t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
OK, why is distance running not popular in the US but fly fishing gets great ESPN time? Why can't the general public watch a 13 minute 5k, but I have co-workers (in NYC, not down south) getting amped to work half a day so they can sit on their couch and watch machines speed around a track 500 times? Its all about advertising. Television advertising. Now, I tried a few years ago to e-mail Craig Masback about this and all I kept getting in response was: USATF's budget is only a million dollars, we can't do anything about it. Well, my first issue is, if USATF's budget is really only a million bucks, Masback and his crew SUCK! I could probably raise a million dollars given a year's time for something much less interesting than the development of America's Track and Field athletes. Come on! Having said that, once someone, ANYONE, raises enough money to air commercials for USATF, I have a great idea to help promote the support. It will help sponsors like Nike, Adidas and Fila, too, because the whole point of the campaign would be to get American Distance runners exposure. The more people who know who Tim Broe is, the more runners who are likely to buy adidas shoes, and the more likely people are to go watch meets on TV, and the more likely people are to pay money to actually go and sit in the stands of a competition. OK... so here is my idea: You take about 7 athletes... Krumenacker Ritz Webb Broe Meb Goucher Kennedy and you have a split screen on the TV. Half of the screen is the person from the chest on up talking, the second half of the screen is a clip of him in his event... preferably a clip of him winning a race, beating an African, setting a record, etc. These are things the general public can relate to. The clip would go something like this: My name is Bob Kennedy, I'm 32 years old and the American Record Holder in the 3000 and 5000 meters. When I'm hot, I can run with anyone in the world, Kenyans, Moroccans, American's. Some people think I'm too old to continue at this level... well, they have a lot to learn. My name is Tim Broe, I'm 24 years old and the American Record Holder in the indoor 3000 meters. Bob Kennedy better realize, the torch of American Distance Running has been passed, only this time, I'm bringing home a medal in 2004 My name is Alan Webb, I'm 19 years old and the High School mile record holder. In 3 years time, I'm going to be chasing gold in Greece. Etc etc etc. I know, perhaps my clips aren't very original or engaging enough, but I'm not an advertising exec... I just think its a good idea to try and get the public to know who these guys are and to build up some rivalries even if they don't really exist. Have Goucher come on and shoot his mouth about being the best until being dethroned (a clip of him beating Kennedy would be a good one). Have them all talk about beating Kenyans and how they have done it (Ritz at 3k Cross for example, or Webb chasing down the WR holder El G at Pre) a number of times and how they are closing the gap. Steal one of Nike's advertising geniuses, I'm sure they could put together an exciting and somewhat controversial commercial. Something as small as this, run on a few prime time stations, would stir up National interest immensely. Why has this not happened yet? What is Craig waiting for? And what do you all think about the idea? Mike _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Also, as I was so politely reminded, this is a co-ed sport, and I would love to see the same idea with America's top women distance runners. Between Suzy, Deena, Hazel Clark, Rudolph, etc, there are plenty of women who can run with the best of the world. Mike From: Michael Contopoulos [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Michael Contopoulos [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 09:19:10 -0500 OK, why is distance running not popular in the US but fly fishing gets great ESPN time? Why can't the general public watch a 13 minute 5k, but I have co-workers (in NYC, not down south) getting amped to work half a day so they can sit on their couch and watch machines speed around a track 500 times? Its all about advertising. Television advertising. Now, I tried a few years ago to e-mail Craig Masback about this and all I kept getting in response was: USATF's budget is only a million dollars, we can't do anything about it. Well, my first issue is, if USATF's budget is really only a million bucks, Masback and his crew SUCK! I could probably raise a million dollars given a year's time for something much less interesting than the development of America's Track and Field athletes. Come on! Having said that, once someone, ANYONE, raises enough money to air commercials for USATF, I have a great idea to help promote the support. It will help sponsors like Nike, Adidas and Fila, too, because the whole point of the campaign would be to get American Distance runners exposure. The more people who know who Tim Broe is, the more runners who are likely to buy adidas shoes, and the more likely people are to go watch meets on TV, and the more likely people are to pay money to actually go and sit in the stands of a competition. OK... so here is my idea: You take about 7 athletes... Krumenacker Ritz Webb Broe Meb Goucher Kennedy and you have a split screen on the TV. Half of the screen is the person from the chest on up talking, the second half of the screen is a clip of him in his event... preferably a clip of him winning a race, beating an African, setting a record, etc. These are things the general public can relate to. The clip would go something like this: My name is Bob Kennedy, I'm 32 years old and the American Record Holder in the 3000 and 5000 meters. When I'm hot, I can run with anyone in the world, Kenyans, Moroccans, American's. Some people think I'm too old to continue at this level... well, they have a lot to learn. My name is Tim Broe, I'm 24 years old and the American Record Holder in the indoor 3000 meters. Bob Kennedy better realize, the torch of American Distance Running has been passed, only this time, I'm bringing home a medal in 2004 My name is Alan Webb, I'm 19 years old and the High School mile record holder. In 3 years time, I'm going to be chasing gold in Greece. Etc etc etc. I know, perhaps my clips aren't very original or engaging enough, but I'm not an advertising exec... I just think its a good idea to try and get the public to know who these guys are and to build up some rivalries even if they don't really exist. Have Goucher come on and shoot his mouth about being the best until being dethroned (a clip of him beating Kennedy would be a good one). Have them all talk about beating Kenyans and how they have done it (Ritz at 3k Cross for example, or Webb chasing down the WR holder El G at Pre) a number of times and how they are closing the gap. Steal one of Nike's advertising geniuses, I'm sure they could put together an exciting and somewhat controversial commercial. Something as small as this, run on a few prime time stations, would stir up National interest immensely. Why has this not happened yet? What is Craig waiting for? And what do you all think about the idea? Mike _ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx _ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com
t-and-f: Peter Maher
A couple of Can listers were wondering what ever happened to former Can marathon runner and 30km world record holder Maher. He was supposed to be living and coaching some runners in Florida. Does anyone know? Regards, Martin
t-and-f: Looking a gift horse (was USATF Advertising idea...)
