Usain Bolt To The Rescue

I am not the least bit surprised. In case you haven’t heard, Michael Phelps won SI’s “Sportsman of the Year” this year for winning 8 gold medals in Beijing. Usain Bolt deserved to win the title but apparently was not even close to winning for his riveting performances.

Sports Illustrated Group editor Terry McDonell called the selection of Phelps “the easiest choice I have made.”

Seriously?

But we all know the deal here. Track and field is far from being popular having been riddled with doping allegations and the fact that some of the sport’s former stars are currently serving jail time.

The Olympic Games became the “Michael Phelps Show,” setting a world record every time he dipped his toe in the pool and in the process winning over America.

Television ratings shot through the roof to watch the made-for-tv movie series that played out featuring Michael Phelps.

No one had heard of Usain Bolt prior to 8-8-08. But all of a sudden people were talking about the sport again and what a 6 foot, 5 inch sprinter from Jamaica was doing in Beijing.

For that reason, Usain Bolt is my Athlete of the Year - make that the galaxy.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

Runaway Prices Threaten The Games Future

Is it all smoke and mirrors? The IOC is seeking to ensure that there are fewer empty seats at the 2012 London Games.

Interesting.

You could see a large number of empty seats during athletic events in Beijing. Organizers even resulted to having volunteers occupy the seats. The IOC is not sure why or how this occurred and are investigating the matter.

We’ll wait on that results of that investigation. In the mean time, what happened? Exuberant hotel prices and bad publicity dampened tourism-that is what happened.

Standard hotel prices in Beijing were going for $700 a night, to then learn just weeks before the games that a high demand did not materialize at the Beijing Games. And at the last minute hotels dropped prices but well beyond the realistic possibility of fans booking an international trip at the last moment.

So what about the fans?

Sure the Olympics have not been cheap in decades but during an economic crisis that officially started in December 2007 - those prices are hubris - smacking of being out of touch with current circumstances.

The lack of foot traffic at their Olympic exhibit was one major reason cited by Johnson & Johnson as a reason for dropping as a major corporate sponsor.

To be fair, the hotel prices have surged in Olympic host cities and prices are set by the independent owners and operators of the respective hotels. However, the slow economic down and the lackluster performance is the opportunity for the IOC to reign in hotel operators of host cities during the bidding process.

Massively inflated prices and lower than expected turn out ultimately diminishes the appeal Games and organizers had better get them under control if they want to save their golden goose.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

Run Away Track MVP?

Does a scenario exist that does not involve Usain Bolt as track and field’s most valuable athlete? The Jamaican star is running this time for the prestigious IAAF World Athlete of the Year Award to be named during the 2008 World Athletics Gala, which takes place in Monaco, on 23 November 2008.

How do you top three world records and three gold medals?

DWTS: Greene Runs Out of Time

Maurice Greene’s run on ABC’s Dancing With the Star came to end on Tuesday night. Former Olympic champion Greene and partner Cheryl Burke were the most recent celebrities voted off of the popular dancing show.

The dancing duo received 48 out of a possible 60 for their quickstep and paso doble routines Monday. But it was not enough to keep them on the show, as the competition heated up in the last couple weeks of the show.

The four remaining celebrity contestants — model-actress Brooke Burke, singer Lance Bass, former NFL star Warren Sapp and Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley — will compete in the semifinals.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

Obama Could Bring Olympics To Chicago?

With Barack Obama about to occupy the White House, officials in Chicago feel pretty good about their chances of landing the 2016 Games.

Obama’s victory provided more visibility for Chicago-his hometown. It would mark the first time the Summer Games return back to the United States since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The boost may already be at work. The world got a view of Chicago during Obama’s Grant Park victory speech, the area is a centerpiece of the Chicago Olympic bid. The world’s journalist saw a spectacular city and well-behaved crowds on Tuesday.

This is the fears of Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro. The President-elect is popular not just in the U.S. but around the world and is good at giving speeches.

“I wonder how IOC members will react when Mr. Obama appears in a presentation for Chicago,” Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda told Japanese media Wednesday.

The IOC will name the 2016 host at its general assembly in October next year. Before that Obama may appear in Copenhagen next year to lobby the IOC members directly, similiar to the effort of Tony Blair in landing London 2012.

