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Thanks for all the messages on retirement 2.0. And thanks for ALL the support the past 2.5 yrs. Onward!

Retirement 2.0 means two things: 1. The greatest cyclist who ever lived is done riding professionally. 2. His comeback that I was so damn giddy about in 2009 was a failure.

Well, wasn't it? I thought Lance would triumphantly return to win another Tour de France and, in the process, shut up those who still hound him trying to prove he used performance enhancing drugs.

In the end, he did neither.

In 2009 Armstrong finished third in France and last year he crashed early and often during the race.

And the rumors? Still there -- stronger than ever, actually.

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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?

Is he The One? Or merely the next one?

Wow!

Dust off your Livestrong bracelets and prepare to make molehills out of mountains. Lance Armstrong, the 7-time Tour de France champ and Plano East High School alum, is baaaack. -- Richie Whitt