Roger Clemons, the famous baseball pitcher, is now on the verge of being prosecuted for making false statements under oath (perjury) regarding the use of drugs in baseball. The penalty for this ranges from house arrest to a few years in prison (unless you’re Dick Cheney, of course, and then it’s considered normal behavior). This is how Jeff Novitzky can compel former and present cyclists to testify against Lance Armstrong. The persons under subpoena must decide whether the truth will out (as Shakepeare said) and what story to tell. If the truth does come out and it’s proven that you lied under oath, you’ll wind up like Clemons. I would suggest that most of Armstrong’s associates will give fairly honest testimonies in exchange for immunity. Novitzky wants Armstrong and no one else, and will stop at nothing to see him ruined.

Why we are pursuing drug use in baseball and cycling rather than the high crimes and misdeamors committed by Cheney, Bush, and company, or going after those who tortured and abetted torture is anyone’s guess. Naturally, this is the United States and our priorities are upside down. Most of us have no idea what is important to life on this planet, and those who do don’t care. The remainder are powerless. So we make a show of “cleaning up” our national sport and going after the world’s most famous cyclist as a way of distracting ourselves from seeing who and what we really are.

Floyd Landis recently went on national television to repeat his allegations against Lance Armstrong. As he spoke, his eyes shifted, his voice quavered, he twisted in his chair, and, in general, he expressed himself in the most circuitious way possible as if he were incapable of making a direct statement. This is not the kind of man you would buy a used car or anything else from. Most jurors, I think, would not believe him. But, of course, this does not mean he’s lying.

The purpose of his television appearance was to convict Armstrong in the court of public opinion. Many famous cases–of which this is likely to be one–are argued in front of cameras, as well as in the courtroom. It is now all too obvious that Lance Armstrong has powerful enemies, and despite how “dishonest” Landis appears, they are succeeding in destroying Lance piece by piece. It is not a pretty sight.

In the United States a grand jury is convened in some jurisdictions to determine whether enough evidence exists to proceed with a normal jury trial. It issues subpoenas, examines evidence, and issues indictments. In the case of Lance Armstrong, Jeff Novitzky must convince a group of ordinary citizens there is a strong possibility that Armstrong committed a crime. A grand jury’s proceedings are secret, but because so many individuals are involved, there are often leaks (some of them intentional) of a damaging nature. Greg LeMond, for example, seems to relish talking to the press.

At this point it’s already clear that Armstrong (or those around him) miscalculated in the Floyd Landis affair. It would have been a lot less damaging to have simply given in to Landis’s extortion and paid him off. Lance is not as popular as he once was, and although he can still marshall an impressive amount of support, the public loves watching a hero die as much as they relished his earlier triumphs. It’s human nature, I suppose, but a sad spectacle, nonetheless.

Jeff Novitzky, now a special agent of the Food and Drug Administration, was responsible for exposing the use of steroids in baseball, bringing down several famous players in the process. He is now trying to do the same to Lance Armstrong. Judging by his performances in the cases of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemons, where he literally dug through garbage to find evidence, he will stop at nothing to do so. He doesn’t tape interviews, it is said, but takes written notes, and sometimes has a different memory of an accused’s statements than the accused himself. He’s an interesting character to say the least.

From the news accounts in the press, it seems that Novitzky is trying to prove that Armstrong took drugs with the intention of defrauding his sponsor, U. S. Postal. That is, Lance Armstrong boosted his performance to create larger profits for Tailwind Sports, the group that managed the team, of which Novitzky alleges Armstrong was an owner. Of course, Novitzky has Floyd Landis’s testimony in the bag and reputedly, that of two other former U. S. Postal riders. His problem is that he can’t bust Armstrong for drug use, as he did with Bonds and Clemons, so he has to prove fraud.

There is no doubt that Lance is worried. Before Stage 10, he denied being an owner of Tailwind Sports (though he seems to have taken an ownership stake after the U. S. Postal sponsorship ended in 2004). Novitzky’s case will be difficult to prove. The logic is strained: Lance took drugs to create larger profits for himself as a principal of Tailwind Sports with the specific intent of defrauding his sponsor, U. S. Postal.

But the investigator has an ulterior motive. If he can force Lance Armstrong into a court of law, Novitzky will provide enough damning evidence and witnesses to ruin Armstrong forever. Of course, this would compel Christian Prudhomme, the general director of the Tour de France, to strip Lance of his seven titles. Not a happy ending for such a great champion.

I would not bet against Jeff Novitzky. He seems to be a man obsessed with becoming the answer to the trivia question, Who brought down Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, and Lance Armstrong?

