Trav's Thoughts

Full disclosure...I am in the camp that hopes Lance Armstrong is innocent of cheating by doping or taking some kind of drug assistance in his career.  I don't know if he did or didn't.  I just hope he did not.

It's more than just winning 7 Tours in a row.  It's the triumph over a cancer that was set to kill him.  It's the many thrilling moments on the bike.  It's the tremendous hope he offers to cancer patients and survivors through his LiveStrong Foundation. 

I just don't want any of that to be bogus because of cheating.

Here's what I expect the United States Anti-Doping Agency to do...substantiate all of the allegations from testimony with physical evidence.  Armstrong is one of, if not the, most tested athlete in the history of drug testing.  To date, there have been no sanctions against him for cheating.  So, in my opinion, USADA must

• Show the positive A and B samples.  If those samples exist, explain why they were not used at the time they were taken to disqualify Armstrong from the race in the moment and to impose the appropriate penalties due to any cheater.
• Show the alleged equipment and paraphernalia allegedly used by Armstrong, and tie it to him with real evidence.  Show photographs and fingerprints that prove that the equipment was used by Armstrong.
• Demonstrate chain of evidence to eliminate the possibility of tampering for any physical evidence that exists.
• Substantiate witness testimony with physical evidence.  Yeah, I said that one twice.  It's important.  See the Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds trials and verdicts for how important it is to substantiate witness testimony with physical evidence.

The French tried throughout Armstrong's reign as Tour de France champion to catch him out for doping.  They were unable to do so.

The US Feds recently failed to develop a case with evidence that would stand up in a court of law.  They dropped their case.  That leads me to wonder if there is actual physical evidence of doping, which is after all the final proof.

Now USADA is up for its try.