|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
AMERICAN CENTURY CELEBRITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 13, 2006Lance ArmstrongMark KillenSTATELINE, NEVADA PHIL WEIDINGER: We have with us Lance Armstrong, and Mark Killen, who is the senior vice president, corporate and product marketing for American Century. MARK KILLEN: Thank you very much. Good morning. We're really thrilled to be here. I know you want to hear a lot out of me so I'll make my comments very brief. This is the 8th consecutive year that American Century has sponsored this great championship. This is a tournament where we bring the best in celebrity golf to Lake Tahoe, and we're really thrilled to be here. But one of the very important parts of what we do is to raise awareness and fundings for some very important causes, and American Century Investments is a company who is founded by Jim Stowers, and Jim Stowers is a cancer survivor, so he has that in common with Lance here. And we're really thrilled this year to have the Lance Armstrong Foundation as the primary beneficiary of the American Century Championship. In addition to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we are also benefitting Autism Speaks, and if any of you were here last year, you also know that was a charity from last year. But just a few things. Jim Stowers, again, our founder, had one mission in life, and that was to help people become financially successful and financially independent. He felt that if he made people successful, they would make him successful. And he was very good at doing that. After 48 years, we've been very successful as a business. We manage over $100 billion in assets. And what Mr. Stowers has done is he's taken his incredible wealth and he's given it all away for medical research. It's an endowment of probably two billion dollars that funds basic biomedical research to help cure things such as cancer. So our relationship with Lance Armstrong that started in February of this year is just a natural fit. And we're really thrilled to be here today in Tahoe, and I'd like to now turn it over to Lance, seven time Tour de France Champion, to make a few comments. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Well, I'm not really sure what I can add to that. I lost my voice last night hosting the ESPY's. So this is an honor to be here. It's an honor to have this relationship with American Century; as Mark said, parallel paths. An organization like the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the work that I do now off the bike, and the work that they do as a company and the work they do outside of Wall Street, we'll say, are directly in line. We believe in being aggressive, being smart, asking hard questions, and we believe in quality of life, and that means giving to people and making a difference. I can't tell you how much I look up to Mr. Stowers. And I'll never have $2 billion in my lifetime to give away, but what an example that is in this day and age when sometimes as we know, the government will fall short when it comes to the things that I feel we need most because of other restraints. But a person like Mr. Stowers who comes in with his own money, his hard earned money, and really makes a difference, that's the stuff that slings that delta between what they can do and what the citizens of this country have to do. So very proud to be here. Proud to be associated with these guys and proud to know Mr. Stowers and everybody involved. Q. I cover health, so I'm really interested in your organization and particularly the money from this tournament that will be funneled into the Lance Armstrong Foundation. How will that help cancer, people dealing with cancer? How can I tell my viewers that this is helping them? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Our program is one of many things, obviously, there's scientific grants, research grants, community grants, grass roots programs. We are a relatively small organization if you consider the American Cancer Society is roughly a billion dollar organization and we are roughly a $50 million organization, so it's more of a niche play. But we feel that that's the best place for us. The other exciting thing for us, now, is mobilizing a group of people that bought yellow wristbands for a reason that said: I want to wear a yellow wristband because cancer matters to me. Cancer is a priority, I want to make a difference; I want to talk about it; I might vote that way. So if we mobilized even five percent of the people that bought wristbands, you would have 3 million people that said, "I'm voting that way." And that's how, with a movement like that, an army like that, you can affect real change. Q. I was wondering if you had a certain amount of nostalgia and melancholy that the Tour is going on without you this year and I was wondering along those lines if you've been at Beach Mountain in Boon since the run of championships? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Well, I knew that they would go on without me, and I knew that I wouldn't be back. (Laughter). Honestly, I don't miss being there as an athlete. But I'm still a fan. I tune in daily. I love the event, I love the sport. Look, I'm sitting here today and we still have an American in yellow, and I think that's huge for cycling, and I hope that the public, the sporting public and the cycling public really understands that, how significant that is; that we are some of the best in the world at this sport that's really not our sport. But, no, I'm nearly 35 years old and it's time to move on and do other things in life. You know, as I just talked about, I mean, mobilizing this group of people is my new Tour de France. It's my one thing, if we affect change there, that will be a lot bigger than one Tour or seven Tours. I firmly believe that that's what I need to be doing now. And Beach Mountain no, I haven't been up Beach Mountain lately. Haven't been back to the Carolinas recently. Q. I was wondering what you think about when you ride on the long distance rides? LANCE ARMSTRONG: A lot of things. (Laughing) I can't say. I don't do many long rides anymore. I used that as my therapy for years and years. Q. When we spoke in November in San Francisco, one of the things I was really affected by and, you know, moved by, really, was your passion for what these are sort of my words the crisis right now in funding for cancer research because of what's going on on the planet. It's sort of almost the nuclear winter, if you will, right now. People don't realize the seriousness of the cuts in research. I wonder if you can reflect on that, and I know you said at one point when you wrote to President Bush, you asked for a billion dollars and I said a billion dollars; and you said, "Yeah, I should have asked for a lot more." LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah. Q. If you could talk about that, talk about where we are right now, and what you think we can do to get this thing on track. