Have a seat...

If basketball players were actively persecuted for grass, we'd have a lot of John Stocktons running the hardwood (which is not a bad thing, I'm just sayin'). Sure, policies have tightened up in the NBA, but there's no denying the persistent, smoky haze in our arenas.

Name your sport, it's the same game.

If officials in the early days of the Tour de France had banned and tested for whiskey, opiates, and amphetamine... well, suffice it to say the history books of cycling would read differently.

As time marches on, so does the chemistry of performance enhancement. Drug policies and drug testing will always be a step behind.

Lance Armstrong has never tested positive for a banned substance. Should I repeat that for emphasis? I'm not saying he's never juiced, only that he should be judged by the rules and procedures in place at a given time.

This is not an endorsement of doping. It's a vote for fairness. We are all interested in being fair, right? Since his comeback, Lance has been subjected to inordinate scrutiny, and not even one eyebrow can raise at the results.

He's never tested positive.

Which makes the above sequence, brought to you in glorious, web 1.0, 256-color, animated gif format that much more satisfying (click it to see larger stills).

Tour of California. One pudgy, self-righteous "Liveclean" devil heckles Lance. Said devil receives a clear message, delivered via forearm. Have a seat. And please, man... let it go. While you (okay, only some of you) expend great energy villifying an American cycling legend for unproven grievances...

time does march on.