Lance Armstrong.

Waking up to read that one of the greatest sportsmen and inspirational human beings of my lifetime has been found guilty for drug cheating was numbing. In my eyes, he is thee champion of all professional road cyclists who cannot be bettered for his personal and professional story.  Brought up watching his seven Tour de France victories, wearing my Livestrong bracelet with pride and yes, jealous of my dad owning a US Postal cycling jersey I was gutted to say the least. In a sport which seems to constantly be scarred by drug cheating allegations I can't quite believe it could be him too. What are your opinions? Do you not quite get it? How can he be found guilty of anything when he has never provided a positive drug test? Or has he?

Yellow is his favourite colour

The United States Anti Doping Agency announced today that Armstrong has "received a lifetime period of ineligibility and disqualification of all competitive results from August 1, 1998 through the present." This including forfeiture of any medals, titles, winnings, finishes, points and prizes. 

To paint a clearer picture of why this is we shall start with the anti-doping rule violations for which he is being sanctioned for:

1. Use and/or attempted use of prohibited substances and/or methods including EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents.

2. Possession of prohibited substances and/or methods including EPO, blood transfusions and related equipment (such as needles, blood bags, storage containers and other transfusion equipment and blood parameters measuring devices), testosterone, corticosteroids and masking agents.

3. Trafficking of EPO, testosterone, and corticosteroids.

4. Administration and/or attempted administration to others of EPO, testosterone, and cortisone.

5. Assisting, encouraging, aiding, abetting, covering up and other complicity involving one or more anti-doping rule violations and/or attempted anti-doping rule violations.

This evidence against Lance Armstrong arose from disclosures made to USADA by more than a dozen witnesses who agreed to testify and provide evidence about their firsthand experience and/or knowledge of the doping activity of those involved in the United States Postal Service Conspiracy as well as analytical data. So as part of the investigation Armstrong was invited to meet with USADA and be truthful about his time on the USPS team but he refused. 

*It is useful to note that all the listed activities above are defined as anti-doping rule violations under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, USA Cycling rules and the International Cycling Union (UCI) Anti-Doping Rules (UCI ADR), all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. * It really is astounding how serious anti-doping in sport has become!

BUT the twist in the tail is that Lance Armstrong has never tested positive in this time period or in fact ever for illegal drug use! So surely how can there be any case of rule violation when he has proven his innocence time after time? I will steer you towards reading this statement released by the man himself earlier today - his words are most definitely better than mine.

http://lancearmstrong.com/news-events/lance-armstongs-statement-of-august-23-2012 

As things stand, following the dismissal of Armstrong's lawsuit on Monday, August 20, 2012, by the federal court in Austin, Texas, he had until midnight on Thursday, August 23, to contest the evidence against him in a full evidentiary hearing with neutral arbitrators as provided by US law. However, when given the opportunity to challenge the evidence against him, and with full knowledge of the consequences, he chose not to contest the fact that he engaged in doping violations from at least August 1, 1998 and participated in a conspiracy to cover up his actions. It makes me question why has he thrown in the towel and therefore live being called a doper and a cheat for the rest of his life?  On the flipside it appears he is fighting against a brick wall so there is little point in him wasting the rest of his life, time and money on a lost cause.

On a lighter note, I will never forget the day I heard he was coming to Paisley for a surprise bike ride after tweeting "Hey Glasgow, Scotland! I'm coming your way tomorrow. Who wants to go for a bike ride? Over 300 folk turned up to join him on his bike ride although I am not too sure how many of them were there at the end!! Even the former Scottish world record cycling champion Graeme Obree turned up who Armstrong referred to as the "Flying Scotsman".

Lance and the Paisley punters!

He will remain an inspiration to so many over the world not only as an athlete but as a guy who was diagnosed with testicular cancer and won. 

Livestrong people!

Those two weeks.

Is anybody else still having withdrawal symptoms from the Olympics? Still wondering what to watch? Longing for another montage? Luckily, in one week's time coverage of the Paralympics on Channel 4 shall begin! After witnessing British people reach such successful heights in so many sports it makes me wonder; what if I gave a different sport a go?!  Maybe judo, canoeing or even boxing? Well, I'd probably injure myself or die although female hockey players did pick up quite a few nasty knocks this year!

