Don't Mess With Texas

From ESPN's Page 2 "Daily Quickie"...this pretty much sums it up on the man who has single-handedly done more for a sport (positively that is) than anyone else in athletics right now. A word to the wise: Don't Mess with Texas...Especially if your France -

Two Words For You:KING. LANCE."There's a setup here and I'm stuck in the middle of it ... I absolutely do not trust that laboratory."Lance was brilliant to take his case Thursday night to Larry King, the refuge of choice for the scandalized. Check out more of his rhetorical genius:"A guy in a Parisian laboratory opens up your sample, you know, Jean Francois so-and-so, and he tests it -- nobody's there to observe, no protocol was followed..."That's good: Throw a little Francophobe jingoism in there. U.S. fans don't need much of a nudge to discount claims from "Jean Francois so-and-so.""And then you get a call from a newspaper that says 'We found you to be positive six times for EPO.' Well, since when did newspapers start governing sports?"Here he's showing uncanny media savvy: If U.S. consumers don't trust any source right now, it's newspapers. Let alone French newspapers."A samples," "B samples": Fans have never shown interest (or expertise) in the scientific details. Ask fans who World Anti-Doping honcho Dick Pound is and they'd probably think you're telling a joke.So often, fans see athletes bungling scandal management, mostly by staying quiet in the face of wild claims.Sure, the accusations are discounted because they (a) come from France, (b) are 6 years old and (c) take on the reigning king of U.S. sports.But the most important factor is that Lance has stayed aggressive this week, and that's really why he's winning this PR battle.