Monday Morning Decathlete (Special Tuesday Edition)

The Boston Marathon's traditional Monday date pushed this week's column back a day.

What did we learn this week?

NBC/Universal has shown its true colors.I planned on starting off this column writing about what happened in the Boston Marathon—and A LOT happened. From the perspective of a fan, though, the biggest news was not about the athletes or what they did.

The biggest news was the tremendous difficulty many of us had in seeing the greatest Boston Marathon of all time. The fact that one of the USA's biggest Olympic-oriented events was so difficult to watch tells us a lot about NBC/Universal, specifically that the corporation is harmful to domestic Olympic sports such as track and field and road running.

The race has, in the past, been on national television. To say that this year's race was on national television is an exercise in semantics. It was on Universal Sports TV, which is not regional, but it most certainly not available everywhere in the country. NBC has not put its full force behind getting the channel wide distribution. The majority of fans simply do not have television as a viewing option for the race.

The only real viewing option for the majority of fans is the companion website, UniversalSports.com, which can only be described as amateur at best. There is no end to the list of problems the site has at almost any time a track fan wants to watch one of their webcasts. Monday was even worse than usual.

What's On: The Weekend

NCAA Championships

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are Monday in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Women at 12:08 PM EST, Men at 12:48

Meet website / Flotrack coverage / Cross Country Town USA page

LIVE webcast begins at Noon on Monday at NCAA.com
LIVE Pre-Shows at Flotrack.org:
Saturday at 2 PM
Sunday at 12:30 PM
Monday at 11:30 AM

I'll be there this weekend, twittering and covering it for House of Run.

To truly enjoy a race, you've got to know who the favorites are and who the underdogs with a legitimate chance are.

On the men's side, I'm calling it for Oklahoma State over Stanford.  The outside shot goes to Wisconsin.  A under-appreciated contender for one of the four trophies is Colorado. Sam Chelanga of Liberty is the overwhelming favorite to win, with Northern Arizona's David McNeill a nearly equally overwhelming favorite for second.

In the women's race, Villanova is a strong favorite.  If they falter, Florida State is most likely to take the title.  The individual race is considered wide open; my super-secret gambling-based predictor calls it for Sheila Reid.
Previews: Spiked Up Psyched Up (women) /  SUPU (men)

International
The third meet in the KCB/Athletics Kenya Cross Country series takes place on Saturday in Kapsokwony.

The Nyeri Half Marathon will be run on Saturday in the Kenyan town of Nyeri.

The Safaricom Siaya 10 kilometer Road Race will be held on Saturday in the Kenyan town of Siaya.

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, will be held on Sunday in the Indian city.
Race website
Ten sub-1:00:00 men are running, headlined by Deriba Merga and Geoffrey Mutai.  Twelve sub-1:10:00 women are running, headlined by Aselefech Mergia.
Previews: Times of India / Hindustan Times / Wall Street Journal / IAAF

The ABN AMRO Zevenheuvelenloop 15k, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, will be held on Sunday in the Dutch city of Nijmegen.
Race website
Two road world record holders are entered: Leonard Komon (10k) and Felix Limo (15k).  This looks like a great battle.
Previews: Mzungo / IAAF

The Lotto CrossCup van West-Vlaanderen, an EAA Cross Country Permit meet, will be run on Sunday in the Belgian city of Roeselare.

The Corta Mato Cidade De Amora, an EAA Cross Country Permit meet, will be run on Sunday in the Portugese city of Amora.

The Cross Internacional de Soria, an EAA Cross Country Permit meet, will be run on Sunday in the Spanish city of Soria.
Preview of all three EAA meets

The Great Ethiopian Run will be held on Sunday in Addis Ababa.  With 35,000 entrants, it is Africa's largest 10k.

The Tuskys Mattresses Wareng Cross Country meet will be held on Sunday in the Kenyan town of Eldoret.  World champion Joseph Ebuya is entered.

The Kobe Women's Half Marathon will be held on Sunday in the Japanese city.

Track on TV
Running the Sahara, 11:10 AM and 9:40 PM Saturday on Showtime Family Zone
NCAA Cross Country Championships Pre-Show, 2 PM Saturday at Flotrack.org
Big Ten Cross Country Championships (tape-delay), noon Sunday on the Big Ten Network
NCAA Cross Country Championships Pre-Show, 12:30 PM Sunday at Flotrack.org
New York City Marathon rerun, 1 AM Monday on Universal Sports
NCAA Cross Country Championships Pre-Show, 11:30 AM Monday at Flotrack.org
NCAA Cross Country Championships Live Webcast, Noon Monday at NCAA.com

What's On: The Weekend

New York City Marathon
The (arguably) most famous race in the world, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and the final World Marathon Major of 2011, will be run through the five boroughs on Sunday. 

Pro women at 9:10 AM, pro men and mass start at 9:40.

• Race website
• TV Coverage: 2 PM Sunday on NBC (tape-delay)
• LIVE TV Coverage: 9 AM Sunday on Universal Sports
• Live Webcast: 9 AM Sunday at UniversalSports.com ($)

The media has blanket coverage of the race.  Your best sites for race previews and coverage are Runner's World, Flotrack, the NYRR Marathon Channel, and Universal Sports.  You could immerse yourself from now until the gun on Sunday morning with those sites alone.

