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Lance Armstrong claims former International Cycling Union president Hein Verbruggen instigated a coverup of his doping at the 1999 Tour de France. Sharks Jersey . Armstrong told Britains Daily Mail newspaper in an interview published Monday that Verbruggen insisted "weve got to come up with something" to explain his positive tests for a banned corticosteroid. Cyclings governing body, the UCI, appeared to ignore its own anti-doping rules when it accepted Armstrongs backdated prescription for a cream to treat saddle sores. That allowed Armstrong to continue in the race and he went on to win the first of his seven Tours, helping revive the sport after doping scandals wrecked the 1998 Tour. "The real problem was, the sport was on life support," Armstrong was quoted telling the newspaper. "And Hein just said, This is a real problem for me, this is the knockout punch for our sport ... so weve got to come up with something. So we backdated the prescription." Though Armstrong has acknowledged the prescription excuse in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey, he had not previously linked Verbruggen or other UCI officials with a coverup. Verbruggen, who served as UCI president until 2005, did not respond to phone messages on Monday. The Dutch official, who is still listed by the UCI as its honorary president, has long denied any collusion with Armstrong despite widespread claims the American rider was protected. Verbruggen was granted honorary membership by the IOC in 2008 after 12 years service, and will complete his duties as chairman of the Olympic Broadcasting Service after the Sochi Winter Games in February. The IOC responded cautiously to Armstrongs allegations. "It is hard to give any credibility to the claims of a cyclist who appears to have misled the world for decades," the Olympic body said in a statement Monday. "That said, the UCI is currently working on plans to investigate the matter more thoroughly and we await proper considered outcomes from this investigation rather than on rumour and accusation." Armstrong spoke out while the UCI is in the process of creating an independent commission that will examine alleged official collusion, and he is expected to be the star witness. Armstrong, who is seeking a reduction in his lifetime ban, told the Daily Mail that he would reveal details of how the UCI operated. "I have no loyalty toward them," he said. "In the proper forum Ill tell everyone what they want to know. Im not going to lie to protect these guys. I hate them. They threw me under the bus." In October 2012, the UCI decided not to challenge a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency verdict to strip Armstrong of his Tour titles and ban him for life. Verbruggens successor, Pat McQuaid, said the disgraced rider deserved to be forgotten by the sport. The UCI has been led since September by British official Brian Cookson, who defeated McQuaid in a presidential election where the Armstrong case and cyclings doping past were central issues. In a statement Monday, the UCI said its commission would "invite individuals to provide evidence." "We would urge all those involved to come forward and help the Commission in its work in the best interests of the sport of cycling," the governing body said. "This investigation is essential to the well-being of cycling in fully understanding the doping culture of the past, the role of the UCI at that time and helping us all to move forward to a clean and healthy future." Tommy Wingels Jersey . Take a look at TSN. Martin Havlat Sharks Jersey . As Valanciunas was whistled for a rare technical toward the end of the third quarter - a result of waving his hand at an official after being called for a foul - Lowry pulled the Raptors sophomore aside, corralling him by his jersey and patting him on the back.CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose scored 32 points and the Chicago Bulls beat New York 104-99 on Monday night, handing the Knicks their sixth straight loss. Rose shot 12 of 29 from the floor and had six rebounds and seven assists as the Bulls got their 10th win in 11 games. Taj Gibson had 15 points and a team-high 13 boards for Chicago, which outrebounded New ork 56-38. The Bulls entered the game leading the league in rebounding margin. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and Amare Stoudemire added 20 for the Knicks, but the two combined for just seven points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls pulled away. Jeremy Lin had 15 points and eight assists for New York, but shot just 4 of 11 from the floor and had little luck stopping Rose. The Knicks have lost six straight for the second time this season and, combined with Milwaukees win at New Jersey, are now tied with the Bucks for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost eight of 10 since Anthony returned to the lineup from an injury on Feb. 20. Carlos Boozer scored 15 points and Joakim Noah had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls. Rookie Jimmy Butler played a key role with eight points in 29 minutes, making several big energy plays to excite the sellout crowd. The Bulls dominance on the boards led to the key basket of the game midway through the fourth quarter. With the shot clock expiring, Rose flipped up a long shot that bounced off the back of the rim, but Gibson chased down the rebound, bringing the United Center crowd to its feet. Then Rose cut behind Lin, who had turned his head, took a bounce pass from Noah and threw down a thunderous, one-handed dunk to put the Bulls ahead 91-84 with 6:01 to play. A couple of minutes later, Butler put an exclamation point on his performance by roaring in from the baseline to dunk Boozers missed shot. Anthony hit a 3 to cut the lead to four with 49.8 seconds remaining but that was as close as the Knicks got. In the third quarter, Rose capped a 12-2 run with a floater off a crossover that left Lin in the dust, giving Chicago a seven-point lead. The Knicks responded with an 111-5 spurt of their own, all of the points coming from Stoudemire and Anthony, who combined for 21 points in the third. Antti Niemi Authentic Jersey. The Bulls took a one-point lead into the final quarter after Noah hit a foul-line jumper off a feed from Butler. Noah had six points and six rebounds in the quarter. The Knicks led 50-48 after a hotly-contested first half that featured 32 free throw attempts and a pair of technical fouls, one on each coach. Chicago came out aggressive, pushing the ball up the floor at every opportunity, and took 29 shots in the first quarter alone. The Bulls hit just 40 per cent in the opening half, with Rose going 5 for 15 from the floor. He led Chicago with 13 points, while Gibson added seven points and seven boards. The Knicks looked crisp on offence early but faltered as the first half wore on and the pace slowed. Tyson Chandler had 11 points and five boards before the break and Lin added eight points and five assists. New York got the final point of the first half on a technical free throw by Anthony, who had eight points and a team-high six rebounds at the half. Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau was hit with the technical after arguing a charging call against Brian Scalabrine. NOTES: The Bulls were missing three players, including two starters, on Monday. All-Star forward Luol Deng sat out for the second straight game after his left wrist injury flared up during last Thursdays loss to Orlando. Starting guard Richard Hamilton missed his fourth straight game because of a right shoulder contusion and minor sprain. He has missed 27 games this season due to various injuries. Backup point guard C.J. Watson missed his fifth game in a row because of a sprained left ankle. All three players are considered day-to-day by the team. . Knicks reserve Jared Jeffries missed the game because of a sore left knee. New York coach Mike DAntoni said he expects Jeffries to return for Wednesdays game against Portland. . The Bulls havent lost consecutive games since Feb. 5-7, 2011 -- a franchise-record stretch of 75 games. . The Bulls improved to 30-0 when leading after three quarters. ' ' ' |
