Lukas speaks

runnerZ92 wrote:

Dull and Bored wrote:

As for the crap about him being the reason that 6 other runners on Oregon aren't going to nationals, if he had never been present to begin with and they had been running some other freshman, they STILL wouldn't be going to nationals. In fact, even if Verzbicas had run an absolutely perfect race and placed in the top 5, their point total would STILL have been too low.

Verzbicas' leaving in all reality, had NO substantial consequences as far as placing of the team was concerned.

maybe they'd have a better recruiting class if they hadn't been so focused on lukas

Oregon's recruiting class could have been better?

What I am not understanding is how you can drop out of one school and enroll in another full ride? Does Colorado not have any academic guidelines?

God of Letsrun wrote:

What I am not understanding is how you can drop out of one school and enroll in another full ride? Does Colorado not have any academic guidelines?

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs isn't giving him a full ride. If someone is paying for his schooling, it's USA Triathlon.

long sox wrote:

asdgfh wrote:

Which makes it even more curious to me as to why he didn't finish out the season and the semester at Oregon.

Perhaps having decided to go professional, he was advised that his market value would decrease with each additional low place finish. It's all about protecting the brand.

I also think this is a bad move for his marketability, even worse than another bad performance would be. First, he made a questionable character move that turned off many fans that followed his running (not good in the eyes of sponsors). And he did it at Oregon, where Nike is king. So check off one company that won't be offering him any endorsement deal.

If he was smart about it, and at least left on better terms, he could of lured a lot of running fans to follow the sport of triathlon to watch his career play out. Now those fans will just follow him waiting for him to fail. Then again, he never really showed any personality that would make him interesting to follow long term.

this is it wrote:

Dull and Bored wrote:

You're a shitheaded idiot if you think that this has anything to do with dignity.

In fact, what's REALLY undignified is people like you trying to bash a kid for going with the sport that he had been most dedicated to ALL ALONG.

Running was a sideshow for him.

He was a 9-time National Running Champion

He was the WORLD Triathlon Champion

All that shit about deserting his team? Nobody cares. He had no obligation to his team whatsoever, nor does anyone else on ANY team.

x10000

x0

=0

You both lose.

"So now he gets to use the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs? How does that work if he isn't a US citizen yet, and who is paying for it? Is he going to pay with his sponsorship money ('the more the better I guess').

Exactly! Why in the hell should my tax money (and citizens of Colorado) go to pay for this slim balls cush training? Why don't we just move the whole damn Kenyan team over here right now and pay for everything -meals, housing, tuition, facility use, trainers and therapists and comprehensive medical coverage!

This situation is pure bullshit! This guy needs to be cut off now! He can go flip some burgers at MacDee's for awhile until he learns to stand on his own god damn two feet! He's a user and scam artist! That's exactly the term some one using awhile back over on Flotrack - "Gypsy Scam Artist" seems to fit him perfectly!

Captain Tenneal wrote:

this is it wrote:

x10000

x0

=0

You both lose.

apparently your math skills are as lacking as your critical thinking skills.

a post = 1.

1x10000 = 10000

Go fail elsewhere, troglodyte.

I dont think anyone cares that he left, it's that HE LEFT MID-SEASON!!

I fully understand deciding he doesn like collegiate XC or college at all, however he agreed to be on the team he should have stayed until the end of the season THEN quit.

What he did is a completely selfish act. I hope one day he gets his Karmaic pay back.

Dull and Bored wrote:

An individual helps his team by his own free will.

That same individual also has no obligation to do anything for his team should he choose not to.

Verzbicas already returned his scholarship money, and utilized campus resources for less than a sum total of 2 months.

As for the crap about him being the reason that 6 other runners on Oregon aren't going to nationals, if he had never been present to begin with and they had been running some other freshman, they STILL wouldn't be going to nationals. In fact, even if Verzbicas had run an absolutely perfect race and placed in the top 5, their point total would STILL have been too low.

Verzbicas' leaving in all reality, had NO substantial consequences as far as placing of the team was concerned.

I get a kick out of posts like this and would enjoy meeting someone this clueless. Do you really not get it? Do you really not understand why what he did is wrong? It is pretty simple really, but you aren't getting it. Maybe someday you will understand why what Lukas did was wrong. Until then, keep making posts like this, it makes reading this boards entertaining.

Lexmark wrote:

I dont think anyone cares that he left, it's that HE LEFT MID-SEASON!!

I fully understand deciding he doesn like collegiate XC or college at all, however he agreed to be on the team he should have stayed until the end of the season THEN quit.

What he did is a completely selfish act. I hope one day he gets his Karmaic pay back.

this is right in a running sense, but wasn't there an academic reason he had to leave early? Otherwise he would fail courses?

In any case, he should have sucked it up, finished the season, passed his classes and then headed out to Colorado. I would be very upset with my son if he had pulled this stunt.

It's not just that he left before the XC season was over, he left in the middle of the semester. Did he withdraw from every class? Was he failing on top of all this? And he said something about the freshman 15; sounds like poor discipline on his part. The kid shot himself in the foot.

I will be surprised if Nike is his shoe sponsor.

He's always seemed to use adidas over nike when given the choice.

I was at a triathlon one time. Probably less than half the people ran in brands recognizable to runners (nike, asics, adidas, brooks, saucony, etc). It's all zoots and newtons and other "tri brands".

"I will be surprised if Nike is his shoe sponsor."

Now that's funny..Does the name Michael "dog killer, spend time in the slammer" Vick ring any bells with you??

Its absurd to think that an 19yr could bring down a program like UO.

It would have been obvious w/in the first week that LV was a frootloop. To suggest that this caught them totally unawares is to seriously underestimate the professionalism of Lannana and what they are trying to accomplish. He has to deal w/ dozens of young adults, getting them to behave like normal adults. There will be many instances where this fails. LV is one of them. To suggest that they did not anticipate this misguided.

LV has 2 sports from which to choose. He has chosen the one where he has had much more success. He made a mistake - young people do that.

No its leaving your team the week before regionals.

He could have stuck out the season.

Not only is he not a team guy. He is a quitter.

coach d wrote:

Lukas was forced to choose between running and tri, and he did. It just happens that the Oregon fans don't like the decision.

He chose between the tri and running when he accepted a scholarship to Oregon to run.

It's not really a matter of what the Oregon fans like, or don't like.

It IS however, a matter of commitment. He made a commitment to a team, to a program, to a university. And to bail like that makes it easy to say he's got commitment issues.

He's an adult...not a kid. Yes, a young adult...makes mistakes, and hopefully learns from them. And now I hope he takes his time before deciding to commit to anything else.

Whether anyone likes it or not, Lukas is now a "product" - and right now I think his brand is taking a minor hit to its reputation. And in terms of tri's; perhaps his brand has improved in the eyes of that market segment?

I don't know...never really thought UO and Lukas were an ideal match.

It's possible he became 'academically ineligible' at Oregon and wouldn't have been able to compete last weekend, regardless. A situation like that could've influenced his decision to leave early, rather than face the public embarrassment. Also, his stepfather runs the training center in Colorado Springs, so I'm sure he's attending the college free of cost, and is probably living at the parents' home, where he'll have more structure and discipline.