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2B Daily News – Friday, October 12, 2012 DOPING By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer it like any other day. The world-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong tried to treat was at the office of his cancer- fighting foundation, ''talking about next week's events and plans for 2013,'' he said on Twit- ter. was the day after the evidence came out — a voluminous report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that painted him as a drug-using bully at the center of what the group called the biggest doping conspiracy ever concoct- ed in sports. The fallout from the agency's But Thursday was different. It ing the impact of the report, which provides USADA's justifi- cation for ordering Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles stripped. The weight of 26 wit- nesses, including 11 ex-team- mates, forced people to reach a conclusion about the rider. ''This is as if Mount Everest just showed up in his front yard,'' said Daniel Coyle, author of ''Lance Armstrong's War'' and ''The Secret Race,'' which he wrote with Tyler Hamilton, a for- mer teammate and witness against Armstrong. ''The detail is crystal clear,'' Armstrong marches on day after report The head of the foundation, Doug Ulman, said he had received several messages of sup- port and Armstrong would carry the banner for the foundation. ''He's our biggest advocate case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. version of events, and its raft of supporting documents, started coming down in small bites from friends, foes, supporters and detractors around the globe. Twitter posts with the ''live- strong'' hash tag — the name of Armstrong's charitable founda- tion — seemed to be running about 50-50, from those who thought the USADA report cemented Armstrong as a fraud, to those who didn't care and admire him for the millions of dollars he has raised for cancer research. Either way, there was no deny- Coyle said. ''And each of the sto- ries perfectly aligns. The details are so clear, you can't imagine anyone making it up. The voices you hear in the affidavits are remarkable, persuasive, precise and not, in every case, reluctant.'' After cancelling an appear- ance scheduled in Chicago for Friday, Armstrong visited his foundation headquarters in Austin, Texas, for about 30 min- utes in the morning, chatting informally with employees and looking for a place to hang a new painting he recently added to his personal art collection. The USADA report did not come up in conversation, foundation spokeswoman Katherine McLane said. and always will be,'' Ulman said. Armstrong's support stretched to the other side of the globe. At the Tour of Beijing, 2008 Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez said ''until the contrary is proved, he remains innocent.'' ''Lance has overcome many controls and even until today, he has never been found positive in any of them,'' Sanchez said. ''So about all the accusations that have been poured against him, we have to see, what is the goal of all of them, whether it is an econom- ic motive or they want to harm his image. We still need to wait to see what's the final decision taken by the UCI,'' the International Cycling Union. UCI will be one of the next major players to act. While USADA says Armstrong's life- time ban and the stripping of his seven Tour de France titles is in effect, UCI insists it has a say in that, as well. Long skeptical of the USADA investigation and having made statements sympa- thetic toward Armstrong, UCI has three weeks to appeal the UCI said it is reviewing the case and hopes to decide how to proceed soon. There's an awful lot to review — a 200-page novel-like descrip- tion of the steps Armstrong took to advance his career using PEDs, along with more than 800 pages in supporting evidence, including affidavits from the 11 teammates and 15 others who contributed to the USADA report. Among the details that Coyle called too good to make up: Cyclist Dave Zabriske's song, sung to the tune of ''Purple Haze,'' about the blood-boosting drug EPO. was a way for him to escape a dif- ficult home life with his drug- addicted father. He vowed never to take drugs himself. ''After distinguishing myself in an important race, manage- ment presented me with drugs and instructed me on how to pro- ceed,'' Zabriske said. ''I was dev- astated. I was shocked. I had never used drugs and never intended to. I questioned, I resist- sive evidence involves Armstrong in his role as a bully — telling his teammates to either get with the doping program or get lost. Zabriske said cycling, at first, But some of the most corro- ed, but in the end, I felt cornered