It would be a sight. If Chicago gets the Olympics and Obama wins another term, he could open the games in home town.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

Is Track & Field Ready For Change?

Change is the new vogue?

Change now. Change today. Doug Logan promised change and improvement when he was hired. The newly hired CEO of USA Track & Field has wasted no time in taking initial steps to make improvement to raise the sport back from the doldrums.

Nothing endures but change was written by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus over some 2,000 years ago.

Logan has taken a few months to access the situation and talk to stakeholders in the sport. In Beijing, Team USA experienced dropped batons in the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays and he wasted no time in assembling a panel of experts led by Carl Lewis to investigate the matter and report back recommendations.

The efforts of change do not stop there. Here is what Logan said about his latest move to build a bigger and better sport.

“USA Track & Field’s Board of Directors has approved several proposed changes to USATF Bylaws aimed at restructuring how we govern ourselves and how we do business. These proposed changes are the results of countless hours and days of analyzing ourselves as an organization and working together to come up with a blueprint that will put USATF in the best possible position moving forward.”

In effect, Logan’s proposal will reduce the board size from 32 to 15. Why does this matter you ask? The sports chief is building an efficient organization, capable of moving nimbly to adapt to change as time goes on.

To say that the next phase of change for the sport is an uphill battle is an understatement, and the environment could not be more difficult.

The U.S. sports fan is cash strapped. The current economic environment has forced the NBA to slash 9% of its force or about 80 jobs, and the Charlotte Bobcats were forced to lay off 35 non-basketball positions.

In every cloud, lies a silver lining.

The key is marketing. Logan is well-advised in taking to his blog “Shin Splints,” bypassing barriers in order to communicate his message directly with fans, athletes, parents, and the media.

Today the average NBA tickets is $55.95, making a night out cost nearly $400 for a family of four, while track remains affordable. Logan could market track and field could as an “entertainment stimulus package” in relationship to the NBA, NFL, and MBL. Fans can bring the family to night of track and field without having to gett an second mortgage on their homes.

Finally, Logan needs to identify and then develop a superstar athlete that excites fans, becoming a figure with drawing power. Sometimes the best way to deliver change is by working with what you already have.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

Guns, Violence, and Sports

Here we go again with an all-too-familiar story in collegiate athletics. This time gun violence has touched the life of an up-and-coming sprinter from University of Southern California.

Bryshon Nellum was shot in the leg three times at 2 a.m. after attending a Halloween party. According to the Associated Press:

“He was walking out to his car and group of guys in a car pulled up next to him and yelled some sort of gang-affiliated name and shot him,” said police officer Sam Park. Nellum was shot three times in the left thigh and hamstring.” Park said, “No arrests had been made by Saturday and it was unclear whether Nellum knew his attackers.”

At this time, it is unclear whether Nellum will be able to resume his track career. In shooting Nellum, the assailants not only disrupted a life, but may have robbed track and field of one of its rising superstars. Nellum’s high school career was noted by experts in the sport, many of whom predicted that he had a good shot at a professional 400-meter career on par with LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner.

The words are always the same in this kind of situation: Unfortunate, upsetting, maddening.

Athletes at all levels – high school, college and the professional ranks – are perpetuating or finding themselves victims of violence at an increasingly alarming rate. What makes this even more upsetting is that when most people hear that an athlete was shot in the wee hours after a party they don’t wonder about his race . Most don’t want to admit that, for the most part, we are talking about African American athletes.

Here is a brief roll call of athletes involved in violence or that have been a victim of violence: Joey Porter, Jason Williams, Adam “Pacman” Jones, Sean Taylor, Darrent Williams. There are more – and new names are being added to the list with depressing regularity.

As an African-American and former athlete myself, I find it sickening to read about the seemingly endless violence and murders affecting young African-American athletes.

The logical question is why this continues at such a startling rate – and what can be done to curtail it. The next question is why African-American athletes find themselves disproportionately involved in violence. I’m not looking to blame the victim, I just think that this issue needs to be explored, discussed and addressed head on.

Well, athletes of all ethnicities at some point in their careers go out and have a good time. On the face of things, there’s nothing wrong with this. Should it be that different from an accountant out to blow off some steam on a Friday night?

