While it doesn’t always seem like it, the US still boasts the largest and strongest track and field team on the planet. As such I’m sure that many are waiting with anticipation to see who becomes the next CEO of USATF. I’m sure that given what’s taken place over the last two years, that athletes, coaches, agents, other federations, and potential endorsers are all waiting to see who becomes the next head of USA Track and Field. Which is why the Board of Directors needs to get this right! After doing my homework on the matter this week, I’d like to give my support to former javelin thrower Bill Schmidt.…

I ask this question in the aftermath of the Doug Logan firing, as word out of Colorado Springs is that the USOC is “monitoring” the selection process for a new CEO. This was the second time in the past couple of weeks that I had read about the USOC’s interest in the process. And it came on the heels of learning that the USOC may have had a hand in the selection of Logan back in 2008. All of which made me curious as to why the USOC has such an interest in what is going on with USATF. So I began to do a bit of research, and found…

At the end of every season, the awards start pouring out. Typically everyone identifies their Athletes of the Year, and Performances of the Year. There are also awards for Collegiate Athletes (Bowerman) and lists of the top athletes. Between now and the end of the calendar year I will also be taking a look at the various top athletes of 2010. Some will be conventional (such as Athletes of the Year), but I also want to take a look at some non standard classifications. So I am going to start with the athletes that I considered to be the athletes that I feel had the top breakthrough seasons among American…

  One of my favorite TV shows is the reality show Survivor. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s where 18 to 20 people are put together in a remote location – usually an island. They are there for approximately 40 days and every 3 days someone gets “voted off the island” by the tribe. There are various challenges, some for rewards, some for immunity. But in the end the goal is to be one of the final two people not voted off. Then it is up to the final 7 or 9 people voted off (the Jury) to vote for the person they feel was the best player of…

All year long there have been questions raised about the staging of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Everything from questions regarding whether or not the facilities would be ready in time, to complaints this week from England, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand, Australia and Canada over the condition of the team accommodations – said to be unsafe and uninhabitable. A majority of the top level athletes have pulled out for various reasons, with Jamaica sending but a shell of what would normally be considered a national team. All of which makes me question why these Games are being held. At what point do the sport’s ruling bodies step in and say that…

When the concept of the Diamond League was presented in 2009, I found myself anticipating the 2010 season like an anxious child awaiting Christmas. After all there was much to look forward to based on the “previews”. Gone was the “winner take all” concept of only undefeated athletes being eligible for the pot of gold at the end of the season – which meant that after the first meet only a handful of individuals were eligible for prize money. A concept that said there was no reason to compete after the first meet unless you wanted to stop the competition from winning the prize! All events were going to be…

A – Ashton Eaton emerged as a major player in the decathlon B – Bershawn Jackson, back to form and dominant in the 400 hurdles C – Chris, as in Chris Solinsky and Christian Cantwell both looking good heading into 2011 D – David, as in Rudisha and Oliver, the two most dominating athletes in 2010 E – European Championships, the biggest event of the year F – Florida Relays site of Tyson Gay’s 44.89 making him the first man ever to run under 10.00, 20.00 and 45.00 G – Gay (Tyson) the world’s #1 sprinter in 2010 H – Howard-Lowe (Chaunte) new AR holder in the high jump I…

I’ve been asked a lot over the past 24 hours who I think should replace Doug Logan as head of USA Track and Field. That’s a very tough question. I feel that it should be someone that has a strong knowledge of track and field. That broad catch all could include former athletes, former agents, or someone formerly or currently in the employ of a shoe company (upper management). Not that being connected to the sport in some way is a guarantee that an individual would have the skill set necessary to run USATF. Of course, neither would going out and looking for an executive from another sport be any…

The word out this morning is that Doug Logan has been released as CEO of USA Track and Field. Given that in late July he was given 30 days to make significant improvements in his performance, I don’t think this is much of a surprise. After all, I’m not sure what could have been done in a month’s time to significantly alter his performance or the perception of him by those performing his evaluation. While there are many opinions regarding his release, from inmates running the asylum to rumors of power grabs, the reality of the situation in my humble opinion is that he simply wasn’t the right hire when…

The season is winding down quickly, with the Commonwealth Games the biggest competition remaining – and it’s restricted to a select few nations. For all intents and purposes US athletes are done, with a bit of rest on the docket before resuming training for the upcoming World Championships season. Lots of ups and downs this year, and I will spend some time talking about them as we head into the Fall training / road racing season. But the one area that I want to give a shout out to right away is to the athletes on the track above 400 meters. One of the things that I will have to…