Also check out Flotrack's The Weekend Ahead video, with the always-hip background music...


Believe it or not, there are other major races going on.

The Joongang Seoul Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race, will be run in the South Korean capitol on Sunday.
Race website

The Cross Internacional de Atapuerca, the opening race of the 2010-11 IAAF Cross Country Permit series, will be run on Sunday through the Spanish town on Atapuerca and its archealogical site.  Headliners are both defending World XC champions, Joseph Ebuya and Emily Chebet.
Race website
IAAF Preview

Most NCAA Division II and NAIA conference cross country championships are this weekend, highlighted by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference meet in Las Vegas on Saturday.
USATFCCCA Championship Central page
NAIA Conference pages: men / women


Track on TV
World Half Marathon Championships rerun, 4:30 PM Friday on Universal Sports
2008 New York Marathon rerun, 8:00 PM Friday on Universal Sports
2009 New York Marathon rerun, Midnight and 8:00 PM Saturday on Universal Sports
Endurance, 8:00 PM Saturday on Showtime Family Zone
New York City Marathon live coverage, 9 AM Sunday on Universal Sports and UniversalSports.com
New York City Marathon tape-delay package, 2 PM Sunday on NBC
Prefontaine, 5:35 AM and 9:40 AM Sunday on SHO Next
New York City Marathon rerun, 8 PM Sunday on Universal Sports

What's On This Week

Basically, nothing. It's fall, there's no action besides cross country and road racing.


Track on TV
Prefontaine, 6:00 AM Monday and 10:10 AM Friday on The Movie Channel Xtra
Running the Sahara, 1:05 PM and 10:00 PM Tuesday on Showtime Extreme; 9:45 AM Thursday on Showtime Next
Continental Cup Day 1 rerun, 3:00 AM Tuesday on Universal Sports
Continental Cup Day 2 rerun, 3:00 AM Wednesday on Universal Sports
World Half Marathon Championships, 1:00 PM Friday on Universal Sports

Oslo Diamond League Preview

The meet will be webcast live staring at 2 PM EDT at UniversalSports.com. CBCSports.ca will also stream the meet.

TV coverage is at 8 PM Friday on Universal Sports, and at 2 PM Saturday on CBC.

1:15 PM: Women's Discus Throw
Leading entries: #1 Yarelis Barrios, #4 Nadine Muller, #7 Sandra Perkovic, #8 Stephanie Brown Trafton, #9 Nicoleta Grasu, #10 Yarisley Collado, #12 Aretha Thurmond, #16 Zaneta Glanc
Analysis: Barrios is the Diamond League points leader and hasn't lost this year.

1:50 PM: Men's Pole Vault
Leading Entries: #1 Steven hooker, #2 Malte Mohr, #3 Alexander Straub, #4 Renaud Lavillenie, #5 Steven Lewis, #6 Derek Miles, #8 Aleksandr Gripich, #9 Przemyslaw Czerwinski, #13 Maksym Mazuryk, #14 Michel Balner
Analysis: Hooker inexplicably bombed last time out in Shanghai. Look for him to get even with Mohr, who came out the winner there.

2:40 PM: Men's Shot Put
Leading Entries: #1 Christian Cantwell, #4 Ralf Bartels, #5 Dylan Armstrong, #6 Reese Hoffa, #8 Pavel Lyzhyn, #9 Tomasz Majewski, #14 Adam Nelson
Analysis: Armstrong is on a bit of a hot streak and broke the Canadian record yesterday. I think Cantwell is still too much for him, though.

3:43 PM: Women's Long Jump
Leading Entries: #2 Olga Kucherenko, #3 Darya Klishina, #4 Funmi Jimoh, #5 Keila Costa, #7 Naide Gomes, #8 Ksenija Balta, #11 Elena Sokolova, #15 Brianna Glenn
Analysis: Kucherenko put up the year's best mark last week.

3:49 PM: Women's High Jump
Leading Entries: #1 Blanka Vlašic, #2 Chaunté Howard Lowe, #3 Ruth Beitia, #5 Svetlana Shkolina, #6 Emma Green, #7 Levern Spencer, #9 Irina Gordeeva
Analysis: Lowe is riding a good streak, beating the nearly-unbeatable Vlašic and then breaking the American record. Vlašic is considered nearly unbeatable for a reason, though. This is likely to be a very interesting competition.

4:04 PM: Women's 400 meters
Leading Entries: #2 Amantle Montsho, #3 Novlene Williams-Mills, #4 Debbie Dunn, #5 Shericka Williams, #8 Christine Ohuruogu, #12 Monica Hargrove, #13 Denisa Rosolova
Analysis: Toss-up. No strong favorite here.

4:15 PM: Men's 400m Hurdles
Leading Entries: #2 Kerron Clement, #3 Bershawn Jackson, #4 Isa Phillips, #6 L.J. van Zyl, #11 David Greene, #12 Justin Gaymon, #14 Michael Tinsley
Analysis: Probably a homestretch battle between the top two Americans.

4:20: Men's Javelin Throw
Leading Entries: #1 Andreas Thorkildsen, #2 Petr Frydrych, #3 Tero Pitkämäki, #5 Guillermo Martinez, #7 Vadims Vasilevskis, #11 Teemu Wirkkala, #12 Ari Mannio, #17 Antti Ruuskanen
Analysis: The place will go wild every time Norway's Thorkildsen steps up to throw, especially if he is winning as expected.

