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Maria Sharapova’s stomach ache turned out to be nothing more than that.
That lopsided loss she suffered at the Olympics well, that may have only been a false alarm, as well.
Playing her first match since a blowout loss to Serena Williams in London and a stomach virus forced her out of two tuneup tournaments, Sharapova returned to tennis in fine fashion Monday at the U.S. Open.
The third-seeded Russian came back from a three-week break and defeated Melinda Czink of Hungary 6-2, 6-2 in a stress-free, 67-minute first-round match at blustery Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Later, top-seeded Roger Federer took center stage and beat American Donald Young 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to begin the chase for his 18th major title.
Sharapova completed the career Grand Slam earlier this year by winning the French Open. Monday’s victory, in front of the half-filled stadium, was her first match since a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Williams at the London Games in a gold-medal showdown that looked more like one of these first-round wipeouts Sharapova usually inflicts.
Turns out, Sharapova was dealing with some stomach pain then, which only got worse a few weeks later. She went to the doctor for a series of tests, including an ultrasound to see if she was pregnant. The test turned up negative.
“Just because of the pain I was having, it was really weird,” said Sharapova, who is engaged to basketball player Sasha Vujacic. “They told me I was fine, not pregnant. Then, I’m like, ‘Can I get my money back?’”
It has been an eventful summer for one of tennis’ biggest stars.
After serving as the flag-bearer for Russia, then finishing as the silver medalist at the Olympics at Wimbledon, Sharapova’s original plan was to come to North America and play in tuneups in Montreal and Cincinnati to acclimate herself to the hard courts.
But the Olympics took a lot out of Sharapova, and when she arrived in Canada, she got knocked down by a stomach ache so bad that she went to the doctor.
It turned out to be a virus her body’s way of telling her to take it easy, she said, so she withdrew from the events and took a few weeks off.
“It was a nice break in a way, but after so many weeks of practicing, you’re just eager to get back on the court,” she said.
She looked eager to get off the court, as well, showing very few signs of rust against her 88th-ranked opponent.
Wearing a soft-pink dress with a touch of mauve more subdued than what she usually wears for, say, a nighttime appearance Sharapova served five aces and maxed out at 115 mph. It took her 31 minutes to finish the first set and she was up 3-0 in the second before Czink got her only break.
That made things only mildly interesting, and only for a very short time. Leading 4-2, Sharapova won one point by chasing a ball almost into the stands on the sidelines, reaching out to get it back, then closing in on the net to win the point. Czink stood there shaking her head, hardly believing what she had just seen.
Sharapova said getting the blowout loss to Williams out of her mind was not a problem.
“It doesn’t stick with you,” she said. “I mean, personally, I’ve been part of many different types of matches in my career. Looking back at that week, it was really special. It was so hectic.”
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Dinesh D’Souza felt that President Barack Obama had been telling his story to Americans for years. The conservative author wanted to give them a different version.
So he worked on a documentary, “2016: Obama’s America,” that put the president in a more critical light. And apparently, there’s an audience that agrees with D’Souza’s vision.
In its first week in wider distribution, the documentary grossed an estimated .2 million, far exceeding industry expectations, according to independent distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures. That was virtually the same amount as the major studio action film “Premium Rush” collected and “Obama’s America” was playing in roughly 1,100 fewer theaters.
“I realized Obama was telling his own story in his own voice and thought it would be interesting to use his voice in a documentary where it would be indisputable to people that this was Obama’s own narrative,” said D’Souza, who wrote and directed the film with John Sullivan.
The film draws heavily from D’Souza’s own life, as he describes how coming to study in America from his native India helped to shape his political ideology. Throughout the 90-minute film, he often addresses the camera face-forward, pointing out the similarities between his upbringing and Obama’s. Many of the author’s arguments about Obama’s support of anti-colonialism are drawn from D’Souza’s controversial book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” and the movie frequently uses dramatic reenactments featuring unknown actors to depict past events.
Heading into the weekend, pre-release audience surveys suggested “Obama’s America” would gross about million but by midday Friday, ticket sales were so brisk that estimates were lifted to million. The movie debuted seven weeks ago here and had raked in
Dinesh D’Souza felt that President Barack Obama had been telling his story to Americans for years. The conservative author wanted to give them a different version.
