Next week, on Thursday, January 17 at around 9 PM in the evening, the world as we know it will come to an end, so saith the Armstrong / Mayan Calendar.  Well, it's not really going to come to an end, at least for most people.  For those Lancelings out there, followers of Armstrong, it may well might.  That is the night Lance is going to sit down for a tete-a-tete with Oprah.  There is a lot of opinion circulating out there about this meeting of the minds.  Supposedly, no question is forbidden.  I think this is horse shit.  I suspect you could bet the bib of your aging US Postal kit that every question and answer has been negotiated and not worry about having to ride bottomless.  This does not mean they're not going to speak about his alleged doping; that's the whole point of the conversation.  Oh, and if doubt he's going to admit to something, you're wrong.  Lance needs to do a public mea culpa and he can't think of a better place to do it.  Oprah, meet Lance.  Lance, meet Oprah.

Bare bones confession at best

Of course you need to keep in mind this is going to be a milquetoast confession at best.  There will be just enough detail for him to feel exonerated but not nearly enough for his accusers to feel vindicated.  He's not going to give them that pleasure.  This is why he chose Oprah.  She will ask something like "did you ever use performance enhancers?" And his response will be something like "sadly, there was a time, when I was youthful and naive and easily persuaded by those whose only motive was greed by those who promised me the world and I foolishly believed them."  Wait, is there a confession in all those words?  Hell no, not really.  You see, the real reason for this interview is not for him to come clean but for him to get over the speed bump that he wasn't expecting.  In response to his Texas Sidestep response, Oprah will undoubtedly say "Oh, Lance."  

Personally, I think if he really wanted to come clean he'd have arranged an interview with Barbra Walters.  Of course, he wouldn't have liked that.  She would have nailed his ass to the wall.  Damn right, she would have grilled him, frying out all of those greasy confessions that have made him so slick for all of these years.  Which is why he chose Oprah, who will slap his hand.  I do believe he does feel this will be enough, he will be over the speed bump and will be able to go about doing what ever he wants.  I don't think he understands the seriousness of his crime, but then he's been lying to himself about it for years.