4:25 PM: Women's Steeplechase
Leading Entries: #1 Gladys Jerotich Kipkemoi, #2 Milcah Chemos Cheywa, #3 Lydia Rotich, #4 Sofia Assefa, #7 Katarzyna Kowalska, #13 Mekdes Bekele, #18 Sophia Duarte
Analysis: Kipkemoi won fairly easily last time out in Shanghai, in a time superior to everyone else's PR save Cheywa.

4:45 PM: Women's 100m Hurdles
Leading Entries: #1 Lolo Jones, #2 Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, #6 Perdita Felicien, #7 Delloreen Ennis-London, #8 Danielle Carruthers, #13 Vonette Dixon, #14 Carolin Nytra, #19 Christina Vukicevic
Analysis: Jones has been her usual inconsistent self lately, while Lopes-Schliep is steady as a rock. They're far better than anyone else, though. If Jones has it together she wins, otherwise it's the Canadian.

5:00 PM: Men's 100 meters
Leading Entries: #2 Asafa Powell, #11 Michael Frater, #14 Richard Thompson, #15 Lerone Clarke, #16 Churandy Martina, #20 Trell Kimmons
Analysis: If there's one thing the Diamond League has failed to do, it's get the best men's sprinters to face off. But this is only the third meet, so maybe these are just undercards. In any case, Powell is the class of the field.

5:10 PM: Men's 800 meters
Leading Entries: #1 David Lekuta Rudisha, #5 Abubaker Kaki, #7 Alfred Kirwa Yego, #8 Marcin Lewandowski, #11 Bram Som, #12 Augustine Choge, #18 Adam Kszczot, #21 Michael Rimmer
Analysis: There's talk of a possible World Record here. Rudisha and Kaki are great runners, but that record is an awfully tough one. If the pace is too agressive, the two favorites could fade and open the door for an upset.

5:20 PM Men's 5000 meters
Leading Entries: #1 Eliud Kipchoge, #2 Vincent Chepkok, #3 Edwin Churuiyot Soi, #5 Imane Merga, #13 Chris Solinsky, #14 Tariku Bekele, Bernard Lagat (#8 at 3k)
Analysis: Your usual Bislett Games long-distance clash of the titans will be renewed. From a US perspective, there's also the possibility of an American record, but I don't think Lagat has much of a chance at it. If it happens it will go to Solinsky.

5:40 PM: Women's 200 meters
Leading Entries: #5 Carmelita Jeter, #6 LaShauntea Moore, #12 Sheri Ann Brooks, #16 Cydonie Mothersill
Analysis: This is a bit out of Jeter's comfort zone, but she's a much better sprinter than Moore.

5:50 PM: Men's Mile
Leading Entries: #2 Deresse Mekonnen, #4 Asbel Kiprop, #5 William Biwott Tanui, #9 Mekonnene Gebremedhin, #16 Gideon Gathimba, #18 Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono, #21 Juan Carlos Higuero
Analysis: Kiprop is probably the best miler of the bunch but runs dumb from time to time, such as in Shanghai. I don't think he's going to get burned twice in a row, though.

Shanghai Diamond League Preview

The meet will be webcast live at www.universalsports.com at 8 AM on Sunday (fee req'd). TV coverage will be on Universal Sports at 6:00 PM and on CBC next Saturday at 5:00 PM
Meet website
IAAF preview
Universal Sports preview

6:20 AM (EDT) Women's Shot Put
Leading entries

#1 Nadzeya Ostapchuk (BLR), #2 Valerie Vili (NZL), #5 Nadine Kleinert (GER), #6 Jillian Camarena (USA), #8 Gong Lijiao (GHN), #9 Misleydis Gonzalez (CUB), #25 Liu Xiangrong (CHN)
Analysis

Ostapchuk v. Vili is one of the best rivalries around. This will be Vili's first big test since firing her coach after losing the World Indoor Championships to Ostapchuk. Everyone else here is competing for third.

6:30 AM Men's Discus Throw
Leading entries
#1 Gerd Kanter (EST), #2 Robert Harting (GER), #3 Jason Young (USA), #4 Piotr Malachowski (POL), #5 Zoltán Kövágó (HUN), #7 Jarred Rome (USA), #13 Ehsan Hadadi (IRI), #25 Ian Waltz (USA)
Analysis
One effect of the Diamond League setup is that the traditionally ignored events, like the discus, will have loaded fields every time out. Kanter has put up some big distances in southern California's big winds, but Harting won at the recent all-throws meet in Germany. Those two, along with Kövágó, are your favorites for the win.

6:35 AM Women's Triple Jump
Leading entries

#1 Olga Rypakova (KAZ), #2 Yargeris Savigne (CUB), #3 Anna Pyatykh (RUS), #8 Nadezhda Alekhina (RUS), #9 Limei Xie (CHN), #18 Gisele de Oliviera (BRA)

Analysis

All three World Indoor medalists are here, led by champion Rypakova.

7:40 AM Men's Pole Vault
Leading entries
#1 Steve Hooker (AUS), #2 Malte Mohr (GER), #6 Steve Lewis (UK), #14 Hendrik Gruber (GER), #15 Aleksandr Gripich (RUS), #25 Maksym Mazuryk (UKR)
Analysis
It would be very surprising if Hooker lost.

