The Chicago Tribune weighs in on Armstrong-Hamilton-Landis-Basso.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/...globetrotting/

A Chicago Tribune Sports Weblog by Philip Hersh

May 10, 2007
Lance in the shadows

The Tour of Italy begins Saturday without both its defending champion,
Ivan Basso, and its 2002 runner-up, Tyler Hamilton.

Floyd Landis begins the race for his cycling life Monday in a Malibu,
Calif., hearing room.

The link among them? Doping -- and Lance Armstrong.

The circumstances that put each of these three riders where they are -
or aren't - lengthen the shadows over Armstrong's reputation as one of
the greatest champions in an increasingly infamous sport.

Guilt by association? True of almost everyone in cycling's elite,
perhaps a little more for Armstrong, who maintains he never took
banned performance-enhancing drugs yet utterly dominated the Tour de
France when it was full of dopers.

I'll begin with the necessary disclaimer: Armstrong never has been
sanctioned for doping and officially has tested positive just once --
that was traces of a banned corticosteroid in a skin cream for saddle
sores that he had a therapeutic exemption to use. The exemption, it
has been reported, was conveniently post-dated, an apparently routine
practice in cycling.

The French newspaper L'Equipe reported in 2005 that retroactive
retesting of frozen urine samples from Armstrong's first Tour de
France triumph year, 1999, found him positive six times for EPO, the
banned blood-booster cycling did not test for until 2001. But
Armstrong thinks L'Equipe is nothing more than a shill for the Tour
management that belongs to the same parent company. Why that
management would want disgrace cast on its race is hard to understand.

Suspicious? Sure. Indisputable proof? Hardly.

But Lance's riding buddies face more than suspicions.

Hamilton? Support rider for Armstrong in three of his seven Tour de
France victories. Returned to competition this season after serving
two-year suspension for blood doping. Suspended Wednesday from
competing in the Tour of Italy by his new team, Tinkoff Credit
Systems. Why? Hamilton's name has been linked to the Spanish doctor at
the center of Operation Puerto, the biggest scandal to hit a sport
that has known little but scandal for a decade.
Landis? Support rider for Armstrong in three of his Tour de France
victories. Tested positive for anabolic steroid testosterone after he
went from a beaten rider to Tour de France winner during the dramatic
17th stage of the 2006 race. Like Hamilton, maintains his innocence.
Landis' defense team will argue at the hearing that bad science, bad
bookkeeping and what they call a suspect lab all contributed to an
unfair conclusion that Landis had doped.
Basso? Would be riding for Armstrong's old Discovery Channel team, of
which Armstrong is a co-owner, were he not caught up in Operation
Puerto. Basso quit the team last month, six days after it suspended
him, but you'll still find his picture and bio on the Discovery
cycling Web site, not far from the link to the Lance Armstrong
Foundation.
(By the way, Discovery Communications has given up sponsorship of the
cycling team after this season. They're no dopes.)

The Basso situation is, in some ways, the most damning to Armstrong.
The Discovery Channel team, which means Armstrong, gave the proverbial
finger to the cycling world when it signed the Italian last fall,
after he had been banned from the 2006 Tour de France because of his
implication in Operation Puerto.

Tuesday, after fessing up his actual involvement in Operation Puerto
to Italian Olympic Committee investigators, Basso told a news
conference he was guilty only of "attempted doping" in a "moment of
weakness." He said he had never taken a doping substance or engaged
in blood doping.

Such a lovely turn of phrase: attempted doping. Isn't that like an
attempted robbery that doesn't get carried out because the police show
up and catch you hiding in the shadows?

Poor Phil. Now he's on Lance's **** list.

wrote in message
oups.com...

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/...globetrotting/

A Chicago Tribune Sports Weblog by Philip Hersh

May 10, 2007
Lance in the shadows

The Tour of Italy begins Saturday without both its defending champion,
Ivan Basso, and its 2002 runner-up, Tyler Hamilton.

Floyd Landis begins the race for his cycling life Monday in a Malibu,
Calif., hearing room.

The link among them? Doping -- and Lance Armstrong.

The circumstances that put each of these three riders where they are -
or aren't - lengthen the shadows over Armstrong's reputation as one of
the greatest champions in an increasingly infamous sport.

Guilt by association? True of almost everyone in cycling's elite,
perhaps a little more for Armstrong, who maintains he never took
banned performance-enhancing drugs yet utterly dominated the Tour de
France when it was full of dopers.

I'll begin with the necessary disclaimer: Armstrong never has been
sanctioned for doping and officially has tested positive just once --
that was traces of a banned corticosteroid in a skin cream for saddle
sores that he had a therapeutic exemption to use. The exemption, it
has been reported, was conveniently post-dated, an apparently routine
practice in cycling.

The French newspaper L'Equipe reported in 2005 that retroactive
retesting of frozen urine samples from Armstrong's first Tour de
France triumph year, 1999, found him positive six times for EPO, the
banned blood-booster cycling did not test for until 2001. But
Armstrong thinks L'Equipe is nothing more than a shill for the Tour
management that belongs to the same parent company. Why that
management would want disgrace cast on its race is hard to understand.

Suspicious? Sure. Indisputable proof? Hardly.

But Lance's riding buddies face more than suspicions.