Not sure if there is a causal relationship, but Lance Armstrong has been crashing on a regular basis—starting in the Tour of California—ever since the Landis accusations started coming out. His crashes in the Tour de France this year have finished his chances of a possible podium position. Did Lady Luck abandon him, as Paul Sherwin suggested? Was it age? Or did he simply lack the concentration required to avoid accidents? Who knows?

I do know that Lance Armstrong has been a great champion. We salute you, Lance. Good luck in the Hawaii Ironman Competition, if you decide to compete next year. Live strong, and the rest of us will try to do the same.

Tomorrow on Stage 8 in the Alps we’ll discover who is the strongest in this year’s Tour. I suspect the overall race will be between Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, Lance Armstrong, and, of course, Alberto Contador, although someone like Vinokourov may surprise. The great British hope, Bradley Wiggins, will crack at some point. Not sure I want him to, however, because he is wonderfully poised in front of the English press who never fail to shove a microphone in his face the moment he crosses the finish line. I have not heard him put one word wrong, even when he’s heaving for breath. I also imagine Cadel will crack, though perhaps not tomorrow—he always has in the past. Lance may stay with the leaders—he’s looking very strong this year—but unfortunately he’s already two minutes down on those who matter. So that leaves Contador and Schleck, though in my mind this really isn’t a contest. Contador can ride away from anyone.

Still, it has been one of Lance’s bravest performances to date. One hopes out of nostaglia that this will continue to the end.

By the way, if you’ve never heard Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin describe a stage of the Tour, you owe yourself the pleasure of doing so. No one in any sport can compare with these two. They make what could easily be the most boring event on the planet as interesting and exciting as a prize fight. Every year Liggett and Sherwin are the real heroes of the Tour de France.

I’m sure Lance understood, as did the rest of us, that his dream of winning another Tour ended today on Stage 3, when he found himself 2.30 behind the leader in the overall classification. As a credit to him, he offered no excuses. If it were a younger Armstrong, I would not be so quick to write him off, but Contador and Evans are no longer within reach. Armstrong is not the climber he once was.

Perhaps this will finally be Cadel Evans’ year. I would very much like to see him win, and put the weepy, cranky, helmet-butting image of two years ago behind him. He certainly deserves it. No one has worked harder than Cadel Evans.

Lance rode a very fast Prologue yesterday, bettering Contador’s time, and, of course, stayed in contention today. The experts who watched the time trial said he seemed more comfortable than last year. What is one to make of this? Is Armstrong really capable of competing with the leaders in this year’s Tour? Given his age (he will be 39 in September) and everything that has happened to him (accused basically of being the worst doper in history), I find this hard to believe. This is a man who has pushed his body to the limit for ten years. Where does he find the mental strength?

There are normal people—like you and I—there are champions, and then there are those who possess physical and mental skills that make them stand even above the champions. Lance Armstrong is one of these. No matter what you think of him, he is one of the greatest athletes who has ever lived.

I’m still not yet ready to believe he will be there in the end. It’s too improbable, too unlikely, but I must say I’m beginning to wonder. It seems as if nothing can stop this man when he sets his mind on something.

The Wall Street Journal had a three-page spread on the Lance Armstrong-Floyd Landis debacle in today’s Weekend Edition. It was basically a hit piece designed to denigrate Armstrong on the day he begins riding his last Tour. (Hey, what else would you expect from the ultra conservative Journal?) The article contained all of Landis’s previous accusations, plus a few others for good measure. There is a verisimilitude about them that makes for interesting reading, like stopping the team bus along an alpine road to perform transfusions. I personally have no doubt that Landis is telling the truth and the accusations are true. But I don’t care in the least. Armstrong did what every other top rider did. It was the only way to compete.

I do wish Landis was doing this to clean up the sport, but he is not. The sport is about as clean as it can get at this point. The testers have gotten more sophisticated and catch the obvious cheaters. What Landis really wants is revenge. His sole aim is to bring down Armstrong, tarnish his victories, and reduce him to what Landis has become himself—a guy living in an isolated cabin at the end of a dirt road several miles from L.A. It is disgusting stuff.

Lance Armstrong has dodged another bullet and will compete on Saturday in his last Tour de France. Regardless of what has been said or written about him, he is still a great champion and I want him to do well, though I very much doubt he will equal last year’s performance and stand on the podium at the end of the Tour. Armstrong is a very smart man with a very special body, capable of willing himself to do almost anything, but his time has passed. One hopes that his Tour will end in dignity and that the era of cycling which he represents will end with him.