7:43 AM Men's High Jump
Leading entries
#3 Dusty Jonas (USA), #4 Jesse Williams (USA), #8 Andra Manson (USA), #12 Andrey Tereshin (RUS)
Analysis
It looks like the USA should do well here. Most of these guys haven't competed much since the indoor season, with the exception of Jonas and Manson.

WEBCAST BEGINS

8:05 AM Women's 400m Hurdles
Leading entries

#1 Lashinda Demus (USA), #2 Melaine Walker (JAM), #4 Kaliese Spencer (JAM), #6 Natalya Antyukh (RUS), #8 Sheena Tosta (USA), #9 Anna Jesien (POL), #11 Ana Rabechenyuk (UKR), #16 Dominique Darden (USA)
Analysis

Walker is the defending World champ but has a habit of starting her season slowly. Look for Demus to win.

8:15 AM Women's 100 meters
Leading entries

#1 Carmelita Jeter (USA), #5 Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM), #8 Chandra Sturrup (BAH), #21 Sherone Simpson (JAM), #23 Lisa Barber (USA)

Analysis

World champ Fraser is one of the "Diamond League Ambassadors", but Jeter is the star of this show.

8:20 AM Men's Javelin Throw
Leading entries
#2 Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR), #8 Petr Frydrych (CZE), #10 Vítězslav Veselý (CZE), #15 Igor Janik (POL), #24 Roman Avramenko (UKR)
Analysis
This is Thorky's season opener, so while he's favored it's hard to tell what may happen. This competition will not count in the Diamond League standings as it's an extra event above and beyond the mandated events.

8:25 AM Men's 400 meters
Leading entries
#4 Jeremy Wariner (USA), #7 Ben Offereins (AUS), #15 Leslie Djhoné (FRA), #22 David Neville (USA)
Analysis
We'll find out whether Wariner was just rusty in his opener or if he's really having problems. He lost to Neville last time out, and both Offereins and Djhoné are capable of sub-45. This is no cakewalk for Wariner.

8:30 AM Men's Long Jump
Leading entries
#1 Dwight Phillips (USA), #2 Fabrice Lapierre (AUS), #3 Irving Saladino (PAN), #12 Brian Johnson (USA), #14 Su Xiongfeng (CHN), #15 Chris Noffke (AUS)
Analysis

This could be the most interesting competition of the whole meet. Lapierre put up a big mark in April, Phillips was on fire last year, and Saladino is no slouch. Chinese entry Su is a dark horse and the home team's best chance for a win.

8:35 AM Men's 200 meters

Leading entries

#1 Usain Bolt (JAM), #12 Marvin Anderson (JAM), #18 Ryan Bailey (USA)

Analysis

Like lambs to slaughter.

8:45 AM Women's Steeplechase

Leading entries

#3 Milcah Chemos Cheywa (KEN), #8 Gladys Kipkemoi (KEN), #11 Sofia Assefa (ETH), #18 Lydia Rotich (KEN), #20 Katarzyna Kowalska (POL), #25 Lisa Galaviz (USA)

Analysis

This is the first steeplechase of the year for all but Galaviz.

9:05 AM Women's 800 meters

Leading entries

#2 Jenny Meadows (UK), #3 Yegeniya Zinurova (RUS), #4 Kenia Sinclair (JAM), #10 Janeth Jepkosgei (KEN), #18 Tatyana Petlyuk (IKR)

Analysis

Sinclair may be more race-sharp than the others, as she's run two big races already while Meadows and Zinurova have been on the shelf since the indoor season.

8:15 AM Women's 5000 meters

Leading entries

#3 Linet Masai (KEN), #8 Sentayehu Ejigu (ETH), #11 Meselech Melkamu (ETH), #14 Sylvia Kibet (KEN), #18 Florence Kiplagat (KEN)

Analysis

World XC runner-up Masai has, so far, put together the best season.

9:40 AM Men's 110m Hurdles

Leading entries

#1 David Oliver (USA), #6 Dwight Thomas (JAM), #8 Ryan Brathwaite (BAR), #15 Liu Xiang (CHN), #22 Allen Johnson (USA)

Analysis

The house will be rockin' for Liu Xiang. But I'd be surprised if he won. Oliver is head and shoulders above the rest.

9:50 AM Men's 1500 meters

Leading entries

#1 Augustine Choge (KEN), #2 Deresse Mekonnen (ETH), #3 Haron Keitany (KEN), #6 Asbel Kiprop (KEN), #7 William Tanui (KEN), #16 Mekonnen Gebremedhin (ETH), #23 Geoffrey Rono (KEN)

Analysis

This is the first outdoor 1500 of the season of any importance. Indoors, Mekonnen beat Choge in their only meeting.

