Repercussions of the
Lance Armstrong story are still being felt, and will continue to be
so for some time, and one of the great questions to arise from the
affair is: how did he get away with it for so long?
Some answers can be
found in an article by Selena Roberts, 'The Influence Peddler', which
lays bare the level of Armstrong's political and financial influence,
and the extent to which he was willing and able to use it to get what
he wanted. It is a fascinating read, showing how no-one was safe from
Armstrong's bullying tactics, not even US Senator and former
presidential candidate, John Kerry. Perhaps what is most striking is
that this only appears to be a small sample of episodes in
Armstrong's career, and there are more questions to be asked about
how much political influence he was able to exert, whether it
accounts for the US Attorney for California suddenly dropping a case
against him in February.
Even now, after all the
revelations, this seems like only the tip of the iceberg, and
hopefully at some point, the comprehensive story of the Armstrong
tale will be told.
There's an excellent and heartbreaking article by Jill Lieber Steeg in the San Diego Union-Tribune about Junior Seau, the former NFL star who committed suicide earlier this year (part one and part two). What makes it stand out, amongst so much that was written after Seau's death, is that it is a carefully researched, fact-based piece, rather than conjecture.
Whether or not you are interested in the NFL, Seau's story is a poignant one, because it exposes the problems that retired sportsmen face, the things they lose when they retire: the structure to their days, the support network, the thrill of competition, the sense of purpose, the ability to earn money, the self-confidence. Then there's the need to live up to their public image, which seems to have weighed particularly heavily on Seau, and prevented him from asking for help, as well as the realisation that he had sacrificed family life for his career, and had no understanding of how to make amends for that that.
In May, the BBC aired Michael Vaughan's documentary, Sporting Heroes: After the Final Whistle, which attempted to deal with the same issues from a British perspective, but it was ultimately disappointing because rather than investigation and analysis, it offered a fairly soft series of anecdotal interviews with star names.
Lieber Steeg's article is far more incisive, and also raises the issue of the long term effects of head
injuries, a pressing topic in the NFL and across American sports at
the moment. It will be interesting to see whether or not Seau was
suffering from years of undiagnosed concussions, but it would only be another in the long line of problems that faced a man who was perceived as not only one of the best players in the NFL, but one of the best people.
Back in August, the
USADA announced that Lance Armstrong had been found guilty of doping
offences, and would be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
The verdict had been published, but the evidence had not, and the
investigation against Armstrong had something of a chequered history,
not least the failure of the Federal Drug Administration to bring a
prosecution, the leaks that had plagued the case, and public rows
over its conduct.
Armstrong continued to
claim that he was the victim of a conspiracy of former team mates,
envious at his success and bitter at their own convictions for
doping, and vindictive administrators, jealous of his fame and
fortune. As Corinthian Spirit argued at the time, despite it seeming
probable that the verdict was correct, the authorities had not helped
their own case, muddying the waters by announcing a verdict without
the evidence. Would cycling fans ever know for certain what went on
during the Armstrong era?
This changed today,
when the USADA published a 1000 page dossier, documenting its
evidence. The bulk of it remains circumstantial, but it is
overwhelming in terms of how comprehensive it is. Eleven former team
mates have gone on the record in great detail, along with numerous
other witnesses. Many of the witnesses corroborate each other, and
the USADA's verdict that there was a highly organised doping
conspiracy surrounding the Texan is proven to be more than a flight
of fancy. One of the witnesses is Tyler Hamilton, a former team mate,
whose recent book 'The Secret Race' has been damning. Another is George Hincapie, one of Armstrong's closest colleagues and more reliable domestiques. His testimony is noteworthy because of how long he worked with Armstrong, and how loyal he was to his team leader.
The levels of
subterfuge and intrigue required to stay ahead of the testers are
remarkable, and must have been exhausting. They make for fascinating
reading, as does the testimony about Armstrong's character, he comes
across as domineering and unpleasant, a bully who was allowed to do
as he wished for years. Publicly, he is still playing the victim, but
this is now even more irrelevant than before.
