Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War); it was expanded after World War I. The holiday was formerly known as Decoration Day because on this day the gravestones of every American service man and woman are decorated with an American flag. If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in our nation' s capitol, seeing those thousands and thousands of miniature American flags waving in the breeze is a sight only eclipsed by the sheer number of monuments they adorn.
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong now has the pleasure of having not only the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) looking up his ass, but also the former IRS agent, turned FDA special agent, who was the lead investigator in the BALCO case, Jeff Novitzky. In addition to USADA's investigation, Novitzky has focused the forces of the Food and Drug Administration's criminal investigations unit on Armstrong to look into whether or not he took performance enhancing drugs when he won cycling's most prestigious race. Novitzky, who made a name for himself in the press spending tens of millions of dollars chasing Barry Bonds out of Cooperstown, became famous in the BALCO case which involved numerous top professional and Olympic athletes, many of whom went to jail, were discredited, or ended their careers.
Former track coach Trevor Graham is suing the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for $30 million. The suit filed in Federal court this week alleges that USADA permanently tarnished Graham's name when they accused him of providing performance enhancing drugs to the track athletes he coached. According to court documents, Graham says USADA "slandered my name for the whole world to see."
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