The Grand Jury closed the case against Lance Armstrong. Would you have expected anything less from Lance? His last victory against his worst foe.

In discussing the Roger Clemons case, Buzz Bissinger in The Daily Beast pinpoints the reason why Clemons, Barry Bonds, and Lance Armstrong have been targeted by prosecutors: “They [the prosecutors] represent themselves, craving high-profile cases with high-profile names that with a guilty verdict can lead to a corner office at some white-shoe law firm and a great deal more money. They are like grandiose taxidermists mounting animals on the wall…” These investigations, grand juries, and subsequent prosecutions are not about justice, but are, rather, vendettas tailor-made for an American public that craves to witness the destruction of sports heroes who are deemed too overweaning and aggressive. Clemons, Bonds, and Armstrong all fit this profile—athletes who were uncompromising in their approach to the game, aggressive to the very edge of what was deemed acceptable, arrogant and unrepentent in their victories. One hopes that Lance and his lawyers will outsmart Novitsky and those who are trying to bring him down. Although Lance’s reputation has been ruined (in the minds of some), he will not be stripped of his titles until he has been prosecuted in a court of law for an actual crime. Given Armstrong’s competitive character, everyone involved should expect a fight.

Justice is selective in the United States, especially at the national level. No one is prosecuted for a crime these days except for political reasons. Why, then, is Lance Armstrong being publicly excoriated? Certainly, not because he is guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs. That’s an open secret. All the major riders of the last two decades used drugs.

The lastest rider to testify against Armstrong is Tyler Hamilton, a teammate, who recently went public on 60 Minutes. I’m sure Hamiliton is telling the truth. There is no doubt Armstrong cheated. He could not have been competitive otherwise. Naturally, Hamilton has been granted immunity for his testimony. It was that or jail time.

Unfortunately, Jeff Novitzky—who heads the grand jury investigating Armstrong—will have his way in the end, and Lance will be stripped of his Tour de France titles. But why? What important person or persons did Lance piss off so badly they needed to destroy him? Who does it benefit?

Why is our friend Jeff Novitzky in France talking with French cycling officials? Because he’s desperate and needs more information? I doubt it.

One must not assume that Novitzky’s case is weak at this point and that he’s thrashing around for something that will stick, but, rather, he is looking for facts that will underpin the eyewitness testimony he has already obtained. The man has an ulterior motive as well.

Novitzky will never create a case that will convince an American jury of Armstrong’s guilt, especially if it revolves around knowingly defrauding his employers by taking performance enhancing drugs. What Novitzky will succeed in doing, however, is knocking down the house of cards on which Armstrong’s reputation is based. He will do this by convincing the French—who really need no convincing, only facts—that they should nullify Lance’s Tour de France victories.

Wait, just wait, for the guillotine to fall.

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.