Tuesday, February 21, 2012

CNF out of control !

Seems it is mind over matter for some athletes :

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/21/health/chrissie-wellington-triathlete-champion/index.html?hpt=he_c1

Now if this woman can do it in 2011 , try and tell me that Lance had not discovered this “ State of Mind “ in 1998/9 ?

As long ago as 1970’s I had discovered the “ Power of a Positive Attitude “ and Napolean Hill and his maxim “ Whatever the mind can Conceive and Believe , it will achieve ” ! Of course at that time I was in Sales and there were many more “ Positive Expressions ” that were the currency of the Sales Profession .
Surely those in sport have heard that expression :

“ When the going gets tough : The tough get going ” !

Coming up to three weeks since there was an announcement , that the Grand Jury in Los Angeles , about affairs concerning Lance Armstrong was closed ! No great surprise to me as I had posted a comment to the RedKitePrayer blog in December anticipating something along these lines . What I had not expected was the vitriolic bile that flows in the CyclingNews Clinic ! That people would be disappointed was clear but for the amount of verbiage that has continued to flow directed at anyone showing the least agreement with that decision is amazing !

Yesterday I saw in the “ US Prosecutors….” Clinic thread a link to the blog of Steve Tilford where he raised matters from 2006 ! The story line relates to a written exchange between Frankie Andreu and Jon Vaughters and the statistics quoted there are quite amazing . Question is , how did this private exchange find it’s way into the public arena ? Certainly neither party would have said even a small part of these views if they were aware that their private exchange was being monitored ?

Steve Tilford revealed in yesterday’s post his thoughts on this matter , and published for his readers , part of the conversation . Lance haters come in all forms and one thing they have in common is total recall of all the possibilities that exist for twisting each and every fact to suit their purposes . So it will come as no surprise to all that some cretin decided that Steve , instead of being out there building an incredibly competitive Palmares , as a Mountain Bike Racer , should have done as they do , spend his life in front of the computer , drooling over each factoid , that some other cretin , has twisted to suit their purposes in relation to Lance Armstrong !

CyclingNews Clinic serves it’s purpose for me , in that , there are links to interesting articles . That I had never heard of Steve until last night is set in stone and Bill Gifford is another example brought to light by these threads . Charles Pelkey is another great poster I had lost track of as I had stopped visiting VeloNews after his quasi dismissal . Of course there can be some hilarious comments by those sad cases but nit picking each other seems to be de rigueur . Moderation is supposed to exist but then you get an Australian , pitching in with her views , which then encourage further outrageous comments .

One commenter , “ Race Radio ” tried to get things back on track with this :

“ Originally Posted by Race Radio

This is entertaining.....by attacking a guy like Tilford his detractors are proving him right.
His whole point was that anyone who questions Lance get set on by a bunch of rapid, irrational, groupies. ”
Of course there were other comments worth repeating :

Comment by Glenn_Wilson:

“ Wow look what RaceRadio started in here!

I can not get to the “Blog” by Tilford but from what I am reading here in the Clink It seems like Tilford who still rides his bike a lot, just stumbled onto the “PM” exchange between JV and others. Tilford must take some shots at LA and his groupies and that “BLOG” post has caused a ruckus-amongus here in the Clink.

In my opinion it seems odd that anyone who follows cycling the last 12 years would not know about the PM exchange. BUT there are folks who do not spend all day reading the Clink and it is possible he never knew. Then again he must not have a Television that has any sports networks on it and he must not have a browser that can link to SI, Outside, CNN, or ESPN. “
 
Comment by Race Radio ;

“ No matter what happens to Wonderboy there is always somebody here to clog the toilet with rambling babble. Impressive dedication to the cause “
 
Comment by Angus W
 
“ Good summary, Polish. Most people would have been unaware that Armstrong was even under investigation. Those people that have heard about allegations of doping would probably assume that "all cyclists dope, so it's a level playing field", etc. Most people who have heard of Armstrong would probably not even be able to state correctly how many Tours he won (yes, I know, Patsy, count them: OneTwoThreeFourFiveSixSeven). Like you say, to most people, Armstrong is cancer survivor, has a charity that raises money for cancer research (yes, I know Livestrong doesn't do that) and won the Tour de France lots of times in a row and is the best cyclist ever.

