https://www.scmp.com/rss/205628/feed Seven-time Tour de France winner. Armstrong was a professional road racing cyclist and survivor of testicular cancer who retired in early 2011. In June 2012, the US Anti-Doping Agency charged him of using illegal performance enhancing drugs based on evident of blood samples and other cyclists’ testimony. Armstrong gave up fighting against the allegation in August. On October 22, Union Cycliste Internationale(UCI) announced it recognizes USADA' findings, banning Armstrong for life and stripping... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press Betty Boop and Nancy Drew are joining Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh in the public domain. The first appearances of the classic cartoon and comic characters are among the pieces of intellectual property whose 95-year US copyright maximum has been reached, putting them in the public domain on January 1. That means creators can use and repurpose them without permission or payment. The 2026 batch of newly public artistic creations does not quite have the sparkle of other recent years’ entries... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338799/2026-public-domain-movies-cartoons-comics-and-books-include-betty-boop-nancy-drew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3338799/2026-public-domain-movies-cartoons-comics-and-books-include-betty-boop-nancy-drew?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:15:08 +0000 SCMP Style Reporter SCMP Style Reporter An unstoppable spirit has defined Omega since the unveiling of its legendary 19-ligne calibre and brand name back in 1894. Whether for use on land, under the sea or in space, this desire for ultimate achievement spawned a legacy of masterful chronographs and the certified Master Chronometers of today – famously encapsulated by Neil Armstrong and his Speedmaster Moonwatch taking “one giant leap for mankind” in 1969. Omega’s winning watches – and one of its symbolic golden astronaut statues – can... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3322205/style-edit-omegas-landmark-moments-year-so-far?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/watches/article/3322205/style-edit-omegas-landmark-moments-year-so-far?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:00:08 +0000 Sheryl Crow says she’s done with Tesla. The “Soak Up the Sun” singer shared an Instagram video on Valentine’s Day showing her waving goodbye to her black saloon. “My parents always said … you are who you hang out with,” Crow wrote in the caption. “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with. So long Tesla.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sheryl Crow (@sherylcrow) Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is leading the new US... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3299166/sheryl-crows-dating-history-revealed-eric-clapton-owen-wilson-9-time-grammy-winner-has-also-been?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3299166/sheryl-crows-dating-history-revealed-eric-clapton-owen-wilson-9-time-grammy-winner-has-also-been?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Feb 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Sport has been the inspiration for some of the best films of all time and the last decade was no different. We have taken a look back at the last 10 years to find the best cinematic output that chronicled sport. That ranges from Oscar winners to some more niche documentaries, while they similarly they cross the sporting spectrum from Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side to the boxing tents of the Australian outback. They feature a variety of subjects, from global icons such as Diego Maradona to child... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3043123/best-sports-documentaries-2010s-conor-mcgregor-maradona-free-solo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3043123/best-sports-documentaries-2010s-conor-mcgregor-maradona-free-solo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Dec 2019 01:00:15 +0000 Trail and ultra running have exploded in popularity in the last decade, and with the exponential increase in participation comes money. The elite runners are now all professional athletes and their feats match those performed in any other endurance sport. Where the comparisons stall between the professional trail runners and their other sporting compatriots is oversight. There is next to no random out-of-competition drug testing in trail running. Trail running may be completely clean, or drug... https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3031245/out-competition-drug-testing-trail-running-non-existent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/trail-running/article/3031245/out-competition-drug-testing-trail-running-non-existent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Oct 2019 07:22:18 +0000 Disgraced former American cyclist Lance Armstrong is controversially set to attend next year’s Tour of Flanders as a guest of the famed cobbled classic, race organisers said on Thursday. Armstrong was stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles won between 1999 and 2005 for a reign of doping that badly tarnished cycling’s credibility. But officials for the prestigious “Monument” race said the 46-year-old will be an invited guest and a keynote speaker at the Tour of Flanders Business... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2124387/cycling-comeback-sorts-lance-armstrong-invited-2018-tour-flanders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2124387/cycling-comeback-sorts-lance-armstrong-invited-2018-tour-flanders?