Lance Armstrong

It's impossible to read about Lance Armstrong's alleged doping ring -- a case detailed extensively in the United States Anti-Doping Agency's report yesterday - and not feel like the cross-border sophistication of the alleged operation would make Jason Bourne jealous. Somewhere, a Hollywood producer is wondering how to turn this into a feature film. But, as it happens, Armstrong is already at the center of a movie. And it may not be too much longer before it's ready. Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning documentarian (“Taxi to the Dark Side”)

Victor Conte is one of sports' all-time scoundrels, the former head of the steroid-distributing BALCO lab who supplied steroids to home run champion Barry Bonds, Olympic champion Marion Jones and world boxing champion Shane Mosley, among others. After watching Lance Armstrong's long-delayed admissions to Oprah Winfrey of using performance-enhancing drugs to fuel his record seven Tour de France victories, Conte felt compelled to draw a distinction between himself and the cyclist. “Once BALCO was raided, I realized the best thing to do was tell the truth,” Conte said in an interview with The Times.

In the wake of reports that Lance Armstrong admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used doping techniques to win his seven Tour de France titles, the International Cycling Union (known as the UCI) is urging Armstrong to testify before its independent commission on doping to shed light on allegations that include whether the UCI helped cover up his use of performance-enhancing drugs. "If these reports are true, we would strongly urge Lance Armstrong to testify to the Independent Commission established to investigate the allegations made against the UCI in the recent USADA reasoned decision on Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service team," the federation said in a statement.

Thursday night's bid for absolution by cyclist Lance Armstrong over his use of performance-enhancing drugs - set to continue Friday as OWN founder and TV high priestess Oprah Winfrey seeks to bless her struggling network with ratings points - is, depending on the beholder, either a scoundrel's disgraceful and far-too-late effort to salvage his career or the last gasp of a hero aiming to silence the critics who have unfairly singled him out. ...

An estimated 28 million viewers around the world watched Oprah Winfrey's high-profile interview with cyclist Lance Armstrong on television and online platforms. Telecasts of the interview on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in the U.S. on Thursday and Friday nights attracted about 12 million viewers, the cable channel said in a statement Tuesday.  OWN said an additional 15 million viewers around the world watched Armstrong's confessional interview, which was conducted last week in an Austin, Texas, hotel.

Oprah Winfrey's hotly anticipated, two-part interview with Lance Armstrong will air Thursday and Friday nights at 9 p.m. EST/PST on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. For those without a cable subscription, "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive" will also be streamed live at Oprah.com. Although the exact content of their lengthy conversation remains to be seen, the disgraced cancer survivor turned cycling champion and philanthropist reportedly confesses in the recorded interview to using performance-enhancing drugs to win an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong is now in trouble with the U.S. government. The Justice Department has joined a lawsuit filed two years ago by another disgraced cyclist, Floyd Landis, MSNBC.com was first to report on Friday. The government could claim that it was defrauded by Armstrong, who denied using performing enhancing drugs while riding for the U.S. Postal Service team in the Tour de France but has since admitted to cheating in such a manner. The government, which has a strict ban on illegal drugs, paid at least $30 million to sponsor Armstrong's racing teams.

Lance Armstrong certainly isn't one to sit around feeling sorry for himself. We already knew that after he beat cancer then turned around and won seven Tour de France titles. On Friday, just hours after those seven titles were stripped away from him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which also slapped him with a lifetime competitive ban, Armstrong posted his plans for the weekend via Twitter. They include a mountain bike race in Aspen, Colo., on Saturday -- "9000 vert in just 36 miles!"

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report on Lance Armstrong, released Wednesday, has had some fallout on another cyclist: Levi Leipheimer. The Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team suspended Leipheimer on Thursday in the wake of the report. The team said the 38-year-old veteran was “placed on non-active status” while the USADA report and Leipheimer's statements are reviewed. USADA used evidence from 26 people, including Leipheimer, for a report that presented doping evidence against Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong will admit to doping in his upcoming interview with Oprah Winfrey, multiple sources are reporting. Armstrong, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brought forth a case in October that included evidence of cheating, has agreed to a "no-holds-barred" interview with Winfrey, who will broadcast the event Thursday on her Oprah Winfrey Network as well as streaming at oprah.com....