And, yes, those like Skippy who believe no sanctions = no doping will no doubt think that as the Federal investigation has been dropped, Armstrong raced clean throughout his career. ”


Of course I do not think this way ! Fact is there are numerous allegations afloat that are spurious at best , totally fabricated in the main , but hugely entertaining when they are spewed by those that consider themselves the “ Elite of the Elite ” on the Clinic !
Year on year in my blogs I have called for harsher penalties and stricter controls than are currently imposed by those in authority . I doubt I am popular with the UCI and WADA for pouring scorn on their limp wrested approach to the “ Doping Issues ” !

Verbruggen will recall serving me coffee in the UCI offices west of Lausanne in 2000 when I was there after the Tour de Romandie expounding on my suggestion of “ In race Dope tests ”! UCI medical official , as a pillion passenger , using a similar gadget to the “ Diabetics tester “ to collect a blood sample , during the running of the race . That sample being escorted by a team official back to the mobile Laboratory in the procession so as to preserve the chain of evidence ! Of course it is outlandish , but so simple to apply , if there was the will to impose the regulations ! If the Doctor and mechanics can get alongside a racer in a car , then a motorcycle would be no problem !
 
 
Comment by ChrisE :
“ This is funny.

I made a comment that I didn't believe Tilford just ran across the PM (he of the infinite amount of cyclng wisdom). Yes, he just woke up and said "Golly, look at what all these people are saying about LA. Golly Gee!?!?!?".

Then, on top of that he took it without even doing any research about it and using it as "proof" of something.

I made no comment on what he thinks.

From that, we get a 5 page shytstorm lol.

The haters in here do not wish to address my point because they can't. If they say he is clueless, that flies in the face of his "cycling guru/insider" status. They don't want to touch my other points about the PM itself because I am right. Scoreboard.

They would rather call names and say "babble" and run the thread into the ditch then cry foul. SSDD, as Polish would say.

I made a comment the other week about how I wanted this to go to trial to prove me right (ie this wouldn't fly with an American jury). But, the case being dropped is worth its weight in gold. The haters in here have become more unhinged than ever. Classic. “

More entertainment can be found by visiting :
 
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=16491&page=231 possibly 240+ now
which is where I left my latest ( not done yet ) comment !
Those wishing to visit Steve Tilford’s blog , here is the link :

http://stevetilford.com/?p=18113&cpage=1#comment-6846

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Sunday, February 5, 2012

ARMSTRONG CASE CLOSED !

No it’s not ! Seems that USADA has decided they want some publicity and guess how they will get this ?

Do the members of US Cycling look forward to having to fund a “ Witch hunt ” ?

DOUBTFUL !

With the resources that were thrown at the Case that has just been closed , it seems to me that there would have been “ indictments ” sought IF there was ANY evidence that could be followed up in ANY JUDICIAL AREA ! Hearsay and the public utterances of aggrieved and convicted former cyclists are not the sort of thing that will bring about the results that so many of the CNF /mushroom farm were praying ! Looks like there will be a turf war breaking out between the various factions , those for Lance and those against , if the “ Moderators ” don’t act firmly to nip it in the bud !

Not really sure if all those commenting on that particular forum really believed that they had a just cause in seeking adverse findings for Lance Armstrong but we will see how they deal with the blow to their self esteem .

The following article is taken direct from CyclingNews to give some understanding of what has taken place during the course of the investigation that has just concluded :

Cyclingnews' complete coverage of Armstrong investigation


Timeline of US federal investigation from Landis to closure:

It all started with an email from Floyd Landis, accusing Lance Armstrong of doping, and it continued for nearly two years before a US federal investigation into the charges was closed.
Cyclingnews followed the story of the investigation into the charges against Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team with these stories:
May 20, 2010 - Landis drug Revelations?

May 20, 2010 - Landis confesses to doping, implicates Armstrong and Bruyneel

May 20, 2010 - WADA and UCI issue statements on Landis confession

May 20, 2010 - Johan Bruyneel: Floyd Landis needs ‘help’

