Documented encouraging sports stories

[DrewDevil]

Here's my favorite sports moment ever, Derek Redmond at the 1992 Olympics.

[psuasskicker]

Bonds <> Armstrong and it's not even close.

Armstrong may or may not have used EPO in '99 and '00, maybe some before then. The evidence that he did isn't even CLOSE to the evidence of what Bonds has done.

- C -

[tdarko]

vozzie,

It's also about how the doping commission wants the tests to be seen as well. It was and is a well known fact that the Europeans hated Lance for dominating their sport and the testing turned into not proving innocence but to try and prove guilt--how backwards is that? There is no doubt there is cheating in cycling, no denying that--another one of the problems during this time of Lance is that all of other side of the World's favorites were the ones actually getting caught cheating, not Lance. Lance was the most tested man on the planet, no other athlete had a doping commission come to his door for tests anytime they pleased--they even came when he was headed out of the door to the hospital when his wife was in labor.

The problem with your "6 times!" is that it is illegitimate, a reason why it didn't ever hold water. He was tested many more times in 99' during the Tour and all of those came out negative. The reason it can't hold is b/c back then the doping commission was filled with lackluster scientists and dark dusty rooms and terrible organization, but more importantly it was corrupt. Obviously these are saved urine samples from 99' when this came out and if you have ever seen a picture of these samples they don't have Lance's name on it or anything it just says "#530948750947690" or something like that...the messed up part is that all samples were written in pencil and you could barely make out the numbers. Even if that isn't enough who is to say these French scientists that hate this American and realize that this one American is the reason the sport is dominated by the U.S. didn't start switching dirty labels w/ clean labels.

And even if you are completely blind to the fact that there was an ongoing witch hunt to try and prove Lance as guilty which is about as bs as it gets (especially when in his contract he had stipulations about how he would give every earning back if he tested positive--why would he do that if he was dirty and there was any chance to get caught, I mean we aren't talking about someone w/o money or someone who isn't sought after) you still have to try and figure out how on earth Lance figured out how to dope on one stage of the France and test positive and then miraculously test negative on the very next stage--b/c it happened this way a few times according to the 6 times!

Just know that there are always good reasons behind quick actions and when all of the information was presented to Le Monde and the doping commission everyone quickly backtracked and all was forgotten. Too bad some people hear "cheater" and forever associate it with him w/o actually understanding.

[pokerbobo]

Walter Paytons book...I think its called "never die easy"

[DrewDevil]

I have no idea if Lance cheated or not, but it would be pretty amazing if he didn't. Anyway, I live in Austin, Texas, and Lance is pretty much universally known for being a giant a-hole to everyone.

[NicksDad1970]

I'm all for a debate on Lance and whether he cheated or not but could we not derail this thread and start a new one on that?

tyvmnbb

I remember this one guy who had cancer and lost a leg. He was a runner and was running all over the US and Canada I think.

That was like at least 25 years ago. anyone remember who that was?

I remember crying when he died.

[vozzie]

@tdarko: I am very much aware of the witch hunt against Lance but it doesn't make him innocent. I also am very much aware that he was the most tested athlete of all time but that doesn't make him innocent. I am also very much aware that you are innocent untill proven otherwise but that also doesn't make him innocent. And eventhough I know Armstrong doped himself, I still think he is one of the greatest riders of all time. I know for a fact that it is impossible to win the tour the france without doping. The peleton is infested with it. I strongly believe that he would have won the tour 7 times riding clean if the rest of the peleton did it too. But the fact remains that the peleton isn't clean.

My fellow countryman Eddy Merckx, the greatest of all time doped himself too. It' a part of cycling and I can look past that it and still say that Armstrong was the best of them all, but I am not blind for the reality. He is a great athlete but also a great hypocrit.

[BreakfastBurrito]

[ QUOTE ]
I remember this one guy who had cancer and lost a leg. He was a runner and was running all over the US and Canada I think.

That was like at least 25 years ago. anyone remember who that was?

[/ QUOTE ]

That was Terry Fox. See link already posted in this thread by someone else.

[NicksDad1970]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I remember this one guy who had cancer and lost a leg. He was a runner and was running all over the US and Canada I think.

That was like at least 25 years ago. anyone remember who that was?

[/ QUOTE ]

That was Terry Fox. See link already posted in this thread by someone else.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks a bunch. But I still don't see it posted earlier in this thread. Wow, does that bring back memories.

[destro]

Rick Hanson - Went across Canada in a wheelchair.

Saku Koivu - top hockey player who beat cancer.