Oprah ,
As you awake this morning , your mind may well be dwelling on the upcoming interview with Lance ? Whether you decided to initiate the Interview , or Lance's Interests prompted the approach , is immaterial . There is a great deal of Speculation about how you will approach the questions that will be posed to Lance . Many people are wondering if you have the " Skillset " to go the Hard Yards needed to get the TRUE Answers , that the PUBLIC deserve , or will it be a " Tease " , setting up the situation where someone else will gather the accolades ?
Nobody is really interested in the Cosmetic setting , that Lance is providing , by using his personal home as the setting . This usually would be seen as putting YOU , under an obligation to " Soft Peddle " , with the questions , as well as allow Lance's family members to wander on to the scene . Your Female viewers will enjoy this scenario , however , with the amount of advance Publicity , it is apparent , that this is not the audience you are seeking , nor the purpose of this Event ?
By now you are aware that there are many people that have a " Vested Interest " in seeing Lance , meet head-on with his moment of truth ! Over the years , you have had a number , of these types of Interviews , each has had it's own individual characteristics , and thus a variety of results . No point in me speculating about what either of you wish to see , as the outcomes of this Event ! Make certain that whatever you decide to do will be seen , as a positive result , since a " wishy washy presentation " , will result in more of your viewers , deciding that you have had your time in the Limelight , and choose to watch other programs in your time slot !
David Walsh , author of the " Seven Deadly Sins " , as well as a long term foe of Lance , has published an " Advert " in the Chicago Tribune , setting out 10 Questions , his Twitter Following gave him , following the tweet requesting their input ! The " Advert Link " is here :
https://twitter.com/lioneljbirnie/status/290156457746395137/photo/1
Frankly , i was surprised that several more Important Questions were not asked .Questions , that would be guaranteeded to cause discomfort , both for you , the poser , and Lance , being unable to escape the consequences , unless he chose to say , " They are subject of Legal Proceedings ( 5th Amendment ?)!
Reports of your staff dealing with Betty Andreu and Travis Tygart , have surfaced also , so it would seem that some additional groundwork has been done in preparing your inquisition ?
Some years ago , a similar attempt was made on a TV Program , to broadcast , a Confession , that resulted in something less than an Admission of Guilt , from another Sporting Star ! This " Admission " , was advertised in advance , also , to have been a " Confession " , but the result can be seen in this Link :
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/11/sports/baseball/11giambi.html?_r=1&
Lance may be reticent to discuss the " Appearance Fees " he received from the South Australian Government , but " His Friend ( his words in the past ) Mike Rann , appears to wish that they were more distant acquaintances , judging by the following " Tweet ":
Mike Rann @Mlke_Rann
@skippydetour Please dont mention my name and that man in the same sentence again... I'm trying to distance myself from any connection!
We are all aware of your trip to Australia , for which YOU , also received " Appearance Fees " , and no doubt produced favourable Publicity , for Australian Tourism Interests . So many Events these days result in favourable outcomes for all parties involved . My personal view of CNN News Network , is that currently , it is a series of Adverts , separated by " Breaking News Events "! Each time a program goes to " Messages " , there appear 5+ "ads " , One Direct Ad. then 4+ program ( sponsors mentioned )Ads . On approach to "top of the hour " , there can be as many as 9+ such Ad/s !
Having written an Open Letter to Lance , days ago , delivered via his Twitter feed , i have covered many of the Aspects , that the Public are expecting to see him reveal , however , here is the link for your perusal :www.skippyblogging.blogspot.com . Doubt that it tells you much more of consequence , in relation to his situation ?
With Sally Jenkins writing about her relationship with Lance and then Graham Watson issuing his Blog , defending his actions , particularly in respect of Greg Lemond , it came as little surprise that Juliet Moncur would suggest that Lance was preparing himself for an " Event "! In fact as much as a year ago some wags on the CyclingNews Forum/Clinic , a forum Lance appears to visit , suggested that Lance would be Using Your Show as a medium , when the time came to Confess ! Could be this idea lodged in his mind , since these people are very stridently vocal in the derision they pour on anything he has done in recent years . Perhaps you have contacted Mike Anderson , now located in New Zealand , since his failed Court Action with Lance ?
