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The Department of Justice said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that cyclist Lance Armstrong was "unjustly enriched" while he used steroids to win multiple Tour de France titles. In the formal complaint, the Justice Department said they would seek triple damages against Armstrong, who admitted earlier this year that he doped to win his seven straight titles. The U.S. Postal Service paid some $40 million to appear as the title sponsor of Armstrong's team during six of those seven races. "Defendants were unjustly enriched to the extent of the payments and other benefits they received from the USPS, either directly...

The Justice Department will notify a federal court Friday that it is joining one of his former racing teammates in suing him for using performance-enhancing drugs during the Tour de France, legal sources told NBC News. The government is signing on to a lawsuit filed two years ago by Floyd Landis, one of Armstrong's former Tour de France teammates who has already admitted cheating. Among its claims: Landis saw Armstrong store and then re-inject his own blood to boost his performance, and Armstrong twice gave Landis banned hormones before races.

I like to bet on sports. Having a stake in the game, even if it's just five bucks, makes it more exciting. I also like playing poker. "Unacceptable!" say politicians in much of America. "Gambling sometimes leads to 'addiction,' destitute families!" Well, it can. So politicians ban it. It's why we no longer see a poker game in the back of bars. Half the states even ban poker between friends -- though they rarely enforce that. After banning things, politicians' second favorite activity is granting special privileges to a few people who do those same things -- so big casinos...

Even when Lance Armstrong portrayed himself as coming clean about his career spent cheating to win, he was still lying. That’s the argument U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart made Sunday evening on the CBS show “60 Minutes,” in an interview with Scott Pelley for a segment called “The Fall of Lance Armstrong.” Tygart sat down with Pelley to rebut several claims Armstrong made during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was televised on January 17-18. Among the statements that Tygart said were categorically untrue: that Armstrong had raced free of performance-enhancing drugs during his 2009 and 2010 comeback; that...

Lance Armstrong is going to hell. And I don’t mean that in the figurative sense. The disgraced cyclist is destined for the “fiery furnace” from which there is no escape, where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And he will be joined by other celebrities of this fallen world. Like preternatural golfer Tiger Woods, John Travolta and Bill Gates. Armstrong is bound for eternal punishment not because he used performance enhancing drugs to capture seven consecutive Tour de France championships. Not because he unabashedly lied about his doping. Not because he unconscionably slandered those who exposed his cheating....

For today's post, I want to depart from the normal news and political chatter we normally discuss and focus on something that I believe is travesty, both in America and across the world. For decades, Lance Armstrong has been the epitome of toughness and grit in the world of sports. He managed to beat cancer, no small feat there, and then came back to win the Tour de France seven years running. He was heralded as a superstar and he became a millionaire because of his victories and the resulting endorsements. All of this took place amidst accusations of doping....

Another day. Another scandal. Another high-profile celebrity headed to Oprah’s couch to express contrition and try to resuscitate his image. Today it’s Lance Armstrong, but tomorrow it will be someone else -- which is why I believe it’s time to say enough is enough. No more free passes for our children’s role models. I don’t know Lance Armstrong and apparently nobody else really did either. What I knew was the same cynically constructed fairy tale that he sold all of us: the inspirational story of a young cyclist who nearly died from cancer and was resurrected through the miracles of...

You want to be a successful LOUSY FREEPER TROLL in DUmmieland? Then you need to build up your post count so as to avoid any suspicions. It is tough to do on the political threads where I generally just post fairly innocuous comments. However, sometimes there are DUmmie threads where I completely agree with the sentiment, such as F*ck Lance Armstrong.. where I was able to post my REAL opinion several times without fear of detection as an LFT. One fringe benefit was that WILLIAM RIVERS PITT joined the thread with a FALSE observation. I was tempted to ask...

Oprah Winfrey revealed today she was surprised and mesmerized by some of Lance Armstrong's answers in the wake of her grueling two-hour interview with the shamed cyclist, in which he finally admitted using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Speaking to CBS this morning about the 'intense and emotional' interview that took place in Austin yesterday, she said: 'He did not come clean in the manner I expected, I was surprised. Myself and the whole team were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers. 'I think he answered my questions satisfactorily. He was thoughtful and serious and had prepared himself for this...