The facts will take
some time to digest, and there will be repercussions for months and
years to come, particularly at the UCI, who face allegations that
they covered up a failed drugs test in 2001. However, there can be no
more questions about the man himself, and about how dirty that era of
cycling was, and this should provide the closure that allows the
sport to move on.
Articles from The Telegraph and Guardian that pick out
extracts can be found here and here.
Europe's Ryder Cup
comeback brings back memories of other great golfing moments, notably
the USA's identical feat in 1999. It also brings back memories from
other sports. Here are five
classic non-golfing comebacks:
The greatest rugby
match of all time? The All Blacks were favourites for the tournament,
whilst France had been largely unimpressive, reaching the semi-final
despite not playing any of the other big guns, but looked pumped-up
from the start, belting out the Marseillaise and scoring an early
try. However New Zealand exerted their control, and France's
inability to tackle Jonah Lomu left them 24-10 down. Then Christophe
Lamaison kicked two drop goals, and the French sparked into life,
seizing the momentum as only they can. Time and time again they flew
forward, scoring three tries and 33 unanswered points, while the
shell-shocked New Zealanders never regained their composure, only
scoring again when it was too late. Unpredictable as ever, one week
later, an emotionally spent French team was unable to conjure up the
same magic, losing the final to Australia.
For all their domestic
dominance in the nineties, Manchester United had failed in Europe.
Finally reaching the Champions League final, they looked poor without
the suspended Paul Scholes and Roy Keane, and trailed Bayern 1-0 as
the match entered injury time. The German bench was already
celebrating, when a United corner caused chaos in the Bayern penalty
area. The United players looked as panicked as Bayern's but Ryan
Giggs' scuffed shot found its way to Teddy Sheringham, who equalised.
Munich were stunned, and seemed unable to react when, moments later,
another corner was flicked on by Sheringham for Ole Gunnar Solskjær
to score the winner. With 90 minutes up, the game seemed lost, yet
United were champions, combining with the league title and FA Cup
wins to complete a treble. Alex Ferguson's post-match comments said
it all: “football, bloody hell.”
Carrying the weight of
86 years of failure, the 2004 Red Sox went 3-0 down to their bitter
rivals. No team in major league history had come from 3-0 down
in the playoffs to take it to a seventh game, let alone won the
series. Entering the final inning of game four, the Red Sox were
losing, and an 87th year of hurt seemed inevitable. Then
Dave Roberts stole a base, and scored the tying run. It took until a
twelfth inning in the early hours of the morning for David Ortiz to
hit the winner. Boston then went on a run of dramatic wins, each an epic in its own right. The highlight was Curt Schilling, pitching in
game six despite the blood oozing out of his surgically repaired
ankle and through his sock. Completing a 4-3 series victory in Yankee
Stadium seemed to exorcise 86 years of demons, and a week later the
Red Sox won the World Series, lifting the curse of the Bambino.
After a dismal start to
the series led to Ian Botham's resignation as captain, England found
themselves in trouble against their old enemies. Asked to follow on
227 runs behind, bookmakers famously offered odds of 500/1 on an
England victory, but carefree batting from Botham and inspired
bowling from Bob Willis secured a historic win, the first by a team
following on since the 1894. In 2001, India pulled off the same
feat, again versus Australia, no less remarkable, and to date, only
the third such win.
Milan had won the
tournament two years prior, and finished second in Serie A, whilst
Liverpool had struggled through a difficult season, finishing outside
the top four. Three-nil up at half time, Milan were already
celebrating in the dressing room. Rafael Benitez changed his
formation, adding an extra man in midfield, and Liverpool responded
with three goals in the first fifteen minutes of the half. The
Italian side still had chances, but were too flustered to take them,
whilst Jerzy Dudek was having the game of his life in the Liverpool
goal. Despite experience of winning a shoot-out in the 2003 final,
Milan crumbled when it went to penalties this time, scoring only two.
Dudek's save from Shevchenko secured Liverpool's fifth title and
first since 1984.