So he worked on a documentary, “2016: Obama’s America,” that put the president in a more critical light. And apparently, there’s an audience that agrees with D’Souza’s vision.
In its first week in wider distribution, the documentary grossed an estimated $6.2 million, far exceeding industry expectations, according to independent distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures. That was virtually the same amount as the major studio action film “Premium Rush” collected and “Obama’s America” was playing in roughly 1,100 fewer theaters.
“I realized Obama was telling his own story in his own voice and thought it would be interesting to use his voice in a documentary where it would be indisputable to people that this was Obama’s own narrative,” said D’Souza, who wrote and directed the film with John Sullivan.
The film draws heavily from D’Souza’s own life, as he describes how coming to study in America from his native India helped to shape his political ideology. Throughout the 90-minute film, he often addresses the camera face-forward, pointing out the similarities between his upbringing and Obama’s. Many of the author’s arguments about Obama’s support of anti-colonialism are drawn from D’Souza’s controversial book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” and the movie frequently uses dramatic reenactments featuring unknown actors to depict past events.
Heading into the weekend, pre-release audience surveys suggested “Obama’s America” would gross about $4 million but by midday Friday, ticket sales were so brisk that estimates were lifted to $6 million. The movie debuted seven weeks ago here and had raked in $2.4 million as it expanded from 169 theaters to 1,091 locations this weekend. The film currently is in 12 theaters in the Houston area. In total, the film has sold $9.1 million worth of tickets.
“I’ve always felt that there is a real hunger for Obama out there and a sense that there’s something about him that escaped full understanding,” D’Souza said of the film’s success. “The large crowd for the film shows that there’s more interest than usual in politics and a real political anxiety in the country about the future of the American dream.”
Last year, D’Souza’s “Roots” was publicly denounced by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Vice President Joe Biden, among other Obama supporters. The writer, also president of King’s College in New York City, said he began formulating an idea for his first documentary when he heard the audio version of Obama’s autobiography.
The author also was hopeful that given the right timing, the film which he co-directed might replicate the success of Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11.” That film, released before the 2004 election, took a critical look at then-President George W. Bush and ultimately went on to gross an unprecedented $222 million worldwide.
D’Souza was eventually able to find 25 donors familiar with his books who were willing to finance the film’s $2.5 million budget.
To promote the movie’s wide release this past weekend, the filmmakers employed a grass-roots marketing strategy.
Mark Joseph, a film producer who helped lead the promotional campaign, had a team begin to call conservative groups to make them aware of “Obama’s America” starting in the spring. Joseph said he had experienced some pushback from faith-based groups, finding “a little less enthusiasm on the faith side because of nonprofit status versus political status.”
The movie also has been the topic of conversation on numerous talk-radio programs, and D’Souza has made appearances on CNN and Fox though he said he was turned down by HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” It appears that stoking the conservative fan base worked well, because the documentary performed best over the weekend in red-state bastions such as Baton Rouge, La., and Wichita, Kan.
D’Souza said he was hopeful the film would expand to around 100 additional theaters next weekend.
He added that he had yet to hear from the Obama camp, but he believed it was “probably quite worried about the film given that they were in major hysteria when my book came out.”
.4 million as it expanded from 169 theaters to 1,091 locations this weekend. The film currently is in 12 theaters in the Houston area. In total, the film has sold .1 million worth of tickets.
“I’ve always felt that there is a real hunger for Obama out there and a sense that there’s something about him that escaped full understanding,” D’Souza said of the film’s success. “The large crowd for the film shows that there’s more interest than usual in politics and a real political anxiety in the country about the future of the American dream.”
Last year, D’Souza’s “Roots” was publicly denounced by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Vice President Joe Biden, among other Obama supporters. The writer, also president of King’s College in New York City, said he began formulating an idea for his first documentary when he heard the audio version of Obama’s autobiography.
The author also was hopeful that given the right timing, the film which he co-directed might replicate the success of Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11.” That film, released before the 2004 election, took a critical look at then-President George W. Bush and ultimately went on to gross an unprecedented 2 million worldwide.
