Lance Armstrong Almost Gave Tom Brokaw Bombshell Interview: Sports Illustrated

It has been almost two months since Oprah got Lance Armstrong's bombshell confession. In a new column, the disgraced athlete told Sports Illustrated that he almost sat down with Tom Brokaw instead.

The New York Times reported on the piece, which will go online Tuesday. Armstrong spoke to columnist Michael McCann on the condition that there would be no direct quotes. He said that he does not regret sitting down with Winfrey. He had confessed to doping for the first time after years of denial in their exchange in January.

Armstrong ultimately decided to sit down with Winfrey, but had considered other options as well: sitting down with Brokaw, who is now a special correspondent for NBC News, or taping a video confession.

"Ultimately he concluded that a conversation would be a more natural vehicle than a scripted speech, and the choice was between Winfrey and Brokaw," McCann wrote.

CBS News' "60 Minutes" had also aggressively pursued an interview with Armstrong. "We wanted the Lance Armstrong interview badly, he chose to go with Oprah," executive producer Jeff Fager said in January.