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.

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.