Gold for Edinburgh!

Firstly, there were the athletes..with the pressure of the world on their shoulders who rose to the occasion and proved any doubters wrong. Andy Murray's gold winning performance against perhaps the greatest male tennis player of all time, enough said. In such a historic location and competition he completely dominated Federer from start to finish- it was unforgettable! What made it even more special was the not so formal Wimbledon crowd who roared and jumped at any given moment! On the track, once again, the lightening bolt struck gold three times making the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt officially a legend. For Brits, there was also that Saturday night where three golds were achieved through the dreams of golden girl Jessica Ennis, runner Mo Farah and jumper Greg Rutherford. At the other end of the pressure scale, Phillips Idowu had a Games to forget where he was just unable to deliver and reach the final largely caused by a hampered build up due to injury. 

Then there were those..where London 2o12 might have been their final appearance at an Olympic Games. The sensational Sir Chris Hoy struck gold once again in the velodrome becoming the most successful British Olympian of all time in terms of gold medals; here's hoping he goes for Glasgow 2014! On the topic of most successful Olympians, the now retired "fishman" also known as the American Michael Phelps splashed all records out the water and  is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals! It may have not been an inspiring swimming campaign for the Brits but the American stole the show along with  Chad Le Clos's dad, Bert! Continuing in the water, there was definite relief for Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins who rowed over the line to take gold and of course Ben Ainslie making history in his boat.

Gold for Dunblane!

On a breather from the athletes and a detour from listing Olympic stories, for many the opening and closing ceremonies were the highlight of the Games. At the heart of these masterpieces were the wonderful  ideas of the creators but most importantly you and me; the public. There would be no world stage for these athletes without the volunteers who gave up so much time, the performers who danced their socks off, the crowds who lived each moment, the funding by the British public and everybody else behind the scenes! London 2012 proved to be a successful combination of hard work, dedication and vision from a variety of people. Another highlight of the Games perhaps were the spur of the moment gestures and comical mishaps. The image of the German discus thrower Robert Harting hurdling down the track is still vivid as I'm sure everyone was holding their breath and hoping he was not going to do a Vania Stambolova!! 

Lastly, there were those athletes..whose dreams were for many unexpectedly realised at the Games. The gutsy gold medal winning boxing from Nicola Adams, the accuracy of Peter Wilson in the shooting and the surprise 400m hurdles title for Felix Sanchez! Of course, there are hundreds and hundreds of more names to celebrate but as for a change there are too many to mention for Team GB! 

For me, my Olympics was a free ticket for the women's football quarter final between France and Sweden and it was class! Glaswegians do enjoy a game of football and there was no holding back with this crowd. There were Mexican waves flying around the stadium and constant "oohing" and "aahing" from the spectators also not forgetting the comedy and music acts outside Hampden. A real Olympic spirit was felt.

No mix up with the flags this time!

Thankfully,  the countdown is on for the Paralympics and for the more success stories to come; only one week to go! #takethestage

On your marks.

Athletics is the perfect expression of the Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’– the competition requires athletes to run faster, throw further, jump higher and leap longer than their rivals. With 2,000 athletes competing in 47 events, Athletics is the largest single sport at the Games. With less than 24 hours to the first event- the men's shot put qualification rounds- which countries and athletes will prove stronger than the rest?
From a GB medal prospective, a lot can be taken from athletes performances from the warm up meets to London. Over the past month a variety of athletic competitions and trials have taken place such as the London Grand Prix, Helsinki European Athletics Championships and Birmingham Olympic trials. These were either an opportunity for athletes to secure a solid confidence building performance before the greatest show on earth but also simply for qualification into the Games. 

Mobot!

Mo Farah showed pure class in his 5000m race retaining his European Championship title in Helsinki. The Brit who pulled out of the 1500m final at the Birmingham Olympic trials the week before was criticised as being disrespectful to his fellow competitors but it looks as though his pick of the races paid off. As one of our greatest medal hopes, can he step up and perform in London? 

