I watched the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah on Friday and the second part of the interview this afternoon.
We got the confession that he'd doped throughout his career and cheated his way to 7 Tour de France titles, but despite this I still felt there was something missing and unsatisfactory from his confession.
Like many elite athletes, Armstrong is use to being in control, setting the agenda, calling the shots. There was still an element of this in his interview or performance.
Yes there was an acceptance that he had to apologise, but I don't think there was a deep seated sense of remorse. The impression still lingers that he did what he had to do to win the Tour, and went about it in a ruthless and cynical way. If that meant doping then so bit it.
I don't think it was possible to win the Tour de France during the 'EPO' era of cycling when Armstrong was winning his seven titles.
I discovered more about this period after reading the autobiography of British cyclist David Millar who was banned for two years for doping. His book gives you an insight into the world of professional cycling at the time and the culture of drug taking.
I agree with Armstrong's claim that he didn't create the culture of doping but he didn't try and change it either. Instead he ruthlessly exploited it.
Sports stars have always cheated. What makes Armstrong's case different is that not only did he cheat, but for years he denied ever taking drugs. He then went out and attacked those people whose accusations were correct all along.
There was Emma O'Reilly his former massage therapist who he called a whore at a Dallas Tribunal In November 2005.
Betsy Andreu the wife of the cyclist Frankie Andreu. In 1996 she'd been present in the consulting room at Indiana University hospital when she heard Armstrong admit to two doctors that he had used performance enhancing drugs before he was diagnosed with cancer.
Despite calling her a liar for many years, he couldn't bring himself to publicly apologize during his interview with Oprah.
Finally, there's David Walsh, from the Sunday Times. For over 10 years he's made it almost a personal crusade to reveal the truth about Armstrong. Walsh raised many of the allegations against Armstrong in his co-authored book titled, LA Confidential.
Reading in today's Sunday Times he reveals how Armstrong referred to him as a "little f**king troll". Tells you everything you need to know about Armstrong.
Lance Armstrong has to be one of the most flawed sports stars I think I've seen. There's an admission of guilt, but in his mind he did what he had to do in a sport that was riddled with drug taking.
It's the bullying and intimidation that he inflicted on the cycling world and those who questioned him that I find distasteful. If you also add the building of the myth and Armstrong brand. It takes his cheating and deceit to a whole new level.
Related Articles
Lance Armstrong: A cheat amongst cheats
Views, comments and analysis from me over the week's news headlines, and anything else that's caught my interest.
Sunday, 20 January 2013
Saturday, 19 January 2013
The Inevitable Demise of HMV
Over the Christmas holidays, I was down my local pub with an old school friend. We were chatting about HMV and wondering realistically how much longer it could survive.
We found out this week that its survival is in doubt after it went into administration. It's an announcement I've been expecting for the last two years.
Chatting to my friend we both agreed HMV has an identity crises. One of its biggest problems is that it doesn't know what it wants to be.
Is it a record shop, or is it a DVD and gadget shop? It's everything and none of these things. It's just very confused.
Obviously the biggest mistake that HMV made was not reacting quickly enough to the impact of the internet.
The more I think about it, I don't think there's been a technological innovation in my lifetime that's had such a revolutionary effect on some many areas of our lives.
It's completely disrupted and revolutionised the business models of so many industries, with music being one of the biggest affected.
HMV was in a great position at the end of the 90s to take advantage of the HMV brand and branch out into the world of online shopping ,but the vision and determination wasn't there.
This isn't end of HMV there's still a chance that it will survive. It's got a strong brand image and many shoppers have affection for it.
Here's what I think HMV should do
HMV should go back to being just a record shop and stop trying to be all things to all people.
HMV should try and take on the role of a more specialist independent record store that appeals to genuine music fans. Let the casual music lover shop online at Amazon. HMV should look at more specialist music market as well as the mainstream.
HMV should be a highstreet shop where music lovers can hangout and socialise around music. Obviously if HMV does survive there's going to be less shops around the country but that's not a problem. Any existing shops should be located in key high streets dotted around the country.
Independents are still surviving focusing on the niche. HMV should start selling vinyl again. Vinyl will and is surviving CD's.
If you have ideas on how you think HMV should survive let us know your thoughts.
Related Articles
Death of the Record shop
We found out this week that its survival is in doubt after it went into administration. It's an announcement I've been expecting for the last two years.
Chatting to my friend we both agreed HMV has an identity crises. One of its biggest problems is that it doesn't know what it wants to be.
