Busted

Busted
Lance Armstrong
Aug. 2012




Lance baby, say it ain't so!

In a late breaking press conference today, 7-time Tour de France winner and cycling icon Lance Armstrong reportedly ceased his fight to clear his name against charges of doping and fraud from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Armstrong had a deadline of midnight tonight to accept or counter the USADA charges against him. In a short press release explaining his decision Armstrong said, “There comes a point in every man’s life when he has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ For me, that time is now…Today I turn the page. I will no longer address this issue, regardless of the circumstances.” (Full Statement) The USADA has since stated that this cessation of the legal contest is paramount to an admission of guilt from the Armstrong camp. The USADA also said it will ban him for life from competition beginning Friday, August 24. The move brings to a close one of the most celebrated and controversial legacies in modern sports history.

“If I thought for one moment that by participating in USADA’s process, I could confront these allegations in a fair setting and – once and for all – put these charges to rest, I would jump at the chance. But I refuse to participate in a process that is so one-sided and unfair,” wrote Armstrong. Despite his vow not to participate in arbitration, it’s not clear whether Armstrong truly is done with his fight. His letter to USADA seemed pretty clear, but earlier on Thursday his lawyers released a pugnacious notice to the agency suggesting there might be more battles ahead.

Lance Armstrong, Garret Lemere Memorial Gran Prix.

Ojai, Calif. April 9, 2005.

Archives #5

Archives #5
December 2006




In my hunting through the kodachrome static of ancient hard drives I found this little gem. Back in the winter of '06 I was asked to join a pair of photoj's heading up to Vegas to shoot the NFR-- thats the National Finals Rodeo. The Super Bowl of the North American Rodeo circuit. Big time you dig. I couldn't say no. We piled all our gear into a battered two-door sports car. Camera bags, change of clothes, a PB&J sandwich wrapped in tin foil, 12er of Sierra Nevada lukewarm at best. With the setting sun at our backs we blazed our way north. 33 to the 101 to the 126 to the 5 south to the 14 north to the Pear Blossom Highway. Pear Blossom Highway? You gots to be kidding. Straight on across the unforgiving desert. Dark of night. Brutal. Fifty years ago we would be drowning. Under water. Floundering in the Lake of Los Angeles. A man made puddle that once covered these parts. All that is left now is the dust and billboards and a thousand broken dreams lying amidst another thousand broken beer bottles. Finally the 15 north. Cruise control set. Windows rolled down. Tunes blasting. We're on our way.

We arrived more or less in one piece. Did the whole Vegas thing. Hit up the casinos. Flirted with the ladies. Drank way too much. The whole Fear & Loathing thing you know. Okay, not really. Actually not at all. Early to bed, early to rise. Gotta work in the am, early. Real early. We hit the stadium, get our press credentials. Smile for the camera. Wait in line, sign a form, wait some more, sign more paperwork. Reams of it. Piles and piles of releases and all sorts of crap. Finally we are credentialed. Free. Turned loose, cameras at the ready. Fear and Loathing for real this time.

At the entrance to the stadium a stage is set up. A tiny little thing. A sideshow at best. A small crowd mills around. No one is really paying attention. Stop, listen. Move along. The big show is about to start. The NFR in all its glory just inside. Stop, listen. Move along. I snap of a few quick pics backstage. The singer is cute but way too young. Jail bait. Sounds good. Singer's really into it but I'm not. Not a fan of country. Or western. I snap a few more and move over to the audience side. Three frames, bang bang bang, four frames bang bang bang bang. I stop. Listen. Move along. Think nothing of it. The rest of the night was all dust and sawdust, bucking broncos and bullriding. Clowns and well yah clowns.

I never really thought much about the band playing outside the arena. Never crossed my mind in the years since then. I never paid much attention to the pics I made. Until tonight. Going through the archives. I stop. I look closer. Is that...? Naw. Can't be. No way. When the heck? How, but uhhh, for real? Taylor Swift. Before she was TAYLOR SWIFT. Friggin' Vegas. Always surprising you. I wish now I had stuck around.

Taylor and the Skeeters.

Autographs

Autographs
Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Oxnard, Calif.
August 10th, 2012




Mobbed. Craziness. Blue stars and sharpies everywhere, gleaming in the sunshine. Helmets, footballs, mini-helmets, mini-footballs. "#9, #9, Tooooonyyyyy!" "Hey 82, 82 hey hey over here!" Dez, hey Dez, sign my helmet, Deeez!" "Miles, I love you Miles!" "Felix, dude dude, Felix!" And on and on. Players filter off the field, hit the showers. Fans scream and shout, beckoning, begging, hoping, praying. Just one autograph, just one. And on and on.

Rookie Cole Beasley, never played a pro down, already a fan favorite.
Listed at 5' 8", shifty and jerky in the slot, many hope he will be Dallas' version of Wes Welker (though don't tell Beasley that, he doesn't approve of the comparison).

Lone Star.

Rowdy.

Undrafted Rookie WR Cole Beasley informed Cowboys Management August 3rd that his heart "just wasn't in it" and walked away from professional football. Two days later he was back in pads and working hard to show that he was rededicated to making the Cowboys squad. Since his return he has worked his way into potentially the coveted number 3 receiver slot. His main competition at the moment is 4th year WR Kevin Oggletree. Though Oggletree has never had more then 15 touchdowns in a single season and is still looking for his first career TD, he has impressed many at camp this year. The Cowboys first preseason game Monday night August 13th in Oakland against the Raiders will be a major stepping stone for each in clinching the number 3 spot.

Da' Boys!

Perennial fan favorite 4th-year WR Kevin Oggletree.

Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Training Camp
Oxnard, Calif.
August 10th, 2012




The Boys are back in town. The gridiron is hot and dusty. The hunt for the 53 continues.

Running routes; Tony Romo to Dez Bryant as head coach Jason Garret watches closely.

Passing drills; Rookie WR David Little.

RB DeMarco Murray burst up the middle, narrowly avoiding LB Dan Conner.

WR Dez Bryant.

Field goal drills.

Stephen McGee legs it out of the pocket with DE Baraka Atkins closing in.

TE Jason Witten.

RB Felix Jones.

Motorhome Mile

Motorhome Mile
outside Ventura, Calif.
Aug. 2012

Golden Hour.