Another gold medal contender Jessica Ennis, labelled the "Golden Girl" of Team GB is entering the Games with the hopes of the nation on her shoulders of becoming Olympic heptathlon champion. This year she broke the British heptathlon record set by Denise Lewis 12 years ago and recently performed personal bests in her weaker events. If all goes to plan and the long jump and javelin cause her no grief there should be no stopping her.  
Looking at the younger and less experienced members of the team, the 800m Scottish athlete Lynsey Sharp has earned her place with personal best performances winning the Birmingham trials and gaining a silver medal in the final in Helsinki.  Another young Scot Eilish McColgan , has battled back from an horrendous foot injury to show courage and determination to qualify as one of two females representing GB in the 3000m steeplechase. It is fair to say these athletes are far from favourites for medals but if they are able to reach finals who knows what could happen as anyone knows it's who performs on the day. 
Lastly not forgetting the team captain, Welsh runner Dai Greene, hoping the home crowd will spur him on to overcoming his biggest rival Javier Culson in the 400m hurdles. Greene has already proven himself on the main stage winning the World Champs last year and previously the European Championships and Commonwealth Games - now its his time to step up and lead by example in London!
Mentioned here are only a select few of the 80 plus strong GB athletics team not to forget our only track and field reigning champion Christine Ohuruogo going in the 400m to retain her title. With so much pressure put on the host nations medal tally, this Sunday evening will be a pleasant change to sit back and potentially witness the fastest 100m ever run by a human being. Jamaica? Blake, Bolt, Bolt, Blake...or will the U S of A ruin the Caribbean party? 

Tune in to BBC Sunday 5th August 21.50 to find out!

As for now, let's go track and field team GB!

Lukas Rosol- wow.

Can anyone quite believe what they have just seen? Definition of an underdog rising to the challenge! 90 miles per hour groundstrokes, games full of aces, unbelievable energy and confidence: a player of sustained brilliance.

You could feel the tension between the two players on court. The Czech waving his racket around like a wand, jogging back to his chair, playing at a fast pace- he was getting under the no.2's skin. Nadal looking up to Uncle Tony in despair, playing his usual consistent tennis but nothing was working against the world's no.100!! I know there have been many classics in recent years at Wimbledon with the 2007 final between Rafa and Roger springing to mind but none with quite this level of shock factor.

Nadal knocked out in the second round

After the marathon first set tie-break, Nadal looked on course to reach the third round edging it 11-9. However, immediately it was clear that Rosol had different ideas on his mind. Playing in his first Wimbledon, he broke the Spaniards serve in the opening game of the second set and produced an awe inspiring selection of winners from all over the court. The question on many peoples lips at this point: could this player keep up this sort of intensity? The answer was yes. Nadal unable to subdue Rosol in both the second and third sets, he dug in to break serve at the start of the fourth set to level the match at 2 sets a piece. With the light fading fast, officials decided to close the Centre Court roof to enable the match to be finished. After a half-hour delay the players returned to the court to an ecstatic and roaring response. Rosol immediately broke Nadal's serve as he continued to subject the world number two to a barrage of aces and outrageous winners eventually taking the final and decisive set 6-4. He had done it. 

"a miracle"

One of my initial reactions towards Rosol: is this guy taking something to enhance his performance? Purely to my disbelief that he was able to sustain such a high level of tennis and utterly smashing Nadal off the court- an extremely rare site to behold. Unbelievably, this is the first time that Rafa has lost before the third round of a grand slam since he was beaten by Gilles Mueller in the second round at Wimbledon in 2005. But this time to a gutsy Czech with no single titles to his name!
So moving onto the next part of Lukas's journey where he will face Philipp Kolshieber who funnily enough beat Nadal this year in the Gerry Weber Open. The German is ranked number 27  in the world but clearly rankings are nothing when Rosol is involved! 
For British fans tonight's result could be good news for Murray as Nadal was definitely seen as the biggest threat in his half of the draw. Now, the anticipation awaits to see whether Rosol is in fact the real deal or a one hit wonder. Nonetheless I don't know about you, but I still can't quite believe the tennis match I have just witnessed!

Hockey's where the heart is.