Is it a record shop, or is it a DVD and gadget shop? It's everything and none of these things. It's just very confused.
Obviously the biggest mistake that HMV made was not reacting quickly enough to the impact of the internet.
The more I think about it, I don't think there's been a technological innovation in my lifetime that's had such a revolutionary effect on some many areas of our lives.
It's completely disrupted and revolutionised the business models of so many industries, with music being one of the biggest affected.
HMV was in a great position at the end of the 90s to take advantage of the HMV brand and branch out into the world of online shopping ,but the vision and determination wasn't there.
This isn't end of HMV there's still a chance that it will survive. It's got a strong brand image and many shoppers have affection for it.
Here's what I think HMV should do
If you have ideas on how you think HMV should survive let us know your thoughts.
Related Articles
Death of the Record shop
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Happy New Year: Hello 2013
Happy New Year to all my blog readers. I hope there's still more than one of you out there.
Also a Happy New year to anyone who's just found my blog for the first time. I like to keep my blog updated regularly, so please come back as there's always new content.
It's hard to believe that this will be my fifth year of blogging after starting back in 2009.
Looking back, I remember my first few blogs. You feel a bit nervous putting your views and opinions out there into the internet universe. I found the more you keep writing and thinking about what you want to say, the easier it gets. Blogging is very much a part of my life now.
My blog has improved my writing abilities and helped me land my first freelance job working as a freelance writer for a London based marketing agency called Quad. One of my goals this year is to develop my freelance career as much as possible and working for Quad is a great way to start.
If you have goals and ambitions for the forthcoming year, my advice is to make sure they're realistic and achievable. Look to take small steps rather than giant leaps.
People always try to make resolutions. 'I'm going to lose weight, I'm going to stop drinking blah blah blah' Have specific goals rather than resolutions. Resolutions rarely work.
If there are parts of your life you want to improve trying giving a mark out of 10 to show your current satisfaction. If for example you would give your job or career a 6 out of 10; what can you do to push it up to an 8 or 9? Try keeping a diary to track your progress.
Make sure your goals are true to who you are. Too many times we take on goals and ambitions that other people tell us to have. It could be family, friends, society. Make sure your goals are important to you, in terms of who you really are.
Whatever 2013 holds for you I hope it's a good one for you.
Here are two blogs I follow that might be of use to anyone looking to make changes in their life for 2013. The first is Brazen Life. I career blog for those who want to make the most of their jobs and career.
The second is Zenhabits. I love this blog, and so do many others. It's one of the most popular blogs in the world.
It's a good lifestyle blog. Our lives our so busy and hectic these days, that sometimes we need to slow down and make things a little bit simpler. Zenhabits is the perfect blog for this sort of thing.
Have a great 2013!
Also a Happy New year to anyone who's just found my blog for the first time. I like to keep my blog updated regularly, so please come back as there's always new content.
It's hard to believe that this will be my fifth year of blogging after starting back in 2009.
Looking back, I remember my first few blogs. You feel a bit nervous putting your views and opinions out there into the internet universe. I found the more you keep writing and thinking about what you want to say, the easier it gets. Blogging is very much a part of my life now.
My blog has improved my writing abilities and helped me land my first freelance job working as a freelance writer for a London based marketing agency called Quad. One of my goals this year is to develop my freelance career as much as possible and working for Quad is a great way to start.
If you have goals and ambitions for the forthcoming year, my advice is to make sure they're realistic and achievable. Look to take small steps rather than giant leaps.
People always try to make resolutions. 'I'm going to lose weight, I'm going to stop drinking blah blah blah' Have specific goals rather than resolutions. Resolutions rarely work.
If there are parts of your life you want to improve trying giving a mark out of 10 to show your current satisfaction. If for example you would give your job or career a 6 out of 10; what can you do to push it up to an 8 or 9? Try keeping a diary to track your progress.
Make sure your goals are true to who you are. Too many times we take on goals and ambitions that other people tell us to have. It could be family, friends, society. Make sure your goals are important to you, in terms of who you really are.
Whatever 2013 holds for you I hope it's a good one for you.
Here are two blogs I follow that might be of use to anyone looking to make changes in their life for 2013. The first is Brazen Life. I career blog for those who want to make the most of their jobs and career.
The second is Zenhabits. I love this blog, and so do many others. It's one of the most popular blogs in the world.
It's a good lifestyle blog. Our lives our so busy and hectic these days, that sometimes we need to slow down and make things a little bit simpler. Zenhabits is the perfect blog for this sort of thing.