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Well, where we are is, is if you want to rank things, we're going to be, if not today, very, very soon the No. 1 killer in this country, which to me says we need to focus a lot of attention and money and resources and energy on that. But for the first time in 35 years, the budget at the National Cancer Institute has been cut, which is not a great thing. The biggest problem I think there is the morale issue, because when you have a group of scientists, young scientists, researchers and they realize that perhaps their project won't get funded or it might get scaled back, it's terrible for morale. You have leadership short of influx with the head of the NCI. But I mean, that's all about, we're a little late when it comes to asking for a billion dollars. I learned very quickly when we had our first conversation with Josh Bolton who was running the budget at the time, he said, we're planning the budget for '08 now. So we just keep going back and we have to remain consistent. But I mean, I think the headline is now is not the time to scale back or cut back. I'm not a scientist but I know enough to know it's an exciting time in science, from a technology standpoint and also from a morale standpoint, now is the time to accelerate, not to slow down. Q. Talk about your post retirement, how busy you've been, and most recently your honor of being able to host the ESPY's; what was that like? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah, the retirement thing hasn't really worked out very well. (Laughter) Still trying to I mean, obviously the work in Capitol Hill and in and around cancer, very busy. But other things that come along, other new challenges, I was asked to host the ESPY's, stuff like that is hard. It's not, when you think about it and say, okay, I've love to do that. They pull back the curtains and you have to step out in front of 5,000 people the at Kodak Theatre where they have the Oscars and you have to give a monologue when you're not a comedian makes the Tour de France look easy. But you'll see on Sunday, I don't know, maybe I tanked, I don't know. But I had fun doing it. I love challenges like that. But it keeps you busy, so you host the ESPY's last night, you're stressed; you're tired after that; and you have the after parties; you're up at 7:00; fly here; go home, go to France for a couple days for the last week of the Tour; come back the from the Tour; three days in Iowa to rally the troops there before the primaries in '08. Life's busy. Q. You mentioned earlier that you've been tuning into the Tour every day. What do you think of the coverage over here? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Well, the coverage. LANCE ARMSTRONG: It's OLN still. It's live coverage. Cycling is best viewed live. I'm a fan. I watch it and I think that they have I hear the ratings are down, which is sad for me to see as a fan. And as somebody who still owns a team and still is heavily involved in the industry, we don't need that. We need people to tune in. We need young kids to tune in and say, "Man, I want to do that." So in ten or 15 years, we have another new champion. But you know, all I can do is do my part. And I wasn't originally going to the Tour but all that went on in the beginning of the Tour, all the controversy around it, I felt like it would have been easy to run from the event and hide from the event and say, oh, I'm not going back there. But now I think is the time, just like I was talking about with cancer, now is the time to stand up and say, I'm a fan. And so I changed the plans and we're heading over. Q. Staying on that line just a moment, over the years, you've taken some hits in the French media. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Some hits? (Laughter). Q. What are the kindest things that they have ever written about you over there? LANCE ARMSTRONG: The kindest things? Oh, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, listen, I mean, the headline when I retired last year, the headline, the editorial in L'Equipe was: "Never in the history of sport has an athlete's departure been so welcome. So in the picture was me stepping off the step. So I took that as a friendly good bye. But, you know what, hey, I can't complain. Q. Let's move to golf here. Last week you were looking for some clubs. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Apparently they showed up here. And just for the record, we were talking about the ESPY's talking about the monologue, Mickelson got a little zing in the monologue last night. So tell him I'm sorry. I didn't write it. I'm not the writer. But it was actually pretty funny. LANCE ARMSTRONG: I say, well, there's a whole slew of jokes that you have to deliver, but I said: I wasn't the only athlete to retire this year. Jerry Rice retired before the season, Mario Lemieux retired during the season, and Phil Mickelson retired after the 71st hole of the U.S. Open. ("Ooohhs" from audience). That was exactly the reaction last night. It was like, thank you very much, I'm out of here. Q. I'm the chairperson for American Cancer Society's Relay For Life, our very first one here in South Lake Tahoe. We're thrilled to have you here so close to our very first relay because American Cancer Society and your foundation are very close in what we do. I just want it say thank you for all of South Lake Tahoe for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and everything you're doing. We love having you here. LANCE ARMSTRONG: Thank you. Q. Speaking of your ribs last night, I heard you made one about Bode Miller. I know you guys have a little bit of a history, can you kind of reiterate that comment and maybe talk about LANCE ARMSTRONG: I'm giving away the show. Next you're going that wouldn't to know about my French jokes. It airs Sunday. I can't give away all the stuff. Nobody will watch. Q. All that is water under the bridge; I know he made a comment? