MY FRIEND MIKE AND HIS MATE LANCE

Don't know who took this picture, but it sure made me giggle

We've all done it. We've all said stupid things. Things we shouldn't have said. Things that even as they were exiting our mouths, part of us was instantly regretting saying them.

Things about politics. Things about sport. Things about your wife's mother. You know, things you should have thought through and discarded and forgotten you ever thought through them in the first place. But sometimes, and god only knows why, we say these things anyway.

At that point, there are two ways you can go. You can immediately recant your verbal idiocy, blaming the lateness of the hour, too much drink or a minor brain explosion. Or, and this is a bloody stupid option, but it's an option, you can defend what you've just said to the death.

The trouble with this second option, the defending what you've said to the death option, once you go down that track, there's really no turning back. Well, at least not until after your dead anyway, and by then it's usually pretty difficult to get any kind of point across. You can't really half-heartedly defend what you've said to the death - it's kind of an all or nothing scenario.

Now this won't cause too many issues in most situations - for example; claiming it wasn't you who farted when it was, or denying you ate the last afghan when nobody else was home. (No witnesses. You can't prove it was me.) However, claiming Lance Armstrong didn't cheat when everyone else says he did is a slightly different matter.

There are many reasons the Lance Armstrong story has exploded the way it has. For so long he has been the undisputed king of cycling. He's the world's most famous survivor of ball cancer. And for many of us, perhaps even the majority of us, Lance is probably the only cyclist we've ever heard of. So when people started making noises about him being on the dope, it was bound to stir things up a bit.

It was at this point Mike Hosking took "Option Two." Sure, he could have said something like, "Crikey, this is a bit of a worry. We'll have to see what happens here." But no, Mike went the defend him to the death route straight off the bat. "Lance is innocent. People have been making these wild allegations for years. I've read his book, and I'm sure he would have mentioned consistent and regular drug-taking somewhere along the way if he'd ever done it which he hasn't so shut the hell up about it." That kind of thing is hard to back down from once it's out there. And he kept putting it out there, to anyone who'd listen. (Which of course is about half a million people every weekday morning)

To begin with, he definitely had a point. Innocent until proven guilty; More than just a cliché, the very basis of most Western justice systems, not to mention the core plot to most episodes of Boston Legal.

Trouble is, the hits just kept on coming. Over a reasonably short space of time, virtually anybody who'd been beaten by, ridden with or had once met Armstrong at a party was labelling him a doper, in many cases dobbing themselves in in the process.

Of course, Hosking easily parried these minor setbacks away like Yoda versus a young Jedi in training. "Obviously these cheats want to take this shining legend down with them. Bloody tall poppy syndrome. They should be ashamed of themselves."

Next step, the hearings and the 1000 page report. That's 1000 pages of "Lance is guilty" mind you - not too many chapters on what a stand-up guy he is. What's more, the defendant stopped defending himself. He pulled himself out of the fight claiming it was all getting just a bit too hard. Harder than beating ball cancer? Give me a break.

At this point did Mike begin to waver? Well, he'd say no, but I detected... a softening. Suddenly he was calling for one of two things. Evidence of a positive blood test, or a confession from the man himself.

I imagine the Hosk was sweating just a little when Armstrong announced he was stepping down from his charity, although Lance stopped short of admitting any wrongdoing. As a result, neither did Mike. Sponsors abandoned Armstrong. Cycling officials stripped him of his titles and banned him for life. The media said this was the final, damning blow. Well, all except ONE media of course.

Is Mike now wishing he'd never trumped up Armstrong's impeccable character in the first place? Of course not. I've worked with the man for years and only his Mrs. can make him back up the truck.

However...

Today Hosking's line was, "They found David Bain not guilty. They found Ewan McGregor not guilty." But I can't help thinking associating his man with a couple of blokes who were actually tried for MURDER isn't quite showing Mr. Armstrong in that pure light of innocence Mike was shining on him to begin with.

I can see where Lance could have got confused. Can't you?