Blogs : Trackshark

10 wishes for 2008

Some say it's one of the more organized sports at the collegiate level, yet sometimes I feel as though track & field is a mess and we can all pitch in to make it better.  Here are my 10 wishes for 2008.

1.  Get rid of posting metric-only field results.  We understand that the official down at the sand pit may not have that little black book handy, but for the folks in the United States who are trying to understand the results, it would only be a good deed to publish them in feet and inches.

2.  Promote more dual meets.  Kudos to the folks at Ohio State and Michigan who have decided to start a dual meet series this year.  We have to start promoting our sport from within and then start again at the national level.  You can't expect the local media at Ann Arbor to pick up on how certain athletes fared at the Mt. SAC Relays when it's much more of a popular read for the average fan to understand a dual meet against a heated rival.  After all, most coaches are hired and fired based on team points at the conference and national meet, right?

3.  USTFCCCA would be more clear about their rankings.  It's amazing how many schools took their latest pre-season rankings and ran with it.  Did anyone read the fine print?  It's not even a ranking.  It was a stat list compiled solely from NCAA descending performances from last season.  It did not take into consideration any incoming freshman, transfers or redshirts.  Francena McCorory anyone?

4.  More people would read Letsrun.com.  People, it's not just a message board.  There is actually a front page dedicated to distance running and the latest news within the events.  Wejo and co. actually do a good job of bringing up front all the important items of the day, especially when it comes to drugs in the sport.  For any coach who says they don't read it, they're lying.

5.  The NCAA would get it together about blogging.  From the organization who punished Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel for rewarding his athletes who got good grades, comes a new law that prohibits news organizations from covering any NCAA Championship meet live.  It's actually funny to read all the rules.  You're only hurting the sport, NCAA.

6.  CSTV.com would do a better job.  Don't get me wrong, they provide a tremendous service by broadcasting the NCAA meets live and over the internet, but their coverage (not to mention web design) of the sport is one of the worst.  Brett Hess does an outstanding job with his articles, but there are too few of them.  All you get are press releases from the host schools who have contracts with the web partners of CSTV.  Forget about Arkansas and Texas on there, since they don't go through them to publish their content.

7.  More people would thank the volunteers.  Without them, our sport would be dead.  End of story.

8.  We really don't hate you, really.  This message goes out to all those fans who complain we don't cover enough Division II, Division III, JUCO or NAIA.  In my opinion, it's not about what league, school, or NCAA body you are from.  It's about the performances.  We'll try our best again this year.  Is that even a wish?

9.  More NCAA meets would be on the East coast.  People were complaining that their athletes had to compete so early during the last day of action the NCAA Championships last season in Sacramento.  Granted, if you want live television coverage, then that's the kind of sacrifice that needs to be made.  What I don't understand is, if the live television coverage was geared for the East coast audience, then why hasn't the meet been here since Duke hosted the event in 2000?  Does track & field only exist in Oregon and California?

10.  More people would read the weekend review.  Shameless promotion here, indeed.  Instead of spending hours going through hundreds of results in many different formats, why don't you just let me do the work for you and read all the top marks on one page?  I'll even put them in order by event and gender.  If you have any feedback, let me know.

Weekend Review

9:24 PM, December 27, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

One question. I see the standards for the weekend review, but it doesn\'t make sense, well one part at least. I\'m a high jumper, the provisional mark this year is 2.14, so why do you have to jump 2.16 to get on the weekend review??
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<br> -Billizone

weekend review

10:12 PM, December 27, 2007 .. Posted by TB

If we listed every single provisional mark, then the list would take too long to publish (such as the women's pole vault). We try to list marks in the weekend review that would most likely make the NCAA Championship meet. We adjust the standards every year, which is usually the top 25-30 from each event from the previous season.

#9

10:56 PM, December 27, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

Last part... yes.

WIsh #9....

11:31 AM, December 28, 2007 .. Posted by Regionally frustrated

WHERE THE HECK ARE THE POWERS THAT BE who only think the SAME states participate in the sport of track and field. Why the heck is it SO difficult if I am a true fan of the sport to ALWAYS have to travel out west????

10 Wishes

10:07 AM, December 30, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

The ,\" Left Coast\" , contingent received a nice Christmas gift earlier this month as multiple major Meets through 2012 were awarded to zip code 97403.
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Hey

9:53 PM, January 2, 2008 .. Posted by Johnny

I hope nothing I said was too over the top in response to your Flocast blog that you had to delete it all. Hope your new years went well my man.