With the Championship season upon us, I thought it would be a good time to update the Thirty Watch List. A chance to take a look at the season to date before everyone begins to peak for the heart of the season. Even without the season peaking, there has been a lot of activity (or lack of) affecting the list – and not all on the track. So I will be looking at the list and adjusting it based on four areas: deletions, additions, and athletes on the bubble – either potentially being added or dropped in the future. The current iteration of the list shows a net gain of…

For a track junkie like me the last few days have been sheer nirvana. From Thursday through last night it’s been wall to wall track and field! Out here in California the State high school championships are just around the corner and this past week the state sectional championships were held to qualify the entrants for the State Meet! So depending on where you were it was Trials & Finals on either Thursday & Friday or Friday & Saturday. The collegiate athletes were in qualifying mode as well, as the East and West Regional Qualifiers were also held the end of the week on Thursday, Friday & Saturday. Both meets…

The issue of drug use among athletes is once again front and center in the sports world. Within the past month four drug related matters have arisen that have given the topic fresh legs. First was the revelation that Lashawn Merritt was accepting a provisional suspension due to three positive drug tests for a banned substance in his system. Intermittently has been the news/discussion and potential trial of Canadian physician Anthony Galea and his controversial use of HGH and a “blood spinning” technique in the treatment of several sports related patients. There was the recent death of Charlie Francis – best known as the coach of Ben Johnson, the Seoul…

Recently I posted my opinion of the Pac10 after viewing their conference meet on Fox Sports. Having had the opportunity to watch the Big12 championship this past weekend I want to add to my conference outlooks prior to the start of the regional meets this upcoming weekend. First off, before I get any further, let me say that this meet was run under very, very poor weather conditions. Yet there were some very good marks that came out of this meet. And most certainly there are athletes in this conference that will have a lot to say about who takes home the hardware in Eugene next month. Having said that,…

Solid results in the recently completed Shanghai leg of the Diamond League though not as “hot” as many were anticipating. Glancing around the internet many are decrying the Shanghai track as “slow” because of many of the marks. However, this is the same track that produced 10.64 for Carmellita Jeter in last year’s meet, saw Wariner run 44.02 in ‘07, and has very wide sweeping turns. So I think it a bit unfair to put the onus on the track for today’s performances. Especially in light of the fact that there were many season’s bests set by various athletes today – just not from the athletes many wanted or expected…

The second of the 14 meet Diamond League meets will be run tomorrow in Shanghai China. Overall Shanghai has a solid set of fields as the series seems to be hitting it’s stride. We should be getting a Liu Xiang sighting tomorrow and a feel for how well his comeback is coming. But while the hurdles have been the highlight of the meet in the past, taking on Diamond League status this year has brought several strong fields to China. Following are the events that I think bring the best set of match ups to Shanghai.   Women’s 100 WL: 10.94, Carmelita Jeter – USA Best Entry: 10.94, Carmelita Jeter…

I had the opportunity to watch the Pac-10 championships last night as they are now being shown on Fox Sports (check your local listings). Over the next week they will also be televising the Big12, Big10 and SEC championships. So I thought I would watch them all and give my 2 cents as to how these major conferences are shaping up as they head into the Regional and NCAA Championships. On the women’s side to paraphrase an old saying, if it crossed the line first it must’ve been a Duck. As in the Oregon Ducks, because that’s how dominating this team was. The Oregon women have put together one of…

After fast season opening sprint times by Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay this past week, Bolt responds with world leading 9.86. Video below along with top results of all events.     MEN’S 100 Wind +0.1 mps             1. Usain Bolt JAM 9.86 0.179 2. Michael Frater JAM 10.15 0.151 3. Mike Rodgers USA 10.18 0.154 4. Trell Kimmons USA 10.25 0.151 5. Travis Padgett USA 10.30 0.138       MEN’S 200 Wind -0.6 mps             1. Ryan Bailey USA 20.58 0.228 2. Marvin Anderson JAM 20.59 0.243 3. Rae Edwards USA 20.73 0.208 4. Johan Wissman SWE 21.20…

Remember when you were a kid and someone had something that you really wanted, like a stick of gum or a candy bar? So you asked if they had another one and they said, “no, want half?”. You reluctantly said yes, because you really wanted the gum or the candy, but somehow half was just never as good as having the whole thing! Well, that’s how I feel having looked at the schedule for the Diamond League, as well as the majority of major meets on this year’s schedule. I love watching a good track meet, but what the sport seems to be offering these days is just half! It…

The face of track and field is Usain Bolt – he’s double World and Olympic Champion and WR holder in the 100 & 200 meters. Until he’s beaten everyone else will be compared to him. Tyson Gay’s performance Sunday in Manchester say’s he is definitely comparable, and must be in the conversation. I’m sure by now you’ve heard the final time – a sizzling 19.41 for a straight 200 meters that set a new WR for a straight run of the distance. the first thing I heard several people say was, “but Bolt’s record is 19.19 so what’s the big deal about 19.4”. Well let’s take a look at the…