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah, he made some comments. I met him about five feet away last night because he was just sitting there. You know, I think Bode is I think he's sore see for stepping out and saying some of those things. Obviously he misspoke because he had no knowledge of me or what goes on. Yeah, he got a little zing last night. But, you know what, that camera went straight to him, he was laughing, slapping, he thought it was funny. I'm not telling you what I said; you have to watch. I'm not giving away the show anymore. But that was one of the biggest laughs, the Bode crack. Q. For the week that you're going to spend at the Tour, how will you do it, will you ride around in a team car? LANCE ARMSTRONG: I hope to ride up on d'Huez I'm there, I get there the day before on L'Alpe d'Huez I shouldn't have just said that. I'm not riding up L'Alpe d'Huez the day before the race, go there in team clothing. (Laughter). Then next to La Toussuire, I'm going to ride in the car with Johan, and then follow the race into Morzine, go to the final time basically stay with the team along the race until Paris, but only one day. I guess the last mountain day there, I'll be in the car and then the final time Tour, I'll be in the car. Q. Do you hang out with Team Discovery? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Yeah. Probably not in their hotel because their hotels are full and they are given their rooms by the race organization. But close by. I have dinners with them, see the guys, ride to the start with them, sit on the bus, all the stuff that we did before, I love to do. I hope their morale is okay. Today was tough. Q. And there's an American in first? LANCE ARMSTRONG: We have an American, yeah. Q. A better sense now of since the before the Tour started you were behind maybe Vaser Olrich (ph) and how that's all changed? LANCE ARMSTRONG: I have no idea, I would tell you, but I have no idea. It's close, it's wide open and it will be interesting. I mean, listen, as a fan of cycling, although Floyd is no longer on our team, he's in the yellow jersey and he's in a position to win. I hope he wins. I mean, listen, I've been the guy that has former American champions giving you a little. That's not me. I'm all for American success at the biggest bike race in the world. Q. Have you checked out the odds at the local sports books what are you for this tournament, do you like your chances? LANCE ARMSTRONG: I haven't checked. I don't gamble. MARK KILLEN: Lance is playing today but he will not be playing the Friday/Saturday. LANCE ARMSTRONG: I've got no game. I haven't swung a golf club in, years. (Laughter) Get out of my way. I'm serious. Don't be anywhere near when I hit the ball. I was scared, when they told me there would actually be an audience, I was like, really? Q. This is Greg LeMond country, I know he's obviously said some things but in the past. Do you guys speak now, do you get along? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Probably neither to both or no to both. But on Greg, I always go to what he did for a whole generation of young guys, the late 80s what he did for cycling coming back, winning the Tour after his accidents, winning sportsman of the year. This was in '89; I was 18 years old. It was the one that was probably the moment where I said, okay, he want to race bikes. There's no point in going south on Greg. He does that on his own. So I prefer to just say, you know what, e he affected change in my life, or he showed me a great event, and encouraged me through his performances to get involved. He did that for a lot of guys. Look at the crop of guys we have now at the Tour de France, all of those guys followed his career and were inspired by his career. So I'm not going to lie about that. It really, it helped me. Q. This has always been kind of a light press conference, so I'm just curious, how do you keep the nether region from going numb? LANCE ARMSTRONG: What? (Laughter). Q. When you're doing the 100 mile rides, that's always a problem I think for cyclists. How do you avoid that? LANCE ARMSTRONG: Stand up. Stand up. (Laughter) I've never had that question before. Wow. Q. Deep down inside how did you really feel when Italy beat France? LANCE ARMSTRONG: You've got to watch the monologue. (Laughter). But, no, listen, I don't know much about soccer, but I definitely tuned in live and soccer is such a huge global sport and you watch the finals, even in Hi Def, it was ridiculous how the pitch looks so vivid and the players, these guys are true athletes. Especially when they go into all these over times, they are completely wasted. You realize a billion people around the world are watching, I mean, there's nothing like that, nothing. But, like ways cheering for Italy. It was amazing. I was really surprised by what Zidane did. I don't know what that guy said to him, but it better have been bad, because that was un and I was just, five minutes before that, he made that amazing head shot, nearly scored. I thought, this guy is just, he's so that's the one guy on the French team that I really looked up to. And then he turns around and wow. I've never seen anything like that in sport. But, yeah, I was pretty happy with the result. But watch the monologue. MARK KILLEN: As we wrap it up I want to remind you of a couple things. We're thrilled as American Century Investments to be sponsoring this tournament and thrilled to be supporting such a great cause at the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Somebody asked about what this will this tournament do for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We're going to be raising money, we raised money last night, I think we approached $100,000 at an auction. That will benefit both Autism Speaks and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The players that are playing that decide to retain their amateur status can donate their winnings to one of their charities of choice including the Lance Armstrong Foundation. In addition, we'll be running some commercials, American Century Investments, this may launch the live strong portfolios what is a series of mutual funds that help investments save for their long-term goals and also helps American Century support the Lance Armstrong Foundation. So you'll see some really nice commercials during the broadcast this weekend. With that, I want to thank you all very much and we've got it get Lance to the course I think. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|