Lies & Lying Liars

I don't consider myself a naive person; certainly not on the level of Manti Te'o.  But there have been times where I've wanted to believe whatever some of these athletes are selling--Pete Rose and the gambling deal and Lance Armstrong and the blood doping.

I mean, come on, the guy never failed a drug test.   Oops!  I guess I should've listened when guys like Greg LeMond said there was no way that an average cyclist could beat cancer, and then have the most dominant stretch in an insanely grueling test of physicality.  I guess I should've listened when papers like The Guardian and Le Monde had their doubts.  I doubted Barry Bonds and A-Rod; why not this guy.

Leave it to Oprah to get to the bottom of this!

Quick OWN Update

Maybe I was wrong to bet against Oprah.  It looks like OWN has opened to fairly strong ratings so far.  Still not sold on the net in the long term, however...

Photo: Oprah Winfrey. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press

OWN-ing Oprah

Oprah just launched her own TV network on the 1st, OWN (which stands for the Oprah Winfrey Network).  With the backing of Discovery, she's going to have to fill programming for the 24-7 demands of a network, not just for her syndicated one hour daily show.

Oprah's certainly had the Midas Touch with many things she's associated with, including her magazine, her book club, and almost anything she plugs on her show.  However, she's not invincible:  remember the movie Beloved?  Despite Oprah's best cross-platform efforts, the movie was a box office dud.

Will Oprah's network be a success?  With cable ratings so low to begin with, the net doesn't have a high bar to reach.  My prediction:  the net has a couple of moderately successful shows, but takes a big hit in ratings once the Big O stops airing her flagship syndicated show.