May 20, 2010 - Armstrong rejects Landis allegations

May 20, 2010 - UCI rejects Landis' accusation of concealed doping test

May 21, 2010 - Video: Armstrong rejects Landis allegations

May 21, 2010 - Team RadioShack reveal further emails from Landis

May 22, 2010 - Two people named by Landis may co-operate with authorities

May 22, 2010 - LeMond supports Landis in fight for clean cycling

May 23, 2010 - Landis makes an appearance at the Amgen Tour of California

May 25, 2010 - McQuaid acknowledges accepting Armstrong donation a mistake

May 26, 2010 - Scope of US doping inquiry may be widened

May 26, 2010 - UCI requests investigations into Landis claims

May 27, 2010 - Biological passport expert taking Landis seriously

June 9, 2010 - McQuaid defends UCI against Landis and Bordry

July 6, 2010 - Investigation into Landis claims widens to include Interpol

July 14, 2010 - Verbruggen labels Landis a nuisance

August 2, 2010 - Ball could hold link to Armstrong probe

August 4, 2010 - Holczer accuses Leipheimer of blood manipulation

August 8, 2010 - Armstrong lawyer condemns "un-American" investigation

August 17, 2010 - McQuaid suggests US Postal investigation sparked by personal vendetta

August 26, 2010 - Former USPS doctor denies doping at team

September 15, 2010 - Lance Armstrong on defensive in federal investigation

October 14, 2010 - Howman suspects the Armstrong investigation could be as significant as the BALCO case

November 3, 2010 - Popovych to testify in Armstrong probe

November 4, 2010 - Popovych denies witnessing doping

November 17, 2010 - Armstrong investigation extends to French police

January 5, 2011 - Armstrong shrugs off FDA investigation

January 19, 2011 - Frustration for Armstrong as questions arise

January 19, 2011 - A summary of the Sports Illustrated Lance Armstrong investigation

January 23, 2011 - Armstrong era 'corrupt' says ex-mechanic

January 24, 2011 - Bruyneel dismisses Sports Illustrated accusations

January 31, 2011 - Landis: It was either cheat or get cheated

January 31, 2011 - Landis: It was either cheat or get cheated

April 15, 2011 - Armstrong, Ferrari relationship probed in Italian doping investigation

April 26, 2011 - Dr Ferrari offers to meet magistrate surrounding his links to Armstrong

May 11, 2011 - Armstrong investigation progressing, but case is 'solid'

May 20, 2011 - Hamilton says he saw Armstrong use EPO

May 20, 2011 - Tyler Hamilton's letter of confession

May 21, 2011 - Report: Hincapie tells FDA Armstrong took PEDs

May 22, 2011 - Betsy Andreu talks ahead of 60 Minutes show on Lance Armstrong

May 24, 2011 - Ekimov denies Hamilton's claims of Armstrong doping

May 24, 2011 - Verbruggen says Armstrong “never, never, never” doped

November 11, 2011 - Armstrong lawyers ready for Federal battle

February 3, 2012 - Lance Armstrong inquiry concludes with no charges filed



No doubt those that served on the Grand Jury will have voiced their opinions to their families and friends and I would hope for their sake that there will not be any “ Deep Throat ” articles since there will be those looking to benefit from any of their indiscretions !


My comment to Charles Pelkey’s explainer article : http://redkiteprayer.com/?p=7669

“ Doping is " Sporting Fraud " and requires even harsher punishment than already exists and NOBODY is above the law !
Having said that i am aware that Cancer Sufferers use medication after their treatment and one such product is EPO . That Lance had to use " Drugs " whilst Racing and these " items " were approved by UCI and WADA , does not make him a " Doper " ! So many people have come out of the " Woodwork " to try to bring him down to their level and to gain recognition for themselves .

Charles will tell you of the medication that he has to continue to use now that his treatment programme has finished , and for how much longer , and he is not a " High Performance Athlete "!
Myself , i have to use " Sinitron ", or a substitute for the rest of my life due to Embolisms as mentioned in my blogs but then am not in competition .

WADA provides an annual list of " Proscribed Items " and do a thorough job of " Policing " their regs but i doubt it is in anyone's interests for them to kick around in the same area that the Grand Jury has just finished with seems pointless ! Of course there are those in the USADA who see a chance to garner benefit in some manner AND if after they expend huge sums of money and their " witch hunt " leads them to conclude they can make a case against Lance and others do they really think that the Public will thank them ?

Doubt that any will care and as for Lance , a " Suspension " will mean what ?

Will USADA spend millions to go nowhere and antagonise their public ? ”

Back in December 2011 Charles had written another item on this “ Ongoing Saga ” and here is that link :

http://redkiteprayer.com/?p=6973

My comment then was a shot in the dark and some will Say that there was “ Political Intervention ” in this case ! But then there will be many other conspiracy theories espoused in the coming months !
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