Lance Armstrong, who this fall was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping and barred for life from competing in all Olympic sports, has told associates and antidoping officials that he is considering publicly admitting that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions during his cycling career, according to several people with direct knowledge of the situation. He would do this, the people said, because he wants to persuade antidoping officials to restore his eligibility so he can resume his athletic career.

GQ magazine has just announced their list of "The Least Influential People of 2012" — "a collection of people so uninspiring that we should round them all up and stick them on an iceberg." While some, like Hulk Hogan (#24), may be obvious picks, others such as Michelle Obama's exile to the iceberg came as a bit of a surprise. Below are GQ's top 15 picks, along with an explanatory line of their biting commentary: 15. Bobby Valentine: "a man whose greatest accomplishment in baseball remains wearing a fake-mustache disguise to sneak back into the dugout after getting ejected from...

After months of bad press, the greatest competitive cyclist of all time has officially hit rock bottom: The Lance Armstrong Foundation has dropped the name of its eponymous creator and will now be known as the Livestrong Foundation. Rest easy, Lance, it can’t get much – or is that any? – worse. His story is unparalleled, Shakespearean in scope and breadth. A cocky, gum-flapping athlete battled insurmountable odds after a devastating cancer diagnosis, his greasy soul barely slipping the surly clutches of a certain dirt nap. Ultimately, he rehabilitated his battered body and morphed into a champion. Not only did...

A serious doping scandal shakes everyone's faith on an all-new episode of "South Park" titled "A Scause for Applause" premiering Wednesday, October 31 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central. Rocked by the recent news of drug use by a beloved icon, the world is left feeling lost and betrayed. The boys, join with the rest of the nation, and remove their yellow wristbands. Everyone is on board, except for Stan, who just can’t seem to cut off his bracelet.

Poor Lance he had it all, 7 Tour de France wins, and the hero of cancer survivors, while he dumped his cancer stricken wife, he had it all. But the lie was exposed and now his empire is crumbling on the the thin wood it was built on.

Cycling's governing body agreed Monday to strip Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles and ban him for life, following a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accused him of leading a massive doping program on his teams. Speaking from Geneva, International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid confirmed to a news conference that UCI had decided to uphold USADA'S decision to strip Armstrong of his Tour titles.

GENEVA, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life on Monday after the International Cycling Union (UCI) ratified the United States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) sanctions against the American. The long-awaited decision has left cycling facing its "greatest crisis" according to UCI president Pat McQuaid and has destroyed Armstrong's last hope of clearing his name. "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling. Lance Armstrong deserves to be forgotten in cycling," McQuaid told a news conference as he outlined how cycling, long battered by doping problems for decades, would have to...

Seven-time Tour de France cycling champion Lance Armstrong has long rejected the idea that God has dominion over his life. He has refused to accept that his Creator saved him from testicular cancer (“If there was a God, I’d still have two balls,” he once sneered). He has refused to credit the Almighty for his exceptional athletic prowess (“One of the redeeming things about being an athlete is redefining what’s humanly possible,” he once declared.) The Bible warns that “God opposes the proud.” And Armstrong’s stunning fall from grace offers proof that God’s Word does not return void. The disgraced...

Nike has announced today that it is cutting all sporting ties with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, citing insurmountable evidence that he participated in doping and misled the company for more than a decade. The sportswear giant issued a statement this morning saying it was terminating Armstrong's contract 'with great sadness.' 'Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner,' it said. Just minutes before Nike’s announcement, Armstrong revealed he was stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity so that the organization can steer clear of the whirlwind surrounding its founder. Nike has said...

AUSTIN, Texas – Lance Armstrong said Wednesday he is stepping down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer-fighting charity so the group can focus on its mission instead of its founder's problems. The move came a week after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released a massive report detailing allegations of widespread doping by Armstrong and his teams when he won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005. The document's purpose was to show why USADA has banned him from cycling for life and ordered 14 years of his career results erased -- including those Tour titles. It contains...

Ms. O’Reilly said Mr. Armstrong demonized her as a prostitute with a drinking problem, and had her hauled into court in England. Ultimately, a legal settlement was reached, and Ms. O’Reilly tried to pick up her life, sometimes talking about Mr. Armstrong and drugs, but to little notice. Ms. O’Reilly said she was once in a room giving Mr. Armstrong a massage when he and officials on the team fabricated a story to conceal a positive drug test result. Ms. O’Reilly said Mr. Armstrong told her, “You know enough to bring me down.”