D’Souza was eventually able to find 25 donors familiar with his books who were willing to finance the film’s
Dinesh D’Souza felt that President Barack Obama had been telling his story to Americans for years. The conservative author wanted to give them a different version.
So he worked on a documentary, “2016: Obama’s America,” that put the president in a more critical light. And apparently, there’s an audience that agrees with D’Souza’s vision.
In its first week in wider distribution, the documentary grossed an estimated $6.2 million, far exceeding industry expectations, according to independent distributor Rocky Mountain Pictures. That was virtually the same amount as the major studio action film “Premium Rush” collected and “Obama’s America” was playing in roughly 1,100 fewer theaters.
“I realized Obama was telling his own story in his own voice and thought it would be interesting to use his voice in a documentary where it would be indisputable to people that this was Obama’s own narrative,” said D’Souza, who wrote and directed the film with John Sullivan.
The film draws heavily from D’Souza’s own life, as he describes how coming to study in America from his native India helped to shape his political ideology. Throughout the 90-minute film, he often addresses the camera face-forward, pointing out the similarities between his upbringing and Obama’s. Many of the author’s arguments about Obama’s support of anti-colonialism are drawn from D’Souza’s controversial book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage,” and the movie frequently uses dramatic reenactments featuring unknown actors to depict past events.
Heading into the weekend, pre-release audience surveys suggested “Obama’s America” would gross about $4 million but by midday Friday, ticket sales were so brisk that estimates were lifted to $6 million. The movie debuted seven weeks ago here and had raked in $2.4 million as it expanded from 169 theaters to 1,091 locations this weekend. The film currently is in 12 theaters in the Houston area. In total, the film has sold $9.1 million worth of tickets.
“I’ve always felt that there is a real hunger for Obama out there and a sense that there’s something about him that escaped full understanding,” D’Souza said of the film’s success. “The large crowd for the film shows that there’s more interest than usual in politics and a real political anxiety in the country about the future of the American dream.”
Last year, D’Souza’s “Roots” was publicly denounced by former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Vice President Joe Biden, among other Obama supporters. The writer, also president of King’s College in New York City, said he began formulating an idea for his first documentary when he heard the audio version of Obama’s autobiography.
The author also was hopeful that given the right timing, the film which he co-directed might replicate the success of Michael Moore’s documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11.” That film, released before the 2004 election, took a critical look at then-President George W. Bush and ultimately went on to gross an unprecedented $222 million worldwide.
D’Souza was eventually able to find 25 donors familiar with his books who were willing to finance the film’s $2.5 million budget.
To promote the movie’s wide release this past weekend, the filmmakers employed a grass-roots marketing strategy.
Mark Joseph, a film producer who helped lead the promotional campaign, had a team begin to call conservative groups to make them aware of “Obama’s America” starting in the spring. Joseph said he had experienced some pushback from faith-based groups, finding “a little less enthusiasm on the faith side because of nonprofit status versus political status.”
The movie also has been the topic of conversation on numerous talk-radio programs, and D’Souza has made appearances on CNN and Fox though he said he was turned down by HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” It appears that stoking the conservative fan base worked well, because the documentary performed best over the weekend in red-state bastions such as Baton Rouge, La., and Wichita, Kan.
D’Souza said he was hopeful the film would expand to around 100 additional theaters next weekend.
He added that he had yet to hear from the Obama camp, but he believed it was “probably quite worried about the film given that they were in major hysteria when my book came out.”
.5 million budget.
To promote the movie’s wide release this past weekend, the filmmakers employed a grass-roots marketing strategy.
Mark Joseph, a film producer who helped lead the promotional campaign, had a team begin to call conservative groups to make them aware of “Obama’s America” starting in the spring. Joseph said he had experienced some pushback from faith-based groups, finding “a little less enthusiasm on the faith side because of nonprofit status versus political status.”
The movie also has been the topic of conversation on numerous talk-radio programs, and D’Souza has made appearances on CNN and Fox though he said he was turned down by HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” It appears that stoking the conservative fan base worked well, because the documentary performed best over the weekend in red-state bastions such as Baton Rouge, La., and Wichita, Kan.