With the Show being " Pre Recorded " on Monday , i doubt that i will have to get up early in Austria , on Friday Morning , to watch on a Computer Link . The amount of Major News Network interest in recent days , suggests that there will be " Teasers/Leaks " as early as Tuesday . An uncomfortable Lance , making FULL DISCLOSURES , will bring you Plaudits , however , anything less , will see you deluged with derision , perhaps resulting in people not bothering to watch the full program ?
Apart from the questions posed by " David Walsh's Tweet " , i should like you to ask about people such as Jon Vaughters , Alberto Contador , Johan Bruyneel , Ekimov , Hincapie and Popovitch, and how they impacted Lance's fight for credibility ? There are also Questions that should be addressed about Members of the UCI Executive , Heinous Verbruggen , Phat Mc Quaid and WADA personalities , as well as the " Saugy Lab. Director"!
Another area i am curious about is " Why was there a NEED for the " LiveSTRONG.ORG and the LivesTRONG .com ? Also why Did Lance Charge " .com " so much for his presense at their events , seems to me , this was " profiteering BIG STYLE "!
Lance has had dealings with Dr Ferrari and others over the years , even paid for "exclusivity with Dr Ferrari " so we are told by those " in the know "! What other sources of PEDs , did he have AND were there ANY Product , that was not OUT of Clinical Testing ? Curious to find out what he knows of " AICAR ", reports of this being readily available these days !
What will Lance have to say to people like " Emma O'Reilly , Betty Andreu and Paul Kimmage " , ALL People that he " defamed and maligned "? Questions regarding the Girona situation and the Israel situation require answers also ! With the suspected Personal Net Worth of Lance , there must be many Enterprises where he has an Investment , in conjunction with other Athletes and Sport Personalities worthy of discussion / disclosure ! There are a number of Ex Racers , that are associated with Lance , now in Investment Banking and Owning Sports Teams , that could bear scrutiny , since they appear to be " Teflon Coated "! I recall that " NIKE " , was reputed to have sent $250000 to Geneva , in the early 2000's , what does Lance have to add to this Event ?
Would appear to me that a series of Interviews , with Direct Questions , could be more beneficial to ALL parties , than this " one off Event "!
No doubt , with the level of interest , this Letter will get buried until after the interview , so am Tweeting links to @LanceArmstrong , @DavdWalshST , @PaulKimmage ,@KathyLeMond amongst others
Ciao
Skippy
NB some additional advice from other sources :
THE OBSERVER NEWSPAPER'S 10-STEP PATH TO REDEMPTION
1. Observe an injured, even dignified, silence. Give nothing away.
2. Express televised contrition, ideally to a popular host.
3. Involve your wife/partner in 1. and 2.
4. Apologise to everyone, but don't confess.
5. Suffer a life-threatening illness.
6. Write a book; write three books.
7. Smile through your tears; be brave.
8. Mobilise the support of influential friends and allies.
9. Turn to prayer; find a priest; talk about confession, but keep the details private.
10. Keep Buggering On.
Betsy Andreu offering five very well chosen questions:
Betsy Andreu, victim of many attacks from Lance Armstrong, plays Oprah and tells News what she would ask cyclist at sit-down
1. Will you admit that the hospital incident happened and will you describe it in detail?...
2. Did you intimidate or tamper with witnesses who implicated you in doping?...
3. Why did the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Andre Birotte Jr., shelve the federal investigation into allegations that you were involved in defrauding the government, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy?...
4. Do you know if the investigation was ended for political reasons?...
5. How do you plan on undoing the damage you did to people, especially those who were your friends, people like Frankie?
This is what people are reported to be doing :
OPRAH WINFREY advised .
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