So who else knew? There were too many people involved; too many mouths open and too much money was in play for this to remain a genuine secret for so long. There must have been people in positions of power within the sport who had knowledge of what Lance Armstrong was up to long before this damning dossier was released. Dragging the proof into the public domain was a difficult task, but only because it was hampered by what has all the appearances of an institutional cover-up, a co-ordinated conspiracy and the propagation of a huge lie that extends way...

The evidence presented in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's 202-page report on Lance Armstrong's alleged years of doping, scheming, pushing and evading is, according to its authors, "beyond strong." Even so, the case against Armstrong doesn't involve any definitive failed drug tests, a fact that the former seven-time Tour de France winner has long used to shield his claims to innocence. So if Armstrong is the inveterate doper the USADA claims he is, how did he manage to avoid an unambiguous positive test during more than a decade of pro cycling? Below is a rundown of the doping practices the USADA...

British Cycling head Dave Brailsford has admitted that Lance Armstrong’s emergence as a confirmed drugs cheat could lead the public to doubt the achievements of riders such as Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy. Brailsford is the man who masterminded Wiggins’s Tour de France triumph this year and led Team GB to eight gold medals in the London Olympics and the Beijing Games of 2008. And although there is no suggestion that his riders are not clean, Brailsford admitted on Thursday night that the public now has the right to question every achievement they have witnessed in the sport in...

Lance Armstrong said he wanted to see the names of his accusers. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave him 26, including 11 ex-teammates. About 200 pages filled with vivid details _ from the hotel rooms riders transformed into makeshift blood-transfusion centers to the way Armstrong's ex-wife rolled cortisone pills into foil and handed them out to all the cyclists.

Lance Armstrong challenged the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to name names and say what it had on him. On Wednesday, it did. The anti-doping body revealed a group of 11 former Armstrong teammates — some loyal, some estranged — who each provided evidence of drug use on the U.S. Postal Service team. USADA Chief Executive Travis Tygart called it “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.” USADA will deliver its reasoned decision against Armstrong later Wednesday, a summary of the facts it used to hand him a lifetime suspension and erase his titles. The organization...

First of all, Lance Armstrong is a good man. There’s nothing that I can learn about him short of murder that would alter my opinion on that. Second, I don’t know if he’s telling the truth when he insists he didn’t use performance-enhancing drugs in the Tour de France — never have known. I do know that he beat cancer fair and square, that he’s not the mastermind criminal the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency makes him out to be, and that the process of stripping him of his titles reeks. A federal judge wrote last week, “USADA’s conduct raises serious questions...

AUSTIN, Texas - August 23rd, 2012 - There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, "Enough is enough." For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999. Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart's unconstitutional witch hunt. The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our foundation and on me leads me to where I am today – finished with this...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he declared he was finished fighting the drug charges that threaten his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time. Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, but says the cyclist can refile it within 20 days. The seven-time Tour de France champion sued USADA on Monday in an attempt to prevent it from moving forward with charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout much of his career. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled just hours later. He criticized Armstrong's attorneys for filing an 80-page complaint the judge says seems more intended to whip up public opinion for his case than focus on the legal argument. Sparks, however, did not...

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brought formal doping charges against former cyclist Lance Armstrong in an action that could cost him his seven Tour de France titles, according to a letter sent to Armstrong and several others Tuesday. As a result of the formal charges, Armstrong has been immediately banned from competition in triathlons, a sport he took up after his retirement from cycling in 2011. In the 15-page charging letter obtained by The Post, USADA made previously unpublicized allegations against Armstrong, alleging it collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood ma­nipu­la­tion including...

The long struggle to connect Lance Armstrong with doping finally came to an effective halt on Friday afternoon with the announcement that the federal investigation into the seven-times Tour de France winner has been abandoned after the best part of two years. It feels like the end of an era, if not the end of the connection between bike racing and illegal performance enhancers, as could be seen by yesterday's conclusion to the long-running Alberto Contador affair, in which the Spaniard was stripped of his 2010 Tour win and given a two-year ban. But Armstrong's historic series of victories in...

Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, champion cyclist and LIVESTRONG founder and chairman, issued the following statement: “For 15 years, the Lance Armstrong Foundation has served people and families affected by cancer, especially those in underserved communities. We join Mayor Bloomberg and our partners in the philanthropic community today in their efforts to preserve access to cancer screening for women throughout the U.S. The Lance Armstrong Foundation will add an additional $100,000 to Mayor Bloomberg’s matching challenge for Planned Parenthood’s cancer services fund. As Dr. King said, “there is no greater injustice than inequality in health care.” Cancer, on the other hand,...

California is one of the most heavily taxed jurisdictions in the world. If that weren’t bad enough, for the next few months Golden State residents will have to deal with an annoying little man in tights pedaling around the state to stump for even higher taxes. Lance Armstrong, who recently retired from professional cycling to lobby full time for higher taxes, was in Los Angeles earlier this week for a press event with California state Senator Don Perata to announce the launch of a campaign to raise the state tobacco tax. A measure that would raise the cigarette excise tax...

Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has reportedly tested positive for a banned substance, according to multiple reports. The three-time champion reportedly tested positive on July 21, just days before he won the 2010 title. He has blamed contaminated food. If true, he would be the second rider to win the race and later be found to have failed a drug test. Floyd Landis did so in 2006.

Federal prosecutors have intensified their criminal investigation of the cyclist Lance Armstrong since the end of the Tour de France last month. They questioned many of his former associates, including cyclists who have supported and detailed claims that Armstrong and his former United States Postal Service team participated in systematic doping, according to a cyclist who has been interviewed and two others privy to the inquiry.

I struggled with what to write about the finale of this year’s Tour de France. Even though the Tour lasts for the better part of the month, when it ends, I always feel like it went by too fast. I love the spring classics season but they are just one individual day of drama compared to the saga that is the Tour. The Giro is like the kid brother and does little more than to prime the appetite for what’s to come in a few weeks. Of course there’s the Vuelta but if the Giro is the kid brother, the...

With a rest day looming and the contenders looking to preserve some energy for Thursday’s showdown atop the Col du Tormalet; it set up the perfect scenario for a breakaway to escape the peloton and take victory in Pau. Tuesday’s stage 16 was by no means a day off for the field, featuring two Category 1 climbs and two monstrous Hors Category climbs before a 60 kilometer run in to the finish. Admitting that he dog-eared this page in the race book before the Tour started; Lance Armstrong and his teammate Chris Horner escaped with seven other riders early in...

Alberto Contador took a few swings at rival Andy Schleck on the ascent of the Ax-3 Domaines but was unable to crack the Luxembourger. At one point the two were practically doing track stands on the day’s final climb while their rivals Dennis Menchov and Sammy Sanchez sped away. The two overall leaders were not overly concerned with Menchov and Sanchez since they are more than two minutes behind on the General Classification. After the stage Schleck said tomorrow’s stage over the Port be Bales is more suited to his strengths and that he might take some chances tomorrow. I...

Stage 13 saw Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov time his attack perfectly on the day’s final climb taking victory just as the sprinters charged down the finishing straight. As I predicted yesterday’s stage 13 was the optimal stage for a well timed attack and Vino did not disappoint. The sprinter’s teams gobbled up the break before they hit the final climb up the Côte de Saint-Ferréol, keeping the pace extremely high as the peloton shattered on the ascent. Vino was there to protect teammate Alberto Contador as several riders launched failed attacks and then he struck. In what has become Vino’s trademark,...

Cavendish stamps his authority over the top sprinters in the world taking his third stage in this year’s Tour and the thirteenth in his very young career. His lead out man Mark Renshaw was ejected from the Tour by race officials for head-butting Garmin Transitions rider Julian Dean in the closing kilometer. Personally I didn’t have a problem with the head-butting although he probably could have just put a shoulder into Dean and accomplished the same thing. That being said, I did have a problem with him coming off his line and pushing Tyler Farrar into the barrier. At 70...

Clearly Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador are the two alpha males fighting for supremacy in this year’s Tour de France. The two GC favorites put in a Herculean effort to chase down the remnants of the today’s breakaway on the descent of the Col de la Madeline and cemented their places atop the leader board, setting up a show down in the Pyrenees Mountains. Race leader Cadel Evans cracked on the climb of the Madeline loosing more than eight minutes on the day and ending his chance of winning his first Tour de France. BMC team owner Jim Ochowicz revealed...

Lance Armstrong saw his Tour de France hopes evaporate into thin air in the mountains of France. Armstrong was involved in three crashes on the day hitting the pavement on two. The first came shortly after the stage began and Armstrong was able to stay upright. The second happened at the worst possible time, just as the small group of favorites was to begin the climb up the Col de la Ramaz. Armstrong was just able to catch up to the group when a well-timed acceleration by Team Sky pushed him over the limit and spit him out the back....

Saturday’s Stage 7 proved to be anticlimactic as Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, and the other General Classification contenders played their cards close to their vest’s in anticipation of the drama that is sure to unfold on the slopes of Morzine tomorrow. The select group of favorites finished 1:47 down on Sylvain Chavanel who attacked out of the group and soloed to victory taking his second stage of this year’s Tour. Chavanel moves back into yellow as race leader Fabian Cancellara finished more than 14 minutes in arrears. The overall GC began to sort itself out as Cadel Evans moves into...

The favorites for the overall classification took it easy today conserving their energy in the comfort of the peloton. Team Radio Shack moved to the front enmasse with about 30k to go as the peloton, which had been riding into a stiff headwind, was going to take a 90 degree right hand turn which would create a cross wind. In an interview after the stage Armstrong said they were looking to split the pack but the winds weren’t strong enough to cause a seperation.

Mark Cavendish silenced his critics today taking a decisive win in Thursday’s fifth stage. Cavendish timed his move perfectly as Garmin had set up what looked like the perfect lead out for their man Tyler Farrar. Gerald Ciolek also jumped at the same time but Cavendish was not going to be denied beating the German to the line by a convincing two bike lengths. Cav’s former lead out man Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed third, and overall points leader Thor Hushovd finished fifth. An emotional Cavendish had tears in his eyes as he stood on the podium today. Following today’s win...

Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win Posted on July 7, 2010 by Todd Kinsey Ale-Jet Rockets to Second Stage Win - photo by: Laurent Rebours The only surprise in today’s stage 4 was that Alessandro Petacchi took a decisive stage win out sprinting the likes of Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd. At 36 years of age, Ale-Jet appears to have found the fountain of youth. With about 200 meters to go, Cavendish was being lead out by Mark Renshaw. As Renshaw pulled off to let Cavendish take it to the line, Alessandro Petacchi had launched his attack down the left...

Anarchy reigned supreme again at the Tour de France as the pave’ may have dashed the hopes for many of the Tour’s favorites. General Classification contender Christian Vande Velde was unable to start today’s stage after a crash, in which he suffered broken ribs and re-injured is back, claimed his Tour hopes yesterday and Frank Schleck was claimed by a crash today which broke his collar bone. The race was won by Cervelo’s Thor Hushovd who crossed the finish line pounding his chest with an emphatic victory over Saxo Bank’s Fabian Cancellara. More importantly Hushovd claimed the green jersey with...

Sylvain Chavanel solos to victory after a major crash on the decent of the Aissomont slowed the charging peloton. Chavanel claimed the coveted yellow jersey from Fabian Cancellara and is likely to wear it until the riders hit the Alps this weekend. Heavy rains pelted the riders as they hit the final three climbs of the day. The slick roads were the cause of the crash on the decent of the Aissomont which claimed several general classification contenders including: Christian Vande Velde, Frank Schleck, Andy Schleck, George Hincapie and several others.

Good morning. Things are progressing as expected this morning. we have an 8 man break including: ■Sylvain Chavanel (QuickStep) ■Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto) ■Jürgen Roelandts (Omega Pharma-Lotto) ■Marcus Burghardt (BMC) ■Jerome Pineau (QuickStep) ■Sebasitien Turgot (Bbox) ■Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) ■Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre) The peloton is 2:55 behind and have been steadily bringing the gap down. Cervelo and Saxo have been controlling the pace making early but Astana is assembling near the front now. If the break is to stick Chavanel and Burghardt are certainly the two strongest riders although Matthew Llyoyd is a good young climber, winning the KOM at...