Lance Drug Troubles....

[alembical]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7349292/
not sure if you have all seen this and I have no commentary to add, but this article was the front page of msn and msnbc.com.

Ben

[Keith A]

Not sure if this is the exact same article, but a friend just sent me this link to SI.com (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/more/03/31/bc.cyc.armstrong.lawsuit.ap/index.html?cnn=yes) about the new allegations.

[yeehawfactor]

also, there's supposed to be a big announcement before the tour of georgia

[Bruce K]

This just reeks of trying to wreck Lance any way he can since he coiuldn't intimidate Lance into settling his lawsuit.

I think he even says something to the effect that he didn't want to mention this, but since Lance didn't settle...

I am not saying one way or the other what Lance may or may not have done, only that this source doesn't carry a lot of weight for me.

BK

[BumbleBeeDave]

While Lance is no longer on my “greatest heroes” list--and that should be no surprise to anyone who knows me on the forum--this particular allegation just reeks of exactly the kind of “I’m gonna get YOU” tactics common in cases like this.

On the one hand, Lance has reached a level of celebrity where he COULD conceivably get away with just about anything he wants vs. the “little guy” . . . anyone who thinks celebrity in our culture doesn’t buy that kind of advantage is living on Bizarro World, not Planet Earth. If Lance gets liquored up and smashes you flat with his Escalade, he ain’t goin’ to jail. Believe it.

But on the other hand, someone who has reached Lance’s level of celebrity also has got to deal with the problem of money-hungry, dishonest leeches who would do just about antything to either profit financially or grind their axe on the celebrity they hate.

On the, uuuh, third hand, what is the “little guy” to do when he realizes that he has been “had” by someone who has power, but no scruples? Little choice left but to fight dirty. Stuff like this is why Court TV is so popular.

In any event, I am not prone to give this particular “little guy” very much credence. So there was some andro in Lance’s medicine cabinet? This proves nothing. There are many places where andro is legal and no doctor’s prescription is needed to obtain it--this guy makes a point in his description of saying this bottle had no Rx on it. Is this supplement illegal in cycling? I don’t know--I’m sure there are others here who will. But as far as I can determine from a Google search, androstenine is a testosterone precursor that is converted into testosterone by the body.

Lance has already lost one testicle to cancer and the other is sterile. He has also lost a tremendous amount of muscle mass as a result of chemo. He might very well take something like this for a good reason--to replace what his body no longer manufactures on its own in sufficient quantities. In fact, I would be surprised if Lance DIDN’T take something like this. The mere fact there was no Rx on it doesn’t mean a doctor might not have instructed him to take a totally legal over-the-counter substance.

Cheap-@ss tactics designed to take advantage of the certainty that the media will take it and run with it without an objective examination of all the details. And I wouldn’t make too much connection between this and Lance’s “big announcement” . . . ANY announcement by somebody as big as Lance is going to be treated as “big” . . . he MIGHT be announcing his retirement after this year’s Tour--or he might just be announcing that he and the Crow-Magnon woman are engaged . . . :rolleyes:

BBDave

[bostondrunk]

He says 4 more months....but doesn't he have to still race for the 2 years of the contract?

[Bruce K]

BD;

Athletes retire all the time in the middle of contracts. It would basically be a termination by mutual agreement with Discovery owing Lance nothing and Lance owing Discovery nothing.

Where I think there would be a problem would be if Lance failed to race the one last TdF. I am not a lawyer (dnovo, you out there?), but it would seem to me that Discovery's sponsorship was predicated on Lance doing one more, and the marketing/hype Discovery would get out of it. If he failed to participate in one more Tour, I would guess that potentially a fraud could be claimed.

I don't think the contract said anything about FINISHING one more Tour, so maybe Lance could pull a "Cippo" and at least fulfill the requirements of the contract.

It is interesting that he is saying that the pre-TdGeorgia press conference will be VERY important.

BK

[aLexis]

I worked a few years with Mike Anderson, the assistant/"little guy" who is being discussed in this thread. He was the service manager at the shop in Austin where I worked. Although he could be headstrong to a fault, Mike was a very hard worker, an excellent mechanic, a talented rider, and above all a guy with a lot of integrity. His gig with Lance was a dream job, and he worked for every dollar.
I don't know whether Lance used banned substances or not. I do know that there is much more to the story than a "money-hungry, dishonest leech" trying to get a piece of Lance's fortune. Going up against Lance in Austin, TX, makes one an instant pariah. I have to give Mike the benefit of the doubt and think that he wouldn't go through all this over a baseless claim.
Anyways, thanks for reading. I'm really not trying to stir up any pot about Lance and drugs in the peleton, just trying to offer a different perspective.