I've heard that Omega/Swatch timing offered to PAY $25,000 to USATF to time the indoor nationals at the Armory in March. Apparently someone at USATF felt that figure wasn't high enough, turned them down, and now someone else is doing the timing, and - get this - USATF is PAYING for it. If true, that's great economic sense. Someone offers you a free steak dinner but you turn it down because it's not filet mignon, and you wind up paying to eat at MacDonalds. Brilliant! Jim Gerweck Running Times
Re: t-and-f: NYT - U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements
Chris, The hypocracy goes deeper than just the USOC. We have Runner's World featuring a story on the cover to run farther with a banned drug. The best known coffee shop sells tea containing a banned substance. Watch out for your Mac-N-Cheese, it may be next. Harold From: Christopher Goss [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Christopher Goss [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Worldwide Track Field Listserv [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: NYT - U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 08:42:26 -0500 From today's New York Times... U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements American Olympic officials send their athletes contradictory and, to some critics, hypocritical messages about nutritional supplements. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/30/olympics/30OLYM.html?todaysheadlines _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Alan, I can't disagree with you more... on just about everything you said. To begin with, being a northerner, I can tell you that NASCAR is beginning to bridge the gap between the redneck south and north. I work at a Hedge Fund, full with people who drive porche's, not a '75 Corvette propped up on blocks, who are going home, I think tomorrow, or maybe Friday, to watch NASCAR. In addition, many of my friends in college have started watching it as well. I went to a northern university and many of these friends are New Yorkers. Second, perhaps the first reason people ever watched NASCAR was to see a crash. Once popularity builds, and you understand the drivers, the cars, the rivalries, it becomes more about the race and the competition between the athletes and their machines than witnessing a wreck. A perfect example of this is me. I'll give NASCAR a chance, as my friends did, not because I want to see another Dale Ernhardt catastrophe, but because I see my boys getting amped at the competition and rivalry. A crash is the last thing on my mind... if anything I hope they DON'T happen. Who wants to see Booby Labonte out of the race on the second lap because of a crash. Its like seeing El G go down in the last lap of the 1996 Olympic Final. NO FUN! As for running. We need less fluff pieces about all the hardships runners endure, and more action. What would you rather see... Tim Broe talk about how he lost his cat in 5th grade and that's why he decided to start running? Or 7:39 seconds of dueling it out with Leonard Mucheru... changing leads and splitting 4:01 for the last mile? The announcers should have bios on each athlete and let them talk about those interesting tidbits as the race goes on... no reason to pull away from the action. And if you think John Q Public will go away feeling cheated cause Broe got outkicked by Mucheru, you're crazy. No way, no how. Same with when BK took the lead in the Olympic 5k... I don't think any American would really come away from that race thinking it sucked. My non-runner friends hate watching track BECAUSE of all the downtime where there is no action. Show 1-2 hours of races and end it. No more FLUFF! Mike _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Wow! I think that you are on to something. Let's start WWT. We'll capture their interest with the wacked out stuff and then once they catch on we'll have them for the real stuff. I can picture something like the roller derby 400. Helmets, shin guards,elbow pads-all included. The mile team race could take on a whole new meaning. The fans could have dart guns and try to hit the pole vaulters. Acuff could wear the same outfit that she had in Rolling Stone. I can't wait. Harold From: Michael Contopoulos [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Michael Contopoulos [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 11:16:33 -0500 Alan, I can't disagree with you more... on just about everything you said. To begin with, being a northerner, I can tell you that NASCAR is beginning to bridge the gap between the redneck south and north. I work at a Hedge Fund, full with people who drive porche's, not a '75 Corvette propped up on blocks, who are going home, I think tomorrow, or maybe Friday, to watch NASCAR. In addition, many of my friends in college have started watching it as well. I went to a northern university and many of these friends are New Yorkers. Second, perhaps the first reason people ever watched NASCAR was to see a crash. Once popularity builds, and you understand the drivers, the cars, the rivalries, it becomes more about the race and the competition between the athletes and their machines than witnessing a wreck. A perfect example of this is me. I'll give NASCAR a chance, as my friends did, not because I want to see another Dale Ernhardt catastrophe, but because I see my boys getting amped at the competition and rivalry. A crash is the last thing on my mind... if anything I hope they DON'T happen. Who wants to see Booby Labonte out of the race on the second lap because of a crash. Its like seeing El G go down in the last lap of the 1996 Olympic Final. NO FUN! As for running. We need less fluff pieces about all the hardships runners endure, and more action. What would you rather see... Tim Broe talk about how he lost his cat in 5th grade and that's why he decided to start running? Or 7:39 seconds of dueling it out with Leonard Mucheru... changing leads and splitting 4:01 for the last mile? The announcers should have bios on each athlete and let them talk about those interesting tidbits as the race goes on... no reason to pull away from the action. And if you think John Q Public will go away feeling cheated cause Broe got outkicked by Mucheru, you're crazy. No way, no how. Same with when BK took the lead in the Olympic 5k... I don't think any American would really come away from that race thinking it sucked. My non-runner friends hate watching track BECAUSE of all the downtime where there is no action. Show 1-2 hours of races and end it. No more FLUFF! Mike _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
t-and-f: Know what is in your body
Every athlete in our sport knows that he/she has the responsibility to know what is in their body. Ignorance is no excuse. Everyone makes a leap of faith every day. You trust the water in most areas. You trust the milk on your cereal. You trust the hot dog. Do you trust your multi vitamin? Do you trust the brand name grocery store protein drink? Where does it get grey? Harold _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
RE: t-and-f: NYT - U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements
We have Runner's World featuring a story on the cover to run farther with a banned drug. The best known coffee shop sells tea containing a banned substance. Pipe down. Every grocery, drug and convenience store in the U.S. sells cold remedies with pseudoephedrine in them. Professional athletes should know to avoid coffee, ginseng, ma huang, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, among other common and not-so-common substances. This awareness is part of being professional. This has been covered many times on the list. Starbuck's and Runner's World have nothing to do with athletic performance or any athletes good enough to be drug-tested. /Brian McEwen -Original Message- From: Harold Richards [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 10:55 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: NYT - U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements Chris, The hypocracy goes deeper than just the USOC. We have Runner's World featuring a story on the cover to run farther with a banned drug. The best known coffee shop sells tea containing a banned substance. Watch out for your Mac-N-Cheese, it may be next. Harold From: Christopher Goss [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: Christopher Goss [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Worldwide Track Field Listserv [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: NYT - U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 08:42:26 -0500 From today's New York Times... U.S. Athletes Must Guess on Supplements American Olympic officials send their athletes contradictory and, to some critics, hypocritical messages about nutritional supplements. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/30/olympics/30OLYM.html?todaysheadlines _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
No, three words brought back the NBA from near death: Magic, Larry, and Michael. Zippy the Chimp could have written that advertising campaign. Michael Contopoulos wrote: Glen, Nominate me to head USATF and I'll do better than that. I will prove your assertations false while raising millions of dollars and developing a core set of distance and middle distace runners capable of running with and beating anybody on the scene. I'm a man with little tolerance for incompetence, and sadly, that is all I see in USATF. Being 24 years old with nothing more than a bachelor's degree and 2 years work experience, I don't think I am in the best position to make an impact like I would like to someday. HOWEVER, I can tell you this much, given the authority and power to surround myself with knowledgable people, older and wiser than myself, I am 100% confident I can out lead Craig Masback and bring this sport to a new level. Look at soccer: a sport similar to t-n-f in that there is wide high school participation, it is huge in Europe, but the post college domestic scene was seriously lacking. It is still not where it wants to be, but soccer is surely worlds ahead of track and field in this country. And you are wrong about advertising... the NBA was about to go broke when an agressive advertising campaign and restructuring plan under commssioner David Stern brought it back from the dead. You are underestimating the power TV. Mike From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 11:21:53 EST In a message dated 1/30/02 8:23:59 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: OK, why is distance running not popular in the US but fly fishing gets great ESPN time? Why can't the general public watch a 13 minute 5k, but I have co-workers (in NYC, not down south) getting amped to work half a day so they can sit on their couch and watch machines speed around a track 500 times? Its all about advertising. Television advertising. Michael... it is NOT all about television advertising. In fact, I would posit that the popularity (or lack thereof) of distance running in the U.S. has little to do with the sport's TV exposure. Heck, they can show baseball 24 hours a day on TV and I still won't like it, or watch it. Same goes for beer... surely the most advertised product on primetime sports TV, but I still am not remotely interested in it. And NASCAR? Heck, I live in the south and I wouldn't watch that garbage if it was the ONLY thing on TV. People like what they like for odd reasons, and no amount of slapping them in the face with endless cute or touching or cool ads will change that much. As for your assertion that you could easily raise millions of dollars for an ad campaign... then just do it (sorry, Nike...). Talk is cheap. Once you get that first million, come back and share with us how easy it was. And by the way, you'll have to operate under the same restrictions as USATF, i.e. no ownership of athletes and their images. Glen McMicken _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
And have you seen 3 guys marketed any better? Why can't Broe and Goucher or Alan Webb be marketed similarly? And don't say because they aren't the best in the world... because the general public need not know that right now. And hyping them up may instill, God forbid, some confidence in these guys that will propell them to super stardom. You have to think a bit outside the box here, otherwise we're stuck in the same old rut we have been. Whining how it will never happen is just exasberating the problem. You don't think my idea will work, that is fine. Lets hear something else... just not the same old tired tune about how no one cares about track but us. I call BS! Obviously there is interest... track and field has to be the sport most participated by high schoolers. Still searching for meaningful comments, Mike From: Mike Prizy [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Michael Contopoulos [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 12:50:51 -0600 No, three words brought back the NBA from near death: Magic, Larry, and Michael. Zippy the Chimp could have written that advertising campaign. Michael Contopoulos wrote: Glen, Nominate me to head USATF and I'll do better than that. I will prove your assertations false while raising millions of dollars and developing a core set of distance and middle distace runners capable of running with and beating anybody on the scene. I'm a man with little tolerance for incompetence, and sadly, that is all I see in USATF. Being 24 years old with nothing more than a bachelor's degree and 2 years work experience, I don't think I am in the best position to make an impact like I would like to someday. HOWEVER, I can tell you this much, given the authority and power to surround myself with knowledgable people, older and wiser than myself, I am 100% confident I can out lead Craig Masback and bring this sport to a new level. Look at soccer: a sport similar to t-n-f in that there is wide high school participation, it is huge in Europe, but the post college domestic scene was seriously lacking. It is still not where it wants to be, but soccer is surely worlds ahead of track and field in this country. And you are wrong about advertising... the NBA was about to go broke when an agressive advertising campaign and restructuring plan under commssioner David Stern brought it back from the dead. You are underestimating the power TV. Mike From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 11:21:53 EST In a message dated 1/30/02 8:23:59 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: OK, why is distance running not popular in the US but fly fishing gets great ESPN time? Why can't the general public watch a 13 minute 5k, but I have co-workers (in NYC, not down south) getting amped to work half a day so they can sit on their couch and watch machines speed around a track 500 times? Its all about advertising. Television advertising. Michael... it is NOT all about television advertising. In fact, I would posit that the popularity (or lack thereof) of distance running in the U.S. has little to do with the sport's TV exposure. Heck, they can show baseball 24 hours a day on TV and I still won't like it, or watch it. Same goes for beer... surely the most advertised product on primetime sports TV, but I still am not remotely interested in it. And NASCAR? Heck, I live in the south and I wouldn't watch that garbage if it was the ONLY thing on TV. People like what they like for odd reasons, and no amount of slapping them in the face with endless cute or touching or cool ads will change that much. As for your assertion that you could easily raise millions of dollars for an ad campaign... then just do it (sorry, Nike...). Talk is cheap. Once you get that first million, come back and share with us how easy it was. And by the way, you'll have to operate under the same restrictions as USATF, i.e. no ownership of athletes and their images. Glen McMicken _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.
