Armstrong Is Clearly a Big Wheel in Sports

In a business too often short on modesty or humility, Lance Armstrong is not our most charismatic superstar. Rock-star girlfriend notwithstanding, he generally lets his performance do the talking.

Watching Lance’s petit interviews in the Tour’s final stages -- when victory was pretty much a given -- I finally figured this guy out. Lance is not about the victories, not about the celebrating or the fame.

No, cancer-survivor Lance Armstrong is all about the challenge, all about the struggle, all about the journey. And like the rolling but rugged French countryside that has proven such a picturesque and formidable backdrop, what a glorious journey it has been.

Peter Little

Monrovia

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Lance Armstrong has proved to be clean, yet every article and interview that mentions Lance Armstrong mentions doping. In “The Joy of Six,” this newspaper thought it necessary to mention doping in captions under two of the six photos representing his victories, as well as in every other article about Armstrong.

I’m a high school basketball coach, and at an outdoor practice last week I was putting the guys through rigorous conditioning in the 90-degree heat. A few complained and wanted to stop running. I asked the team how they thought Lance Armstrong wins, mentioning his determination, the fact that he doesn’t stop, that he keeps working to beat the best on the toughest mountain stages.

“No,” my power forward responded, “He’s doping to get up those mountains, Coach.”

Wonder where the kid got that notion? How about this for a groundbreaking idea? The media does not mention drugs in connection with an athlete unless they are proven to be guilty of using drugs. Seems a quite logical recommendation to me, which is why I imagine the media will be utterly confused by it.

Brian Loftus

Playa del Rey