Armstrong leaves his fans all atwitter
Lance Armstrong has made his fame and fortune riding a bicycle up steep inclines and around winding curves, but when it comes to getting his message across to the public, he prefers a straight line.
That is why he has become an avid Twitter user.
“Instead of talking to the media . . . I now spend time talking to people directly. It’s not a boycott, but in a way, you’re eliminating the middle man,” Armstrong says.
Armstrong started posting on Twitter in October 2008, after learning an impostor had been using his name on the website. He has since attracted more than 730,000 followers and has posted more than 1,550 updates, an average of eight a day.
Armstrong also has used Twitter to post news.
On April 24, he relayed the news that French anti-doping authorities had dropped charges against him for failure to follow testing protocols.
If found guilty, Armstrong could have been banned from the Tour de France.
We live in a new world, as Armstrong demonstrates every step of the way, 140 characters at a time.
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Trivia time
What do Mark Hendrickson, Danny Ainge, Dave DeBusschere, Gene Conley and Dick Groat have in common?
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Lakers win!
Los Angeles versus Orlando, a tape of the tape:
Orlando had Shaquille O’Neal before Los Angeles did.
Los Angeles had Magic before Orlando did.
Tiebreaker: Los Angeles had Disney before Orlando did.
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One for the books
If Orlando loses Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Magic will become the first team to lose five consecutive games in the Finals.
In 1995, the Magic was swept in the Finals by Houston.
Right now, Orlando is tied with Dallas, Philadelphia and Cleveland with four losses in a row.
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Four on one
From Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports, on why the Magic eliminated the Cavaliers in six games:
“Cleveland had the best player in this series.
“Orlando had the next four.”
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Trivia answer
They all played pro baseball and pro basketball.
(Question and answer provided by reader Marc Popkin.)
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And finally
From Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on possible improprieties at the University of Memphis:
“Sure enough, I just saw a bumper sticker that read, ‘Honk If You Took the SAT For Derrick Rose.’ ”
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