Buzz Bissinger mounts a vigorous defense of the cyclist:
I still believe in Lance Armstrong. I believe his decision had nothing to do with fear of being found guilty in a public setting before an arbitration panel, but the emotional and mental toll of years and years of fighting charges that have never been officially substantiated—despite stemming all the way back to 1999. "I am more at ease and at peace than I have been in 10 years," he told me in an exclusive phone interview with Newsweek.
Michael Specter, a former fan who wrote "my lengthy and adulatory Profile of Armstrong," feels betrayed:
He said he was tired of the fight. Tired? Really? Armstrong made it clear on several occasions he would fight to the death. (My favorite Lance quote about pain, clearly applicable to the accusations, is, "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.") Yes, quitting lasts forever. And he did not even have the decency to admit his guilt.
A silver lining to Armstrong's decision to quit the fight, via Buzz:
[B]etween Friday and the day before, the number of donors was up tenfold, the amount given up twenty-five-fold, and the amount of merchandise sold up two-and-a-half-fold.
The Dish 