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:19:14 +0000 A judge on Monday cleared the way for the doping-disgraced cycling icon Lance Armstrong to go to court, saying the US authorities’ allegations against him merited trial. The US Justice Department is seeking nearly $100 million in damages from Armstrong, charging that he cheated the government when the US Postal Service sponsored the team he led. The decision by US District Judge Christopher Cooper, in Washington, DC, comes as a major blow to Armstrong, who had requested the case be thrown out.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2070652/lance-armstrong-head-court-us100-million-lawsuit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2070652/lance-armstrong-head-court-us100-million-lawsuit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Feb 2017 01:56:07 +0000 Lance Armstrong has reignited his feud with Frankie Andreu and his wife, testifying in an ongoing lawsuit that his former teammate had doped for the majority of his career. Andreu and his wife Betsy, long-time critics of the fallen former Tour de France champion, have angrily hit back at Armstrong’s comments, dismissing them as “completely false”, USA Today reported on Wednesday. Frankie Andreu acknowledged in 2006 dabbling with doping sporadically during his career but insisted he raced clean... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1870764/lance-armstrong-fuels-feud-former-teammate-frankie-andreu-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1870764/lance-armstrong-fuels-feud-former-teammate-frankie-andreu-over?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Oct 2015 02:24:07 +0000 Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong admits he will risk financial ruin when his US$100 million whistleblower lawsuit goes before a jury in the United States later this year. The latest of the American’s many legal problems has seen his former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, the man whose evidence helped to expose Armstrong’s doping offences, bring a case to court for damages. Due to the team being sponsored by the American post office, the US federal government has joined Landis in... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/1820161/lance-armstrong-admits-floyd-landis-us100-million-lawsuit-could-ruin-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/1820161/lance-armstrong-admits-floyd-landis-us100-million-lawsuit-could-ruin-him?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jun 2015 02:45:45 +0000 Disgraced Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has said he was wrong to use the story of his fight against cancer to boost his image as he tried to fend off the doping accusations that eventually led to his downfall. “I’d love to change it but I can’t,” the American, who survived testicular cancer, said after being reminded in an interview with cyclingnews.com that he had once told journalists: “I’ve seen death in the face and I don’t do drugs.” “It’s inexcusable; it’s embarrassing to hear... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1349634/i-was-wrong-use-cancer-boost-my-image-says-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1349634/i-was-wrong-use-cancer-boost-my-image-says-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2013 02:44:04 +0000 Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has returned his 2000 Olympic medal to the US Olympic Committee (USOC) nine months after he was stripped of it by Olympics bosses. "I can confirm that the United States Olympic Committee has received the bronze medal awarded to Lance Armstrong at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney," USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky said in a statement. "The International Olympic Committee [IOC] and the USOC had previously requested that the medal be returned. The USOC has made... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1309290/lance-armstrong-finally-returns-olympic-medal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1309290/lance-armstrong-finally-returns-olympic-medal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A film about Lance Armstrong's cycling comeback, shot in 2009 but shelved when his doping denials began to unravel, has had its own revival, offering fresh perspective on his lies. Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney was granted unprecedented access to Armstrong and his entourage for an entirely different sort of film, prior to the cyclist's fall from grace. By the time the planned film was finished in 2010 it was "no longer relevant," Gibney said, in a turn of events that may have been... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1307788/new-film-reveals-depth-lance-armstrongs-lies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1307788/new-film-reveals-depth-lance-armstrongs-lies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Dragging cycling from the "mire" of the Lance Armstrong affair will be Brian Cookson's objective if the British Cycling chief succeeds in unseating International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid later this year. McQuaid's bid for a third term as president of cycling's ruling body is set to be decided at a UCI congress at the world championships in Florence in September. [The UCI] is mired and tied up in controversies from the past BRIAN COOKSON However, the Irishman's tenure is under... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1254195/mcquaid-race-keep-top-cycling-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1254195/mcquaid-race-keep-top-cycling-job?