Ironically, I have found this the hardest post to write so far! In the UK, media attention surrounding the wonderful sport of field hockey has been ever increasing in the build up to the London Olympics. For Team GB there have been big sponsorship deals, televised games and even a visit from the Duchess of Cambridge herself!

Personally, I can write more in depth on the female teams. The womens GB side has seen a great wealth of success this year in the run up to the Olympics, winning silver at the Champion's Trophy and winning the Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament on home turf. It is clear already that the Argentinians are a good exciting match up for the Brits! Their latest result in the London Investec Cup is perhaps not the most convincing by not reaching the semis but the team had a few key players missing due to injury. The team is composed of a majority of English players, one Welsh but also an impressive representation of Scots including the talented Abi Walker, Emily Maguire, Laura Bartlett and not forgetting Vikki Bunce as a part of the extended training squad. On a personal note, I have had the privilege of playing along side Bartlett and her sister with my former club and seen first hand the sacrifice, determination and willingness she has given to reach such heights in this sport- an inspiration. From watching Maguire she has been very reliable and solid in defence usually at left back which is regarded as one of the more challenging positions in hockey. A key player for the team is their captain Kate Walsh with nearly 200 caps for England and just over 100 caps for GB, she definitely holds a lot of experience and knowledge which she can bring to London.

Closer to home, it is another competition packed summer for many of our national teams. The major event for many of the Scottish senior players and up and coming juniors is Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Like many sports, it is a long term training programme and preparation process that athletes stick to so that they can produce their best performances at these major events. This summer sees the senior woman side in action with a friendly against Ireland and the Celtic Cup tournament. Recently the senior woman hosted South Africa at my old club's fantastic new pitch in a five game encounter. This was an opportunity for the head coach, Gordon Shepherd, to give international debuts to some of his younger players. These included Ali Howie, Nicki Skrastin, Sarah Robertson and Kerry Hall. South Africa preparing for the Olympics in August are a strong physical side which allowed the youngsters in particular the chance to step up and compete.  The senior woman have been blessed with a core group of very committed and talented players over recent years. One of the teams key players, Linda Clement, embodies awesome skill, speed and awareness on the pitch which is shown by her 174 caps so far for Scotland. Again, this year I have been lucky enough to play along side many of these players at club level and pick up tips and advice from the best. To look to the future past the Games, it will be the responsibility of the younger less experienced players to keep competing for positions and striving to be the best.

GB champions at Games test

Finishing on an Olympic note, hopefully the pink turf will work in GB's favour! #teamGB


GB Olympic Squad

Ashleigh Ball (Brighton, Cheltenham, 26) Laura Bartlett (Glasgow, 23)Crista Cullen (Boston, London, 26) Alex Danson (Southampton, Odiham, 26) Hannah Macleod (Huntingdon, 27) Emily Maguire (Paisley, 23) Anne Panter (Wellingborough, 28) Helen Richardson (Hitchin, West Bridgford, 30) Chloe Rogers (Great Dunmow, 27) Beth Storry (Reading, 32) Sarah Thomas (Merthyr Tydfil, 31) Georgie Twigg (Lincoln, 21)Laura Unsworth (Sutton Coldfield, 24) Kate Walsh (Stockport, 32) Sally Walton (Solihull, 30) Nicola White (Oldham, 24) Two reserve athletes are:Natalie Seymour (Maidstone, 25) Abi Walker (Glasgow, 30).

Tour de France-Sky's the limit.

In one week, Bradley Wiggins will begin his journey that could see him become the first Briton in history to win this world famous event. Even he couldn't have imagined being the favourite for the yellow jersey four years ago. To reach this position he has shown a combination of his improved physical prowess with being a part of the strongest Sky team ever, currently ranked number one in UCI rankings. Thirdly, with the banned Alberto Contador out of the competition and an injured Andy Schleck, the raining champion Cadel Evans racing for BMC is perhaps his main  and only threat. Wiggins is entering the Tour in remarkable form after winning the eight stages of Dauphiné aided by excellent support work from his team; Michael Rogers, Richie Porte, Chris Froome, Konstantin Siutsou, Christian Knees, Boasson Hagen, Bernhard Eisel, and not forgetting BBC Sports Personality of the Year Mark Cavendish.

