Lance Armstrong-Titles Stripped

   To be a professional bicyclist you need to have a lot of determination, strength, and many other qualities that will make you succeed.  And that is just what you find in the x-cyclist Lance Armstrong.  He was a very hard working man who was very successful.  He was one of those guy's who you would call "a one of a kind," "out of the ordinary person," or even "super-human."  He had to go through a lot of physical and emotional setbacks such as cancer.
   On October 1996 Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had spread to his brain and lungs.  He had to go throw extensive chemotherapy and surgeries, but luckily he was declared cancer-free in February 1997.  During the time that he had cancer he had to take tim off of cycling which was very hard for him.
   He overcame this challenge and participated in many different athletic events such as mountain bike races such as the Leadville 100, road bike races such as the Tour` de France, and even triathlons.  Even though he participated in all of these he is most dominant on the road bike.  Lance Armstrong has won seven Tour` de France titles which is the most out of any person in history.
   After his return people were starting to get suspicious about if Lance was using performance-enhancing drugs.  He took many tests but was not found positive for any drugs, but still people started to question him.  On February 16, 2011, Lance announced his retirement from competitive cycling still challenged with the fact that people thought he was using performance-enhancing drugs.
   This became a huge deal.  And in June 2012 he was charged with having illicit performance-enhancing drugs in his system.  Lance still did not agree so they went to court again and again but was still found guilty.  Some say that he got tired of trying to fight for this so he just gave up.  Others thought that he didn't want to keep paying got go to court and going through all of the hassle to make them believe that he didn't take those drugs.  No matter how he did it he was charged and along with just being found guilty he was stripped with all of his titles.
   Do you think that he took performance-enhancing drugs?  Do you think he should have had such harsh charges?  How would you react if you were in his situation? 
   

NHL Lockout

   There have been many issues that have effected the sports players, coach's and fans.  In the NHL there is a big issue that has happened.  The NHL lockout.  This is a huge problem because the players are getting paid but just not as much as they would as if they were playing.  Also the coach's and manager's are thinking about cuting their pay checks because they dont like paying the players if they aren't even playing and making money for the team.
   The fans are also going through a problematic situation because they have been looking forward to the upcoming season all the way from last season.  And also because they have paid for season tickets and they have to go through a lot to get their money back from the NHL teams person incharge of the money. 
   There a couple of differnent reason they are having the NHL lockout.  One of them is beccause they are paying the players to big of a salery.  Another reason for the lockout is because some of the teams are big money spenders and have spent so much money on different things that are not the biggest priority for the team like jersey's, advertisment, and many other unimportant things.
  Do you play/like hockey?  What do you think of the NHL lockout?  Do you think that the fans have a reason to be upset about the lockout?

Javon Belcher's Death

   In the sports world today there are some issues that have happened that are big detriments to the sports world.  The lastest issue in the sports world is the death of Jovan Belcher.  He was a line-backer for the NFL team the Kansas City Cheifs.  This tragic incident happened on December 1, 2012 at the Kansas City Cheifs Stadium but also at the house of his girlfriend that he murdered.  

   Javon Belcher was a twenty-five year old man who lived in the city of Kansas City.  He had a mother named Cherl Shepherd and a father.  He also had a girlfriend named Kasandra M. Perkins and with her had had a baby girl named Zoey. 
   On the Saturday before a practice Javon Belcher shot his girlfriend.  There are no reasons that have been confirmed but some think that it was because they were arguing frequently and others think that he did it because he slept with Catherine Glass ans he didnt want his girlfriend to be mad at him.  Shortly after he murdered his girlfriend he drove to Arrowhead Stadium.  At the stadium the coach's were in the headquarters making their final touches on the game plan when they got a call telling them from Javon Belcher to hurry out to the parking lot.  When they came running through the doors they saw Javon Belcher with a gun up to his head.  And he shot himself.  Later the general manager told the media that Javon Belcher told him that he was so glad to have the oppurtunity to play for the team.
  This has been a huge affect for the football fans, the teams, the coach's, and all of the families that were involved with either families of Javon Belcher and Kasandra Perkins.  But it had the biggest effect on the players of the Kansas City Cheifs especially because they had a game the next day and they were going to have to play with the loss of Javon and have to know that they had lost him forever.  Unfortunately they lost their game to the Panthers the day after the trajic incident.  Javon Belcher will always be remembered and in the hearts of others.