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#16
07-05-2005, 07:35 PM
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 ~ thanx for posting the link tho, they do look cute~
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#17
07-05-2005, 07:48 PM
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#19
07-05-2005, 08:01 PM
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Sheryl's new album, Wildflower, is out in September btw. Can't wait!
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"I want to come back as a Yorkshire Terrier, owned by me." - Stevie Nicks
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#20
07-05-2005, 08:10 PM
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#22
07-05-2005, 08:19 PM
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In the final days of his career, Lance Armstrong is still loving all the hard work
He hasn't grown tired of the training for the Tour de France, although he's looking ahead to retirement By Suzanne Halliburton AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Sunday, June 26, 2005 Lance Armstrong says he still lives for the pain, the burning sensation that sizzles through his calves and pumps through his chest when he reaches for his famous rocket gear and surges up a mountain road so steep that walking would be a problem for the non-athlete. He loves to spends hours on the bike testing equipment, measuring his heart rate so that he'll know when it's best to attack. He has made his name, and his fortune, this way. But in another month, he'll have to find other things to do. After the Tour de France finishes on the Champs-Elysées on July 24, the Austinite and six-time defending Tour champion will retire. In an interview this month, the 33-year-old said he had no grand plans, jokingly suggested he might run for public office (and cunningly declined to reveal a political affiliation), talked of touring with his rock star girlfriend and mentioned he had some speeches to give, but emphasized that fatherhood would always come first. "I want to be a full-time dad," he said. Son Luke is 5, and twins Grace and Isabelle are 3. Mostly, he appeared bored with talking about life after the Tour. However, those close to him, including friends, his coach and and his agent, paint a portrait of a man both excited and at ease with what's next. "I know one thing: He can't sit still for long," said Austin businessman John Korioth, a close friend of Armstrong's since the two started riding bikes together in 1996. "But I don't think he's going to have a tough time not being a star." "I think you're going to see a lot more of him than when he was racing," said Chris Carmichael, Armstrong's private coach for the past 15 years. Armstrong certainly doesn't need to earn a paycheck. Cycling has paid the bills since 1992; by 1996 he could afford a $1 million home on Lake Austin and a black Porsche. Later, winning the Tour de France brought the kind of wealth that allowed him to afford multiple homes in Austin and Europe and the use of a chartered jet. He's traded the Porsche in for a more family-friendly Suburban, now his preferred vehicle. Just before he won the Tour in 1999, Armstrong's base salary was $500,000. In the month after the victory, his salary quadrupled. In the past two years, when he tied, then broke the Tour record for career wins, he's earned $16 million to $18 million annually, a figure that includes his team salary and endorsement income. During the winning streak, he has been on the cover of Sports Illustrated eight times, including last week's edition, and has appeared on national commercials for corporations such as Nike, Subaru, Coke and Bristol-Myers-Squibb. These days, he's the subject of four different commercials, all filmed at the old Austin airport, touting the Discovery Channel's sponsorship of the cycling team. Armstrong's stream of income probably will decrease, just as any other retired athlete's does. However, he has prepared himself well for life after cycling; he has ongoing endorsement deals with Bristol-Myers Squibb and 24 Hour Fitness clubs and is under contract with Discovery Channel, his team's new sponsor, to appear on television shows that focus on fitness and travel. His contracts with Nike and Subaru are up for renegotiation at the end of the year. When he signed the Subaru deal in 2003, which called for him to be in six national commercials, it was worth $12 million. Nike, which has been the cyclist's sponsor since 1996, recently released an Armstrong-themed clothing line. Armstrong's Austin agent, Bill Stapleton, has been careful with his client's rising popularity, saying the champion has agreed to endorse "only best-in-breed type companies." He described the Armstrong marketing image as "hope, leadership, winning, elegance." Stapleton said it's doubtful Armstrong will want to take on new sponsors in his retirement for the sake of a paycheck. He said, "You're not going to see him doing a toothpaste commercial." Immediately after the race, Armstrong said, he will take a two-week vacation on a beach in the Florida Panhandle with his children and girlfriend Sheryl Crow. They'll stay at Crow's home near Destin. It's where they went a year ago to decompress after Armstrong won his sixth Tour in a row, breaking the record that had been accomplished by only four riders before him. Then it's back to Austin. He has a ranch in Dripping Springs and is building a home near Lake Travis. His close friends say Armstrong will be more visible. He'll live in the United States full time, as opposed to spending half the year in Europe. He'll make speeches and appearances on behalf of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which promotes survivorship issues that were so important to him after he completed three months of chemotherapy in 1996 for advanced testicular cancer. In addition to the speeches he gives on behalf of the foundation, Armstrong is set to give three to five speeches for a minimum of $200,000 per event before the end of the year. He'll travel to Israel for one, Canada for another. Cycling will never drift far from Armstrong's life. He owns a minority stake in Team Discovery, although he says he's not even sure what the percentage is, terming it "more emotional" than financial. He's expected to be an ambassador for the cycling team and intends for the organization to win another Tour with a different rider. It's possible Armstrong will be the person who seals the deal when Discovery signs the next great rider. Armstrong does like to drop hints that he's interested in politics, saying he has his eye on a "house near downtown" -- the Governor's Mansion. But