tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9584461.post3336529189404660978..comments2023-10-20T05:07:53.689-04:00Comments on The Angry Fan: In honor of Friday the 13th - 13 Thoughts...Kevin Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08172648739434861401noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9584461.post-31903534237559800632007-07-16T12:16:00.000-04:002007-07-16T12:16:00.000-04:00Let's start with your first point - during the tes...Let's start with your first point - during the testimony recently given, a lab technician admitted to knowing exactly whose "anonymous" sample she was testing. She admitted this under oath before the arbitrators. Right there that puts into question the results - I mean, the group that wants Landis to be guilty is paying her salary, and she knows whose blood she's testing? Not to mention the fact that the men who invented the process and the equipment testified that the lab wasn't performing the test right.<BR/><BR/>The Tour is responsible for any information leaked to the press as to names associated with "anonymous" testing, just as Major League Baseball or the National Football League would be responsible for any anonymous tests they would have their players take part in. As a matter of fact, the NFL commissioner was very unhappy and came down on the teams over a similar issue during this past year's draft.<BR/><BR/>Also, considering that L'Equipe is owned by the Tour, and the officials associated with the tour have been after Armstrong for years - it seems a little too convenient that the paper they owned suddenly had sample numbers and a key associating those numbers with riders.<BR/><BR/>I have listened to LeMond in interviews, going back for quite some time. The man definitely has his own agenda - and if you even read his testimony in the recent hearing - he had no actual evidence to offer against Landis, except to offer that he was threatened by Landis' manager when they found he was testifying.<BR/><BR/>I have no argument with you on point number four - I was just making the observation that Armstrong may indeed be dirty, and that there are indeed accusations even coming from former teammates - but the point was that there has been no hard evidence backing up the accusations.<BR/><BR/>I would love for you to explain to me how the Tour is not responsible for its own data, not to mention, how the lab competently handled the process.<BR/><BR/>And like I said - I don't know that Landis or Armstrong are guilty - the preponderance of the evidence seems to point in that direction, however, the circumstances of the evidence also cast the evidence in doubt.Kevin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08172648739434861401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9584461.post-89577224326872292032007-07-16T11:50:00.000-04:002007-07-16T11:50:00.000-04:00With regard to your cycling post, you are coming f...With regard to your cycling post, you are coming from a typical American standpoint without having reviewed any of the actual evidence. <BR/>1. The 'incompetent lab' argument is just Landis' way of defending his positive test. It is not a hard fact. <BR/>2. There is no evidence as to who leaked test results to L'Equipe, so it is false to say that the Tour are responsible.<BR/>3. It is nonsense to say LeMonde has his 'own agenda' simply because he gave evidence against Floyd Landis. You have nothing to back this up.<BR/>4. Armstrong's teammates outed themselves as well as him. They were describing the team culture that existed at the time in an effort to show how dirty the sport had become, which the recent Dutch and German revelations also succeeded in doing. It wasn't necessarily in order to 'gain something' by outing Armstrong individually. <BR/>This is one of a number of American posts which has been completely inaccurate in its take on doping in cycling, which is why I felt compelled to finally comment. I am not a cycling fan and neither do I support the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport, but if you feel authorised to comment on the situation, please do so with accurate facts, not hearsay.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07718251880400995595noreply@blogger.com