and succumbed to the pressure.'' Given the passel of new infor- mation, the International Olympic Committee said it would look at the report to see if Armstrong's bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Games might be affected, though with an eight- year statute of limitations, the IOC's Denis Oswald conceded ''Sydney might be too late.'' The leader of the French Anti- Doping Agency, Bruno Genevois, said that, ''If the report is solid, this proves that no sports- man, no matter what his notori- ety, is sheltered from anti-doping legislation.'' An Italian prosecutor, mean- while, said Dr. Michele Ferrari — the man USADA says helped organize Armstrong's doping regimen — could face charges in a criminal investigation that's nearing completion in that coun- try. One of Armstrong's most steadfast critics, Betsy Andreu, said she was grateful to USADA for not caving under political pressure to give up on the investi- gation. The pressure only grew stronger after federal investiga- tors shut down their criminal probe in February. Raiders secondary facing huge hurdle in Falcons QB ALAMEDA (AP) — Oakland corner- back Michael Huff hasn't had much time to rest since changing positions to help the Raiders' injury-ravaged secondary. He's not likely to get a break this week either. After trying to knock down passes thrown by Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlis- berger and Denver's Peyton Manning in successive weeks, Huff and the Raiders NATS (Continued from page 1B) at home plate. ''He battled that whole at-bat, and I was making good pitches, making my pitches, and you know, he won,'' Lynn said. ''It was just a matter of time. I was challenging him, and he was up for it.'' It's the kind of the return from the bye with the task of try- ing to slow down what has been one of the NFL's most prolific passing attacks through the first month of the season. ''I definitely got thrown into the fire,'' Huff said Thursday. ''But I'm still expected to go out there and make plays.'' Oakland's pass defense has struggled just defending one good receiver this there, but we have one more day.'' The Cardinals wasted a stellar effort by Kyle Lohse, who allowed just two hits over seven innings with five strike- outs and a walk, his only miscue coming on Adam LaRoche's dead-center homer in the second. playoff moment all at Nationals Park will remember for a long time. The tension was building with each of the 13 pitches, the sellout crowd ready to explode. ''I guess for the pitch- er and the hitter, the pressure on them have to be unbelievable,'' Cardi- nals star Carlos Beltran said. ''Because Werth is battling, and our pitch- er's trying to get him out. He ended up win- ning that battle right GIANTS (Continued from page 1B) house to start spraying some bubbly. home-field meltdown that felt sickeningly familiar. The Reds haven't won a home playoff game in 17 years. After taking the first two on the West Coast, all they needed was one more at home, where they had- n't dropped three straight all season. ''You get tired of the disappointments, but then you get over it,'' manager Dusty Baker said. ''It hurts big-time.'' Once Posey connected, the Reds were the ones facing an unprecedented comeback. They've never overcome a six-run deficit in the playoffs, according to STATS LLC. Couldn't do it this time, In Cincinnati, the either. The Giants won it all in 2010, when they never trailed in any of their three postseason series. They beat the Braves 3-1 in the division series, knocked out the Phillies 4-2 for the NL title, then took four of five from Texas for their sixth World Series title Mitchell Boggs han- dled the eighth, and rookie manager Mike Matheny opted to go with Lynn — a starter relegated to the bullpen for this series — rather than closer Jason Motte with the score tied in the ninth. it would have been a very easy decision to bring in Motte,'' Mathe- ny said. ''We are looking at a team that had every save of our season by Jason Motte, and we take a lead there at any point (in extra innings), you're asking one of our ''If we were at home, and their first since they moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958. They really had to scramble this season to get another shot at it. The bullpen took a huge hit when closer Brian Wilson blew out his elbow, and that was just the start. All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera got a 50-game suspension in August after a positive testosterone test, taking a .346 hitter out of their lineup. The Giants have decided not to bring him back, even though he's eli- gible to return for the NL championship series. Two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum pitched so poorly — 