Have a great 2013!
Friday, 28 December 2012
Book Review: Books I've read this year
As we approach the end of 2012 I was thinking about some the books I've read this year.
Unusually I haven't read any fiction this year, but in a golden year for sport in the UK, it's no surprise that my reading habits have been dominated by sport.
Here's what I've read:
Gold Rush by Michael Johnson
Released to coincide with the Olympics in London, Gold Rush is part autobiography and part analysis into what makes an Olympic champion.
Michael Johnson is easily my favourite sports pundit. You can always guarantee intelligent and insightful analysis. I always feel like I'm learning something when I listen to what Johnson has to say.
This is exactly what you get with Gold Rush. Johnson talks about his own career and what it took for him to become one the greatest track and field athletes of all time.
There's also plenty of interviews with some of Britain's past and present Olympic Champions. Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, Daley Thompson and Steve Redgrave give their thoughts and insights on what it takes to become a champion.
If that wasn't enough there's also opinions from the greatest Olympian currently competing. Mr Usain Bolt.
The Tour De France....To The Bitter End
Cycling is my new favourite sport I can't get enough of it these days.
What I like about my new found interest in cycling is that I'm a bit of a novice to the sport.
I'm in the process of learning about the cycling, the tactics, the races and the different riders.
What I also wanted to know was some of the history of The Tour - this is why To the Bitter End was so enjoyable. It covers the best of over a century of newspaper reports on the Tour from the Guardian and Observer.
I've got quickly up to speed learning about the great riders from the past, the most memorable Tours, the great controversies and what the Tour means to France and French culture.
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar:
I'd never heard of the British cyclist David Millar until this year. He won a stage at this year's Tour De France, the first he'd won since returning from a drugs ban.
In his post race interview he made a number of references to the fact that he was an ex 'doper' and how that shouldn't be forgotten.
There was something about him that appealed to me - he was now very anti drugs and it was clear that he wanted to do as much as he could to try and clean up the sport of cycling.
Racing Through the Dark takes you on the journey of David Millar's career starting as a young and idealistic cyclist determined to be a successful professional without resorting to the dark world of drug taking.
Unfortunately professional cycling in the late 90s and early 2000's was a dirty business. What I love about this book is it gives you a real feel for the pervasive culture of drug taking that existed in cycling at the time.
Millar spent years trying to resist this culture until pressure from his team, injuries and seeing other less talented cyclists winning finally persuaded him that he had no choice but to start doping.
With Lance Armstrong being stripped of his 7 Tour Titles this year, this book gave me a great insight into the world of professional cycling and the issue of drug taking. It certainly isn't a black and white issue, but hopefully cycling is in a better place.
Thinking Inside the Box by Louis Saha
First thing I have to say, this isn't your run of the mill footballing autobiography.
Rather than write a predictable ghost written, bog standard story about a player's career - Saha has tried something a bit different.
Critically acclaimed following its release in France this year, Saha writes a book looking at what it means to be a professional footballer playing in the Premier League.
He looks at the pressures faced by the modern day player - from expectations to perform, the riches and adulation players receive as well as the other side of endless criticisms and injuries players have to endure.
Saha looks at his own life and his upbringing in a tough Parisian suburb but what I love about this book is that he interviews many of his friends and former teammates in the football world, asking them for their thoughts and opinions of various aspects of the game.
You get opinions from the likes of Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Patrice Evra, Phil Neville, and Alex Ferguson.
Perhaps this says much about the low expectations we have of the modern day footballer, but I was hugely surprised and impressed by how well written this book is.
Saha comes across as a well rounded an intelligent guy. You don't expect many footballers to have views on celebrity culture, Press intrusion, player salaries, and race relations in France and Britain. This is what you get from Saha.
As an added twist there's also a chapter written by his wife, dismissing some of the stereotypes of WAG culture and talking about what it's really like to be a wife of a footballer.
A great book I can't recommend more highly.
Unusually I haven't read any fiction this year, but in a golden year for sport in the UK, it's no surprise that my reading habits have been dominated by sport.
Here's what I've read:
Gold Rush by Michael Johnson
Released to coincide with the Olympics in London, Gold Rush is part autobiography and part analysis into what makes an Olympic champion.
Michael Johnson is easily my favourite sports pundit. You can always guarantee intelligent and insightful analysis. I always feel like I'm learning something when I listen to what Johnson has to say.
This is exactly what you get with Gold Rush. Johnson talks about his own career and what it took for him to become one the greatest track and field athletes of all time.
