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Huckleberries Online

Armstrong finished fighting

FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, Lance Armstrong holds the winner's trophy after claiming his seventh straight Tour de France cycling race during ceremonies on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris after the 21st and final stage of the race between Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, and the French capital. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that the agency will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. Armstrong on Thursday night dropped any further challenges to USADA's allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's premier event from 1999-2005. (Bernard Papon / Pool L'equipe)
FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, Lance Armstrong holds the winner's trophy after claiming his seventh straight Tour de France cycling race during ceremonies on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris after the 21st and final stage of the race between Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, and the French capital. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that the agency will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. Armstrong on Thursday night dropped any further challenges to USADA's allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's premier event from 1999-2005. (Bernard Papon / Pool L'equipe)

AUSTIN, Texas — Lance Armstrong said Thursday night he is finished fighting a barrage of drug charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, putting his unprecedented string of seven Tour de France titles at risk along with his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists in history.

The decision sets up a likely lifetime ban from the sport and the possibility that Armstrong will be stripped of his signature achievement — the extraordinary run of Tour titles he won from 1999-2005.

Armstrong, who retired last year, declined to enter arbitration — his last option — because he said he was weary of fighting accusations that have dogged him for years. More here.

Do you believe Armstrong has used performance enhancing drugs or do you think he's been unfairly targeted?



Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.