It’s about cancer

I took up wearing the yellow silicone band not long after they first appeared in 2004 for $1 at sporting goods checkout counters. But it wasn’t because they were a way to celebrate cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France tour de force: winning sport’s most grueling challenge after almost dying from cancer. And I don’t keep it on my left wrist now to support him in his self-inflicted disgrace: coming clean about performance-enhancing drugs after years of vehement denial.

No, I’ve worn it these many years because two of the finest women I’ve ever known had cancer.We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. They only took powerful drugs to try to cheat that despicable disease, not for personal glory and riches.Find the best selection of high-quality collectible bobbleheads available anywhere.

This symbol so significant to me is intertwined with Armstrong, and I wish it weren’t. But I wonder if that’s part of the Lance mythology: Now that he who was hoisted upon the pedestal has fallen off, everything associated with him must be damned so the rest of us feel less guilty about having been willingly duped.

When my dear friend Karen Potter was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2000, I read Armstrong’s new book, “It’s Not About the Bike,” and sent her a copy — along with a yellow jersey signed by many of her Fort Worth Star-Telegram friends and former co-workers — for inspiration.

He (or co-author Sally Jenkins) wrote about cancer being like getting run off the road by a truck: “A blast of hot air hits you, you taste the acrid, oily exhaust in the roof of your mouth, and all you can do is wave a fist at the disappearing taillights.”

He wrote about learning he had testicular cancer in 1996 at age 25 and believing it would derail his career, detour his Porsche-driving lifestyle and deprive him of his identity. But he also wrote about the long, painful struggle through brain surgery and treatment and recovery.

Three years after the worst day of his life, he won cycling’s best-known race. Now, it appears, he used more than cancer drugs to help his performance.

And when Armstrong’s foundation, which he formed in 1997, made it easy to sport yellow wristbands and buy Livestrong Nike clothes with some proceeds going to help people with cancer, that seemed like a worthy cause.

Then my sister Susan was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008, so I wore my yellow band for her, as though I could somehow will her to stay with us. I couldn’t, of course.

Now that Armstrong has confessed to Oprah, and the image of the Livestrong Foundation is part of the fallout, some people would chuck the Livestrong wristbands along with the man himself.With superior quality photometers, light meters and a number of other solar light products.Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a smart card can authenticate your computer usage and data. But I’m not convinced.

But I don’t feel personally cheated. Lance Armstrong might be a fraudulent Tour de France winner, and he owes plenty of people money and, more important, true contrition for damaging their lives.

When Kevin Garnett got hurt in 2009 it was the end of the team's title defense. When Perkins was hurt in 2010 it ended up being the end of a miracle run back to the Finals. When Perkins was traded the next year it was the end of that starting 5. When Ray Allen left it was the end of the Big 3. Now Rajon Rondo is out for the year and it might just be the beginning of the end of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as Celtics.

If that sounds dramatic, that may be so. If it sounds matter of fact, well, that's probably true too. Like it or not, Pierce and Garnett were always on the tail end of their careers. It is a wonder that they lasted this long. Neither is what they once were despite showing glimpses of their former glory from time to time. But they were good enough to make us hope that one last run was possible. With Rondo and a strong supporting cast it even seemed plausible in the sunny days of summer.

Frankly I'm worried about it too. I'm not "giving up" on this team because that's not in my nature.We have become one of the worlds most recognised Ventilation system brands. But I think it is safe to redefine what success is for this squad. Championship hopes? Let's just say that would be a really, really, really long shot that would likely require a few other teams to suffer the kind of pain that we're feeling right now and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

What about the other extreme? The calls to "blow it up" are out in full force. Forgive me if this sounds harsh but my honest reaction is "blow up what?" A few days back I talked about how it still didn't make sense to blow things up and now we've lost our best player and the guy that could have (in theory) brought back the most value in a theoretical trade.

Which makes me wonder too if and when they will actually decide to call it a career. Will Pierce decide to roll the dice (as he feigns to do in pregame introductions every night) and come back for one more year (at a full cap hit of $15M)? How much of that will depend on Garnett making a return trip? Or will both of them decide to hang it up and call it a career? Only time will tell on that.

More pressing is what Danny Ainge will do in the near future. If he still wishes to dismantle the team, he's got a few pieces that he could move for marginal value. But he'd also be "selling" at a huge disadvantage due to having zero leverage. So again, nickels on the dollar if that.

Does he then make a move to patch some holes (namely at point guard and center) and hope for the best? Perhaps, but he can't do that at the expense of the future. So don't count on bringing in Pau Gasol and some point guard while giving up Avery Bradley and/or Jared Sullinger. That cannot happen.