Hamilton? Support rider for Armstrong in three of his seven Tour de
France victories. Returned to competition this season after serving
two-year suspension for blood doping. Suspended Wednesday from
competing in the Tour of Italy by his new team, Tinkoff Credit
Systems. Why? Hamilton's name has been linked to the Spanish doctor at
the center of Operation Puerto, the biggest scandal to hit a sport
that has known little but scandal for a decade.
Landis? Support rider for Armstrong in three of his Tour de France
victories. Tested positive for anabolic steroid testosterone after he
went from a beaten rider to Tour de France winner during the dramatic
17th stage of the 2006 race. Like Hamilton, maintains his innocence.
Landis' defense team will argue at the hearing that bad science, bad
bookkeeping and what they call a suspect lab all contributed to an
unfair conclusion that Landis had doped.
Basso? Would be riding for Armstrong's old Discovery Channel team, of
which Armstrong is a co-owner, were he not caught up in Operation
Puerto. Basso quit the team last month, six days after it suspended
him, but you'll still find his picture and bio on the Discovery
cycling Web site, not far from the link to the Lance Armstrong
Foundation.
(By the way, Discovery Communications has given up sponsorship of the
cycling team after this season. They're no dopes.)

The Basso situation is, in some ways, the most damning to Armstrong.
The Discovery Channel team, which means Armstrong, gave the proverbial
finger to the cycling world when it signed the Italian last fall,
after he had been banned from the 2006 Tour de France because of his
implication in Operation Puerto.

Tuesday, after fessing up his actual involvement in Operation Puerto
to Italian Olympic Committee investigators, Basso told a news
conference he was guilty only of "attempted doping" in a "moment of
weakness." He said he had never taken a doping substance or engaged
in blood doping.

Such a lovely turn of phrase: attempted doping. Isn't that like an
attempted robbery that doesn't get carried out because the police show
up and catch you hiding in the shadows?

wrote:
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/...globetrotting/

A Chicago Tribune Sports Weblog by Philip Hersh

Chicago Tribune?

Hersh should demand that President Dewey do something about doping!

B. Lafferty wrote:
Poor Phil. Now he's on Lance's **** list.

It's a real shame that Lance didn't get busted and banned for a couple
years. It would have given clean riders, like Ullrich and Basso, a
chance to win.

"Fred Fredburger" wrote in message
. ..
B. Lafferty wrote:
Poor Phil. Now he's on Lance's **** list.

It's a real shame that Lance didn't get busted and banned for a couple
years. It would have given clean riders, like Ullrich and Basso, a chance
to win.

You seem to have missed Laff@me's real point - it was MUCH worse because he
was Lance and not someone else.

Tom Kunich wrote:
"Fred Fredburger" wrote in message
. ..
B. Lafferty wrote:
Poor Phil. Now he's on Lance's **** list.

It's a real shame that Lance didn't get busted and banned for a couple
years. It would have given clean riders, like Ullrich and Basso, a chance
to win.

You seem to have missed Laff@me's real point - it was MUCH worse because he
was Lance and not someone else.



OK, I see. I have a way of missing the point of Lafferty posts. I've got
it now. Lance was a dirty doper and Ully and Basso were clean dopers.

On May 16, 12:02 pm, Donald Munro wrote:
Fred Fredburger wrote:
OK, I see. I have a way of missing the point of Lafferty posts. I've got
it now. Lance was a dirty doper and Ully and Basso were clean dopers.

It all comes down to detergent usage.

Mmmm... Basso can hardly be linked to Lance. Hamilton and Landis are a
tad easier to connect to disco, but even then Disco is the link
between them, not a direct connection.

Fred Fredburger wrote:
OK, I see. I have a way of missing the point of Lafferty posts. I've got
it now. Lance was a dirty doper and Ully and Basso were clean dopers.

It all comes down to detergent usage.

Tuschinski wrote:
On May 16, 12:02 pm, Donald Munro wrote:
Fred Fredburger wrote:
OK, I see. I have a way of missing the point of Lafferty posts. I've got
it now. Lance was a dirty doper and Ully and Basso were clean dopers.
It all comes down to detergent usage.

Mmmm... Basso can hardly be linked to Lance. Hamilton and Landis are a
tad easier to connect to disco, but even then Disco is the link
between them, not a direct connection.


Well, the article presumes that Armstrong runs Discovery so, by their
reasoning, Lance hired Basso. I wonder if Armstrong runs Trek and Nike too?

In article ,
Fred Fredburger wrote:

Tuschinski wrote:
On May 16, 12:02 pm, Donald Munro wrote:
Fred Fredburger wrote:
OK, I see. I have a way of missing the point of Lafferty posts. I've got
it now. Lance was a dirty doper and Ully and Basso were clean dopers.
It all comes down to detergent usage.

Mmmm... Basso can hardly be linked to Lance. Hamilton and Landis are a
tad easier to connect to disco, but even then Disco is the link
between them, not a direct connection.


Well, the article presumes that Armstrong runs Discovery so, by their
reasoning, Lance hired Basso. I wonder if Armstrong runs Trek and Nike too?

I'm not sure. Does he have a substantial ownership stake (to the
company, not to him) in Trek and Nike, along with routine interaction
with all principals and employees?

Not saying he did hire Basso, but I bet he gave substantive input on the
decision to do so,

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos