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Ooooo, didn't now this was out there! Thanks! Will try to find it, probably tonight! I love the Tour de France. I was just thinking about it a couple of days ago and how much I'll miss it this year. I assume it's been cancelled. Has it?Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPhiKap
Postponed until 29 August, as of now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bostondevil
Slaying the Badger is excellent, you will not be disappointed. Looks like it is on ESPN2 tomorrow at 7:30 pm - 9, and again next Sunday 5:30 pm-7.
Has any other thread had 7+ years between posts? That’s amazing.
Nota Bene:
ESPN is showing it with “mature language,” ESPN2 is showing a cleaner (but probably not G-rated) version.
Shouldn't this thread be titled 'Lance Armstrong Stops Fighting Doping Allegations'? Not, '...stops fighting anti-doping allegations'?
I'm pretty sure Lance Armstrong is pro-doping and nobody has alleged otherwise.
I wasn't particularly interested in watching that guy, but I did tune in last night, watched the first hour, and was pretty mesmerized. If you think Lance is a jackazz, you should see the man who adopted him, good grief. Anyway, I can never see an excuse for how Lance went after people who exposed his doping, but this documentary DOES rather clearly explain how the entire pro biking culture rapidly moved towards everyone doping...if you didn't use EPO, you simply couldn't compete.
(Well before all that, Lance was kind of a jerk growing up, too...)...you might as well watch the "full language" version, gives you a feel for things.
I prefer "Lance" to "The Last Dance," which was enjoyable to recall MJ's artistry as a player but was too much of a self-advertisement, with his complete editorial control.
Hearing about how Lance went from 21-year old World Champion to also-rode when inferior riders started taking EPO to historically dominant when he decided to take EPO with a vengeance reminded me of the career arc of Barry Bonds. Hearing him talk about how he would hold grudges for years, often against much lesser rivals, to drive himself reminded me of MJ.
Whatever percentage one might guess for MLB players who took steroids at the height of that era, the percentage of TDF riders taking EPO was still much higher. All of the other cyclists interviewed are pretty clear that basically everyone in the Tour was doping. I think Lance truly was the best cyclist in the world for years, as well as a major jerk.
It was also amazing hearing his doctor say that he told Lance he had maybe a 20 or 25% chance of beating cancer as a lie to give him some hope, when the actual odds were much lower.
I also second the recommendation of the LeMond documentary. Not only did he win 3 TDFs legitimately, but he also lost out on a couple of Tours after nearly dying in a hunting accident, and he was still in his prime years when he got left in the dust because his competitors started taking EPO. LeMond should be more celebrated.
Tough take on Lance in CNN today.
Watched most of the second episode last night, just a great big ouch. Tiniest bit of credit for Lance eventually coming clean, but he left a horrific trail of harm behind him. If he's trying to show he isn't a nasty, vengeful jerk, he didn't succeed.
Nope. Wholly unrepentant, and his real anger is that he got outed by Andreau and Landis.Quote:
Originally Posted by budwom
It was fascinating listening to his former teammates talk about Lane...quite measured in their responses, but evident they had little affection for the man.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldPhiKap
Made it through Part 1, thanks to all the posters for discussing and recommending.
I'll obviously reserve judgement until I've watched the lot but I wasn't fully aware of the extent of his cancer diagnosis and recovery. I do have empathy for anyone going through something like that (at any age, let alone a young age) and admiration for the perseverance on the other side, even if it was EPO aided.
I also don't worry too much about the temperaments of guys like Jordan or Lance. They're some of the most competitive people on the planet and they push themselves in ways that exhaust me to just think about. Their sharp edges make watching the documentaries interesting. Frankly, I'd be a little disappointed if Lance was someone I wanted to spend ANY time with at all and seemed like a nice guy. He's not supposed to be.
Anyway, it's been very compelling to watch so far, some real characters. Way more compelling than The Last Dance. Lance's stepfather, holy crap, I'd watch a documentary just on that dude. It's hard to believe they're not blood given how his stepdad leaned into taking credit for Lance's accomplishments.
I hope in future episodes they interview Cheryl Crow...
Glad you are enjoying it.Quote:
Originally Posted by bundabergdevil
As for the above, the interesting dynamic is that they are selfishly-driven guys (I mean that in a good way) in a team event. It’s even stranger in cycling than hoops, because the team dynamics are so much more fluid and complex.
I really recommend the 30 for 30 “Slaying the Badger” if you find it, about Greg LeMond and Bernard Hineault. The last two great and highly egotistical cyclists of the non-doping era, on the same team. Crazy.
They don't. They also don't interview Sheryl Crow. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by bundabergdevil
That spelling error is my favorite mistake...Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
Sigh, I know that and have no idea why I typed Cheryl.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
If it makes you happy, drop all the Crow puns you want!Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyNotCrazie
Quote:
Originally Posted by bundabergdevil
You mean in the series Armstrong comes out and admits he lied and ...
Sheryl doesn’t do interviews. All she wants to do, it seems, is to have some fun.
(and FTR, she in fact is not the only one.)