What's On: the weekend

Updated on Friday at 11:30 AM

The headliner
The 114th running of the Boston Marathon will begin at 10 AM Monday. Headline athletes include Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Deriba Merga and Abderrahim Goumri.
LIVE TV COVERAGE on Universal Sports from 9:30 AM to 12:30 on Monday (replays at 9 PM and midnight)
LIVE WEBCAST at http://www.universalsports.com/ starting at 9:30 AM on Monday
Race website / Flocast coverage
Universal Sports / Let's Run previews: men, women / Marathon News / Boston Globe / Running Times / Japan Running News

Track & field
Collegiate conference meets
The ACC Championships take place from Thursday to Saturday at Clemson’s Rock Norman Track & Field complex. Indoor champions this year were Florida State’s men by a scant 3½ points over North Carolina, and Clemson’s women by more than 50 points.
LIVE WEBCAST at http://www.theacc.com/ begin at 3 PM on Friday and 3 PM on Saturday
Meet website / live results

The Big South Championships take place Thursday through Saturday at Charleston Southern’s Whitfield Stadium. Liberty is looking to complete a triple-double by winning both men’s and women’s titles in cross, indoor and outdoor.
LIVE WEBCAST ($4.95) at http://www.bigsouthsports.com/
Meet website / live results

Collegiate Duals
#7 UCLA travels to #2 Oregon on Saturday for a men-only matchup. The competition is expected to be very close.
LIVE TV COVERAGE on the Oregon Sports Network on Saturday from Noon – 2 PM local time
LIVE WEBCAST (pay) at http://www.goducks.com/
Meet website / live results
Runnerspace scoring prediction / The Oregonian / GoDucks.com / Eugene Register-Guard

#4 Arkansas travels to #13 Texas on Saturday for a men’s only matchup. The Hogs beat the Longhorns at home in January.
TexasSports.com

More collegiate meets

Invitationals
The Mt. San Antonio College Relays take place from Thursday through Saturday at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut CA. Tyson Gay and AllysonFelix are scheduled to compete.
Meet website / Live results / Flotrack coverage
Let's Run fan guides: Friday, Saturday
San Gabriel Valley Tribune / Whittier Daily News

The 83rd Kansas Relays take place from Wednesday through Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence KS. Veronica Campbell-Brown and Churandy Martina are scheduled to compete.
Meet website / Live results
University Daily Kansan / WIBW / KTKA / Lawrence Journal-World / Wichita Eagle

International
The fourth Athletics Kenya/New KCC meeting will take place on Thursday in Mumais, Kenya.
The Standard / Daily Nation

The Nagano Marathon will be run on Sunday.
Race website

Questioning the Olympic Marathon Trials Bidding

Joe Battaglia has a long and involved story at Universal Sports about the selection process for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. It's interesting to read at face value, and reading between the lines is even more interesting.

Quick recap if you're short on the story: the 2008 OT races were held in conjunction with the New York and Boston marathons, held the prior day on separate courses. It was a big success and it was widely expected that 2012 would be similar. Houston beat them out with a bid to host both of the OT races along with their own marathon in January.

When I first heard about it, I wondered if there was any USATF funny-business going on. But I didn't have to read much to find out that Houston won because they had the best bid. They offered to cover all the costs, pay out more prize money than was required, and didn't expect any cut in advertising money from USATF. Add in the time-of-year advantage and you're looking at almost a perfect bid from USATF's standpoint, aside from being outside the major media markets of the northeast. Even that might not be a downside, as NY and Boston already give serious marathon racing outsized attention, while Houston could be seen as a place to take it from near-zero to something.

What's really interesting is that the story was written at all. Ever since the OT site was announced, the NYRRC's Mary Wittenberg has been bitching about it. Not aggressively, since there appears to be little to bitch about, but she's made her disapproval well known. Note that the BAA has said essentially nothing in the press, and they were in basically the same situation as the NYRRC. They aren't as aggressively self-promoting as the NYRRC and/or Wittenberg.

Battaglia doesn't have an axe to grind. He just needed something to write, and he tried to make it look like there were two sides to the story. But there aren't, Battaglia knows it, and doesn't pretend otherwise. New York got beat fair and square.

LATE EDIT: Thanks to pjm for his insight in the comments. There's a thread on this at Let's Run, and I'll just say very few people are jumping to Wittenberg's defense. To be fair, they're not exactly praising Logan either/

Worlds, Day 6 -- OMFG!

Unbe-f**king-believable, part II.
SI's Tim Layden weighs in.
Bolt has the longest stride of any sprinter in history and he turns it over like someone six to eight inches shorter than he is. He has a freaky combination of skills; it's like if you had Shaq and Chris Paul in one person -- you're not supposed to be able to do that in the same body.

Today
Results
Recaps: Let's Run morning info / World-Track / IAAF

Tomorrow
Schedule / Preview
TV: Versus, 1:30 to 3:30 PM
Web: UniversalSports.com, 3:10 AM (50k walk), 10:55 AM (evening session); IAAF Radio, 11 AM
Highlights: M 400, W 200, M High Jump, W Discus

My thoughts on the sixth day of the worlds...

I still can't say anything new about Bolt, so I won't try.

Based on times in his wake, I'd say this Berlin track is very, very fast.

Versus/NBC is getting better at doing field events live in between running events, but they're still missing huge stories. Trey Hardee is a new star, and he essentially clinched the decathlon title with three javelin PRs in a row. Not a single one made the screen. And while the very-fascinating women's high jump competition was covered more or less in real-time, the key moments were missed.

I got a bronze out of Ariane Friedrich in the fantasy league. I dropped Paula Radcliffe, because she dropped out of the marathon, and picked up Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie in the 200.