D’Souza said he was hopeful the film would expand to around 100 additional theaters next weekend.
He added that he had yet to hear from the Obama camp, but he believed it was “probably quite worried about the film given that they were in major hysteria when my book came out.”
Networks Satellite LLC. in Wichita, Ks. Phone: (316) 269-6900. Your local source for Satellite TV and other great programming. Visit Networks Satellite LLC -
Court: Age discrimination unproven in Boeing sale NECN WICHITA, Kansas (AP) A federal appeals court ruled Monday that former employees of The Boeing Co. failed to demonstrate a pattern of age discrimination in the wake of the 2005 sale of its commercial aircraft business in two central states. Ninety …
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Published: 8/25/2012 3:44 PM | Last update: 8/25/2012 3:44 PM
By John Milburn Associated Press
TOPEKA — Attorneys for a group of students, parents and school districts head back to court for one final attempt to convince a three-judge panel that Kansas’ system for funding public schools is constitutionally flawed.
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Closing arguments are set for Wednesday, but it could be months before a verdict is known. The decision will almost certainly be appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court.
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by attorneys John Robb and Alan Rupe, who are representing students and school districts, including Dodge City, Hutchinson, Kansas City and Wichita. They argue that achievement gaps remain, dropout levels are high and students in general are completing school “with less opportunity and less education than the generation before.”
Robb and Rupe argue in documents filed ahead of Wednesday’s hearing that legislators knew in recent years that they lacked the revenue to fund schools as promised and approved by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2006. Still, the attorneys argue, legislators approved cuts to income tax rates that are projected to reduce state revenues by more than .5 billion over the next six years.
“The Kansas Legislature is responsible for the current school funding crisis,” the attorneys wrote.
In 2006, a Kansas Supreme Court ruling on a similar 1999 lawsuit forced legislators to increase school spending by nearly 4500 billion. However, lawmakers began cutting back when state revenues declined, and, eventually, school districts and parents filed the new lawsuit to compel the state to restore that funding.
Arthur Chalmers, a Wichita attorney hired to represent the state’s interest, wrote in a brief that no court has ever held that legislators acted unconstitutionally when the state “equitably provides” education funds in fluctuating levels during hard economic times.
“There is no evidence that the state’s funding of education is in unconstitutional crisis,” Chalmers said, adding that spending had increased to record levels from 2006 to 2011, despite claims to the contrary.
The state is asking the judges to reject all claims filed by the plaintiffs, including a request that it retroactively restore the capital outlay funding that legislators suspended. During the three-week trial in June, several state witnesses testified that despite any changes in financing, Kansas students performed well on standardized testing, both generally and compared to national counterparts.
“No one credibly linked these cost-cutting measures to either the loss of school accreditation or to a measurable decrease in student performance,” Chalmers said.
Each side has been allotted 90 minutes Wednesday to make their final arguments, which will be heard by Judges Franklin Theis, Robert Fleming and Jack Burr. There is no timetable for how soon the judges must issue their ruling, and they have given no indication how they will rule.
Theis ruled in 2011 in a similar case filed by community colleges against the Kansas Board of Regents that the colleges were entitled to equal funding treatment by the regents, including six universities. At issue was whether all the community colleges were being funded at equal levels or if some were being forced to make up differences in state support through higher local property taxes.
The court didn’t award the colleges any money they felt they were owed by the regents from previous years, noting that those budget laws had come and gone.The case is Gannon v. State of Kansas, No. 10C-1569.Online:Shawnee County Courts: http://www.shawneecourt.org
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Look out world- Snooki’s bundle of joy is on the way.
Nicole (Snooki) Polizzi went into labor early Saturday afternoon at a New Jersey hospital, her spokeswoman and a source close to the “Jersey Shore” star tell the Daily News’ Confidenti@l gossip team.
The potty-mouthed reality star was set to pop at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where things were “going well,” a source said.
“Yes, Nicole has gone into labor, said spokeswoman Stacey Wechsler, who asked “that her privacy be respected. … We’ll all get to meet her Italian Stallion newborn soon enough.”
