I was thinking about all of the crappy things that seem to be going on in the world right now - Yeesh, I feel for them folks in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana! - and thought about how easy it would be to blog about all of that and whine about things.

So I thought I'd blog about something else I haven't really addressed yet: Lance Armstrong.

The word "hero" is a damn strong word. Some people think that I'd quickly say that Lance is my hero. This is not true. Lance is certainly an inspiration, but not quite my hero.

He is, however, the hero of thousands - and perhaps millions - of people worldwide. And unfortunately, we live in a world that likes to tear our heroes apart.

There is a French newspaper, which I will not name, that is alleging that six year old blood and urine samples show that Lance had taken EPO - a banned substance uring his first Tour win in 1999.

Now, rather than get into all the details, I'd like to ask anyone who has gone through cancer treatments - once you have been treated for cancer, are you going to put more crap into your body? It's this point that makes me believe that Lance is innocent.

How can you get treated with chemotherapy that nearly kills you, then inject yourself with junk to make you ride faster - particularly when you never thought you'd ride - let alone live - again??

Okay, so let's play devil's advocate: Let's say that Lance did take EPO in 1999. Well, the minute he won the '99 Tour, Lance immediately became a hero to many, many people. He's a smart, articulate guy... why would he continue such a facade for another six Tours de France? How could he - as a human being and father - continue such a lie? Well, I just don't see it.

This latest round of allegations are really suspicious: Lance is already retired, the samples are "B" samples which have been laying around for six years after Lance's "A" samples were already considered clean, and as a result Lance cannot refute the allegations because there are no further samples to prove himself innocent. I think it's strange that all of the allegations against Lance through the years have come through French newspapers or disgruntled former employees.

I go on record as saying that I believe whole-heartedly that Lance is clean and innocent. If, in the future I find that I am wrong, I will be very disappointed - but I will still admire Lance Armstrong for all the good he has done for the cancer community.

Now in the CD player:
"The Doors" by The Doors
"Maxinquaye" by Tricky
"Low" by David Bowie
"Live on King Biscuit" by Humble Pie