Worlds, Day 5

Today
Results
Afternoon session: recap / video-on-demand
Evening session recaps: IAAF / World Track / video-on-demand
Deca 100 / Deca long jump / Deca shot / Men's 400 semis / Men's 200 semis / Women's 200 heats / Men's disc / Men's 1500 / Women's 100 hurdles / Women's 800 / Deca high jump / Deca 400

Tomorrow
Schedule / Preview
TV: Versus, 1:30-3:30
Web: UniversalSports.com, 3:55 AM (afternoon session), 11:45 AM (evening session); IAAF Radio, 11 AM
Highlights: M 200, M 110h, W High Jump, W 400h, Decathlon Day 2

My thoughts on the fifth day of the Worlds...

The throws have been screwy. Kristian Pars and Gerd Kanter were both undefeated on the season, and neither finished in the top two. Barbora Spotakova has been nearly unbeatable in major competition, but she got beat. The Germans are competing waaay over their heads in the field events. I sure hope Ariane Friedrich comes through for me in the high jump.

I thought Bernard Lagat was the best runner in the 1500, but two little things kept him from winning. He was in great position at the head of the backstretch, but there were too many other runners still in the picture and he got boxed in right before the turn. Even then, he might have had a chance, but Mehdi Baala gave him a shove just before the homestretch that more or less killed his last chance.

Asbel Kiprop may actually have been a better runner, but boy did he run stupid. Darn near last at the bell, he had to go out to lane 3 around the last turn and still got fourth. I'm glad the IAAF fantasy league system's cutoff kept me from picking him up for the 1500 final.

Which brings me to another issue. Kenyans will win many medals with a few golds among them. You can bank on that, year in and year out. But as for predicting which Kenyans...that is always very hard to guess. It's part of the reason they give off the aura of invincibility, even though they're second-fiddle to the Ethiopians at 5k and above.

As for the Caster Semenya rhubarb, I'll refer you to the sober analysis by the Science of Sport guys. I picked her in the fantasy league, but my loyalties end there.

Decathlon? Follow it here. Summary: Leonel Suarez may be in eighth right now, but that don't mean dick when you realize how good a second-day decathlete he is. And Germany's Pascal Behrenbruch, now back in 11th, will give the crowd a thrill when he makes a run at a medal. Again, the German is competing waaay over his head.

Worlds, Day 4

Today
Results
Recaps: IAAF / Sports Illustrated / USA Today
Afternoon session: recap / video-on-demand
Evening session: video-on-demand
Finals recaps: Women's jav / Women's 400 / Men's 400H / Men's Steeple

Tomorrow
Event schedule
IAAF preview
TV: Versus, 1:30-4 PM
Web: UniversalSports.com, 4:05 AM (afternoon session), 12:05 PM (evening session); IAAF Radio, 11 AM
Highlights: Men's 1,500, W 800, W 100h, M Discus, Decathlon Day 1

My thoughts on the fourth day of the Worlds...

Isn't it amazing how running smart is so much easier than running stupid? Sanya Richards should know now.

In the first round of the 400 hurdles, my brother asked me what was up with Bershawn Jackson, who appeared well behind until the stretch drive. I said it looked worse than it really was because of Javier Culson in the next lane over, who I identified as a quickly rising star. Well whadya know, Culson won silver. Shoulda picked him in the fantasy league.

Speaking of the fantasy league, I had a less than perfect day. Richards was my USA pick, mostly because if she bombed I could replace her with Lashinda Demus, who runs on Thursday. So I got 100 points there. After that it went downhill. Nelson Evora and Barbora Spotakova both got silver, in the triple and jav respectively. Obergfoll underperformed (again!) for fifth in the jav, and Brimin Kipruto inexplicably bombed to seventh in the steeple. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Obergfoll will ALWAYS disappoint you in the championship meets. I should have taken my own advice.

So my plan is to drop Kipruto in favor of Kiprop, who races the 1500 tomorrow, and the following day drop Obergfoll in favor of high jumper Ariane Friedrich.

Worlds, Day 3

Today
Results
IAAF summary / SI summary
Video-on-demand
Event reports: Men's 1500 & women's 800 semis / Women's pole vault / Women's triple jump Women's steeple / Men's hammer / Men's 10k / Women's 100

Tomorrow
Event schedule / IAAF preview
TV: Versus, 1-3 PM (replays at 8 & 11 PM)
Web: Universal Sports, 4:05 AM (afternoon session), 11:45 AM (evening session); IAAF Radio, 11 AM
Highlights: Men's Steeple, Men's 400 hurdles, Women's 400, Men's Triple Jump, Women's Javelin

My thoughts on day 3 of the worlds...

Surprises, surprises. The undefeatable Isinabyeva no-heighted in the pole vault.

The dominating Russian machine in women's middle-distance running became just above average and nothing more. Galkina was a mortal in the steeplechase and got beat, running a good 13 second slower than in the opressive Beijing heat last year. They got just one finalist in the 800 meters. Looks like they're going to have to come up with a new doping plan!

Speaking of the steeple, am I being too rough to think Barringer's American Record in 5th place was an under-achievement? She was way back early and then moved up late. It's possible she was running all-out in the first third of the race, but if she had been able to be in the race when the break was made I think she could have won a medal.

