Tour de Lance Update
Lance Armstrong heads into Saturday's individual time trial with a 65-second lead over Jan Ullrich, and a record-tying fifth consecutive Tour de France win on the line. For coverage of what's at stake, and why the race might still not be decided until the end of Sunday's usually-ceremonial final stage around the Champs-Elysees, go here. If you aren't a cycling fan and don't know why you should get up Saturday morning and watch the time trial, read what Mike Celzic has to say in the Sporting News:

If you're going to catch one day of the Tour, an event that doesn't grab the hearts and minds of American fans, Saturday's the day to do it. It doesn't matter if you neither care nor know any more about cycling than a cow does about differential calculus. This isn't about that sport anymore, it's about being able to see something that you likely won't see again.

You don't - or shouldn't - pass up the rare moments in life when you have a chance to witness someone great at what could be the crowning moment of a career. You don't have to be a golf fan to have tuned in when Tiger Woods won his fourth consecutive major or a baseball fan to have watched Mark McGwire break Roger Maris' home-run record. You don't watch such moments because of the sport, but because of the accomplishment.

And if Armstrong pulls it off, it will be, indeed, a crowning moment. He has won the past four Tours with dominating performances. If he wins this one, it will not be because he's light years better than everyone else, but because of grit and desire and will and all those other things we talk about when we get emotional about sports.

Finally, don't miss this column in today's USA Today by Lance's wife, Kristin. You don't have to love cycling to appreciate it. You just have to love life and love.