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The disgraced cyclist is signed up to swim three events this weekend at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas. Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said on Wednesday that Armstrong, 41, will compete in the 40-44 age group in the 500-, 1,000- and the 1,650-yard freestyle. Rob Butcher, executive director of US Masters Swimming, said the organisation is not covered under the same anti-doping rules as the US Anti-Doping Agency, which banned Armstrong for life... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1206849/lance-armstrong-make-splash-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1206849/lance-armstrong-make-splash-return?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:30:29 +0000 Wade leads Heat to record 15th victory Dwyane Wade had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and LeBron James shrugged off a sore left knee to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds as the Miami Heat earned their club-record 15th straight NBA victory, 97-81 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Chris Bosh added 11 points and nine rebounds, and James played 35 minutes despite being listed as a game-time decision with a twisted left knee. AP   O'Connor and Cooper in Wallabies showdown Australia... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1180197/short-sport-march-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1180197/short-sport-march-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 LPGA denies rumours of malaria outbreak Golf officials denied rumours of a malaria outbreak on the LPGA Tour yesterday after Natalie Gulbis and Pak Se-ri pulled out of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore due to illness and staff members also fell sick. Tournament officials said South Korea's Pak had been cleared of malaria, while Gulbis was awaiting test results but attended a function in Singapore on Friday and did not appear to be seriously ill. "Pak Se-ri withdrew this week due to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1170993/short-sport-march-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1170993/short-sport-march-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The anti-cancer charity founded by disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong will survive despite the doping scandal that forced Armstrong out of the organisation, says the boss of Livestrong Foundation. "Will the Livestrong Foundation survive? Yes. Absolutely yes," Andy Miller said in what was billed as a "major" speech at the foundation's annual meeting in Chicago on Thursday. "Our work is too meaningful, our role too unique, the need too great, to stand for any other answer." Will the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1167206/livestrong-anti-cancer-charity-pledges-carry-without-lance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1167206/livestrong-anti-cancer-charity-pledges-carry-without-lance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The United States accused cyclist Lance Armstrong on Friday of defrauding the US Postal Service by taking its sponsorship money at the same time he was doping and using performance-enhancing drugs in violation of cycling rules. The government joined a civil suit against Armstrong, stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from cycling last year after accusations he had cheated for years. In January, he said the accusations were true in an interview with television host... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1156961/us-sues-disgraced-cyclist-armstrong-sponsor-money?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1156961/us-sues-disgraced-cyclist-armstrong-sponsor-money?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Feb 2013 06:02:29 +0000 The US government decided on Friday to join a doping lawsuit filed by one of Lance Armstrong’s former teammates alleging that the disgraced cycling champion defrauded government sponsors. NBC News and the Wall Street Journal reported the government will add its weight to the suit and claim that Armstrong defrauded tax-payers by using performance-enhancing drugs while on the state-funded US Postal Service team. NBC News said the Justice Department filed papers in a federal court on Friday to join... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1156696/us-government-join-lawsuit-against-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1156696/us-government-join-lawsuit-against-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Feb 2013 18:24:11 +0000 As a snake sheds its skin every year, Hong Kong needs to reinvent itself to remain competitive Cultural commentator Perry Lam on the city's prospects for the Lunar New Year   Lance Armstrong perpetuated the most outrageous, cold-hearted and elaborate lie in the history of sports A former promoter, in a lawsuit, on the doping offences of Lance Armstrong   The verdict against them under God's law is death Cleric Mahmoud Shaaban, on the Egyptian opposition group led by Dr Mohamed ElBaradei https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1146241/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1146241/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong could be forced to testify under oath about his doping after a US insurance firm filed a lawsuit demanding the disgraced US cyclist return US$12 million in bonus money payments. Texas-based SCA Promotions paid bonus money to Armstrong - who last month admitted being a dope cheat after years of denials - for his Tour de France triumphs after insuring his victories and wants him to repay it as he was stripped of his record seven Tour titles last year. "It is time now for Mr... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1146260/disgraced-cyclist-lance-armstrong-could-face-courtroom-oath?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1146260/disgraced-cyclist-lance-armstrong-could-face-courtroom-oath?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Drug use is widespread in Australian sport, with growing links to organised crime, according to a damning official probe released on Thursday that points to “clear parallels” with the Lance Armstrong case. The Australian Crime Commission inquiry identified common use of prohibited substances including peptides – a type of stimulant – hormones and illicit drugs, with no professional sporting codes immune to the scourge of doping. The findings from the year-long investigation indicated that sports... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1145140/doping-widespread-australian-sport-inquiry-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1145140/doping-widespread-australian-sport-inquiry-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:44:33 +0000 US prosecutors say they have no plans to press criminal charges against drug cheat Lance Armstrong, despite his confession that he owes his Tour de France victories to illegal doping. US Attorney Andre Birotte, who led a federal investigation into the disgraced rider, did not definitively rule out action, but said Armstrong's public admission had not yet changed the decision not to prosecute. "We made a decision on that case, I believe, a little over a year ago," he said, when asked about the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1144729/us-prosecutors-have-no-plans-charge-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1144729/us-prosecutors-have-no-plans-charge-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It was always easy to spot Ken Ho at school. From Years One to Three he often wore a soccer strip with the number 9 and Fernando Torres' last name on it. "When he joined Liverpool, Torres proved to be the hit all fans expected," Ken says. "He became the fastest player in the history of Liverpool to score 50 league goals. We, his fans, idolised him." Teaching primarily in schools that do not require students to wear a formal uniform, I have been able to observe the associations students make... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1141133/learning-curve-what-do-when-heroes-become-zeroes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1141133/learning-curve-what-do-when-heroes-become-zeroes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Convert old sites to boost land supply I wonder how many people are really happy with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's first policy address last month. Leung's failure to address Hong Kong's housing problem has caused his popularity to drop to a new low. Although Leung understands fully that the housing problem is a matter of the greatest public concern, he does so little to tackle it. Consequently, both the chief executive and his government have been sternly criticised and are considered by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1142006/letters-editor-february-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1142006/letters-editor-february-3-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Monday it had disbanded the independent commission it had set up to investigate alleged involvement by the global governing body in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal. The UCI said it was shutting down the commission, which only met in public for the first time on Friday, because both the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and the United States Doping Agency (Usada) had refused to co-operate with its investigations and thus any report it produced... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1138400/uci-disbands-independent-armstrong-commission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1138400/uci-disbands-independent-armstrong-commission?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Jan 2013 01:06:56 +0000 American jurors and US anti-doping officials should decide Lance Armstrong's fate rather than the International Cycling Union, the main investigator who has chased Armstrong for years has said. As Spain's "Operation Puerto" trial opened yesterday, promising fresh doping revelations in the wake of the American rider's recent confession, US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive Travis Tygart said he thinks the US Justice Department should join a fraud case against Armstrong. And Tygart also... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1138108/uci-not-fit-hear-lance-armstrongs-case-says-usadas-travis-tygart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1138108/uci-not-fit-hear-lance-armstrongs-case-says-usadas-travis-tygart?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 What is with all these cyclists? It seems that those who ride professionally cannot get on their bikes without a jab of a performance-enhancing substance. Hong Kong had its own "Lance Armstrong" case this past week when it emerged that Asian Games gold medallist Steven Wong had tested positive for drugs and had been banned for two years by the international governing body of cycling. In the wake of the Armstrong saga, the news that a Hong Kong athlete, too, had been tested positive didn't really... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1136752/left-field-wong-makes-us-all-look-dopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1136752/left-field-wong-makes-us-all-look-dopes?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The evidence is clear he was one of the ringleaders … that pulled off this grand heist Anti-doping chief Travis Tygart on Lance Armstrong   [Islamist extremists] can threaten the region. And that's where the argument for American involvement comes in A US intelligence official argues that President Barack Obama's administration should help French forces in Mali   Most of us Chinese are atheists … They wonder what [the Jews] did wrong Scholar Fu Xiaowei on locals' lack of awareness about the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1136850/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1136850/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong lied in his confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey and the shamed cyclist has two weeks to finally come clean, the US anti-doping official who pursued him for years has said. Travis Tygart said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS network that Armstrong failed to tell Winfrey the truth about several key points over doping - including a claim that he raced drug-free in his comebacks in 2009 and 2010. Tygart, the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief, said he had written to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1136759/usada-chief-travis-tygart-accuses-lance-armstrong-lying-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1136759/usada-chief-travis-tygart-accuses-lance-armstrong-lying-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong lied in his confessional interview with Oprah Winfrey and the shamed cyclist has two weeks to finally come clean, the US anti-doping official who pursued him for years has said. Travis Tygart said in an excerpt of an interview with the CBS network that Armstrong failed to tell Winfrey the truth about several key points over doping -- including a claim that he raced drug-free in his comeback in 2009 and 2010. Tygart, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief, said he has written to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1136601/armstrong-lied-oprah-says-doping-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1136601/armstrong-lied-oprah-says-doping-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:00:43 +0000 An aide to former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he was so taken by Lance Armstrong’s first memoir of battling back from cancer to win the Tour de France multiple times that he immediately read it “cover to cover” and recommended it to several friends. Now he wants his money back - and then some. Rob Stutzman and several others who bought Armstrong’s It’s Not About The Bike and Every Second Counts have filed a lawsuit in Sacramento federal court. It alleges Armstrong that duped them into... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1135881/reader-sue-armstrong-over-drug-use-denial-books?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1135881/reader-sue-armstrong-over-drug-use-denial-books?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jan 2013 05:52:14 +0000 The panel investigating links between cycling's governing body and Lance Armstrong has postponed its first hearing because of snow in London. The International Cycling Union’s independent commission will now hold its procedural hearing in London on Friday instead of Tuesday. The three-person panel will consider whether to introduce an amnesty or truth and reconciliation commission to persuade riders to come forward with doping information without fear of retribution. The panel is... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1133666/armstrong-panel-hearing-postponed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1133666/armstrong-panel-hearing-postponed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:09:22 +0000 Again and again, cyclist Lance Armstrong lied. Race after race, he cheated, using drugs to win his sport's greatest accolades and riches. He bullied those who came after him, suing those who made accusations, using his influence to silence and even banish opponents. His story of untruths and deception has now been revealed; he must never be allowed to compete again. Armstrong wants otherwise. In a long-winded interview last week with US television personality Oprah Winfrey, he laid bare what he... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1132600/lance-armstrongs-lifetime-ban-well-deserved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1132600/lance-armstrongs-lifetime-ban-well-deserved?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Ex-Usada chief refutes Armstrong claim Former US Anti-Doping Agency chief Terry Madden said that Lance Armstrong did offer Usada a donation in 2004, contrary to the shamed cyclist's claim in a confessional TV interview. "This is another personal attack on [current chief] Travis Tygart and the United States Anti-Doping Agency," Madden said. Madden, who hasn't commented publicly on doping matters since his tenure at Usada ended, said he remembered the day that Tygart, then Usada's general counsel,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1132455/sports-digest-january-21-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1132455/sports-digest-january-21-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Charles Dickens wrote those words some 153 years ago in his transcendent novel A Tale of Two Cities but they could just as easily have been uttered by Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight in 2013. In the same week that golfer Rory McIlroy was unveiled as Nike's latest superstar ambassador, Lance Armstrong was officially exposed as the firm's latest disgraced ambassador. One swoosh up, one swoosh down. After years of endless accusations and... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131745/right-field-one-swoosh-down-another-rises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131745/right-field-one-swoosh-down-another-rises?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Shamed cyclist Lance Armstrong, shorn of cycling’s greatest prizes and expelled from sport, wants to compete again and doesn’t believe he deserved the “death penalty” of a life ban. “Hell yes, I’m a competitor,” Armstrong told talk show host Oprah Winfrey when asked in the second instalment of their televised interview aired on Friday if he wanted to compete again. “It’s what I’ve done my whole life. I love to train. I love to race. I love to toe the line,” said the 41-year-old Texan. “Not the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131609/banned-armstrong-says-he-wants-compete-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131609/banned-armstrong-says-he-wants-compete-again?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jan 2013 05:00:17 +0000 The formerly defiant Lance Armstrong once said, "As long as I live, I will deny ever doping," but sitting face to face with Oprah Winfrey in an interview broadcast on Thursday, he reversed course. He lost his icy stare and buried his cutting words. Looking nervous, Armstrong admitted that for most of his cycling career he used a cocktail of drugs, including testosterone, cortisone, human growth hormone and the blood booster EPO. But Armstrong, 41, called his doping regimen "simple and... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131326/lance-armstrong-doping-confession-fails-satisfy-critics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1131326/lance-armstrong-doping-confession-fails-satisfy-critics?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 I have won many rowing races in my life. And I have lost many races. My name is on the same trophy as some of the rowing greats of my generation. And I have also lost to a ham sandwich. A team I once raced had only seven men to fill an eight-man boat. So, as a joke, the team put a ham sandwich in the empty seat, which corresponded to mine. And we still lost. It hurt losing to a ham sandwich. I bet Lance Armstrong never hurt that bad. I know he didn't. If he had, he'd be a different person. One... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1131084/lance-armstrongs-addiction-winning-worst-offence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1131084/lance-armstrongs-addiction-winning-worst-offence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong finally admitted it. He doped. He was light on the details and didn’t name names. He mused that he might not have been caught if not for his comeback in 2009. And he was certain his “fate was sealed” when longtime friend, training partner and trusted lieutenant George Hincapie, who was along for the ride on all seven of Armstrong’s Tour de France wins from 1999-2005, was forced to give him up to anti-doping authorities. But right from the start and more than two dozen times... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1130869/i-didnt-feel-bad-about-it-lance-armstrong-tells-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1130869/i-didnt-feel-bad-about-it-lance-armstrong-tells-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2013 04:35:32 +0000 How much is a disgraced world champion cyclist worth? In the case of Lance Armstrong, it’s not really clear. Ahead of Thursday’s telecast of his interview with talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, where he is expected to come clean on doping, the figure of between US$100 million and US$125 million has been widely circulated. It’s the range often cited, without attribution, by such mainstream media as the New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. But senior editor Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1130764/confusion-remains-over-lance-armstrongs-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1130764/confusion-remains-over-lance-armstrongs-wealth?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:36:25 +0000 Lance Armstrong may be ready to admit to doping and say sorry for his actions but his old nemesis, former-World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) chief Dick Pound, does not expect any apologies coming his way. I doubt it very much,” Pound said. “But if he did I guess if I thought he meant it, I might [accept it], I mean what’s done is done.” Armstrong has already begun issuing some apologies, stopping by the offices of Livestrong, the cancer charity he founded, to tell staff he was sorry of the damage... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1130027/no-apologies-expected-armstrong-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1130027/no-apologies-expected-armstrong-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:20:19 +0000 Minister may give clues on territorial disputes Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying gives a speech at a forum in Beijing organised by The Economist magazine, which could give a fresh insight on the government's thinking on a host of hot-button issues. Fu's remit includes China's relationship with its neighbours in Asia and boundary and ocean affairs. China claims swathes of the South China Sea which are also claimed by several of its neighbours.   