Re: t-and-f: Know what is in your body
This is a little off topic, but somewhat related to Harold's questions. I am allergic to wheat, among other things. I was buying corn pasta in bulk for a while, but I was always a bit suspicious of the labling: 100% corn pasta... Every other bulk food was labled with everything in it, no triple dot action. After some time, I started feeling increasingly unwell, and eventually began throwing up after dinner. I stopped eating that pasta, thinking that may have been the culprit. Next time I went back to the store and checked, sure enough, they had relabled it to 100% wheat flour. :-( Just one little example of how ludicrous it is to expect athletes to know everything that goes into their bodies. I've had issues with other products I eat regularly change their ingredients without changing the packaging, catching me off-guard. Eventually, the packaging does change, probably due to consumer outrage. So, even if someone means well, we can't really assume what they are consuming is correctly or consistently labled. Just finding something good and sticking with it may mean you get stuck with an unlucky change in ingredients come random testing day. One more reason I say drug testing cannot possibly help the sport. Dan --- Harold Richards [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Every athlete in our sport knows that he/she has the responsibility to know what is in their body. Ignorance is no excuse. Everyone makes a leap of faith every day. You trust the water in most areas. You trust the milk on your cereal. You trust the hot dog. Do you trust your multi vitamin? Do you trust the brand name grocery store protein drink? = http://AccountBiller.com - MyCalendar, D-Man, ReSearch, etc. http://Run-Down.com - 10,000 Running Links, Fantasy TF @o Dan Kaplan - [EMAIL PROTECTED] |\/ ^- ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) _/ \ \/\ [EMAIL PROTECTED] (lifetime forwarding address) / / (503)370-9969 phone/fax __ Do You Yahoo!? Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions! http://auctions.yahoo.com
t-and-f: USATF as Enron: Rethinking the hiring of CEO?
Y ask: Go easy on Brother Michael. He has some good ideas about juicing up interest in the sport. But the key issue we're dancing around needs to be addressed as well: Has USATF CEO Craig Masback performed as expected? Given the incredible hole he was in from the start, Craigo's done some relatively miraculous things to jump-start USATF, erase its deficit, create the Golden Spike Tours, raise the sport's profile a bit, etc. But keep in mind that he came out of a lawyer-TV-commentator-athlete background. He's not a professional sports administrator. (Yes, he was on TAC's marketing and media committee, but didn't have a lot to show for it.) He has his limitations. So let's return to 1997 for a moment. Ollan Cassell has been CEO for 32 years. USATF is casting about for a succcessor to remove Cassell's bad taste. It hires Korn/Ferry, a Washington, D.C., search firm to screen applicants. Korn/Ferry comes up with some remarkable finalists besides Masback: One is H. Thomas Chestnut of Merion Station, Pa., a former executive vice president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. A member of two Ivy League basketball championship teams at Princeton, Chestnut played pro hoops in the Netherlands, France and Italy for four years. Held marketing positions at three companies and served as a SportsChannel executive. Chestnut also worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The other is Robert C. Vowels Jr., Naperville, Ill., an assistant commissioner for the Big Ten. (He's now the commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Vowels played football at Duke and received a law degree from North Carolina Central. After working for human services agencies in Tennessee, he became an assistant athletic director at Vanderbilt University. In the Big Ten, his responsibilities at conference headquarters included sponsorship, licensing and marketing. So when the 23-member USATF exec board met in San Francisco in May 1997 to choose a winner, it had a hard choice to make. The board decided to go with the Guy Everyone Knew, as opposed to the Guy Nobody Knew Who Could Get the Job Done. A personal anecdote: Back around 1978, I was a finalist for the staff writer opening at TFN (replacing Tom Jordan, as it were). My competition was another young man named John B. (I'll protect his identity here, but U can ask for it privately). He was the son of a longtime track official who knew track up and down. He had relatively poor journalism skills. I knew track pretty well, but not as well as John. My journalism skills were far superior. TFN, of course, hired John. Six months later, he was gone. Here's the lesson: Hire someone with the key skills, then teach them the niche. Corporate America does this all the time -- hiring a CEO who knows business inside out but doesn't have experience in a given industry. It's a lot easier to teach someone the industry (track field) than the business (sports administration and promotion). In hindsight, I'm grateful I didn't get hired by TFN. Too little room for advancement and I wouldn't have had some of the opportunities that later came my way. But USATF shouldn't be so happy with its decision to hire a relatively amateur track insider than a professional sports guy. Craig has done some great things at USATF. But now I'm wondering if Vowels or Chestnut could have done even greater things. Ken Stone http://www.masterstrack.com
t-and-f: Molly Huddle
Netters: Too bad Molly doesn;t go to a NJ school. In our state, a school does not have to have a :formal indoor team for its athletes to participate. Case in point this year: Lindsay Van Alstine of Hawthorne Christian, a one-girl team in CC ran in our state meet recently (as well as in the Passaic County meet and several invitationals) The rule here is that, as long as the principal signs the entry and she is accompanioed by a coach, (Lindsay;s coach is her father), it's OK But we have gone even further than that. When Jodie Bilotta was in school she was not a mebre of the Hunterdon central team indoors, yet competed in both the Millrose Mile and the 1K at the old Meadowlands meet on a principal's signature---even though NH had a team (of which Anne Marie Letko was a member). SAnd there was the year when NH had a club team for girls, but no boys team. The girls oach brought Andy martin and Brad Hudson to the state meet, they went 1-2 in the 3200 and then went home. When the meet was over, those points were enough to win the team title. New York, both on the state and PSAL level, has always been a stickler about these things. When Bill McClellon was at De Witt Cointo, clearing 7 feet in HS meets, he was invited to the Millrose Games, but the PSAL refused to allow him to compete. (That rule has since been eased to accommodate specian case, of which the PSAL unfortunately has so few these days. Meanwhile, as many as a dozen NJ athletes have so competed over the years: Milt Campbell, the late Aubrey Lewis, Marty Liquori, Bill gaines (who won two national AAU 55M titles when in HS and this in the idst of the NCAA-AAU battle), Renaldo Nehemiah, Carol Lewis, Wendy Vereen, Dawn Bowles, to name just a few. Ed Grant