Unfortunately, under the surface, there exists a culture that glorifies violence and danger in many of the venues that these athletes choose. “Kickin it” with homies from the block that might have ties to the street game is alluring and dangerous — and may seem to help these athletes maintain their “street cred” off the field.

Athletes often quickly find themselves in a tense environment – competing for women and becoming a potential target for others trying to prove something. After a few drinks, tempers may flare, punches get thrown and weapons are brought into the mix.

Adding to the situation is that African Americans typically socialize in environments that blur economic or class lines. A decent number of African-Americas are the first members of their families to graduate from college or land an attractive career. By leaving the neighborhood, they may return to face a certain stigma or may feel to overcompensate to “fit in” with their old friends.

What are the choices? To run the risk of having their ethnicity challenged because they went off to school. This accomplishment may make them perceived as being “too good” to hang out with very people they grew up with – some of whom have taken markedly different directions with their lives.

Unfortunately, the athletes and scholars that we send off to school often find themselves without a support system when they return home – or even on some college campuses. This is one of the first places that we, as a society, fall down. Millions of words have been written about the challenges African-Americans face when they excel at something, but it’s time to do more than write about it. When we don’t support these people, an atmosphere ripe for violence grows. Athletes bear the brunt of this because they are more exposed and often celebrated.

While the questions around why this violence continues are simple, the answers are not. It’s a complex issue that will not go away without some serious dialogue. I don’t have the answers, but it’s time to start asking the questions more loudly, forcing our communities to ensure that more African-American athletes are given room to succeed without the threat of violence, murder and destruction.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.
Seed Runnerspace

Why Marion Jones Is No Longer Relevant

Marshevet Hooker For Adidas Sprint

Adidas continued its unending support for sprinters with the adidas adiStar Sprint.

Was it shoes some have asked. Marshevet Hook, a former University of Texas standout had her best season to date, earning a birth to the 2008 Olympic Trials, highlighted with a fifth place finish (22.34) at 200-meters in Beijing. Even with a wind, the 10.76 she put down at the quarterfinal round of the 100-meters at the Olympic trials was jaw dropping.

According to adidas, the Sprint boasts a synthetic upper with hook-and-loop closures provides variable adjustment and support. Foam insole adds comfort. Pebax® and TPU plate with replaceable spike elements offers lightweight performance and durability.

Others Sports Have a Drug Problem, Too

The National Football League is a prolific money maker. It generates millions in revenues, sells millions more in apparel, and most every form of media benefits from the top professional sport.

Listening to the mainstream media would lead one to believe track and field is full of drug cheats, and that NFL is squeaky clean.

The dirty little secret is that the NFL most certainly has a performance drug problem so big that it that makes Sarah Palin look competent.

The league’s linebackers weigh a whopping 270 pounds and nearly all run close to 4.5 in the 40-yard run.

Denver’s FOX-31 dropped a bomb shell that Deuce McCalister and Will Smith of New Orleans are reportedly tested positive under the NFL’s steroid policy as a result of taking water pills to lose weight, according to a report from Fox 31-Denver reporter Josina Anderson.

He reportedly said, “There are about six to ten overall positive tests. Three to four of them are from the Saints organization alone including McAllister and Smith.

When used as a masking agent a diuretic dilutes the urine, which results in lower levels of the banned substance being excreted from the body. That can make it more difficult to detect banned substances.

The NFL boasts of its drug-testing program that nets a few players here and there. Sure, those offensive lineman are blowing up to 350 pounds on eating right and lifting weights. Right. That’s believable.

The NFL drug testing policy is soft and been criticized by the World Anti-Doping Agency, but the league has rejected any talk of meeting WADA standards.

But there have been clear signs of a drug problem. Some recall the 2006 federal conviction of Dr. James Shortt, who supplied the steroid and human growth hormone prescription to four players of Carolina Panthers.

One of these players was punter Todd Sauerbrun, who was taking steroids. The punter had obtained syringes and injectable Stanozolol, the same chemical Ben Johnson used before the 1988 Olympics. If a punter is taking steroids, common sense tells us that others are using as well.

Cut Track and field some slack, as it has a comprehensive drug testing program and the worlds toughest penalties. The sport is ahead of the curve on the drug issue compared to the likes of the NFL.

Jay Hicks for Prerace Jitters.

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