Show r Rounding the Bases Real cowboys wear yellow J Jeren eren W. W Canning Senior Editor So let me get this straight Lance Armstrong wins the pinnacle event of his sport a record seven consecutive times brings a tier second-tier sport to the forefront and survives survives survives sur sur- vives cancer when he had less than a 50 percent chance to live But when he is cleared of all doping allegations the French media names him as a member of the mafia that is ruining the sport of cycling On May 31 the independent dent medical lab that was placed in charge of testing Armstrongs Armstrong's six urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France cleared him of all doping alle alle- As soon as Armstrong was cleared the French media claimed that the mafia has such a stronghold on the sport that the medical lab that completed completed com com- the tests were pressured pressured pressured pres pres- to find Armstrong clean The French media needs to use some common sense here c mafia in fr prance nf was so into cycling t they I arm Strong rm tl rii di lab ulab into finding Armstrong guilty of doping so that a Frenchman could have a shot at winning Frances France's bike race I know the French dont don't like Americans very much especially especially especially espe espe- when one now noel holds the record for not only the most Tour wins but also the most consecutive Tour wins but they should at least respect him for what he has done for their sport and for cancer Armstrongs Armstrong's 1999 victory was his first of seven consecutive consecutive consecutive and it came not long after his testicular cancer had gone into remission In his book Its Not About the Bike Armstrong admits to taking EPO a cancer drug and anda a drug used by cyclists to increase endurance to save his life He was prescribed EPO by the doctor that was treating his cancer when he was retired from racing in the mid But when Armstrong got back on the bike to compete professionally professional professional- ly once again he quit using all of the substances banned by the Cycling Federation In the sporting world there are very few people who can be looked upon as a hero or role model Armstrong is the theone theone theone one of those people He stood toe-to-toe toe with a disease that has killed millions of people He took on the world in the longest and toughest of any sporting event and won it seven consecutive times And when he was accused of illegal illegal illegal ille ille- gal doping he stood strong and didn't waver like other athletes have when faced with similar allegations Others athletes cower when they are accused of the same situation One example is Armstrongs Armstrong's former US Postal Service Discovery Channel teammate Tyler Hamilton who has been banned from professional cycling competition tion since fall of 2004 Hamilton Hamilt m j serving a ye 2 year 2 forb for ban for testing ting po positive b f bod 1 t l r L Before Armstrongs Armstrong's retirement retirement retirement retire retire- ment late last year he was the most tested athlete in all of sports but his tests never came up positive When a baseball player is tested for banned substances only once or twice a year it is pretty easy to cheat the system But for someone like Armstrong who was tested monthly if not more it would be difficult to mask the truth Of all athletes out there I respect Armstrong more than any other He has seen the highest of highs and the lowest lowest lowest low low- est of lows in his career He embodies the true essence of the human spirit he possess the ultimate do can-do attitude One passage in his book talks about when he was training training training train train- ing to get back into professional professional professional racing in the late He was racing up the same mountain that he had won an amateur race on years before He got to a point when he was far off his best time up the mountain and contemplated quitting the race and quitting professional racing At that point he saw a phrase painted on the asphalt that said something something something some some- thing to the effect of Go Lance that had been on the ground since he won the amateur amateur amateur ama ama- event He states that that phrase is what gave him his life back he got his will to torace torace torace race back and came from behind to beat his best time on that mountain by over six minutes Then to cap off the perfect finish to an awesome cycling career he beat some stiff competition from many including his time long-time rival Jan Ulrich to win the Tour for forthe forthe forthe the seventh time He then kissed his children and rode off into the sunset like a cowboy cowboy cowboy cow cow- boy on a white horse after fighting for a righteous cause After all he is from Tex Texas s and hed he ijiri n outspoken supporter fight for fora ai a cancer dire I The The only difference ce is Armstrong rides a blue Trek bike |