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Hey, I just had an idea. Anyone remember the running scenes from Endurance? They were spectacular. Copy that. Maybe people can watch 15-30 minutes of straight race coverage if packaged right. Track needs a chase camera going all the way around the track. Even better would be to somehow mic the athletes during competition. Come on now, I know the technology is out there somewhere. A very very small remote camera? Somehow mic the athletes footsteps around the track. We need to hear these guys breathe and run. Alan http://www.geocities.com/runningart2004 _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Thank you Kurt. I agree. How can any of us (including Mr. Masback) make changes in this sport if the few who try and suggest alternatives are continually shot down? Find the flaws and lets try and fix them. That's how ideas become plans that work. I threw out one idea. Lets hear some others. Mike From: Kurt Bray [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 19:53:30 Still searching for meaningful comments, Okay, here are my comments - you can decide for yourself how meaningful they are. 1. I like the advertising idea. Getting the general public to know who the track athletes are beyond Carl Lewis (fading from the public mind), Michael Johnson (soon to be fading from the public mind), and Marion Jones can only be a good thing. 2. However (there is always a however), Marketing focusing personalities has it's pitfalls. Remember the Dan and Dave ad campaign from 1992? It worked magnificently in terms of getting these guys some name recognition leading up to the Barcelona OG. But the whole thing quickly turned into a laughing stock when Dan no-heighted at the trials and whole premise of the ads promptly turned into ashes. A Broe vs. Gaucher ad campaign could crater just as easily when one of them doesn't live up to the hype in some way. And the whole thing could turn into an even bigger laughing stock when Broe and Gaucher do their best but end up finishing in 11th and 12th place in the big showdown race (OG or whatever) behind a big flock of north and east Africans. People are gonna say What was that all about?. 3. The answer: I'm sure I don't know. I don't pretend know anything about sports marketing. My best guess would be to promote the personalities but try to do so in way so that people won't feel lied to if it doesn't all work out. Kurt Bray _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Kurt touches on an important point - in other sports marketing a personality works because, for the most part, the personalities end up competing for whatever title is up for grabs. Tiger would not be Tiger with a long series of 10th place finishes. Right now marketing Adam Goucher or Tim Broe is a poor investment because when it comes to OG or WC they ain't gonna be doin' it come the last lap. Marketing a foreign personality in the US has not worked all that well because Americans love to see Americans win. Thus we get all of the focus on the events the Americans traditionally do well in or in an event you can label such as the decathlon or heptathlon. Steve S 2. However (there is always a however), Marketing focusing personalities has it's pitfalls. Remember the Dan and Dave ad campaign from 1992? It worked magnificently in terms of getting these guys some name recognition leading up to the Barcelona OG. But the whole thing quickly turned into a laughing stock when Dan no-heighted at the trials and whole premise of the ads promptly turned into ashes. A Broe vs. Gaucher ad campaign could crater just as easily when one of them doesn't live up to the hype in some way. And the whole thing could turn into an even bigger laughing stock when Broe and Gaucher do their best but end up finishing in 11th and 12th place in the big showdown race (OG or whatever) behind a big flock of north and east Africans. People are gonna say What was that all about?.
Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea...
Agreed. However, why do the OG have to be the be all and end all of competition. Sure, to us it is, but to the general public, the USATF Championships can hold the same weight... and its better because they are held every year too. We CAN market Adam Goucher and Tim Broe as the next great thing on US soil and they ARE going to be doing it on the last lap at the US Championships. We need to get people (including the athletes) into the domestic aspects of the sport. Then once we have a huge fan base here, and top athletes that can legitimately compete with the world's best, we can begin to market international competition. One follows the other. As it becomes a bigger sport in the US we will have more kids participate and train harder, making better runners that can compete internationally. Its cyclical, and in my opinion, it starts with getting the public interested by marketing these guys as winners of the US Champs and possessors of American Records. I'm not saying lie to the American people... but at this point I feel as though it is more beneficial and more exciting for them to think of our sport as a US thing... not an international one. Market it as such, and guys like Adam Goucher suddenly become super stars and Matt Lane that one guy just on the fringe. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: t-and-f: USATF Advertising idea... Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 15:23:24 EST Kurt touches on an important point - in other sports marketing a personality works because, for the most part, the personalities end up competing for whatever title is up for grabs. Tiger would not be Tiger with a long series of 10th place finishes. Right now marketing Adam Goucher or Tim Broe is a poor investment because when it comes to OG or WC they ain't gonna be doin' it come the last lap. Marketing a foreign personality in the US has not worked all that well because Americans love to see Americans win. Thus we get all of the focus on the events the Americans traditionally do well in or in an event you can label such as the decathlon or heptathlon. Steve S 2. However (there is always a however), Marketing focusing personalities has it's pitfalls. Remember the Dan and Dave ad campaign from 1992? It worked magnificently in terms of getting these guys some name recognition leading up to the Barcelona OG. But the whole thing quickly turned into a laughing stock when Dan no-heighted at the trials and whole premise of the ads promptly turned into ashes. A Broe vs. Gaucher ad campaign could crater just as easily when one of them doesn't live up to the hype in some way. And the whole thing could turn into an even bigger laughing stock when Broe and Gaucher do their best but end up finishing in 11th and 12th place in the big showdown race (OG or whatever) behind a big flock of north and east Africans. People are gonna say What was that all about?. _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com