The USA has made a step up in middle-distance from the last few years. The 800 is still the weakest part of the women's national program, but compare Beijing (where none qualified to the semis) and here (where all did but none to the finals) and it's a bit better. Vessey is not ready for prime time, but give her a year and she probably will be.

The men's 1500? Three finalists, baa-bee, and they all looked damn good getting there. You know how long it's been since we had three finalists in an Olympics or Worlds 1500? 1912, I think.

And the men's 10k...Ritz broke his PR by 13 seconds for 6th, and Rupp ran 27:37 for 8th. The best result in decades and it feels like we can do better.

I hear Larry Rawson was in fine Rawson form in an ESPN interview.

Fantasy league? Savigne came through for a win in the triple jump, ditto for Bekele in the 10k, but Pars bombed for fourth in the hammer. My daily transfer was dropping Mikhnevich (fourth in the women's shot) for Paula Radcliffe (looks like a lock for women's marathon).

Worlds, Day 2 -- Holy S**t!

Click here to blow your mind

Today:
IAAF recap
Video-on-demand: afternoon session / evening session
Event reports: Men's 100 / Women's shot / Women's 20k Walk / Women's Heptathlon
Early session recap

Tomorrow:
Event schedule
TV: Versus, 1-4 PM
Web: UniversalSports.com, 11:45 AM; IAAF Radio, 11 AM
Highlights: Men's hammer, women's pole vault and triple jump, women's steeple and 100, men's 10k
Previews: IAAF / Let's Run

My thoughts on the second day of the Worlds...

I can't say anything that hasn't been said about Usain Bolt, so I won't try.

Kinda sucks that this happened the same afternoon as Woods had his first-ever falter down the homestretch in a major. Bolt will be the second headline in the US sports media.

I wished I'd picked Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon instead of Dobrynska. I dropped her in the IAAF fantasy league in favor of South African 800 phenom Caster Semenya. But I think there's another Brit gold waiting for me on Sunday in the women's marathon.

My other fantasy league picks came through big for me. My captains (who get double points) both won, one with world record bonus points. Valerie Vili came through big-time in the shot and Bolt...I said I wasn't going to talk about Bolt. Sanya Richards looked awfully good in her semi, too.

The men's 400 hurdles semis were pretty weird. The USA can't sweep, with only two finalists, but it sure looks good for a one-two finish.

Adjusted for wind & altitude, here are all the sub-9.90 times ever...

Adjusted	Official	Athlete	Year	Venue
9.62	9.58	Usain Bolt	2009	Berlin
9.69	9.69	--Bolt	2008	Beijing
9.70	9.77	--Bolt	2008	Bruxelles
9.74	9.72	Asafa Powell	2008	Lausanne
9.75	9.71	Tyson Gay	2009	Berlin
9.76	9.83	--Powell	2008	Bruxelles
9.78	9.79	--Bolt	2009	Paris
9.79	9.77	--Gay	2009	Rome
9.79	9.78	--Powell	2007	Rieti
9.8	9.79	Maurice Greene	1999	Athínai
9.81	9.8	--Greene	1999	Sevilla
9.82	9.82	--Powell	2008	Monaco
9.82	9.83	--Powell	2007	Stuttgart
9.82	9.84	--Gay	2007	Indianapolis
9.82	9.84	--Powell	2007	Bruxelles
9.82	9.85	--Gay	2007	Osaka
9.83	9.82	--Greene	2001	Edmonton
9.84	9.74	--Powell	2007	Rieti
9.84	9.85	--Bolt	2008	Beijing
9.84	9.86	Ato Boldon	1998	Athínai
9.84	9.86	--Bolt	2009	Kingston
9.85	9.76	--Bolt	2008	Kingston
9.85	9.77	--Powell	2006	Gateshead
9.85	9.77	--Powell	2006	Gateshead
9.85	9.84	Bruny Surin	1999	Sevilla
9.85	9.85	--Bolt	2008	Kingston
9.85	9.86	--Greene	2000	Berlin
9.85	9.87	--Greene	2000	Sydney
9.86	9.77	--Powell	2005	Athínai
9.86	9.77	--Gay	2008	Eugene
9.86	9.85	--Powell	2006	Saint-Denis
9.86	9.86	Frank Fredericks	1996	Lausanne
9.87	9.68	--Gay	2008	Eugene
9.87	9.77	--Bolt	2009	Ostrava
9.87	9.86	--Boldon	1999	Athínai
9.88	9.84	--Powell	2009	Berlin
9.88	9.85	--Powell	2006	Roma
9.88	9.86	--Greene	1997	Athínai
9.88	9.87	--Powell	2004	Bruxelles
9.88	9.88	--Boldon	1998	Kuala Lumpur
9.88	9.98	--Powell	2004	Monaco
9.89	9.84	Donovan Bailey	1996	Atlanta
9.89	9.85	--Powell	2005	Ostrava
9.89	9.89	Shawn Crawford	2004	Athínai
9.89	9.91	--Greene	2000	Osaka
9.89	9.91	--Powell	2004	London
9.89	9.97	Leroy Burrell	1992	Barcelona
9.89	10.03	--Bailey	1997	Abbotsford
9.89	10.04	Calvin Smith	1993	Bruxelles

Worlds, Day 1

Day 1 recaps: Let's Run / IAAF
Video-on-demand: Morning session / Afternoon session

Day 2:
Competition schedule
TV schedule: NBC, 2 PM (to be rerun on Versus at 7 & 11 PM); CBC, 4 PM
Web schedule: Universal Sports, 12:05 PM; IAAF radio, 11 AM
Previews: Let's Run / IAAF / Sports Illustrated / ESPN

My thoughts on the first day of the Worlds...

