Tyler Is History

[Dr. Doofus]

2 year ban.

expect the appeal....

boo on the blood boy

boo

[NicaDog]

http://www.usantidoping.org/

[J.M. White]

But it wasn't Tyler, it was his evil twin!

In all seriousness, I am disheartened by the decision. But his defense, in all candor, sounds like a bunch of hooey.

[bostondrunk]

.

[jerk]

blood doping was the new epo which was the new blood doping. well they'll have to find something else now. he got caught. he is guilty. he is not the only one and it doesn't make him any less of a "nice guy" or a "talented rider" or "the great 'header hope." word to the wise: find a better doctor and someone on the inside who knows the tests. good thing wrestling is on tonight, the jerk is sick of all these chemically enhanced sporting men. why can't the jerk have a chin and a forehead like a neanderthal? the jerk doesn't mean riis like just a little definition ya know?

jerk

[700 x 23c]

Good for cycling...Baseball should catch on!
-Amphetamines are illegal in the minors, but not tested for in the pros and you get a 10 game suspension....please

[bostondrunk]

I think it sux.

[Climb01742]

red sux?

[bostondrunk]

red sux?

that too, dammit!

I dont care if he doped or not. That may not be the majority feeling, but the fact is, in this day and age, pretty much all of them dope. Its not wrong to do it, just wrong to get caught.

[slowgoing]

I loved the banner at one of the Red Sox/Yankees games that read:

"Just wait until last year."

[Kevin]

Not suprising.

Kevin

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . disappointing but not surprising. Without seeing all the evidence--which we probably never will--I find it personally almost impossible to say point blank that “He did it” . . . I still think he’s a nice guy and a heck of a cyclist, but not too smart in the way he handled his defense, based on the accounts I’ve just read on VeloNews and CyclingNews.com.

For instance, cyclingnews says . . .

In Hamilton's defence, both the chimera (naturally occurring mixed blood cells) and 'vanishing twin' argument was put forward by David Housman, a genetics expert and MIT professor, who presented expert testimony. He claimed that cells can transfer from one to unborn twin to another in the womb, "and bone marrow cells can persist for life." Both USADA and WADA have dismissed this theory, which could be easily verified by further testing on Hamilton.

Why would they need to do “further testing?” They’ve had literally six months to do it! They could have been doing independently conducted tests every WEEK, ‘fer Pete’s sake, and presented a pretty good case with the results. Did they do that?!?! Maybe we’ll find out in the inevitable appeal.

But regardless of the decision, I think the timing is absolutely HILARIOUS . . .
here in the NY state capital, you always know that if the Governor’s office is going to release some info that will provoke criticism, they do it at 6 pm on a Friday afternoon, because there won’t be another heavily watched newscast till Monday night and it will dilute whatever negative reaction there will be. USADA pretty obviously timed this announcement to coincide with Lance’s previously announced press conference because they knew Lance would be getting all the coverage when USADA makes what is bound to be a very unpopular decision here in the US. Hilarious and cynical . . .

BBDave

[Big Dan]

Dave, the LA Times article has some more information on the whole thing.
Too bad because Tyler was really one of the nicest guys around...... :(

[BumbleBeeDave]

Can you summarize? . . . . It’s been a long day and I really don’t want to have to register with the LAT or read one of their GD 50” stories . . .

BBD

[Big Dan]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-cyclist17apr17,1,6404105.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Trying to get the link, not sure if it will work. I didn't have to register, it basically gives some background to when the questions started(around LBL last year).


btw slowgoing posted the link first on another thread....

[BBB]

The AAA decision is quite interesting. Two of the arbitrators ruled against Hamilton, while the third dissented and criticised the WADA testing criteria. Interestingly, the dissenting arbitrator also suggested that the IOC and WADA should consider making rules prohibiting the trashing of athletes by officials on the grounds of fairness. This is something that has been raised in this forum in the past.

I imagine that an appeal will be launched. Whatever the result, I think that Hamilton's career is pretty much over. If he loses, then he is suspended for two years. If he wins, then the '05 season will be pretty much over and at Hamilton's age it would be hard to see him making a credible comeback.

[Elefantino]

... he cheated. Too bad. I was really a huge fan, rooting for him more than Lance in last year's tour, until he DOR'd.

But I really lost my taste for him when he began asking for donations to his legal fund. What now, donations to his I-don't-have-a-job fund? I don't think even OLN would hire him.

What a shame.

[Kevin]

"Appealing" from an arbitration is a long shot at best. Short of proving that one of the arbitrartors was on the take, the decision will be confirmed. Based on his age, I would say Tyler has entered his last race.

Kevin

[Too Tall]

And a snowboarder get's 1 yr. for blowing a joint. Another day another doper.

[Bill Bove]

Yup, he cheated, and he got caught. However bad the crime he committed was it does not erase the whole of his being. He was and remains a nice guy, who got caught up in bad situation witch unfortanatly he did not remove himself from. I hope that he can get his life in order after all the pressure and heat that has come his way and that he can somehow continue to contribute to the sport. It is time to "hate the sin, not the sinner" let's clean up the sport so some 16 year old future Lance Armstrong does not have to make that difficult choice someday.