t-and-f: National Depth--Hammer/Javelin
The charts that follow summarize the number of athletes each country placed in the world top-100 rankings for 2001 (plus ties) and the highest-ranked of these for each event. Since one or two placings may represent only exceptional individuals, rather than national program strength, I've truncated the lists to countries with three placings or more. The data base drawn upon is the world list from Mirko Jalava's web site http://www.tilastopaja.com/. MEN'S Hammer 2001 WOMEN'S Hammer 2001 Country Top 101 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Hungary 9 2 United States 16 5 Russia 8 8 China 11 19 Belarus 7 4 Belarus 7 9 United States7 57 Germany 6 13 Ukraine 6 5 Russia 5 1 Italy6 5 Hungary 5 3 Finland 6 12 Cuba 4 4 Germany 6 24 Finland 4 8 Poland 5 3 Ukraine 4 18 France 5 9 Poland 3 2 Great Britain4 35 Australia3 7 Czech Republic 3 16 Italy3 11 Greece 3 20 Great Britain3 12 China3 62 Greece 3 34 33 countries represented29 countries represented 100th = 70.19m = 230' 3100th = 60.64m = 198' 11 Because it happens infrequently, a distribution where each athlete of the top 10 represents a different country. In the women's hammer, it was each of the top 13; respectively, RUS, POL, HUN, CUB, USA, FRA, AUS, FIN, BLR, SVK, ITA, GBR, GER. MEN'S Javelin 2001 WOMEN'S Javelin 2001 Country Top 101 Highest Country Top 100 Highest Finland 19 2 China 13 16 Germany 10 5 Cuba 7 1 China6 32 Russia 7 4 Great Britain5 4 Germany 7 11 Russia 5 7 Romania 5 7 South Africa 4 38 Japan5 17 Greece 3 3 Poland 5 19 United States3 8 Ukraine 5 36 Latvia 3 12 United States5 53 Poland 3 13 Italy4 10 Japan3 51 Belarus 4 29 India3 72 Greece 3 2 France 3 22 Korea3 61 35 countries represented29 countries represented 100th = 75.87m = 248' 11 100th = 54.51m = 178' 10 There are several oddities to remark in these distributions. I always expect Finland to be over-represented in the men's javelin, and it's always satisfying to see an expectation confirmed. The national pride of Finland in their javelin excellence goes all the way back to their sweep of the Olympic medals in the Antwerp games of 1920 and has been rewarded with six Olympic golds in the years since. I believe this is the first time India has had the three top-100 athletes in an event necessary to make the charts and it's the first time I can remember any Pakistan athlete making a top 100, Zahid Hussein's NR 78.75m ranking 64th. And how about those Cuban women? Seven in the top 100, including #1! To put that in some perspective, Cuba has half as many throwers in the top 100 as China, although China's population is 114 times that of Cuba and its relative national wealth (gross domestic product per capita) is double that of Cuba.
t-and-f: USATF Release: 2002 Verizon Millrose Games preview
Contact:Jill M. Geer Director of Communications 317-261-0500 x360 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.usatf.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 30, 2002 International superstars to compete at Verizon Millrose Games NEW YORK – Coming off the most successful start in its four-year history, USA Track Field’s 2002 Indoor Golden Spike Tour continues Friday night at the most prestigious indoor invitational track meet in the world, the Verizon Millrose Games. Adding to the prestige in 2002 is a field of international superstars. On the women’s side, Olympic gold medalist, world champion and world record holder Stacy Dragila looks to defend her Verizon Millrose Games title in the Visa women’s pole vault after setting a world record here last year (4.64m/15 feet, 2.75 inches). Regina Jacobs also defends her 2001 Millrose title in the Fred Lebow women’s mile after running the fastest indoor 2 mile by a woman in history last week at the adidas Boston Indoor Games, the first stop on the Golden Spike Tour. Two-time Olympic 100m champion Gail Devers is scheduled to compete in the women’s 60m dash, Olympic bronze medal hurdler Melissa Morrison will run the 60m hurdles, and the woman who owns the fastest indoor 800m time ever on U.S. soil, Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia, will duel American outdoor record holder Jearl Miles-Clark. The women’s competition also will feature a fast-paced new format in the women’s high jump. Literally jumping in the spotlight on Madison Square Garden’s infield, Amy Acuff, Tisha Waller and Erin Aldrich each will have 45 seconds for each attempt, will be allowed three misses for the entire competition, and must attempt each height. The change was designed to bring added excitement and attention to the event, which in past years has been held in front of a sparse crowd before Millrose elite competition began, due to time and space limitations brought on by reconfiguring MSG’s track for sprints and distance events. Now held during “prime-time” in the event schedule, the women’s high jump will be a featured event of the meet. The men’s field for the Verizon Millrose Games features the world’s best as well. Three-time world champion and ‘96 Olympic gold medalist Allen Johnson competes against a strong field in the 60m hurdles for the first time since 2000. The Fred Schmertz men’s pole vault will be a near-reprise of the adidas Boston Indoor Games, with World Indoor champion and defending Millrose winner Lawrence Johnson, World Indoor silver medalist Tye Harvey, Goodwill Games gold medalist Tim Mack and American outdoor record holder Jeff Hartwig in the field. The Verizon men’s 60m could be the marquee event of the night, with Tim Montgomery, Terrence Trammell, Tim Harden, J.J. Johnson and Shawn Crawford to take the starting line. Between them, the group has seven medals from 2001 World Championships