15 losses — that he got rele- gated to the bullpen for the division series. And don't forget that Posey was coming off a NASCAR Spring Cup Points Leaders 1, Brad Keselowski 2,142 2, Jimmie Johnson 2,137 3, Denny Hamlin 4, Clint Bowyer 5, Tony Stewart 6, Kasey Kahne 2,126 2,117 2,110 2,110 7, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,103 8, Martin Truex Jr. 9, Kevin Harvick 10, Jeff Gordon 11, Greg Biffle 12, Matt Kenseth 2,100 2,096 2,094 2,091 2,070 guys, especially one of our young guys, who have never been in that situation to come in and close out a game, and that's a lot to ask. ''Had a lot of confi- dence in Lance. He came in throwing the ball well. Werth just put together a very good at-bat.'' The Cardinals had scored a combined 20 runs in Games 2 and 3, but they managed only one unearned tally against Nationals starter Ross Detwiler. Pete Kozma circled the bases in the second inning by way of a walk, a sacri- fice bunt, a booted grounder by shortstop Ian Desmond and a sac- rifice fly. Detwiler allowed three hits over six innings — the type of performance Washington needed after Gio Gonza- lez, Jordan Zimmermann and Edwin Jackson were broken leg that wiped out most of his 2011 season, making a great comeback of his own. ''Unreal,'' Romo said, with champagne dripping off his scraggly beard. ''That guy's definitely the MVP of our team. We believe he's the MVP of the league. We wouldn't be here without him, that's for dang sure. He's the one that's been the face of the team all season long. What a great story with all he's been through last year.'' They pulled it all together during the streak of three improbable wins in Cincinnati. ber the first inning of the series, where everything changed. Ace Johnny Cueto pulled muscles in his right side and had to leave the game. He wound up getting dropped from The Reds will remem- WNBA CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-3) Eastern Conference Connecticut 1, Indiana 1 Game 1: Connecticut 76, Indiana 64 Game 2: Indiana 78, Connecticut 76 Thursday: at Connecticut, late Western Conference Minnesota 2, Los Angeles 0 Game 1: Minnesota 94, Los Angeles 77 Game 2: Minnesota 80, Los Angeles 79 season, let alone an explosive tandem like Atlanta's Roddy White and Julio Jones. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan also has the second-highest passer rating in the NFL and has already thrown for 1,507 yards and 13 touchdowns. That trio, along with tight end Tony Gonzalez and running back Michael Bennett, has helped the unbeaten Fal- far from their best in Games 1-3. It got worse for the Cardinals against the Nationals' relievers. Zimmerman, the Game 2 loser, struck out the side in the seventh in his first career relief appearance, and Tyler Clippard also notched three Ks in the eighth. Drew Storen got two more strikeouts in the ninth before Desmond ended the inning with a nice, stum- ble-to-the-ground catch of a deep popup by pinch hitter Matt Carpenter. Although St. Louis is a wild-card team facing the club with the best record in baseball in the regular season, the intangibles should belong to the visitors Friday. While nearly to a man — Werth being an exception — the young Nationals are new to this sort of thing, the Cardi- nals have quite the post- the playoff roster because of the injury. Latos pulled them through that opening game, pitching in relief on short rest for a 5-2 win. Latos came to Cincinnati from the Padres at a high price — two first-round draft picks — and with a clear purpose in the off- season. He was expected to take them to the next level. allowed three hits through the first four innings, then fell apart in the fifth. Bran- don Crawford had an RBI triple and scored on short- stop Zack Cozart's error. A four-pitch walk and a single loaded the bases for Posey. The right-hander As soon as he connect- NCAA Top 25 Schedule Saturday's games No. 1 Alabama at Missouri, 12:30 p.m. No. 3 South Carolina at No. 9 LSU, 5 p.m. No. 4 Florida at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m. No. 5 West Virginia at Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m. No. 6 Kansas State at Iowa State, 9 a.m. No.7 Notre Dame vs.No.17 Stanford, 12:30 p.m. No. 8 Ohio State at Indiana, 5 p.m. No. 10 Oregon State at BYU, 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Southern Cal at Washington, 4 p.m. No. 12 Florida St. vs. Boston Co., 2:30 p.m. No.13 Oklahoma vs.No. 15 Texas, 9 a.m. No. 18 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 9 a.m. No. 19 Mississippi St. vs.Tennessee, 6 p.m. No. 20 Rutgers vs. Syracuse, 9 a.m. No. 21 Cincinnati vs. Fordham, 4 p.m. No.22 Tex.A&M at No.23 Louis.Tech, 6:15 p.m. No. 24 Boise St. vs.Fresno State, 12:30 p.m. No. 