One writer's very personal story of fighting the good fight...

[TigerVols]

...will send chills through you at the end.

David Walsh, his dead son, and Lance Armstrong.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Magazine/Features/article1155948.ece?shareToken=8352496d7274981e34603b3de48c9c41#prev

 

[imjustagirl]

The shared article you were trying to view was free for a limited time only and has now expired.
Why not sign up to gain full access with packages starting from just £1 for 30 days?

 

[TigerVols]

No ****? Hmmm

 

[LongTimeListener]

Man, isn't that just a picture of journalism in the 21st century. That's a story I'd love to read. But not enough to sign up. And by now we've all been conditioned to expect not to pay.

I don't know if the answer is a flat fee through the ISP or a flexcard account that charges by the story or what the answer is. But this is a great example of the question.

 

[reformedhack]

Pay walls mean nothing.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/112091831/Lance-The-Lies-and-Me

 

[TigerVols]

Pay walls mean nothing.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/112091831/Lance-The-Lies-and-Me

Ha, just coming here to post that. Thanks!

 

[Norrin Radd]

Thanks for posting.

Please keep such stories coming. I find these "Lance Armstrong Disgraced!!" stories quite delightfully satisfying.

 

[GidalKaiser]

I found it interesting, but expected more on angle of his son passing and how it interconnected everything. Maybe not expected; maybe wanted more on that aspect. My opinion of Lance dropped a lot.

 

[Alma]

I found it interesting, but expected more on angle of his son passing and how it interconnected everything. Maybe not expected; maybe wanted more on that aspect. My opinion of Lance dropped a lot.

It's your opinion of certain journalists that should drop. Armstrong was consistently precisely who he was. He was enabled. And I fear it's because of his work raising money for cancer, which is a little like suggesting the NFL shouldn't address head injury issues in its league because it raises so much awareness for breast cancer.

 

[gingerbread]

I for one can't wait for Rupert Murdoch's News International to take the claws out on Lance Armstrong, now that the truth is there for all to see, even by British Libel solicitors.

Gidal, I'm not quite sure what Alma is referencing when he says your opinion should drop regarding certain journalists, but I sure hope he doesn't mean David Walsh. He, Betsy and Emma are on the side of angels here.
Many of us on these shores ought to be ashamed for pumping up the Lance myth without doing much home work -- hi -- and a few on these shores ought to be mortified for their role in making the myth when it appears they knew the dirty truth.

 

[FileNotFound]

Wow, that's a *hammer* at the end.

**** Lance Armstrong.

 

[Alma]

I for one can't wait for Rupert Murdoch's News International to take the claws out on Lance Armstrong, now that the truth is there for all to see, even by British Libel solicitors.

Gidal, I'm not quite sure what Alma is referencing when he says your opinion should drop regarding certain journalists, but I sure hope he doesn't mean David Walsh. He, Betsy and Emma are on the side of angels here.
Many of us on these shores ought to be ashamed for pumping up the Lance myth without doing much home work -- hi -- and a few on these shores ought to be mortified for their role in making the myth when it appears they knew the dirty truth.

I don't mean Walsh at all.

I do mean many of the American journalists who ignored the evidence or shrugged their shoulders and said "meh, everybody's doing it." That's the new thing: Everybody's corrupt, so change the definition of corruption, and call that intelligence.

 

[Ace]

F*** Lance Armstrong.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Sometimes all it takes is a little common sense and some god-given determination. When it seems impossible, well, it just might be.

 

[Point of Order]

Great story. Loved the legal aspect. Wonder of the paper can now come back on Lance to claw back its settlement.

 

[WriteThinking]

http://www.scribd.com/doc/112091831/Lance-The-Lies-and-Me

The most damning part about Armstrong and the possibility of what he achieved in the whole story:

I would follow his results in the next three Tours and it wasn’t hard to tell what kind of rider he was; strong on flat roads, decent on the shorter climbs, but average in solo races against the clock and physiologically unable to climb with the best in the high mountains. In four shots at the Tour— before being diagnosed with testicular cancer in late 1996 — his best finish was 36th.

The most damning part about journalists and their role in the "flawed fairy tale" in the whole story:

The good thing about investigating Armstrong was that there weren’t many rivals trying to beat you to the story. More than that, journalist friends would hear things, but rather than run withthem, they passed them on.

Apparently, this was something that everybody knew, or certainly something everyone suspected and wondered about -- even me, somebody who never covered the Tour de France but who can remember being distinctly skeptical about Armstrong's results, especially once they kept happening, year after year after year.

Because, let's face it, people who beat life-threatening cancer have much to celebrate. Oftentimes, they go on to accomplish amazing things and achieve many personal and professional triumphs as they realize and strive to appreciate and make the most of their perceived second chances at life.

But, I'm sorry, they just don't win seven Tour de France races after doing it.

All of that said, Armstrong's truly lasting legacy really will be all the money raised for the fight against cancer, and the spotlight shined on that opponent.

And that goes even if he does ever become a politician, something at which I'm sure he'd excel.

 

[Lugnuts]

Sad all around, yet redemptive.

For me the worst part of the story was when Armstrong bullied the clean rider right out of the sport.

Maybe they should just cancel the Tour for 5 years and start all over.

ETA: I will say on Election Day it feels good to be an American with our libel laws. Armstrong would've had no case against Walsh in the American courts.