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Thursday, November 30, 2006

News Roundup

There's precious little of it this time of year...

USATF's national convention kicked off. Conventions are generally boring affairs where nothing happens but self-congratulation and schmoozing, and USATF is no exception. They did, however, unveil their new logo:
Blech. I'm still going to wear the old stuff. Their website has also had a makeover, but still no search function. Couldn't they just go down to the local junior high and have some 13-year-old install it for them?

Said Aouita, now a sports analyst for Al Jazeera, comments that Said Saif Shaheen could be a champion at many different distances. I agree--but I was totally unaware that Al Jazeera has sports coverage. Maybe the English-language version will get me live Golden League coverage.

The big European meetings are considering banning Marion Jones. Didn't they talk this way once before and then chicken out?

And finally, and most importantly to me, the IOC called Chicago's bid "more intriguing" than LA's. They cautioned that America's current status as a rogue state harms either bid, however. I don't buy it--it all comes down to cash, and US television puts more in the pot than anyone. Come 2016, it will have been 20 years since the Summer games were in the same general time zone as the USA, and by the time the votes come down W and co. will be out of power. Only Mexico or South America could beat Chicago.

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