Tour de France route 2012

It is clear that the main focus of this pool of cyclists is Wiggins winning the Tour but Cavendish still has the support of certain team members for his nail biting sprint finishes. The Isle of Man sprinter has voiced his main focus on achieving Olympic glory this year, but he will still be looking to add to his 20 stage wins and defending his green jersey. Throughout the mountainous stages Rogers, Porte, Siutsou, Knees and Froome will be the main supporting pack in the peleton for Wiggins after successful past performances working together. The making of this Sky team really has been a long process attempting to extract the best individual performances possible from all these riders and culminating them into a strong team effort. A sport often the focal point of worldwide drama from drug cheating allegations to horrific crashes, this year UK fans will be hoping the big story is the crowning of a British champ- no pressure Brads!

One day I hope to make it to the Tour to run alongside the cyclists in a crazy costume but for now I can settle with a memory from my year in France. En route to a ski holiday in Vaujany, we past through a very small village called Le Bourg d'Oisans which lies at the bottom of the road up to Alpe d'Huez. Dropped off outside the village hotel immediately I spotted jerseys on its  balconies and indeed the Tour does often pass through the village. 
To love cycling can be described in a way to love geography and different regions and Le Tour de France certainly ticks all these boxes.

Allezzzzzzzzzz

A hat-trick for the boys down under?

The biggest concern with the male Scotland Rugby Union Team has always been their consistency. More often than not, three different scenario's unfold : the team pull off a miraculous one-off win against a top team; they are leading a match narrowly going into half time and then don't turn up in the second half or scenario three losing to a pretty average team. Nonetheless their supporters rally in their droves to Murrayfield and all over the world in particular when up against the auld enemy!

Tomorrow the team will be on the brink of making history, with these summer tour matches being the best results seen from the Scots in recent years. After upsetting world no.2 Australia by winning 9-6 with a penalty kick from Greig Laidlaw in added time to seal the deal, Andy Robinson will be looking for the same determination and courage from the team shown in that match. Heres hoping torrential rain is planned for the Samoan forecast and perhaps no similar antics from Ansbro and Strokosch! 

A Glasgow kiss!

The Scots followed up this positive start with an impressive 37-25 win over Fiji where two tries were scored by the dutch-born wing Tim Visser on his international debut- can only be promising! Further international debuts have been given to Tom Brown, Tom Ryder, Ryan Grant and Matt Scott all a mix of Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby up and coming players.

A further potential Scotland debut could be on the cards for the 22 year old Glasgow player, Rob Harley, who has been named on the bench. The line up sees three changes from the previous game, one being the replacement of John Barclay by Richie Vernon due to wedding planning for his wedding next month- must be a big doo. The Samoans are renowned for their physicality and are strong in set pieces.  Unfortunately, weather conditions are looking more hot and humid than wet and windy but if the Scots are strong and disciplined in their defence and accurate in their clear outs then it should make for a close contest.

Now it is time to get behind the boys because if they win tomorrow in Apia it will be only the second time that they have enjoyed a winning tour in the southern hemisphere! There is no TV coverage of the match but can be followed by Twitter updates from @Scotlandteam. And so here are the line ups:

Samoa: Faatonia Autagavaia; Paul Perez, Fautua Otto, Paul Williams, David Lemi (capt), Tusi Pisi, Kahn Fotualii; Sakaria Taulafo, Tii Paulo, Census Johnston, Faatiga Lemalu, Daniel Crichton, Benjamin Masoe, Maurie Faasavalu, K Thompson. Replacements: Wayne Ole Avei, Logovii Mulipola, Io Sefa Tekori, Afa Aiono, Jeremy Sua, Ki Anufe, Lolo Lui.

Scotland : Stuart Hogg; Sean Lamont, Nick De Luca, Matt Scott, Tim Visser; Greig Laidlaw, Chris Cusiter; Ryan Grant, Ross Ford (capt), Euan Murray, Al Kellock, Richie Gray, Al Strokosch, Ross Rennie, Richie Vernon. Replacements: Scott Lawson, Geoff Cross, Tom Ryder, Rob Harley, Mike Blair, Duncan Weir, Max Evans.

Mon the Scots!