There's also plenty of interviews with some of Britain's past and present Olympic Champions. Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, Daley Thompson and Steve Redgrave give their thoughts and insights on what it takes to become a champion.
If that wasn't enough there's also opinions from the greatest Olympian currently competing. Mr Usain Bolt.
The Tour De France....To The Bitter End
Cycling is my new favourite sport I can't get enough of it these days.
What I like about my new found interest in cycling is that I'm a bit of a novice to the sport.
I'm in the process of learning about the cycling, the tactics, the races and the different riders.
What I also wanted to know was some of the history of The Tour - this is why To the Bitter End was so enjoyable. It covers the best of over a century of newspaper reports on the Tour from the Guardian and Observer.
I've got quickly up to speed learning about the great riders from the past, the most memorable Tours, the great controversies and what the Tour means to France and French culture.
Racing Through the Dark: The Fall and Rise of David Millar:
I'd never heard of the British cyclist David Millar until this year. He won a stage at this year's Tour De France, the first he'd won since returning from a drugs ban.
In his post race interview he made a number of references to the fact that he was an ex 'doper' and how that shouldn't be forgotten.
There was something about him that appealed to me - he was now very anti drugs and it was clear that he wanted to do as much as he could to try and clean up the sport of cycling.
Racing Through the Dark takes you on the journey of David Millar's career starting as a young and idealistic cyclist determined to be a successful professional without resorting to the dark world of drug taking.
Unfortunately professional cycling in the late 90s and early 2000's was a dirty business. What I love about this book is it gives you a real feel for the pervasive culture of drug taking that existed in cycling at the time.
Millar spent years trying to resist this culture until pressure from his team, injuries and seeing other less talented cyclists winning finally persuaded him that he had no choice but to start doping.
With Lance Armstrong being stripped of his 7 Tour Titles this year, this book gave me a great insight into the world of professional cycling and the issue of drug taking. It certainly isn't a black and white issue, but hopefully cycling is in a better place.
Thinking Inside the Box by Louis Saha
First thing I have to say, this isn't your run of the mill footballing autobiography.
Rather than write a predictable ghost written, bog standard story about a player's career - Saha has tried something a bit different.
Critically acclaimed following its release in France this year, Saha writes a book looking at what it means to be a professional footballer playing in the Premier League.
He looks at the pressures faced by the modern day player - from expectations to perform, the riches and adulation players receive as well as the other side of endless criticisms and injuries players have to endure.
Saha looks at his own life and his upbringing in a tough Parisian suburb but what I love about this book is that he interviews many of his friends and former teammates in the football world, asking them for their thoughts and opinions of various aspects of the game.
You get opinions from the likes of Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Patrice Evra, Phil Neville, and Alex Ferguson.
Perhaps this says much about the low expectations we have of the modern day footballer, but I was hugely surprised and impressed by how well written this book is.
Saha comes across as a well rounded an intelligent guy. You don't expect many footballers to have views on celebrity culture, Press intrusion, player salaries, and race relations in France and Britain. This is what you get from Saha.
As an added twist there's also a chapter written by his wife, dismissing some of the stereotypes of WAG culture and talking about what it's really like to be a wife of a footballer.
A great book I can't recommend more highly.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Sports Personality of the Year 2012
With 10 minutes left of the phone lines being open, I decided to vote for Bradley Wiggins as my Sports Personality of the Year.
Obviously millions of others agreed with me as this year's Tour de France winner and Olympic Time Trial champion won the the award.
I always felt he had to win this year's award after his Tour de France victory this summer.
But I started to have doubts after Mo Farah's Olympic double at the Olympics - I couldn't decide who I should go for.
In the end Mo didn't even make the top three which surprised me. Andy Murray came third and Jessica Ennis was runner up.
I'm happy with my vote though. Not only is Wiggins a truly great champion, he's also a genuine personality. He's got the whole mod retro look going on, but he's also an interesting and funny character.
A very British champion.
Obviously millions of others agreed with me as this year's Tour de France winner and Olympic Time Trial champion won the the award.
I always felt he had to win this year's award after his Tour de France victory this summer.
But I started to have doubts after Mo Farah's Olympic double at the Olympics - I couldn't decide who I should go for.
In the end Mo didn't even make the top three which surprised me. Andy Murray came third and Jessica Ennis was runner up.
I'm happy with my vote though. Not only is Wiggins a truly great champion, he's also a genuine personality. He's got the whole mod retro look going on, but he's also an interesting and funny character.
A very British champion.
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