Humiliated in the first test, and losing at half time in the second, Australia's rugby minds
took control, whilst their more abrasive characters put the Lions off
their game. Many argue the series turned on Nathan Grey's cynical
elbow to Richard Hill's face, which removed the Lions' best player.
The death of Steve Sabol, President and co-founder, with his father Ed, of NFL Films,
provides an apt moment to consider the one of the most successful
marriages between sport and media. No league documents and
mythologises itself like the NFL does. If Ed Sabol was a genius for the idea, Steve was the artistic genius who drove that idea forwards
for 50 years.
Seeing the league's
history in incredible detail has led to not only a greater
understanding of the game, but it has immersed fans in the world of
the NFL, and has undoubtedly helped the league's appeal. Imagine
being able to hear what Alf Ramsey shouted to his players from the
touchline, or what Bill Shankly said in his team talks. Those
memories are only available to the few who were present, but in the
NFL, documentaries like America's Game allow anyone to see Vince Lombardi or Bill Walsh run training sessions or shout in-game
instructions.
In an era when many
live sports broadcasts were not recorded for posterity, NFL Films
created a perfect record of the league's modern era, in contrast with
other competitions around the world. Footage of the greatest
individual performance in the history of the NBA, Wilt Chamberlain's
100 point game in 1962, does not exist, but every significant moment
in NFL history since that same year that has been captured.
This remarkable archive
allowed Steve Sabol and his colleagues to consistently produce
revealing and insightful programming in quantities that other sports
could not match. The detailed in-game footage has allowed pundits
(for example on NFL Playbook) to provide in-depth technical analysis,
that has led to an informed fanbase.
However, the output of
NFL Films is not simply a record. Technical achievements aside, its
biggest legacy is the creation of league's legend. Creative use of
music, narration, and camera angles help not just replay matches, but tell stories. These techniques are standard today, but began with NFL
Films. The use of film, rather than videotape, gives the action a
cinematic quality, and the all-round effect is to make the NFL
iconic.
If all this sounds
self-important and overblown, that is also sometimes true, as it is
of most sports broadcasting, but Sabol's work was not without a sense of humour.
What is most surprising
about NFL Films is that more have not copied them. Today there are a
few similar ventures, but none with the level of access, depth of
archive footage, or artistic outlook. Few sports have the
understanding of their own history that the NFL does. The lack of a
quality record, and the lack of quality storytelling across other
sports is part of the problem, and shows just how revolutionary and
comprehensive Steve Sabol's achievements were.
Seven months after
Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL returns, as the New York Giants, dramatic
winners that night in Indianapolis, kick the season off tonight
against divisional rivals the Dallas Cowboys.
As ever, the NFL is
difficult to predict, as parity measures mean that talent is spread
around, and the playoff system ensures that the end of season is
always surprising. Twelve of the 32 teams have a realistic shot at
the title, and six more will feel that they are genuine contenders,
albeit that they are probably outside shots at this stage.
Contenders: New England
Patriots, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles,
Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Green Bay
Packers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, San
Francisco 49ers.
Outsiders: New York
Jets, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, San Diego Chargers, Kansas
City Chiefs, Denver Broncos.
If 2011 was hard to
predict because of the lockout that deprived teams of valuable
offseason time to install systems and work with rookies, this year it
feels like there are even more unknown factors, not least the number
of new faces. There are ten first or second year quarterbacks
starting in 2012, of whom only two (Carolina's Cam Newton and
Cincinnati's Andy Dalton) have significant playing time under their
belts. Seven teams have new head coaches. Most are unlikely to make
the playoffs, though Romeo Crennell's Kansas City Chiefs could win a
mediocre division if he continues where he left off as interim coach
last year, and Greg Schiano's Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be a
surprise wild card if his disciplinarian approach galvanises a
talented roster in the manner of Jim Harbaugh in San Francisco.
