The Article: WSJ - reopened!

[Ferminal]

Wow, more useless speculation in The Clinic.

ahhhh thanks. Aint competition wonderful?

I gotta buy this. I'm in Australia for this Tour (massive bummer) and will have to suffer the sycophant twins' commentary (even bigger massive bummer). Any Aussies regularly buy this? Is there a weekend edition?

The Australian always runs a few pages of the WSJ but I'm not sure it would have this.

I'm sure you can find it, maybe a day or so later.

 

[Anonymous]

Funny, ole Mr Media didn't want to take questions yesterday. Maybe he didn't want his lies written that close to some of them being exposed?

 

[Roland Rat]

Funny, ole Mr Media didn't want to take questions yesterday. Maybe he didn't want his lies written that close to some of them being exposed?

There is a short Q&A here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...Feed:+reuters/sportsNews+(News+/+US+/+Sports)

Q: How have you been dealing with Floyd Landis's allegations (that you have been doping)?

A: I did my first Tour in 1993 and now it's 2010. And I won a stage in 1993 at 20 years old. I've been at the front of my sport since the day I showed up. And in the process there have been a ton of questions and a ton of scrutiny and a lot of controls and a lot of investigations.

And I'm still here. I don't see any other example in cycling or any other sports. And this is neglected to be reported. And I understand that media love the sensational story and they love the salacious and the one that includes accusations, that includes all the blood and sex and drugs.

But at the end of the day, I think my career speaks for itself. It didn't start two months ago; it started in 1999 which is eleven years ago and I'm still here. I'll look to the next three weeks, which I'm viewing from just a sports perspective. I'm not going to let any of that deter me.

In fact, in the end, it will be the opposite. It's going to inspire me. Nobody needs to feel bad for me. When you guys want to come you're going to find me on the beach with five kids running around. I look forward to that day. There will be other accusations for sure, but we can just add them to the list.


Q: It has been reported that there was a federal investigation against you and that special investigator Jeff Novitzky has been looking into Landis's allegation. Has Novitzky been in contact with you?

A: With me, no. I'm not sure he would call me. But my lawyers no, we haven't heard. And the other, other reports, early on, was that (ex-wife) Kristin was working with them and that's just absolutely not true. Kristin and I even talk about this. We're not married but we have a strong relationship, very strong relationship. But we can safely say this will be the very last investigation."

Sex allegations?

 

[MacRoadie]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Journal didn't deliberately wait until the Prologue day to go to print.

I can just see LA busting off some condescending email to Robert Thomson complete with Rupert Murdoch slurs and a nice SSDD attitude.

Newspaper editors just love that "don't you dare print it" attitude, even in this day of declining print media.

It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say "Fine, how about we wait until Saturday, when it's too late for him to back out gracefully (or otherwise), and slam him on the first day of the Tour".

Wouldn't be the first "well-timed" story...

Yes, more useless speculation, but I don't care.

 

[Parrot23]

Let's hope some wealthy CEO's and business types start to take a jaundiced eye to teams with dubious pedigrees when considering future sponsorships.

These teams should not be able to re-invent themselves. And there are a few others besides Lance's. He doesn't have a monopoly here.

 

[Digger]

Race Radio, TFF or Joe Papp, will it be online? As I am in Europe.

 

[Anonymous]

There is a short Q&A here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...Feed:+reuters/sportsNews+(News+/+US+/+Sports)


Sex allegations?

Yea, one of the rumors is about that. We will see if that comes out.

 

[Anonymous]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the Journal didn't deliberately wait until the Prologue day to go to print.

I can just see LA busting off some condescending email to Robert Thomson complete with Rupert Murdoch slurs and a nice SSDD attitude.

Newspaper editors just love that "don't you dare print it" attitude, even in this day of declining print media.

It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say "Fine, how about we wait until Saturday, when it's too late for him to back out gracefully (or otherwise), and slam him on the first day of the Tour".

Wouldn't be the first "well-timed" story...

Yes, more useless speculation, but I don't care.

Some may find it speculative, but I have to say that the timing is fantastic. I would think however that it has more to do with maximizing exposure and selling papers.

 

[rolfrae]

Wonder if Lance will be able to pick up a copy of the WSJ in Rotterdam? Could fill in some time whilst he waits for his prologue start.

 

[Barrus]

Race Radio, TFF or Joe Papp, will it be online? As I am in Europe.

There is an European edition, but I wonder if it will be in that issue, I would think this would be the case, as cycling is more of an European sport, this would mean we would get the article before the US.

IS there anyone in Asia, they would get the article even sooner

 

[Parrot23]

Is the fact he takes an interview with Reuters and not others a sign he/his handlers knew of the WSJ article in the works and is concerned about the "business" impact of a WSJ article?? Per Novitzky, this is a business he's involved in, LOL.

