.
It's also got nothing to do with RBW and we probably shouldn't discuss it here,
come to think of it. There are plenty of other venues.
Tim
On Aug 24, 2012, at 9:40 AM, Marc Irwin <irwin7...@gmail.com> wrote:
> What is also inevitable is a protest and appeal by the UCI. They have
> protested the jurisdiction of the USADA since the case was introduced and the
> judge in Dallas told the USADA they didn't have a case worthy of judge to
> hear. Oh well, it seems the races are "cleaner" now, except for Bradley
> Wiggins' mouth.
>
> Marc
>
> On Friday, August 24, 2012 5:37:40 AM UTC-4, LyleBogart{AT}gmail.com wrote:
> Seems inevitable, really, either because Lance *is* guilty of doping or
> because, by consistently beating others shown to have been doping, he so
> tested the objectivity of the testing agencies that they could never be happy
> until they convicted him. I doubt we've heard the last of this, though. . .
>
> lyle
>
> --
> lyle f bogart dpt
>
> 156 bradford rd
> wiscasset, me 04578
> 207.882.6494
> 206.794.6937
>
>
> On 24 August 2012 01:47, Jim Cloud <clou...@aol.com> wrote:
> Just picked this up from internet traffic:
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/lance-armstrong-stripped-tour-france-titles-internet-shock-233032763.html
>
> Jim Cloud
> Tucson, AZ
>
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> lyle f bogart dpt
>
> 156 bradford rd
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