events. Montgomery is the World Outdoor 100m silver medalist and World Indoor 60m silver medalist. He also anchored Team USA to a win in the 4x100m relay at World Outdoors; Trammell is the 2001 World Indoor 60m hurdles champion; Harden is the defending World Indoor 60m gold medalist; Shawn Crawford is the defending World Indoor 200m champion, World Outdoor bronze medalist and U.S. outdoor champion; and J.J. Johnson had the fastest 200m time in the world last year. The Wanamaker Mile will provide the drama and exciting finishes the historic event is known for. Top Kenyans Bernard Lagat, Laban Rotich, Leonard Mucheru and Paul Bitok can’t overlook young U.S. upstart Bryan Berryhill, the 2001 NCAA champion and a sub-3:58 miler. Held at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, the Verizon Millrose Games is the second stop on the Golden Spike Tour. The Tour began January 27 at the adidas Boston Indoor Games, where one world best and two American records were broken. Ceplak ran her U.S. all-comers record at Boston as well. For more information on the 2002 Indoor Golden Spike Tour, including rankings of top performances and full results from the adidas Boston Indoor Games, visit the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org Verizon Millrose Games Preview Fields subject to change; all nationalities USA unless otherwise noted Men 60m: Timothy Montgomery, Nike; Terrence Trammell, Mizuno; Tim Harden, Nike; Julian Dunkley, East Carolina University/Jamaica; J.J. Johnson, Nike; Shawn Crawford, Mizuno THE SCOOP: The Verizon Millrose Games will reach its grand finale with perhaps the strongest field in the meet. Montgomery is the World Outdoor 100m silver medalist and World Indoor 60m silver medalist. He also anchored Team USA to a win in the 4x100m relay at World Outdoors; Trammell is the 2001 World Indoor 60m hurdles champion; Harden is the defending World Indoor 60m gold medalist; Shawn Crawford is the defending World Indoor 200m champion and U.S. outdoor champion; and J.J. Johnson had the fastest 200m time in the world last year. 60mHH: Allen Johnson, Nike; Mark Crear, God
t-and-f: Jone story
Jones turns back clock to find way forward Gene Cherry (Reuters) 30 January 2002 - Raleigh, North Carolina - This is the year Marion full story at: http://www.iaaf.org/news/index.asp?Filename=/news/Articles/getnews.asp?Code=4512 Jones wants to turn back the clock so her sprinting career can go forward. We want to push it to another level like we did in 98, the triple Olympic champion said in an interview, recalling the summer she ran six of the 11 fastest 100 metres ever and the third-fastest 200 metres. Those world records are still out there and I think theyre still possible to be broken by myself, said Jones of Florence Griffith Joyners world marks of 10.49 seconds in the 100 metres and 21.34 in the 200. Kebba Tolbert ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) = Men's and Women's Jumps Multis Coach Syracuse University Track Field _ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
t-and-f: re: Molly Huddle
This decision is typical of the asinine rules makers in NY. These people continually make decisions, in all sports, that have noting to do with the best interests of the student-athletes they supposedly represent. A basketball exhibition to raise money for Lupus was almost canned for similar reasons, even when it was completely out of season and had nothing to do with kids competing for their HS, it was an all-star game. These people really need to retire! MJR
t-and-f: Gift Horses, Omega and Advertising
Regarding Jim Gerweck's post on Omega, as well as general postings on USATF advertising (only some of which I have had to opportunity to read): The short version of my response to Jim would be simply, Huh? I don't know where this generated, nor do I know why a journalist would post this kind of ridiculous rumor to a public forum. To quote Jim, himself, Brilliant! If anyone does know of a timing company who is willing to pay USATF for providing their services, I'm sure we'd be thrilled to pay a substantial finders fee! Just in case I wasn't clear enough: USATF has never had any discussions with Omega regarding Indoor Nationals. Regarding advertising, readers of the Sports Business Journal know that USATF has hired an ad agency to spearhead a branding campaign beginning this year and leading up to the next Olympics. The proposed budget for this campaign is $2 million. (Because the campaign is not yet a reality we have refrained from issuing a formal announcement ourselves.) We have seen preliminary plans for TV advertising that is young and hip and evocative of ESPN's ads for Sportscenter. I can tell the staid members of this forum that I, in E-terms, LOL'd when I saw some of the story boards. I was very nearly ROTFLOL, but since I was in a public space at the time, I didn't want to embarrass my companions or any innocent bystanders. Donations to the branding campaign are gladly accepted. :) Best, Jill Geer Director of Communications USATF In a message dated 1/30/02 10:44:43 AM US Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Subj: t-and-f: Looking a gift horse (was USATF Advertising idea...) Date: 1/30/02 10:44:43 AM US Eastern Standard Time From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sender:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To:[EMAIL PROTECTED] I've heard that Omega/Swatch timing offered to PAY $25,000 to USATF to time the indoor nationals at the Armory in March. Apparently someone at USATF felt that figure wasn't high enough, turned them down, and now someone else is doing the timing, and - get this - USATF is PAYING for it. If true, that's great economic sense. Someone offers you a free steak dinner but you turn it down because it's not filet mignon, and you wind up paying to eat at MacDonalds. Brilliant! Jim Gerweck Running Times
t-and-f: re: USATF Advertising
For all the people bashing USATF history of not having a marketing/advertising plan, please stay tuned to your TV and other media. When the Winter Games end, things will start moving. I haven't actually seen the stuff they're going to do, but in speaking with their Marketing Mgr, it will be good just the beginning. MJR
t-and-f: Question
Who can tell me what LOL and ROTFLOL mean? And, whoe er can, would he or she do so. Thank you. Bill Allen
Re: t-and-f: Question
On Wed, 30 Jan 2002 20:43:04 -0800, you wrote: Who can tell me what LOL and ROTFLOL mean? And, whoe er can, would he or she do so. Thank you. Bill Allen Try this codebreaker tool: http://www.abbrevguide.com/index.php RT
Re: t-and-f: USATF as Enron: Rethinking the hiring of CEO?
