Lance Armstrong Doping Scandal

Lance Armstrong is reportedly the target of a RENEWED federal criminal investigation connected to his rampant drug use during his cycling career ... and could face serious time in the slammer if convicted.

Just weeks after Armstrong fessed up to cheating his ass off on his way to 7 Tour de France titles, ABC News is reporting that feds are actively investigating Armstrong for obstruction, intimidation, and witness tampering.

If Lance is ultimately prosecuted -- and convicted -- a judge could sentence him to federal prison.

Multiple riders -- and other people close to Lance -- have publicly accused Armstrong of threatening them into silence over the years ... but nobody really listened until Lance went to Oprah and copped to being a jerk.

According to the report, investigators are not concerned with Armstrong's drug use so much as they are with Armstrong allegedly threatening and interfering with witnesses who could have testified against him.

It ain't the first time Lance has been investigated by the feds -- Lance was under the microscope from 2010 to 2012 following allegations of drug distribution, fraud and conspiracy -- but the investigation was dropped.

This time, Lance might not get off so easy ...

Lance Armstrong is a dirty cheater ... is what two museum displays -- originally intended to honor Lance -- will now tell the world ... TMZ has learned.

A rep from Madame Tussauds Hollywood tells TMZ despite Lance's confession he was a big-time doper, his wax statue will remain on display -- but they're rewording his caption to remove any reference to "7 world titles."

We're told the new display will definitely address the scandal that's destroyed Lance's legacy.

And there's more bad news for Lance in San Fran where the Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf has already changed his nameplate. It now reads "Disqualified 7 Time Winner of le Tour de France."

Sheryl Crow TOTALLY WUSSED OUT during her big highly-anticipated sit-down interview about the Lance Armstrong scandal ... because she didn't answer a single meaningful question.

Crow sat for the interview with Entertainment Tonight in order to address rumors she knew about Lance's illicit use of performance-enhancing drugs for years -- but the problem ... she didn't address anything.

Sheryl gave non-committal answers the whole time, saying she only caught "bits and pieces" of Lance's interview with Oprah -- yeah right -- and then made general comments about Lance's confession, like, "The truth shall set you free."

But when it came to the one question everyone wanted to know the answer to -- whether she kept Lance's doping a secret for all these years -- Sheryl told ET she did not want to comment, saying the story was about Lance ... not her.

Sheryl Crow has made it clear ... she ain't sayin' SQUAT about Lance Armstrong ... even though it's likely she knows all sorts of KEY INFO about her ex-fiance's cheatin' ways.

Sheryl went out in Hollywood last night -- dining out at Craig's -- but when it was time to leave, she went WAY out of her way to duck the army of photogs and reporters waiting for her.

When Sheryl finally got into her waiting car, she covered her face ... and didn't say a word when asked about Lance.

Sheryl's believed to have some important information that could affect the Armstrong scandal ... since she was engaged to Lance while he was cheating, blood doping, etc. to win a couple of Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong finally admitted what everyone on the planet knew ... but was it too little, too late. We gotta ask ...

Count Matthew McConaughey among those who were upset to learn Lance Armstrong had been lying all these years about doping ... saying he was mad at his close friend, but then eventually felt sad for him.

McConaughey and Armstrong have been BFFs for years -- both call Austin, TX home and the two have been known to work out together often.

But McConaughey says he was as surprised as anyone when Lance came clean, saying he took the news personally at first, but realized it was wrong to do so.

He told MTV News, "What was he supposed to do? Call me to the side and go, 'Hey man, I did it but don't tell anybody.' Then I would have really had a reason to be pissed off at him, going, 'You want me to walk around holding this?'"

Lance Armstrong and Manti Te'o ... two men dominating the sports headlines for all the wrong reasons. One for cheating ... and one for dating a dead person who never really existed.

Question is ...

Seems everybody in Lance Armstrong's world knew the truth about the cyclist -- that he was cheating his face off -- which begs the question ... how much did Sheryl Crow know?

Armstrong dated Crow from 2003 'til 2006 -- when they broke off their engagement. During the relationship, Armstrong rode in the Tour de France twice -- and won both times.

During Armstrong's interview with Oprah, he admitted to using every single PED under the sun and blood doping ... and acknowledged that everyone who came after him for cheating was right.

We reached out to Crow's agent, who didn't have a comment ... and we tried to find a publicist for Sheryl, but were unsuccessful.

So, we gotta ask ...

Lance Armstrong just confessed ... EVERYTHING.