The 24-year-old’s fiancé, Jionni LaValle, was seen being tailed by reality TV camera crews. A source told The News Snooki’s mom was by her daughter’s side and LaValle’s family was also at the hospital.
Snooki is taping the second season of her Jersey Shore spinoff “Snooki & JWoww.”
“They are trying to film (the birth),” said a source associated with the show. “The hospital was prepped for it.”
She remained in labor early Sunday.
The pint-sized party girl announced months ago that she was having a boy who would be named Lorenzo LaValle.
Snooki predicted on Friday that she was on the brink of delivering her little one. “I’m a balloon waiting to pop,” she tweeted.
If all goes well, Snooki’s baby boy will be a true New Jerseyan like his dad. Snooki, despite finding fame pounding beers and fist-pumping in New Jersey bars, hails from Marlboro, N.Y. She has been living with her realityco-star Jennifer (JWoww) Farley in a home in Manchester, N.J.
Several communities in the Garden State banned the show including Newark, Point Pleasant and Toms River.
News of Snooki’s impending birth triggered a flurry of condescending Twitter posts. “Take a moment to appreciate how beautiful this world is right this moment, because Snooki is in labor,” wrote a poster with the handle Suri’s Burn Book. “It’s all downhill from here.”
Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., on Saturday night, where Nicole (Snooki) Polizzi and her fiance, Jionni LaValle, are awaiting the birth of their first child. Read Original Here
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FULTON COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
It was a case of show-and-tell gone wrong after a Fulton County elementary school teacher brought a poisonous spider to show her students – and one student was bitten.
Diandra Jones told CBS Atlanta News that her child fell victim to the spider two years ago at Brookview Elementary School. That spider was a brown recluse.
Jones said the day her daughter was bitten, she told her teacher, who ignored the complaint.
It wasn’t even until later that evening that Jones realized something was wrong with her daughter. That’s when she collapsed.
At the time, the girl’s prognosis was dire.
“The doctor (said) it’s a fifty-fifty chance that she will pull through and a fifty-fifty chance she won’t,” Jones said.
Jones filed a lawsuit over the situation because she claims not only did the teacher initially fail to do anything about the spider bite, but school administrators have ignored her phone calls and letters over the incident.
“There is nobody suffering here but my children,” Jones said. ”This lady still has her job, the principal still has her job, everything still goes on and everything is still fine and dandy in their households.”
CBS Atlanta News contacted the Fulton County School District, but a spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the case, citing the district’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.
However, that same spokesperson told CBS Atlanta News that the district does not have policy preventing teachers from bring poisonous animals into their classrooms.
While Jones’ daughter survived the bite, she now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Jones said she wants the teacher and the Fulton County School District to stop sweeping what happened to her child under the rug.
“If a parent sends a child to school with a bruise you gonna report it, but why wouldn’t you report this to the Division of Family and Children Services?” Jones questioned.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Ferguson Pest Control in Wichita, Ks. Call: (316) 616-5845. Find us on Facebook -
FULTON COUNTY, GA (CBS ATLANTA) -
It was a case of show-and-tell gone wrong after a Fulton County elementary school teacher brought a poisonous spider to show her students – and one student was bitten.
Diandra Jones told CBS Atlanta News that her child fell victim to the spider two years ago at Brookview Elementary School. That spider was a brown recluse.
Jones said the day her daughter was bitten, she told her teacher, who ignored the complaint.
It wasn’t even until later that evening that Jones realized something was wrong with her daughter. That’s when she collapsed.
At the time, the girl’s prognosis was dire.
“The doctor (said) it’s a fifty-fifty chance that she will pull through and a fifty-fifty chance she won’t,” Jones said.
Jones filed a lawsuit over the situation because she claims not only did the teacher initially fail to do anything about the spider bite, but school administrators have ignored her phone calls and letters over the incident.
“There is nobody suffering here but my children,” Jones said. ”This lady still has her job, the principal still has her job, everything still goes on and everything is still fine and dandy in their households.”