Ken, The USOC went the route you suggest in picking their previous CEO with disastrous results. He lasted less than a year. Their new CEO at least has some background as a college basketball player and high school quartermiler. The difference between USATF and a typical business corporation is that it is a non-profit organization that must be structured a certain way because of federal law. As a result, it is a hybrid. It needs to raise money and have successful operations, but it also has to represent and meet the needs of its varied constituents - a mix between a pure business model and a pure political model. The skills its CEO require are thus also a mix which Craig has clearly demonstrated he has. I was not on the Executive Committee at the time of the vote but I do not think the other two candidates could have matched what he has done. Ed Koch -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 3:04 PM Subject: t-and-f: USATF as Enron: Rethinking the hiring of CEO? Y ask: Go easy on Brother Michael. He has some good ideas about juicing up interest in the sport. But the key issue we're dancing around needs to be addressed as well: Has USATF CEO Craig Masback performed as expected? Given the incredible hole he was in from the start, Craigo's done some relatively miraculous things to jump-start USATF, erase its deficit, create the Golden Spike Tours, raise the sport's profile a bit, etc. But keep in mind that he came out of a lawyer-TV-commentator-athlete background. He's not a professional sports administrator. (Yes, he was on TAC's marketing and media committee, but didn't have a lot to show for it.) He has his limitations. So let's return to 1997 for a moment. Ollan Cassell has been CEO for 32 years. USATF is casting about for a succcessor to remove Cassell's bad taste. It hires Korn/Ferry, a Washington, D.C., search firm to screen applicants. Korn/Ferry comes up with some remarkable finalists besides Masback: One is H. Thomas Chestnut of Merion Station, Pa., a former executive vice president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. A member of two Ivy League basketball championship teams at Princeton, Chestnut played pro hoops in the Netherlands, France and Italy for four years. Held marketing positions at three companies and served as a SportsChannel executive. Chestnut also worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The other is Robert C. Vowels Jr., Naperville, Ill., an assistant commissioner for the Big Ten. (He's now the commissioner of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). Vowels played football at Duke and received a law degree from North Carolina Central. After working for human services agencies in Tennessee, he became an assistant athletic director at Vanderbilt University. In the Big Ten, his responsibilities at conference headquarters included sponsorship, licensing and marketing. So when the 23-member USATF exec board met in San Francisco in May 1997 to choose a winner, it had a hard choice to make. The board decided to go with the Guy Everyone Knew, as opposed to the Guy Nobody Knew Who Could Get the Job Done. A personal anecdote: Back around 1978, I was a finalist for the staff writer opening at TFN (replacing Tom Jordan, as it were). My competition was another young man named John B. (I'll protect his identity here, but U can ask for it privately). He was the son of a longtime track official who knew track up and down. He had relatively poor journalism skills. I knew track pretty well, but not as well as John. My journalism skills were far superior. TFN, of course, hired John. Six months later, he was gone. Here's the lesson: Hire someone with the key skills, then teach them the niche. Corporate America does this all the time -- hiring a CEO who knows business inside out but doesn't have experience in a given industry. It's a lot easier to teach someone the industry (track field) than the business (sports administration and promotion). In hindsight, I'm grateful I didn't get hired by TFN. Too little room for advancement and I wouldn't have had some of the opportunities that later came my way. But USATF shouldn't be so happy with its decision to hire a relatively amateur track insider than a professional sports guy. Craig has done some great things at USATF. But now I'm wondering if Vowels or Chestnut could have done even greater things. Ken Stone http://www.masterstrack.com
RE: t-and-f: Question
They are facetious forms meaning Laughing Out Loud and Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud. malmo -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of William H. Allen Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 11:43 PM To: T and F List Subject: t-and-f: Question Who can tell me what LOL and ROTFLOL mean? And, whoe er can, would he or she do so. Thank you. Bill Allen
Re: t-and-f: USATF as Enron: Rethinking the hiring of CEO?
I remember when USATF was doing the exec search that's been discussed here. One of the observations at that time was that exec searches for top-notch talent (example: the NBA Donald Stern model) are a VERY competitive endeavour. In other words, USATF would have to compete ($) with large corporations like Lockheed and Walmart and on and on, for that kind of talent. A competition which non-profits are very badly financed to pursue- they usually get terribly mauled and have to settle for talent that the big corporations pass over. Scraps. Or they can take a different tack, and go for the cross-breed kind of talent who already has knowledge of the business along with some savvy of what it takes to solve problems inherent in the job at that time. Remember that at the time, USATF was very deep into the doping allegations of coverup, having to operate in two very contradictory worlds- U.S. legal system versus IOC/IAAF standards, with neither side willing to give and USATF caught in the middle. Those lawyer skills certainly came with the Craig M. package, and I think he's led USATF skillfully along a very delicate path, keeping them out of trouble, and eventually into a very sane solution- that is, get out of the testing business completely and turn it over to somebody else. So who knows, maybe now USATF doesn't need a lawyer at the helm, they now need a savvy marketer. We'll see whether Craig can make that transition. He's pulled off some positive moves in that arena, so we'll see. By the way, if the NBA advertising/marketing model was all that great, why has it not been able to sustain and build on itself year after year after year? Instead, when the last of the mentioned big three (MJ) retired, the NBA's earnings went into crash dive. Yes, they're still way, way above USATF, but if the NBA were publicly traded, based on their recent trends, every broker in the country would be yelling sell! That's the danger of pursuing the 'build on a celebrity' model to the detriment of your core business product. Smart investors look for long sure, steady, sustained growth patterns, rather than the dot-com/Enron skyrocket/nose-dive model. Craig has USATF on the right path. And his continuance in office should, like any leadership position, be based on continuance along the steady growth path, and not yesterday's or last year's results. I say that most if not all of USATF's indicators are pointing the right direction, so no need to make drastic knee-jerk yank-the-CEO moves without any sound reason to do so. RT
