Subpoenas issued -- Armstrong's goose is cooked

[BroDeal]

Publicas put this link in the "links thread," but it needs its own thread. Hamilton will bring the house down. He was there from the beginning and saw the transformation of the team when Armstrong, Bruyneel, and the ONCE doctors came aboard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/sports/cycling/14cyclinginquiry.html?_r=1&hpw

 

[Anonymous]

Man, Armstrong picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue...

 

[skidmark]

Oh boy, this is definitely moved into the 'dsdd' territory. Decidedly different sh*t.

 

[Publicus]

For an investigation predicated on the word of a known liar with credibility issues (his allegations are like sour milk, one taste ...), it seems to have quite the pair of legs. I wonder what Lance has to say about this latest development?

 

[Hugh Januss]

Oh boy, this is definitely moved into the 'dsdd' territory. Decidedly different sh*t.

Deep sh*t!

 

[Lajeretta4Ever]

Oh boy, this is definitely moved into the 'dsdd' territory. Decidedly different sh*t.

Why are we surprised by this? We knew this was going to happen. I will admit, it's moving along a lot faster than I ever anticipated. My guess is everybody interviewed by Elliot Ness Novitsky has caved.

 

[Anonymous]

Reported and ignored again. Dang, I wonder if there is a limit on how many names can be in your ignore list?

 

[Cobblestones]

For an investigation predicated on the word of a known liar with credibility issues (his allegations are like sour milk, one taste ...), it seems to have quite the pair of legs. I wonder what Lance has to say about this latest development?

It's gone way past Landis's emails. Federal investigator, grand jury, subpoenas. I don't expect people to hold back much once they're called in. The lower echelon will essentially get the choice between singing like a canary and federal prison. No wonder Armstrong doesn't have the focus as in previous years.

 

[Anonymous]

Kitty dances for joy

 

[enrecul]

omerta

will omerta win out once again guys?

where does it go from here now? did i read somewhere that some current tour riders are cooperating also???

armo is right.....he should enjoy his last tour

 

[Polish]

What took so long?

Yawn.

After all this blows over, the haters will still be haters.
The fanboys will still be fanboys.
And the general public will not care.

 

[BroDeal]

Kitty dances for joy

 

[Anonymous]

will omerta win out once again guys?

where does it go from here now? did i read somewhere that some current tour riders are cooperating also???

armo is right.....he should enjoy his last tour

Omerta in cycling is not the same as omerta in organized crime because the dudes riding the bikes are not quite the caliber of criminal as are Fat Bobby and Gino. Federal subpoenas and Grand Juries will cause them to wet themselves.

 

[131313]

will omerta win out once again guys?

I don't think so. I think that a lot of guys in the euro peloton must be a little chaffed. Doping allegations are one thing; preferential treatment, fixing positives and donations to the UCI are quite another.

I bet a lot of guys are realizing that no, in fact, the playing field really wasn't as level as they thought. Some guys out there with some knowledge have to feel like they've been played.

 

[Anonymous]

What took so long?

Yawn.

After all this blows over, the haters will still be haters.
The fanboys will still be fanboys.
And the general public will not care.

And The Hog and The Uniballer will need soap on a rope...

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think so. I think that a lot of guys in the euro peloton must be a little chaffed. Doping allegations are one thing; preferential treatment, fixing positives and donations to the UCI are quite another.

I bet a lot of guys are realizing that no, in fact, the playing field really wasn't as level as they thought. Some guys out there with some knowledge have to feel like they've been played.

Yea, there are a lot of busted cheats that have to be a little vindictive because they were busted and nobody from the UCI ever asked them for a donation. In fact, several left the care of The Hog only to be busted later. I am betting they would have written a check too...

 

[Hugh Januss]

What took so long?

Yawn.

After all this blows over, the haters will still be haters.
The fanboys will still be fanboys.
And the general public will not care.

1. Never tested positive.
2. Most tested athlete ever.
3. Never convicted of doping.
4. Well everybody else was doing it too.
5. Who cares?

Progression of a fanboy.

 

[Anonymous]

1. Never tested positive.
2. Most tested athlete ever.
3. Never convicted of doping.
4. Well everybody else was doing it too.
5. Who cares?

Progression of a fanboy.

6. Now what am I going to do in July?

 

[Hugh Januss]

6. Now what am I going to do in July?

Doh! I forgot that one. In retrospect I probably got 1 and 2 reversed as well.

 

[GreggGermer]

I don't think so. I think that a lot of guys in the euro peloton must be a little chaffed. Doping allegations are one thing; preferential treatment, fixing positives and donations to the UCI are quite another.

I bet a lot of guys are realizing that no, in fact, the playing field really wasn't as level as they thought. Some guys out there with some knowledge have to feel like they've been played.

So if the cheaters are now feeling "cheated" what do all the clean riders feel?

 

[BikeCentric]

6. Now what am I going to do in July?

7. It costs too much money to investigate this stuff and can't we just leave Lance alone and go after more violent criminals?

 

[editedbymod]

Go Lance!

 

[Anonymous]

So if the cheaters are now feeling "cheated" what do all the clean riders feel?

Like moving up to Cat 2 is going to be hard...



























(JK to all of the 2's and pros that are clean, just shooting for a cheap laugh)

 

[buckwheat]

Omerta in cycling is not the same as omerta in organized crime because the dudes riding the bikes are not quite the caliber of criminal as are Fat Bobby and Gino. Federal subpoenas and Grand Juries will cause them to wet themselves.

Dudes riding bikes are ostensibly not criminals. Fat Bobby and Gino are and don't have to keep up a public relations front.

Athletes have a tough time invoking their 5th Amendment rights without being viewed skeptically.

 

[131313]

What took so long?

Yawn.

After all this blows over, the haters will still be haters.
The fanboys will still be fanboys.
And the general public will not care.

I don't think so.

When I'm not racing my bike I have a day job which I hope to quit sometime soon. I work with a bunch of pointy-headed academics and lab coat geeks, and they're your average ESPN sports fan.

Since I'm the "bike racer guy", they always ask me the same questions. Here's how it goes:

"Hey, do you know Lance?". That's always the first one. "Um, not really. He did swear at me though, twice, in a race. I also ended up on a training ride with him by accident. He didn't say anything to me. He likes to tell dirty jokes and go through stop signs, though.

"So wow, you raced with Lance, what was that like?". "Um, it's like racing with Madonna. There are a lot of people with him at the start and finish. He has a lot of handlers. I didn't see any strippers, but I'll look more carefully next time. Oh, and I totally destroyed him on a climb at Gila".

"Wow, so you're going to beat him at the Tour De France?". Um, no, I'm not going

"Really, why not??" "Um, they said our team was too good and we'd dominate the race. Plus, I'm the only guy on our team with a passport. That makes the logistics really tough".

"So......do you don't think Lance was doping, do you?"

That last question is ALWAYS asked. It's the one they want to ask first, but want to soften me up and pretend they care about me (they don't, they just want to know about Lance). And, they almost always phrase it that way.

The people on this forum feel one way or another, as do most people in cycling. Armstrong is a transcendent figure, though. He's way bigger than cycling. And the average Joe or Josephine on the street really wants to believe. This is going to be a big deal for a lot of folks, and ultimately a big deal for Lance, who's image at this point has a lot more capital than his bike racing. It looks as though the arrow is pointed downward on both of those things.