Lance Armstrong biopic in the works from Paramount, J.J. Abrams

LOS ANGELES – Paramount Pictures and “Star Trek” producer J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot company have purchased the film rights to a forthcoming book about cyclist Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction.

Armstrong, whose name and celebrity status helped build a multimillion dollar cancer foundation, admitted on Thursday that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win a record seven consecutive Tour de France championships after denying doping allegations for years.

source: interaksyon.com

‘South Park’ takes aim at Lance Armstrong

LOS ANGELES – Animated TV comedy satire “South Park” is taking aim at a disgraced icon who seems a lot like seven-time Tour de France winning cyclist Lance Armstrong.

In a teaser clip released on Monday by Comedy Central, an episode titled “A Scause for Applause” shows residents of the fictional American town standing in line to get their yellow wristbands removed.

While the teaser for the October 31 episode does not refer to Armstrong by name, Comedy Central said in a statement that it deals with “the recent news of drug use by a beloved icon” and “the world is left feeling lost and betrayed”.

Armstrong, who was stripped of his cycling titles and banned for life earlier this month for doping, used yellow wristbands to promote his charity Livestrong.

In the “South Park” episode, the news has left the town enraged and upset as chubby foul-mouthed Eric Cartman, one of the show’s four lead children, declares “I can’t believe we all got duped”. Hapless schoolboy Clyde Donovan yells “lying jerk” and school counselor Mr Mackey sobs as his bracelet is removed, saying, “I don’t know what to believe in anymore”.

Armstrong, 41, who became a hero after battling cancer to dominate the world of professional cycling, has always denied allegations of taking performance enhancing drugs.

He was banned from the sport for life after 11 of his former team mates testified against him and the United States Anti-Doping Agency published a report which alleged he had been involved in the “most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”.

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are known for responding quickly to current affairs and taboo subjects for their raunchy comedy show, which has become a cult hit.

They previously landed in hot water after showing late Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin with a stingray barb in his chest less than two months after his sudden death from a stingray attack, and drawing the Muslim prophet Mohammed dressed in a bear costume in a 2006 episode.

source: interaksyon.com

UCI upholds Lance Armstrong ban, strips Tour de France titles

GENEVA – Disgraced Lance Armstrong’s fate was sealed on Monday, as cycling’s under-fire world governing body decided to back a life ban for doping and strip him of his record seven Tour de France titles.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) said it supported a decision by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to erase the Texan’s career and his place in the sport’s history.

“We will not appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and we will recognise the sanction that USADA has imposed,” UCI president Pat McQuaid told a news conference in Geneva.

“The UCI will strip him of his seven Tour de France wins. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling.”

Earlier this month the US body released a devastating dossier on Armstrong, detailing over 202 pages and with more than 1,000 pages of supporting testimony how he was at the heart of the biggest doping program in the history of sport.

The revelations, including evidence from 11 of Armstrong’s former team-mates, plunged a sport which has been working hard to rid itself of its murky doping past into crisis.

McQuaid succeeded Hein Verbruggen as president of world cycling after Armstrong’s seventh and final Tour victory in 2005 and is credited with boosting the body’s anti-doping programme, notably with the pioneering blood passport programme.

The Irishman was under pressure to answer how Armstrong and his teams managed to dope for so long without being detected. But he rejected calls to quit.

Armstrong’s sporting reputation as the cancer survivor who fought back to win cycling’s most grueling and celebrated race has been shattered since the revelations, leading to sponsors leaving him in droves.

There has also been fears of a wider withdrawal of financial backing for the sport after Dutch sponsor Rabobank said it was ending the sponsorship of its professional cycling team after a 17-year association.

The sponsor described professional cycling as “sick” to its core and unlikely to recover in the foreseeable future.

The strongly-worded comments went to the heart of claims of failings at the UCI and in particular to McQuaid, who has been criticized for failing to see the extent of doping within the sport.

Verbruggen, who stepped down in in 2006 but remains honorary president, ran the UCI during Armstrong’s golden era — a time when USADA’s report says Armstrong and teammates evaded dope tests either by hiding or being tipped off in advance.

The Dutchman has also been accused of protecting Armstrong — even accepting a donation to cover up a positive dope test.

The cyclist’s cancer backstory and Tour triumphs from 1999 to 2005 were seen as key to restoring cycling’s tattered image after a string of high-profile doping scandals in the 1990s.

Armstrong’s Tour victories are unlikely to be re-awarded, the race’s director Christian Prudhomme has said. The void avoids further headaches, given that the majority of riders who finished on the podium have also been implicated in doping.

On the eve of the UCI decision, Armstrong spoke for about 90 seconds to a record 4,300 bikers at the Livestrong Challenge charity benefit, a 100-mile (160-kilometre) race in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

“I’ve been better, but I’ve also been worse,” Armstrong told the riders. “Obviously it has been an interesting and difficult couple of weeks.”

Since the USADA report, sponsors have fled Armstrong and he was forced to resign as chairman of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997 over concerns his tarnished reputation could hurt the cause.

Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs to achieve cycling stardom, inspired more than $500 million in donations to Livestrong and pushed other cancer survivors to battle the condition.

No criminal charges were filed against Armstrong from an 18-month US federal probe that ended earlier this year and evidence from that case was not given to USADA.

But Armstrong could yet face court cases from former sponsors who accepted his assurances that his legacy was not aided by banned substances.

source: interaksyon.com

Nike stands by Lance Armstrong

NEW YORK – US sporting goods giant Nike was one of several sponsors sticking by Lance Armstrong on Friday after the US Anti-Doping Agency stripped the cycling legend of his record seven Tour de France titles.

Armstrong, a cancer survivor revered by millions for his efforts in raising cancer awareness and supporting those stricken by the disease, has steadfastly denied doping accusations but said Thursday night that he would not pursue an arbitration process.

“We are saddened that Lance Armstrong may no longer be able to participate in certain competitions and his titles appear to be impacted,” Nike said in a statement.

“Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position. Nike plans to continue to support Lance and the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a foundation that Lance created to serve cancer survivors.”

The company declined to comment on the terms of its deal with Armstrong, who has been a Nike-sponsored athlete since 1996.

Armstrong was also banned from cycling for life by the US anti-doping agency, which said his decision not to pursue arbitration in an effort to clear himself of doping charges leveled in June triggered the action.

AdAge reported that brewer Anheuser-Busch and sunglasses manufacturer Oakley were also sticking with Armstrong.

Johnson Health Tech, a Wisconsin-based company that makes exercise equipment, was among the firms citing Armstrong’s cancer awareness work as a reason to continue supporting him.

JHT issued a statement “reaffirming” its support of Armstrong and his charitable foundation.

“JHT fully supports the great work they do helping families throughout the world overcome cancer’s financial, practical and emotional challenges,” the company said in a statement.

source: interaksyon.com

Lance Armstrong banned from Ironman over doping probe

(CNN) -- Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong won't be allowed to compete in triathlon contests while he's under investigation for doping, the World Triathlon Corporation announced Thursday.

The ruling bars him from the Ironman France competition scheduled for June 24 in Nice, the agency said.

WTC rules "dictate an athlete is ineligible to compete during an open investigation. Armstrong is therefore suspended from competing in WTC-owned and licensed races pending further review," the WTC said in a statement.

Armstrong said Wednesday the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency intends to "dredge up discredited" doping allegations against him in a bid to strip him of his seven Tour de France victories.

The champion cyclist has always insisted he never took performance-enhancing drugs.

Armstrong was accused of using such drugs by other riders, but never failed a drug test.

"Unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one," Armstrong said on his website. "That USADA ignores this fundamental distinction and charges me instead of the admitted dopers says far more about USADA, its lack of fairness and this vendetta than it does about my guilt or innocence."

The Washington Post said it received a copy of a 15-page agency letter sent Tuesday to Armstrong and several others.

Justice Department prosecutors in February said they closed a criminal investigation after reviewing allegations against Armstrong. They had called witnesses to a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, but they apparently determined they lacked evidence to bring a charge that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs.

"These are the very same charges and the same witnesses that the Justice Department chose not to pursue after a two-year investigation," Armstrong said Wednesday.

According to the Post, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency alleged it collected blood samples from Armstrong in 2009 and 2010 that were "fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions." The allegations were previously unpublicized, according to the Post.

Prosecutors drop Lance Armstrong doping investigation

The letter says Armstrong and five former cycling team associates engaged in a doping conspiracy from 1998 to 2011, the Post reported. Riders will testify that Armstrong used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and masking agents, and that he distributed and administered drugs to other cyclists from 1998 to 2005, the Post quoted the letter as saying.

In a statement obtained by CNN, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis T. Tygart said the five other people, formerly associated with the U.S. Postal Service pro cycling team, are three team doctors and two team officials. The letter included written notice of alleged anti-doping rule violations, Tygart said

"USADA only initiates matters supported by the evidence," Tygart said. "We do not choose whether or not we do our job based on outside pressures, intimidation or for any reason other than the evidence." All named individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise, he added.

His statement did not mention anything about Armstrong's status as a triathlete.

According to its website, the quasi-government agency is recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic events in the United States.

Armstrong lashed out at the organization, saying it has "self-written rules" and that it punishes first and adjudicates the facts later.

Armstrong has been dogged by allegations of drug abuse in recent years, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who was found guilty of doping in the 2006 Tour de France, resulting in him being stripped of the title -- making a series of claims last year.

Armstrong came out fighting once again in May 2011 in the face of fresh allegations made on the CBS News "60 Minutes" show by another American, Tyler Hamilton.

In the CBS interview, Hamilton -- who retired in 2009 after twice testing positive himself -- says he first saw Armstrong use blood boosting substance EPO in 1999, the year of his first Tour de France victory.

"I saw it in his refrigerator," Hamilton told the American news program. "I saw him inject it more than one time like we all did, like I did many, many times."

On his Twitter page, Armstrong at the time said he never failed a drug test.

Ex-teammate: I saw Lance Armstrong inject banned substances

article source: CNN