Lance admitted it all during his Oprah interview -- saying he took banned substances to enhance his cycling performances before all 7 of his Tour de France wins ... he blood doped ... he took testosterone ... EPO ... human growth hormone ... everything you can imagine.

Lance had denied the allegations for years -- and when Oprah asked why he came forward now, Lance replied, "I don't know that I have a great answer. I will start now by saying this is too late ... I view this situation as one big lie that I repeated a lot of times ... I am a flawed character."

He added, "I didn't invent the [doping] culture, but I did nothing to stop the culture ... and I am sorry for that."

Lance said he began using EPO (erythropoietin) -- a hormone that enhances red blood cell production -- in the mid 90s.

When asked if he was ever afraid he'd be caught -- Lance replied, "No."
When asked if it felt wrong at the time -- Lance replied, "No."
When asked if he felt like he was cheating -- he replied, "No ... I viewed it as a level playing field."

As for how the whole operation worked, Armstrong hedged on the details -- saying, "I viewed it as very simple. You had things that were oxygen-boosting drugs, for lack of a better word, that were incredibly beneficial for endurance sports. And that's all you needed."

Manti Te'o didn't just inspire a new whole Internet craze (Te'oing) ... he also made life WAAAAYYY easier for one Lance "Yep, I cheated" Armstrong.

The Lance Armstrong confession is being hailed as the sporting event of the year ... and sports bars across the country are gearing up for the rush it will bring.

In fact, TMZ has learned one sports bar in Texas is making a night out of it. We've learned Little Woodrow's in Austin is having a "Watch Oprah Ride Lance" viewing party ... complete with some PED-influenced cocktail specials.

The manager tells us they're serving the "Cyclist on Steroids" ... a twist on the traditional Surfer on Acid.

The interview is set to air Thursday night at 9 PM EST -- right around the same time the Lakers are scheduled to take on the Heat.

Nike might reunite with Lance Armstrong after all ... despite terminating its contract with the disgraced cyclist last year -- so says the Nike CEO Phil Knight.

Phil was out in DC yesterday when we asked if Lance and Nike might patch things up after the cyclist admitted to using PEDs -- and Phil responded, "Never say never."

You'll recall, Nike dropped Lance back in October, saying, "Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him."

Oprah Winfrey is already talking about her 2-and-a-half hour "confession" interview with Lance Armstrong ... except she's not exactly revealing what he said to her.

Oprah appeared on "CBS This Morning" to talk about the sit-down ... but nobody on the set -- including anchor Gayle King -- really pushed her about what Lance said.

Oprah DID say Lance confessed about using performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career ... but added, "He did not come clean in the manner I expected."

But nobody followed up with questions about WHY Lance's answers were so unexpected.

Here's what we do know:

-- Oprah says she prepared 112 questions for the interview, and got through most of them.
-- Oprah says "there were times" Lance got emotional, but she didn't drop details.
-- Oprah says she was so tough with her questioning, that Lance asked her to lighten up.
-- After the interview, Oprah says both she and Lance were exhausted and satisfied.
-- Lance's lawyers were NOT in the room during the interview.
-- Oprah suggests Lance's people leaked details about the interview to the AP.

The Oprah vs. Lance interview is set to air Thursday -- no word if Oprah plans to release any clips of the meeting before then.

Lance Armstrong ADMITTED to Oprah Winfrey ... he DID use performance-enhancing drugs during his pro cycling career to win the Tour de France ... this according to the Associated Press.

Lance wrapped up his one-on-one interview with Oprah just a few hours ago ... and according to the report, Lance finally 'fessed up to cheating ... the first time he's ever admitted wrongdoing during his professional career.

Earlier in the day, Lance apologized to the staff at Livestrong, choking up and saying he was sorry for letting down the organization.

The way Lance worded his admission could have serious legal ramifications -- considering he's facing possible criminal prosecution and civil liability for allegedly lying about his PED use in a number of legal proceedings.

Lance Armstrong reportedly issued an emotional apology to several staff members at his Livestrong organization in Texas ... amidst rumors that he's finally going to admit that he cheated.

According to the AP, Armstrong met with staffers right before he headed to an interview with Oprah Winfrey ... an interview in which he's rumored to finally admit he doped during his cycling career.

During the meeting with Livestrong staff, Armstrong reportedly choked up ... and said "I'm sorry" for letting everyone down.

Armstrong's apology was vague at best -- at no point did he ever admit to using any performance enhancing drugs ... or cheating in any way.

It's the first time the disgraced cyclist has acted remorseful since the cheating saga began several years ago.

After the apology, Armstrong met with advisers and his legal team before going face-to-face with Oprah at a nearby hotel.