when pressed for specifics, Armstrong says he's joking. He's never revealed publicly whether's he's a Democrat or a Republican. Both President Bush and John Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee, sported Armstrong's LiveStrong yellow bracelets during last year's campaign. Armstrong began dating Crow three months after the cyclist and his wife, Kristin, separated in August 2003. Their divorce was final in December that year. Crow made just about every day of the 2004 Tour. Earlier this year, the couple were presenters at the Grammys. There were rumors in May that the couple had broken up. Those stories, which Armstrong said were inaccurate, were spawned in Europe after Crow was seen at an Eric Clapton concert. Clapton is Crow's ex-fiance. Armstrong and Crow have been living together, splitting time between his ranch and her home in Hollywood. They have not announced plans to marry. Crow, the multiple-Grammy winning rock star, is due to release an album in September. When she goes on tour, Armstrong will keep her company on the bus and tote her guitars. For the first time in a while, he'll be playing the supporting role. But his friends say he'll adjust fine to not always being the center of attention. One reason Armstrong has had few problems as his fame has increased is that his immediate advisers also happen to be his closest friends, the ones he made before he was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. Johan Bruyneel, Armstrong's team director, joined that mix of about five to six people in 1999. However, in his winning streak, Armstrong has added high-profile celebrities to his circle of friends, and that's made him popular fodder with the tabloids and People magazine. Actor Robin Williams, who left a joke-laden congratulatory voice mail on Armstrong's cell phone after he won his first yellow in 1999, hasn't missed a Tour since 2000. Actor Ben Stiller became friends with Armstrong a year ago and flew to Austin to serve as master of ceremonies for an Armstrong Foundation event. In the six-year winning streak, Armstrong also has dined with President Clinton, met several times with President Bush, stayed at the home of actor Kevin Costner and flown by helicopter over the ruins of the World Trade Center with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and off several mountains in France with Nike founder Phil Knight. Still, Armstrong hasn't changed much to his friends. He has, however, taken on a bodyguard. Korioth spent a week driving the Discovery bus at the Tour de Georgia in April. He said up to 300 fans would surround the bus each day. Many of the fans wanted to tell Armstrong their story of surviving cancer. They even knew Korioth's nickname "College" because they'd read Armstrong's two best-selling autobiographies. "They'd sit by the bus and want to touch his bike -- that would be enough for them," Korioth said. "This is not Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods popularity. It's totally different. People have such an emotional tie to him because of the cancer. Everybody has a story. It's 'My sister has cancer and I ride bikes.' Or, 'My wife has cancer and I started riding bikes because of you.' There's so much of an emotional tie." At last year's Tour, the crush of people forced Armstrong to have two bodyguards, who would trot beside him when he checked in at the starting village every day and then run after him when he crossed the finish line and headed for the team bus. But that's about it for the entourage. "Fame makes me uncomfortable," Armstrong said. "I like to consider myself an average person. I've never thought, 'I need an entourage.' I've never been that way." But his foremost thoughts are spending leisurely time with his children. Armstrong and his former wife, who lives in Austin, share custody. He said he wants to be home for Father's Day, rather than talking to his kids on the phone, as he did this year when he was in the French Alps training for the Tour. He talks now and then about having more time to do things other dads can do: shopping for clothes, going to recitals, coaching Little League games. Last year, the kids missed the Tour. This year, he plans for all three to be in Paris, sitting in a grandstand near the Arc d'Triomphe, when he finishes his last professional race. In the meantime, he's focused on a seventh victory. "With (four) weeks to go before I end my career," he said, "I'm still surprised every day how much I love what I do." shalliburton@statesman.com; 445-3954
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#23
07-05-2005, 11:22 PM
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Oddly, Lance has just as many crow's feet as Sheryl, but men are allowed to age I guess.
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~Suzy
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#24
07-05-2005, 11:38 PM
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#25
07-05-2005, 11:44 PM
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But to each his own, I guess my idea of what is beautiful has evolved over time because In my early twenties I probably would think she was looking old too. Okay, I'll shut up now.  
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~Suzy
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#26
07-05-2005, 11:48 PM
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#27
07-06-2005, 12:02 AM
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. Do we not age faster than they do? Think back to middle school -- prepubescent boys and then us girls. I think it's more of a fact of life than the perception from a youth obsessed culture although i'll agree--we are obsessed big time.
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#28
07-06-2005, 12:08 AM
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They're only okay for others. (As I smear night cream around my eyes to try to avoid crow's feet.)
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~Suzy
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#29
07-06-2005, 12:11 AM
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 I'm vain and make sure to take good care of myself, so hopefully it'll take a while longer for me to resemble a pair of khakis that needs to be ironed...
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#30
07-06-2005, 05:22 AM
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"Ash Wednesday!" Why do I also have a vision of us in "Death Becomes Her" - Do You Remember Where You Parked the Car? 
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 save the cheerleader - save the world
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