 

[Beech Mtn]

If there's anything terribly damning in the WSJ article, LA isn't going to be happy having to ride a prologue alone and unprotected right after this story comes out. Even at the team presentation yesterday he kept guys on either side of him until they got up to the stage. Alpe d'Huez TT fan response will be on his mind.

 

[python]

But we can safely say this will be the very last investigation

a very strange phrase indeed from texas

Does he mean

(i) they finally got me
(ii) all potential witnesses against me have been muted for ever
or most revealing
(iii) thank god the stature of limitation will kick in.

I said this long ago, the sol was his and his lawyers MAIN game and the fraud himself just involuntarily confirmed it.

hurry, jeff novitzky.

 

[Barrus]

a very strange phrase indeed from texas

Does he mean

(i) they finally got me
(ii) all potential witnesses against me have been muted for ever
or most revealing
(iii) thank god the stature of limitation will kick in.

I said this long ago, the sol was his and his lawyers MAIN game and the fraud himself just involuntarily confirmed it.

hurry, jeff novitzky.

FOr money laundering or fraud, the statute of limitation would probably be more than 10 years, but I'm not certain of that. Can anyone confirm? Or is this different for every state, thus raising the question in which state he would be prosecuted

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Just FYI - The Weekend edition is supposed to be more "lifestyle content" Sports, travel, Fine dining etc.. suposed to compete with Sunday/NYT magazine section

The lifestyle content" - excellent......... I hope its written like this, the Clinic could do with more culture.

...hidden deep within aged grey stone and the arched Gothic ceilings of Armstrongs palatial Girona apartment chilling alongside an exquisite Chardonnay Ma Belle Fille were the blood bags of the US Postal team for the upcoming Tour de France....

......Armstrong carefully removes the museum-quality canvases by Ed Ruscha to hang his IV bag for his latest transfusion....

 

[Beech Mtn]

Is the fact he takes an interview with Reuters and not others a sign he/his handlers knew of the WSJ article in the works and is concerned about the "business" impact of a WSJ article?? Per Novitzky, this is a business he's involved in.

He was likely only taking an interview with pre-selected favorable journalists who were going to toe the party line and not write a negative story or look too deeply into whether LA's assertions were completely true.

At the Tour last year he started recording statements and having the press man carry a laptop down to the press room for journalists to listen to his spiel and write their stories based off that. So no one could ask him any questions unless you were a favored reported granted an exclusive interview in LA's hotel room or something. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to take that tack this year, if the WSJ article has anything earth-shattering.

[/speculation]

 

[Ferminal]

...hidden deep within aged grey stone

I thought you were talking about the man himself with that opening.

 

[Siriuscat]

Deep Joy at last.....and I'm on night's tonight wahey

 

[carl spackler]

Other Potential Fanboy/UCI/Shack Response, coming soon to a forum or media outlet near you:

-sensationalist media trying to sell papers
-why bring up the past?
and the grandaddy of them all
-this is just an attempt to destroy cycling

 

[Parrot23]

He was likely only taking an interview with pre-selected favorable journalists who were going to toe the party line and not write a negative story or look too deeply into whether LA's assertions were completely true.

Okay, thanks for that.

It's what I was thinking puts people like Macur of the NYT in a double bind. Very tricky being a journalist with Lance: gaining access vs. selling out. Must be a constant dance they have to play/weigh.

 

[frenchfry]

It feels like I have butterflies in my stomach a little bit

Don't get too excited. I still have the edition of l'Equipe that announced the 6 EPO positives and still can't believe how little effect that had.

 

[BroDeal]

Can you show me the link where anybody said this? Nobody said the article was an invention, but even proud Lance haters were confused about why there was a long thread about an article that did not exist yet. The intervention claim was at the claim radio shack were thrown out of the tour.

BPC returns.

 

[python]

Can you show me the link where anybody said this? Nobody said the article was an invention, but even proud Lance haters were confused about why there was a long thread about an article that did not exist yet. The intervention claim was at the claim radio shack were thrown out of the tour.

mods this junior looks suspicious.

 

[frenchfry]

He was likely only taking an interview with pre-selected favorable journalists who were going to toe the party line and not write a negative story or look too deeply into whether LA's assertions were completely true.

At the Tour last year he started recording statements and having the press man carry a laptop down to the press room for journalists to listen to his spiel and write their stories based off that. So no one could ask him any questions unless you were a favored reported granted an exclusive interview in LA's hotel room or something. I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to take that tack this year, if the WSJ article has anything earth-shattering.

[/speculation]

When he ended his 4+ year boycott of the French press, he gave an exclusive interview to drooling fanboy Jean René Godard of France Télévisions. Jean René even asked him a "tough" question that was a set up - what a joke of an interview that was.

WSJ has the advantage of not needing cycling related advertising or Lance interviews to sell their papers.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

BPC returns.

mods this junior looks suspicious.

Agreed- but don't quote their post (just edit it out), just report it, the mods will take care of it quickly if it is.