[Onno]

Nice post, Bill. It is striking how quickly adulation of sports heros turns into hate. Tyler was a very appealing character; he had grit and charm and was relatively self-effacing. I'm still not sure what to believe about him, and feel safer not forming any absolute opinions. On the whole, I don't believe he was a fake (in terms of the persona he presented to the public), or that he is a ruthless liar. Like you, I feel sorry for the guy, and hope he can make something positive out of this eventually. I hope he makes an honest presentation of what happened, though we'll probably never know when that actually occurs. In the meantime, I'll continue to follow cycling, feeling pretty certain that no one is absolutely clean, and that there are probably degrees of cheating that allow riders to think they have not fallen completely into a sinkhole when they turn pro.

On that note, did anybody read on Slate, or hear on NPR, the story about athletes getting Lasik surgery to improve their eyesight to 20/15 or better? Apparently lots of baseball players and golfers have done this, to dramatic effect. I suppose improved eyesight would be a hindrance in cycling--best to keep your eyes closed going downhill, I say.... :p

Onno

[flydhest]

Onno,

I think you're bringing up an interesting and difficult problem with this whole thing. I mean, what is cheating? If it's just looking at the list of banned substances, are you cheating if you have a good doctor who can synthesize something new that's not on the list? Are you an automatic cheater if you use a needle to have chemicals go into your system? Say, an IV drip with H20 and NaCl? What about (other) electrolyte replacements? Blood sausage? It has lots of hemoglobin and is processed from blood. What degree of processing is the limit? I think the lasik surgery is an interesting question. But then, wearing corrective lenses is also artificially enhancing your natural ability. What about anti-depressant drugs? Depression is an evil disease that would make competing at the highest level very difficult. If you take drugs to get past that one natural shortcoming, are you a cheater? What about asthma medicine, then?

I think people view the world so cut-and-dried when in reality, it ain't.

[bostondrunk]

Onno,

I think you're bringing up an interesting and difficult problem with this whole thing. I mean, what is cheating? If it's just looking at the list of banned substances, are you cheating if you have a good doctor who can synthesize something new that's not on the list? Are you an automatic cheater if you use a needle to have chemicals go into your system? Say, an IV drip with H20 and NaCl? What about (other) electrolyte replacements? Blood sausage? It has lots of hemoglobin and is processed from blood. What degree of processing is the limit? I think the lasik surgery is an interesting question. But then, wearing corrective lenses is also artificially enhancing your natural ability. What about anti-depressant drugs? Depression is an evil disease that would make competing at the highest level very difficult. If you take drugs to get past that one natural shortcoming, are you a cheater? What about asthma medicine, then?

I think people view the world so cut-and-dried when in reality, it ain't.

I say open the flood gates, let people use what they want. If you don't have the genetics, then drugs ain't gonna get you to the pro level anyway.
I know everyone here agrees with me on this..................

[93legendti]

Nice post, Bill. It is striking how quickly adulation of sports heros turns into hate. Tyler was a very appealing character; he had grit and charm and was relatively self-effacing. I'm still not sure what to believe about him, and feel safer not forming any absolute opinions. On the whole, I don't believe he was a fake (in terms of the persona he presented to the public), or that he is a ruthless liar. Like you, I feel sorry for the guy, and hope he can make something positive out of this eventually. I hope he makes an honest presentation of what happened, though we'll probably never know when that actually occurs. In the meantime, I'll continue to follow cycling, feeling pretty certain that no one is absolutely clean, and that there are probably degrees of cheating that allow riders to think they have not fallen completely into a sinkhole when they turn pro.

On that note, did anybody read on Slate, or hear on NPR, the story about athletes getting Lasik surgery to improve their eyesight to 20/15 or better? Apparently lots of baseball players and golfers have done this, to dramatic effect. I suppose improved eyesight would be a hindrance in cycling--best to keep your eyes closed going downhill, I say.... :p

Onno

Nice post.

[Big Dan]

I say open the flood gates, let people use what they want. If you don't have the genetics, then drugs ain't gonna get you to the pro level anyway.
I know everyone here agrees with me on this..................


BD, I see your point. The problem could be how many riders will die trying out different crap...... :confused:

[JohnS]

BD, I see your point. The problem could be how many riders will die trying out different crap...... :confused:

Who cares, it's their decision! How many ordinary people get killed every day just trying to earn a "normal" living? Soldiers, coal miners, truck drivers, steel mill employees, highrise ironworkers, 7-11 cashiers, etc, etc, etc...

[madbiker]

Who cares, it's their decision! How many ordinary people get killed every day just trying to earn a "normal" living? Soldiers, coal miners, truck drivers, steel mill employees, highrise ironworkers, 7-11 cashiers, etc, etc, etc...

Exactly! :)
People will always cheat anyway. The fact that roids, hgh, etc. are illegal make it more difficult (although not that difficult) for the amature athlete to obtain. But the pros will always have access to whatever they need, and will always try to cheat the system.

You want to get rid of doping? Get rid of paid sports. If there isn't a million dollar contract on the line, then they won't use drugs...:)