Floyd Landis Could Be Cycling's Jose Canseco

This commentary was written by CBSSports.com national columnist Mike Freeman

Landis is likely broke, desperate and flailing so what better way to gain attention and possibly some cash than to sell out the greatest cyclist in history, Lance Armstrong.

Landis had his 2006 Tour de France win yanked after failing a doping test. For years, Landis lied and said the positive test was a conspiracy of the Frenchies. But recently in e-mails to USA Cycling, the International Cycling Union and sponsors obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Landis admitted he was a doper and added the bombshell that Armstrong was a PED user, too.

Proving Floyd Landis' Doping Accusations

Landis tosses dozens from the cycling world under his tires in what is a grand evisceration of the cycling community. Cycling might be having its Barry Bonds/Mark McGwire moment.

Landis is a terrible human being. A sellout. He's a broke opportunist looking to make a quick buck off the back of Armstrong.

Next up for Landis: He spills on Oprah while selling a book called Lance and Me: An HGH Love Story.

Few want to believe Landis and that skepticism is definitely warranted but there is a name to remember when discussing Landis' accusations: Jose Canseco.

Snitches might get stitches but their tales are often accurate even if the turncoats sell out others to save their own skins. That was the case with Canseco and it could be with Landis as well. You might need a Hazmat suit to stand within a 100-mile radius of Landis but that doesn't mean he's wrong.

Despite his duplicitous background, Landis represents the greatest on-course threat the Armstrong Empire has ever faced.

The reasons are the same reasons Canseco almost singlehandedly destroyed the credibility of home run baseball and deconstructed the lies of so many steroid users in the sport. Canseco was an insider and despite his gross flaws his information was extremely meticulous and believable.

When Canseco wrote his first book "Juiced" he named stars like McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Giambi as steroid users, among others. He was called a traitor and a liar. We now know Canseco was telling the truth, even if he was doing it in a distasteful way.

Armstrong has faced numerous accusations of PED use in the past but this is the first time a teammate has directly implicated Armstrong.

Does Landis have proof? If he does, he hasn't shown it, but Canseco had no proof either other than detailed anecdotes.

In the e-mails Landis points to specifics. Some of them are so particular they seem impossible to have been fabricated, such as the account of Armstrong storing blood in a refrigerator in Spain and asking Landis to watch the refrigerator to make sure it didn't fail while Armstrong was away. There are other times, dates and details.

Landis may or may not be telling the truth but the sport of cycling is dripping with PED corruption. No sport is dirtier and it's becoming increasingly difficult to believe that so many greats in cycling have been touched by PEDs and Armstrong has not. That fact also works in Landis' favor.

Armstrong took the smart and predictable route in defending himself by focusing on Landis' past statements of saying he never used PEDs and portraying him as a bitter liar. That's what Armstrong should do.

Still, something is odd. Landis has little credibility but sounds believable and Armstrong has a lot of credibility but seems shady.

Landis is a jerk. He's desperate. He has nothing. He may also be telling the truth. Just like Canseco.