Floyd Landis says he doped. Greg LeMond says he doped. The entire country of France says he doped.
But did Lance Armstrong ever dope?
I want to believe. I need to believe. I'm desperate for just one of our sports heroes - Roger Staubach and Nolan Ryan notwithstanding - to be unique. Special. Clean.
Better.
At this point I have my doubts, but I still believe. A federal probe of Armstrong is about to get underway and LeMond says the evidence against Lance is "overwhelming."
In a sport where seemingly every cyclist and every other cycling team has been busted for using some type of performance-enhancing drugs, can Armstrong really be the one guy - the best guy - who remained honest?
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Is he The One? Or merely the next one?
Armstrong returned to the Tour de France and, let's face it, was a flop. After winning seven in a row, the last two years he's barely been a factor.
But now his reputation is at stake. His legacy is on the line. If he's lied all these years it will be a fraud bigger than Tiger Woods and Marion Jones and Pete Rose squared. It would be a damaging blow to cancer research and would significantly dent the indomitable will of the human spirit. Well, my human spirit, anyway.
Please Lance, don't be lying.