25 Michigan vs. Illinois, 12:30 p.m. cons surge to the top of the NFC. ''Matt Ryan is definitely a top five quarterback the way he's playing right now,'' Huff said. ''They've got a great offense. We have to make our fair share of plays, get turnovers and get the ball back to our offense. That's really the only way to slow them down.'' The Raiders are again relying on a patchwork lineup in their secondary. season pedigree: Over the past two years, St. Louis is 5-0 in games where it faces elimina- tion, including must- have victories in Games 6 and 7 of the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers. veterans in this club- house that have been in big spots before and have lost games and know how to bounce back,'' second baseman Daniel Descalso said. ''We've done a good job of that lately, and we're going to try to do it again tomorrow.'' ''We've got a lot of NFL AFC West WL T Pct Chargers 3 2 0 .600 Denver 2 3 0 .400 RAIDERS 130 .250 Kansas City 1 4 0 .200 East WL T Pct N. England 3 2 0 .600 N.Y. Jets 2 3 0 .400 Miami 2 3 0 .400 On the mound will be Adam Wainwright, a 14- game winner who was a spectator during last year's title run while recovering from elbow reconstruction surgery. would have won tonight, but you know what? This is every pitcher's dream, ''Of course I wish we ed, Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan stood and turned away, unable to watch the ball head for the seats. Cincinnati's 17-year history of playoff futility was about to go on. MLB PLAYOFFS WILD CARD National League: St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3 American League: Baltimore 5, Texas 1 DIVISION SERIES (Best-of-5; x-if necessary) American League Detroit 2, Oakland 2 Saturday, Oct. 6: Detroit 3, Oakland 1 Sunday, Oct. 7: Detroit 5, Oakland 4 Tuesday, Oct. 9: Oakland 2, Detroit 0 Wednesday, Oct. 10: Oakland 4, Detroit 3 Thursday: Detroit (Verlander 17-8) at Oakland (Parker 13-9), late New York 2, Baltimore 2 Sunday, Oct. 7: New York 7, Baltimore 2 Monday, Oct. 8: Baltimore 3, New York 2 Wednesday, Oct. 10: New York 3, Balti- more 2, 12 innings Thursday: Baltimore 2, New York 1 Today: Baltimore (Hammel 8-6) at New York (Sabathia 15-6), 5:07 or 7:07 p.m. (TBS) National League San Francisco 3, Cincinnati 2 Saturday, Oct. 6: Cincinnati 5, San Fran- cisco 2 Sunday, Oct. 7: Cincinnati 9, San Fran- cisco 0 Tuesday, Oct. 9: San Francisco 2, Cincin- nati 1, 10 innings Wednesday, Oct. 10: San Francisco 8, Cincinnati 3 Thursday: San Francisco 6, Cincinnati 4 St. Louis 2,Washington 2 Sunday, Oct. 7:Washington 3, St. Louis 2 Monday, Oct. 8: St. Louis 12, Washington 4 Wednesday, Oct. 10: St. Louis 8, Wash- ington 0 Thursday:Washington 2, St. Louis 1 Today: St. Louis (Wainwright 14-13) at Washington (Gonzalez 21-8), 5:37 p.m. (TBS) Buffalo 2 3 0 .400 South WL T Pct Houston 5 0 0 1.000 Indianapolis 2 2 0 .500 Jacksonville 1 4 0 .200 Tennessee 2 4 0 .200 North WL T Pct Baltimore 4 1 0 .800 Cincinnati 3 2 0 .600 Pittsburgh 2 3 0 .333 Cleveland 0 5 0 .000 NFC East WL T Pct Philadelphia 3 2 0 .600 N.Y. Giants 3 2 0 .600 Dallas 2 2 0 .500 Washington 2 3 0 .400 South WL T Pct Atlanta 5 0 0 1.000 Tampa Bay 1 3 0 .250 Carolina 1 4 0 .200 N. Orleans 1 4 0 .200 North WL T Pct Minnesota 4 1 0 .800 Chicago 4 1 0 .800 Green Bay 2 3 0 .400 Detroit 1 3 0 .250 West WL T Pct Arizona 4 1 0 .800 49ERS 410 .800 St. Louis 3 2 0 .600 Seattle 3 2 0 .600 _________________________________ Week 5 results Thursday's result St. Louis 17, Arizona 3 Sunday's results San Francisco 45, Buffalo 3 Atlanta 24, Washington 17 Baltimore 9, Kansas City 6 Chicago 41, Jacksonville 3 Indianapolis 30, Green Bay 27 Miami 17, Cincinnati 13 Minnesota 30, Tennessee 7 New England 31, Denver 21 New Orleans 31, San Diego 24 N.Y. Giants 41, Cleveland 27 Pittsburgh 16, Philadelphia 14 Seattle 16, Carolina 12 Monday's result Houston 23, N.Y. Jets 17 Week 6 Schedule Thursday's game Tennessee 26, Pittsburgh 23 Sunday's games Oakland at Atlanta, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at San Francisco, 1:25 p.m. Cincinnati at Cleveland, 10 a.m. Dallas at Baltimore, 10 a.m. Detroit at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets, 10 a.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. St. Louis at Miami, 10 a.m. Buffalo at Arizona, 1:05 p.m. New England at Seattle, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota at Washington, 1:25 p.m. Green Bay at Houston, 5:20 p.m. Monday's game Denver at San Diego, 5:30 p.m. Open: Carolina, Chicago, Jacksonville, New Orleans I would say,'' said Wain- wright, who pitched well in Game 1 of this series but didn't get the deci- sion. ''Every competi- tor's dream is to go in huge moments like that, so I look forward to the challenge.''