[Tom Byrnes]

aLexis,

Thanks for your post. Your personal, first-hand knowledge of Mike Anderson is something I have to consider. The more informed I am (we are), the better.

Tom

[Bruce K]

Hey aLexis;

I was wondering if you made it up to Saratoga.

Ben's gain is a big loss for Bicycle Sport.

Thanks for the personal view, and stirring the pot is OK. That's one of the things that get done best here.

Good luck with the job. Hopefully everyone will get to meet you at Open House.

BK

[Climb01742]

ok, i'm naive. and yep, i'm an idiot for having heros, but man oh man, do i hope this story isn't true. :confused: :crap: :confused:

[keno]

While there is no sure way of knowing what is in the contract, I expect that Lance and his advisors hire lawyers the same way they do everthing else. I fully believe that the document probably covers contingencies none of us could imagine in our wildest dreams. In all events, if his announcement affects his performance under the contract, it's hard to imagine that everything would not first be worked out with DC.

keno, esquire

[William]

I hope not, but I don't think I'll be surprised either way. I'm going to treat this just like the Tyler situation. Wait and see what comes of it.

Also,
I have to agree with some of BBDave's points. Lance's celeb status can put a big bullseye on his back for many leech types (anyone watching the Imus/Wall Street journal fracus unfolding?). But his celeb status can also run the PR gamut to make an upright person appear to be a leech type out to get him.

Just going to have to wait and see what unfolds.

William

[BumbleBeeDave]

<<I do know that there is much more to the story than a "money-hungry, dishonest leech" trying to get a piece of Lance's fortune.>>

I have no doubt that there is. But there ARE people like that and every celebrity has to watch out for them--it’s a fact of life. And these added details like you have are precisely the things you don’t see when the media tekaes it and runswith it. I appreciate the added personal persepctive--it’s something that can help a lot.

<<Going up against Lance in Austin, TX, makes one an instant pariah.>> . . . That’s also something I would expect. Unfortunate but true. A celebrity like Lance woud have to do something totally, absolutely, without-a-doubt over the edge in Austin to get in trouble.

I’m with William . . . wait and see what happens and in the meantime I’m open to any further information.

BBDave

[ridefixed]

.

[marle]

fyi -- today's espn sportcenter featured an interviw with Lance's former mechanic, Greg Anderson. He claims to have found a steriod in Lance's home in Spain before last year's Tour.

[93legendti]

Yes, he claimed to find a "steroid bottle" in a bathroom; that Lance somehow knew this guy found out; and that Lance fired him to keep him quiet. I can't quite understand THAT logic, seems like giving the guy a raise and keeping him around keeps "him quiet"....firing him and cutting all ties, including any loyalty bonds, doesn't keep people quiet. I wonder why this guy waited so long to speak?!

He also said he got an email from Lance a few years ago that said "would you like to join the team" and he took that as a 2-3 year contract!!

Seems like this guy is a real piece of dirt.

[Big Dan]

Yes, he claimed to find a "steroid bottle" in a bathroom; that Lance somehow knew this guy found out; and that Lance fired him to keep him quiet. I can't quite understand THAT logic, seems like giving the guy a raise and keeping him around keeps "him quiet"....firing him and cutting all ties, including any loyalty bonds, doesn't keep people quiet. I wonder why this guy waited so long to speak?!

He also sai he got an email from Lance a few years ago that said "would you like to join the team" and he took that as a 2-3 year contract!!

Seems like this guy is a real piece of dirt.


Do you know something we don't ??? or you just defending Captain America???

:confused:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . is entitled to his opinion, extreme though it might be.

I prefer to reserve judgement until more is known. Is this guy really a piece of dirt or just the little guy who is fighting back after getting stepped on? We'll see . . .

BBDave

[GoJavs]

Barry Bonds.

[flydhest]

. . . anyone who thinks celebrity in our culture doesn’t buy that kind of advantage is living on Bizarro World, not Planet Earth. If Lance gets liquored up and smashes you flat with his Escalade, he ain’t goin’ to jail. Believe it.
BBDave


yeah, BBDave, just ask Martha Steward.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . that Martha's "incarceration" at a minimum security facility has done more to make her richer than anything she could have done manipulating stocks.

BBD