Philippine birth control law takes effect A... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1129701/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1129701/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A televised confession by Lance Armstrong isn’t enough. Anti-doping officials want the disgraced cyclist to admit his guilt under oath before considering whether to lift a lifetime ban clouding his future as a competitive athlete. That was seconded by at least one former teammate whom Armstrong pushed aside on his way to the top of the Tour de France podium. “Lance knows everything that happened,” Frankie Andreu said on Tuesday. “He’s the one who knows who did what because he was the ringleader.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1129233/anti-doping-officials-want-armstrong-under-oath?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1129233/anti-doping-officials-want-armstrong-under-oath?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jan 2013 01:54:20 +0000 Lance Armstrong spent more than a decade vehemently denying accusations of doping, his reported confession on Monday coming only after the testimony of others had forever tainted his cycling legacy. Below are some of Armstrong’s doping denials since 2001: 2001 “This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it, and study it, tweak it, listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I’m on. What am I on? I’m on my bike, busting my ass six hours a day. What are you... https://www.scmp.com/article/1128574/timeline-decade-doping-denials-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1128574/timeline-decade-doping-denials-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jan 2013 06:26:49 +0000 After these children were born, no one wanted them. All I wanted was to let them live Yuan Lihai on the disabled children she took care of, seven of whom died in a fire last week   Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt Anne Hathaway on her Golden Globe victory   I'm calm, I'm at ease and ready to speak candidly Cyclist Lance Armstrong on his first TV interview about his doping case https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1128121/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1128121/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 As days of preparations dwindled to hours before his blockbuster interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong went out for a training run and then retreated behind the stone walls of his compound in Austin, Texas to huddle with a handful of close advisers. After more than a decade of denying that he doped to win the Tour de France seven times, Armstrong was scheduled to sit down overnight for what has been trumpeted as a "no-holds barred" 90-minute question-and-answer session with Winfrey. He... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1128029/disgraced-lance-armstrong-ready-oprah-tv-grilling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1128029/disgraced-lance-armstrong-ready-oprah-tv-grilling?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong could lose much more than his already ravaged reputation if he confesses to doping during a television interview with Oprah Winfrey - he could end up in jail. "If I were his lawyer, I'd be telling him not to do it. I think he's crazy," said Peter Keane, law professor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. "He's in considerable jeopardy of some sort of criminal prosecution ... for which he could go to prison." The threats to Armstrong's liberty stem from the fallen icon's... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1127248/doping-admission-could-mean-prison-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1127248/doping-admission-could-mean-prison-lance-armstrong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lance Armstrong reportedly plans to admit to doping for the first time in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that will be taped tomorrow at the disgraced cyclist's home in Austin, Texas. USA Today cited "a person with knowledge of the situation" as saying Armstrong plans to admit to doping throughout his career, but that he probably will not go into great detail about specific cases and events. The announcement that Armstrong had agreed to an interview, to air on Winfrey's OWN cable TV network on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1126709/armstrong-tipped-tell-all-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1126709/armstrong-tipped-tell-all-oprah?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Lane to run his 33rd China Coast Marathon Two distance races take place tomorrow in Hong Kong: the 33rd Gammon-AVOHK China Coast Marathon at Pak Tam Chung and the 13th Skechers 30km at Shek Kong catchwater. Former HK resident Mark Williams has signed up for the 30 kilometre event, as has Gi Ka-man. Kami Semick, the USATF ultra runner of the year in 2010, has entered the full marathon in the women's event at Pak Tam Chung, while Thomas Kiprotich heads the half marathon entry list. John Lane, 76,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1125772/short-sport-january-12-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1125772/short-sport-january-12-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000