Gerry Goldstein, a criminal defense attorney and friend of Armstrong

The silent auction included two Trek bicycles valued up to $12,000 — Trek was one of the companies that dropped Armstrong as a sponsor on Wednesday — and seven autographed yellow jerseys Armstrong wore on the podium during his Tour de France victories.

Gerry Goldstein, a criminal defense attorney and friend of Armstrong for several years, criticized USADA's investigation and sanctions of Armstrong.

Drug testers never caught Armstrong when he was competing, Goldstein said.

"I'm a big fan of what he has done. Overcoming cancer and doing what he did, who gives a (expletive) about anything else? That's so much more important as a role model and a human being," Goldstein said. "Quit whining about it."

Cardinals reinforced a common belief among players

Every ballplayer remembers the St. Louis Cardinals' magical run last year. The Cardinals weren't baseball's best regular season team—they barely made the playoffs—but they got hot in September, and that momentum carried them to a World Serieschampionship.

In so doing, the Cardinals reinforced a common belief among players: In the wild-card era, the team that gets hot in September usually rolls through October.The numbers bear that out. Of the 17 World Series winners since the wild-card era began in 1995, 10 were "hot" in September—that is, they had a higher September winning percentage than they did for the season overall.

In the last 10 years, that connection has grown even more dramatic. Eight of the last 10 World Series champs have been at their best in the season's final month. Teams strive to go into the postseason hot, as the Yankees have through their torrid September and early October.