WATERCOOLER CHAT: LANCE ARMSTRONG REGRETS, MANCHESTER UNITED KNOCKED OUT, OHIO STATE PLAYS WITH FURY
CYCLING
Lance Armstrong is back in the news again. It seems like there is a bounty to take this guy down, as everywhere he turns he’s met with such vile. Now, he has told Sports Illustrated that he definitely wasn’t the only one doping during his time in cycling — but that all of the top cyclists were taking performance enhancing drugs to meet the rigors of the sport. Plus, he says he slightly regretted his interview with Oprah, and possibly should have gone with his original plan of posting a video online in which he speaks directly to the camera (without the judgment of a celebrity interviewer). Armstrong also mentioned that he was nervous to ever admit the truth about what he was doing because he was under endorsement contracts that wanted him to deny allegations.  It seems that this story will be with us for a while.
SOCCER
While it didn’t make much noise in the United States, there was a HUGE game Tuesday at the International Level. It was a quarterfinals Champions League match-up between Manchester United and Real Madrid, two of the best and richest teams in the world. Estimates projected that nearly 200 million people worldwide tuned into the game because of the star power involved: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, Delback, Ramos, and many others. It was a tight, defensive first half, but Man U pulled out to a 1-0 lead early in the second. That’s really all they would likely need because a tie would still send them to the next round. But, in a late second half surge, Madrid put up two quick goals to take the lead and win the game — knocking Man U out of the Champions League. Real Madrid 2, Manchester United 1.
BASKETBALL
Finally, in college basketball, Indiana has been one of the top teams all season. They have been #1 in the country a few times this year, but haven’t been able to hold it long. Last night, while ranked #2, they hosted Ohio State. Indiana pretty much needs to win out if they want to secure a #1 seed for March Madness. But Ohio State came to play with a fury and pulled the upset behind a great game from Aaron Craft. With the loss, Indiana may not grab that #1 seed, but perhaps that’s better for a team that seems to play its best basketball when playing as an underdog of some sort. Ohio State 67, Indiana 58.
