Lance Armstrong

Singer Sheryl Crow, who dated Lance Armstrong from 2003 to 2006, is talking about her former boyfriend's revelation that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Her comments will air Tuesday in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight. " "I think that honesty is always the best bet and that the truth will set you free," Crow said. "It must be really hard to walk around knowing you are not telling the truth about something. So I always contend that the truth is the best way to go. " Crow said she watched part of Armstrong's interview with Oprah Winfrey last week.

ESCONDIDO, Calif. - They're trying. The cyclists and team managers participating in the eighth Amgen Tour of California gathered Friday at City Hall to speak about the future of the sport. Not the past. Please, not the past. At least there was no chance Lance Armstrong would be riding this year. In the past there was usually a mystery. Would Armstrong ride? He did two times, including the year Floyd Landis blew the doping side of the sport wide open by accusing Armstrong of using illegal substances on the same day that Armstrong crashed in Bakersfield and left the race limping and angry.

Now that Lance Armstrong has finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his storied athletic career, the shamed cyclist could be pulled into courtrooms around the globe for legal battles with people seeking millions of dollars. That's one of the many downsides to the confession of a once-adored athlete who for more than a decade not only denied doping but aggressively counterattacked his accusers. But a significant question remains about whether there is an upside to his coming clean in an interview with Oprah Winfrey scheduled to air later this week.

Travis Tygart, who is the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, told a French government senate hearing Thursday that he wants Lance Armstrong to provide information detailing the alleged complicity of cycling's governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), in his doping. “We have evidence of the UCI's involvement in this affair,” Tygart said. “Armstrong led us to believe - during the course of our interaction with him - that he had evidence of their complicity in this situation, and of course we've developed additional information that will come out through our process, that I can't comment on right now.” UCI has been accused of covering up suspicious samples from Armstrong, accepting financial donations from him and helping him avoid detection in doping tests.

Two things: Don't lie for years about using performance-enhancing drugs, and don't get caught being tricked by an imaginary girlfriend. That's the lesson to be learned from the latest Nielsen/E-Poll of America's 10 most disliked athletes, which is headed by former cyclist Lance Armstrong and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o. Armstrong and Te'o each appeal to just 15% of the public, according to Nielsen's polling, which it conducts on a rolling basis with the help of E-Poll, an Encino-based market research firm.

Well, well. Two famous men, both wanting to give back. No wonder that hackneyed phrase “give back” makes my skin crawl. Lance Armstrong is reportedly volunteering to “help clean up” cycling and become the repentant poster boy crusading against drugs in the sport. And Steven Seagal, the action actor, is teaming up with Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio to teach Arpaio's armed volunteer cadres about how to handle school shootings. More on that in a few paragraphs.

Re "Lance Armstrong's legacy," Editorial, Jan. 18 I lost both my parents to cancer. My father died at the time the Livestrong Foundation was formed, and I've been wearing the yellow bracelet since the beginning. When it finally became apparent that Lance Armstrong had been doping, I still wore my bracelet because I was able to separate the man from the foundation. However, after reading that Armstrong's doping could have helped cause his cancer, I can't do it anymore. I recently threw away my bracelet.

Lance Armstrong called himself a lot of names -- liar, bully, jerk and even humanitarian -- in the first part of his taped interview with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday night. Nevertheless, early reactions suggest that his performance was found lacking, a response the disgraced former cycling champion isn't used to hearing. "It kind of reminded me of Tiger Woods coming clean," said Scott Allison, a psychology professor at the University of Richmond who has studied fallen heroes in American society.

As the cycling world and fans of Lance Armstrong continued to absorb the seven-time Tour de France winner's announcement  Thursday that he would no longer fight charges that he used performance-enhancing drugs, one of his biggest sponsors, Nike, came out in support of Armstrong. Nike, in a statement, said: "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.

You can add Oakley to the list of sponsors who have dropped Lance Armstrong like a hot potato in the wake of the USADA report detailing an alleged doping program on Armstrong's teams throughout his Tour de France championship runs. Oakley makes sunglasses and sporting apparel. Other sponsors that have dropped Armstrong include Nike, Trek Bicycles, Anheuser-Busch, 24 Hour Fitness and Honey Stinger. PHOTOS: Lance Armstrong through the years Oakley said it was waiting to hear whether UCI, cycling's governing body, would strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.

Thomas Mueller scored twice, Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben had one goal each and Bayern Munich routed Barcelona, 4-0, Tuesday night in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal in Munich. Bayern Munich sent Barcelona to its first four-goal defeat since a 4-0 loss at Getafe in the Copa del Rey semifinals on May 10, 2007. Barcelona, which has won three of the last seven titles, had lost by four goals only once before in the Champions League, 4-0 at Dynamo Kiev in the group stage on Nov. 6, 1997.

Indiana 7-footer Cody Zeller and two point guards were among the latest standout underclassmen to make themselves available for the NBA draft. Joining Zeller were Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams and Missouri's Phil Pressey. Zeller, a sophomore who led the Hoosiers in scoring (16.5 points) and rebounding (8.1), was a second-team All-American and is projected to be a top-10 pick in the June draft. He is the second Hoosiers star to leave school early. On Tuesday, junior swingman Victor Oladipo announced he, too, was declaring for the NBA draft.

Lance Armstrong won't be returning to competition this weekend after all. The disgraced former cyclist, who has been banned for life from all events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, decided not to take part in three distance events in the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas after objections were raised by FINA, the sport's international federation body. “He doesn't want to cause any more harm to any more organizations,” U.S. Masters Swimming executive director Rob Butcher told Associated Press.

Though Lance Armstrong has been banned from competing in any events sanctioned by U.S. Anti Doping Agency, the disgraced former cyclist has found another avenue to feed his competitive hunger: swimming. Armstrong, 41, is set to race in three events at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas this weekend, according to the Associated Press. He's set to participate in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650-yard freestyle in the 40- to 44-year-old age group.

Michigan point guard Trey Burke, who helped the Wolverines reach the Final Four for the first time since 1993, and Miami's Jim Larranaga have been selected the Associated Press' player and coach of the year. Burke garnered 31 of 65 votes from the same media panel that selects the weekly top 25. He is the first Michigan player since Cazzie Russell in 1966 to win player of the year. The 6-foot sophomore averaged 19.2 points, 6.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds while often playing with four freshmen.

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has at least one person in his corner: actor Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey and Armstrong have been friends for years, and the actor came to Armstrong's defense in the newest issue of Details magazine . He said that despite Armstrong's years of denial over taking performance-enhancing drugs, the cyclist is not a liar. "He told a lie, he's not a liar," McConaughey said. "When it came out, I took it personally, but then I realized it ain't personal to him....

Lance Armstrong decided to rest Sunday, a day after taking second place in a 36-mile mountain bike race and two days removed from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency levying a lifetime ban and stripping the seven-time Tour de France winner of his titles. Armstrong, who announced Thursday that he would no longer fight the doping allegations despite arbitration remaining as an option, was supposed to follow the Power of Four mountain bike race in Aspen, Colo., with an off-road marathon Sunday morning.

In the same week that Lance Armstrong announced that he would not cooperate with the anti-doping agency that uncovered the deception he used to win seven Tour de France titles, the Justice Department on Friday opted to press him for the millions he took from former sponsor the U.S. Postal Service. By joining a whistle-blower lawsuit first filed by Armstrong's former cycling teammate Floyd Landis, the Justice Department alleges Armstrong and teammates violated sponsor agreements by using banned substances and methods, including blood doping, testosterone and human growth hormone.