CBS Atlanta News contacted the Fulton County School District, but a spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the case, citing the district’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.
However, that same spokesperson told CBS Atlanta News that the district does not have policy preventing teachers from bring poisonous animals into their classrooms.
While Jones’ daughter survived the bite, she now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Jones said she wants the teacher and the Fulton County School District to stop sweeping what happened to her child under the rug.
“If a parent sends a child to school with a bruise you gonna report it, but why wouldn’t you report this to the Division of Family and Children Services?” Jones questioned.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
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Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong opted to skip arbitration with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday, ending his legal fight.
(Mario Tama / Getty Images / August 23, 2012)
By Lance Pugmire
August 23, 2012, 11:00 p.m.
Lance Armstrong effectively surrendered his seven Tour de France titles Thursday, announcing he was giving up his years-long fight against accusations that he cheated to repeatedly win cycling’s greatest race.U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Chief Executive Travis Tygart said late Thursday he was still waiting to hear directly from Armstrong but added that the cyclist’s decision not to proceed in an arbitration process will leave Armstrong stripped of all of his Tour titles and 2000 Olympic bronze medal and result in a lifetime competition ban.
“There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Armstrong, 40, wrote in a statement emailed to The Times and other news agencies.
“For me, that time is now. I have been dealing with claims that I cheated and had an unfair advantage in winning my seven Tours since 1999.”
Armstrong’s attorneys asked a USADA attorney to turn the matter over to UCI, the international cycling union, but USADA maintains it retains jurisdiction to strip the titles.
Armstrong never tested positive for performance-enhancing use during his decade-plus of Tour races.
Now, as he abandons his impassioned fight against anti-doping authorities, the perception of an American hero who rallied from cancer to become champion of perhaps sport’s most demanding endurance test has been recast.
Armstrong won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005, but he was dogged by accusations from former teammates, including Floyd Landis who was stripped of a Tour victory and American rider Tyler Hamilton that his victories came amid team-wide deceit about performance-enhancing methods, including blood doping and steroid use.
“It is a sad day for all of us who love sport and our athletic heroes,” Tygart wrote in a statement. “This is a heartbreaking example of how the win-at-all-costs culture of sport, if left unchecked, will overtake fair, safe and honest competition. For clean athletes, it is a reassuring reminder that there is hope for future generations to compete on a level playing field without the use of performance-enhancing drugs.”
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles earlier this year closed an inquiry without filing charges.
USADA, however, moved earlier this year to revoke Armstrong’s Tour victories and was preparing to reveal details indicating doping by the cyclist while also calling witnesses before an independent arbitrator.
“Over the past three years, I have been subjected to a two-year federal criminal investigation followed by Travis Tygart’s unconstitutional witch hunt,” Armstrong wrote. “The toll this has taken on my family, and my work for our [cancer] foundation and on me leads me to where I am today finished with this nonsense.”
Armstrong said a federal court’s decision this week not to halt USADA’s review clinched his decision.
“If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and once and for all put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance,” Armstrong said in the statement. “But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair.”
Armstrong has railed against the idea that a rider involved with doping can cut a favorable deal with USADA in exchange for testimony against him.
“Regardless of what Travis Tygart says, there is zero physical evidence to support his outlandish and heinous claims. The only physical evidence here is the hundreds of controls I have passed with flying colors. I made myself available around the clock and around the world. In-competition…. What is the point of all this testing if, in the end, USADA will not stand by it?”
Yet the federal court ruling and USADA’s mountainous case also clearly backed Armstrong into a corner.
Betsy Andreu, who is the wife of a former Armstrong teammate and who told federal investigators she heard Armstrong admit to prior performance-enhancing drug use in 1996 when he was being treated for testicular cancer, said his decision to drop the fight closes a “dark era for the sport.”
“Lance’s story … is a cop-out; he is afraid of the overwhelming evidence against him to be presented in a public courtroom,” Andreu said in an email to The Times. “… It is a very hopeful day for athletes who want to compete with integrity.”
Armstrong sees the situation differently.
“I played by the rules that were put in place by the UCI … and USADA when I raced,” he wrote. “I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours, and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours.”