Even the established
teams have question marks. Thanks to the bounty scandal, the New
Orleans Saints are without head coach Sean Payton for the season and
interim head coach Joe Vitt for half. The New England Patriots and
Green Bay Packers dominated the 2011 regular season by virtue of
their high-powered offenses, but ranked 31st and 32nd
respectively on defense. Both have new players on that side of the
ball, and if they produce right away, it might be enough to take them
to the Super Bowl. The reigning champions will start strong, but it
is easy to forget that the Giants were only 9-7 last year, and have
less weapons, whilst the problems on the offensive line and in the
secondary remain unresolved. Expect them to struggle to beat the
Eagles for a place in the playoffs.
The Houston Texans were
one of 2011's best teams after years of false dawns. Had quarterback
Matt Schaub not been injured, they might have progressed to the Super
Bowl. With Schaub fit again, they are a fashionable pick to get to
there this year. However, they have had a difficult offseason, losing
the right side of their offensive line, pass-rusher Mario Williams,
receiver Jacoby Jones, and tight end Joel Dreessen. This will make it
harder for them in 2012, especially without the element of surprise,
but being in a weak AFC South makes them a probable playoff team, and
once there, anything can happen.
In the NFC, the 49ers
are a similarly fashionable pick after their run to the championship
game last year. One of the NFL's best defences has managed to retain
all 11 starters, whilst on offense they have added Randy Moss, Mario
Manningham and Brandon Jacobs. Despite this, they too may struggle to
repeat their feats from a year ago. No-one is going to be caught by
surprise this year, and well as Alex Smith played in 2011, questions
remain about his ability to get the ball to his receivers. If he
cannot capitalise on the presence of his new deep threats, difficult
characters like Moss and Jacobs may begin to agitate, the fans will
get on Smith's back, and Jim Harbaugh will face difficult choices.
Then there is the
perennial impact of injuries. Michael Vick and Matthew Stafford both
have poor track records with fitness, and injury to either would
derail their teams. The Bears looked like contenders last year until
Jay Cutler and Matt Forte went down, whilst the Ravens start the
season without defensive star Terrell Suggs, and the Steelers have
problems on the offensive line.
Who then, will cast
these questions aside and win in New Orleans in February?
Unsurprisingly, the two most complete outfits appear to be Green Bay
and New England, as they were the two best teams in the 2011 regular
season, and the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. If they can make
stops on defense, it is hard to bet against either, although it is
rare for both top seeds to make it through. Nonetheless, the AFC is
weak this year, whilst the Packers have a point to prove after last
year's playoff failure, so Corinthian Spirit's pick for the Super
Bowl is for the Packers to beat the Patriots in another thriller
(there are no straightforward Super Bowl victories these days).
At the other end of the
scale, the race for next year's number one overall draft pick is
probably between the Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis
Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Colts and Raiders have two of the
weakest rosters in the league, whilst the Cardinals have confusion at
quarterback, and the Jaguars' Blaine Gabbert looked like a rabbit in
the headlights last year. It probably comes down to the Raiders and
Colts, with a very real possibility that Indianapolis could be
picking at number one for the second year in a row.
Regardless of these
predictions, there are no dull moments in the NFL, and there are
plenty of other storylines to keep the fans entertained between now
and February. Will Peyton Manning be back to his best? How much of
Tim Tebow will we see? Which teams will be inexplicably bad, or
surprisingly good? The answers are only hours away.
Over at The Science of Sport blog, there an excellent breakdown of Oscar Pistorius' critical comments about his defeat by Alan Oliveira in the men's T44 200m. Based on this analysis (by a South African blog, no less), it seems that Pistorius was using flawed logic when he made his claims about the unfairness of Oliveira's stride length.
"So, a simple count shows that Pistorius has longer strides than Alan, and they are consistently longer -
on the bend, and in the straight, for those who are wondering. It's
Oliveira who "can't compete with Oscar's stride length". His faster
speed, then, is the result of faster leg movement, because speed, as you
will appreciate, is the result of stride length and stride rate."
It's an excellent and very detailed read, and worth looking at before diving into the debate that Pistorius has started.