Cantwell came through in the clutch in the shot put while the other Americans choked. Sounds like Beijing all over again, except this time Majewski got topped. Shortly I'll have my world rankings for the shot redone.

The women's 10k did not go according to form, and this should have been apparent right at the bell. Defar usually bolts to the front and immediately puts a hurt on her competition at exactly 400 to go but obviously not this time. At that point I was sure Melkamu was going to win, but down the homestretch Defar slowed, which forced Melkamu to break stride, and that may have been the tinry difference needed for Masai to win. Back with the mortals, it was no surprise that Flanagan wasn't a factor, nor was it surprising to see Yoder-Begley win that "B-race" in a new PR.

Various online discussions have identified some of the differences between US-based broadcasts (meh) and the BBC broadcasts (wow) that Universal Sports uses for its webcasts. I noted a big one yesterday: on the Beeb, the announcers are not the stars. You never see them on screen, nor are post-competition interviews a part of the broadcasts. Yesterday we got three minutes of talking heads before the start of the women's 10k, then two minutes of running before they cut away. Obviously, NBC thinks the announcers are more important than the athletes!

My Day 1 picks in the IAAF fantasy league were Tomasz Majewski and Natalya Dobrynska. The former won silver in the shot, and the latter was not looking good in the heptathlon. But since I saw no one on Day 2 worth picking up who I didn't already have, I stood pat to give Dobrysnka chance. This morning my Russian pick came through in the women's 20k walk...pending dope testing.

UPDATE: New world rankings, men's shot...
1. Christian Cantwell (USA) 234
2. Tomasz Majewski (POL) 208
3. Reese Hoffa (USA) 204
4. Dan Taylor (USA) 130
5. Adam Nelson (USA) 115
6. Ralf Bartels (GER) 101
7. Andrei Mikhnevich (BLR) 89
8. Dylan Armstrong (CAN) 70
9. Pavel Sofyin (RUS) 58
10. Dorian Scott (JAM) 54
Cantwell is a definite #1, with wins at the Worlds and USATF and putting up the year's longest throw. Hoffa has a 4-2 record versus Majewski in 2009, and would have stayed ahead had he won a medal. Bartel's surprise medal moved him way up the charts.

Will Universal Sports Let Us Down?

If you don't recall the full history of Universal Sports' predecessor, WCSN, it went like this. In 2005 there were no American takers on televising the World Championships, and a website popped up to allow US fans to see it. (I passed, as my cable provider carries a Canadian channel.) It was such a hit they added the remaining Golden League meets and the World Athletics Final. The next year they expanded their coverage to include more meets, and in '07 they brought on more sports. By '08 they had a TV channel and did so well that NBC bought them out.

One of the things you worry about when a bigger company buys up a smaller one is whether they will change the thing you loved. I didn't love everything about WCSN--they often promised more than they delivered--but you knew they wanted to bring you as much track as they possibly could.

I've been keeping an eye on the Universal Sports website so that I won't miss out on any indoor meets they might bring us from Europe. WCSN always loaded up on these.

Today I spied on the T&FN website a link to Universal Sports' preview of the 2009 marathon season. I checked their scheduled coverage for marathons, and they've already put down Rotterdam, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and the World Half Marathon championships. The track & field schedule? Still nothing listed. I fear there may be little to nothing coming to us from across the pond until June or later.

In case you didn't know, the real owner of Universal is NBC, who has shelled out big bucks for Olympic coverage. They don't give a rat's ass about track (you know this if you've ever seen them do a meet) and I'm sure they see the next two years of the website/cable channel as nothing more than a vehicle to drum up interest in the 2010 winter games. They, of course, could go out and spend some time and money bringing us a few European indoor meets--but I bet they wouldn't see that as a plus, rather they'd probably see it as a minus.

We're Not Suffering Alone

Today NBC announced its new cable HD offering, our old friend Universal Sports (formerly WCSN). While celebrating the likely event that my cable provider picks it up, I suddenly had a sobering thought: All Carol Lewis, all the time.

But as Slate reminds us, track isn't alone in being saddled with complete idiots behind the microphone.

Last week, Kruk's SportsCenter segment on the Tampa Bay Rays concluded with the meaningful observation that they are "a special team that can do special things." This would all be more shocking if Kruk wasn't on a baseball broadcast, where such statements are the coin of the realm. While ESPN is the most egregious offender, the pre- and post-game shows on TBS and Fox aren't much better. TBS's cacophonously uninformative production features former pros Dennis Eckersley, Harold Reynolds, and Cal Ripken Jr. yelling excitedly at one another for a half hour, like a better-natured but equally unintelligible version of Crossfire.

And why are we in the same boat as the national pastime?

[W]ith so many fans, football shows can afford to devote screen time to relatively esoteric subjects that will appeal to the die-hards. With baseball's playoff games routinely rated lower than regular-season football, producers have obviously decided to appeal to the dreaded "casual fan."

Which is, of course, self-defeating. Treat a viewer like you don't expect him to come back, and he won't let you down.