It would be fun to have athletes from other sports in this race. Bring in De'Aaron Fox to represent the NBA and Elly De La Cruz to represent MLB. That would obviously make the scheduling more challenging, but not impossible. Today could have actually worked out well. The NFL season is over, it's the NBA All-Star break, and MLB spring training full squad workouts don't start until Monday.
The next opportunity when the schedules align would be the MLB All-Star break, which is after the NBA season is over, before NFL veterans need to report for training camp, and still 2.5 weeks before the U.S. championships. Not ideal timing for Lyles, but on the other hand, it could be a great advertisement for the upcoming U.S. championships, and Lyles has a bye to the world championships anyway as defending champ in both the 100 and 200. The race could take place in Atlanta, which is where the MLB All-Star game is being played this year (De La Cruz will likely be an All-Star, so he'd need to be there), and close enough to Lyles' training base near Orlando. If there's a will, there's a way!
I could see it as an ESPN special with Shannon Sharpe doing commentary or interviews. It could be big!
Oops, I upvoted before seeing the Shannon Sharpe thing at the end. I rescind my approval if that's a required component
It would be fun to have athletes from other sports in this race. Bring in De'Aaron Fox to represent the NBA and Elly De La Cruz to represent MLB. That would obviously make the scheduling more challenging, but not impossible. Today could have actually worked out well. The NFL season is over, it's the NBA All-Star break, and MLB spring training full squad workouts don't start until Monday.
The next opportunity when the schedules align would be the MLB All-Star break, which is after the NBA season is over, before NFL veterans need to report for training camp, and still 2.5 weeks before the U.S. championships. Not ideal timing for Lyles, but on the other hand, it could be a great advertisement for the upcoming U.S. championships, and Lyles has a bye to the world championships anyway as defending champ in both the 100 and 200. The race could take place in Atlanta, which is where the MLB All-Star game is being played this year (De La Cruz will likely be an All-Star, so he'd need to be there), and close enough to Lyles' training base near Orlando. If there's a will, there's a way!
I could see it as an ESPN special with Shannon Sharpe doing commentary or interviews. It could be big!
Oops, I upvoted before seeing the Shannon Sharpe thing at the end. I rescind my approval if that's a required component
Duly noted. The reason I suggested Shannon Sharpe is his involvement would help to bring viewers. His Nightcap show has 1.72 million subscribers on YouTube alone. He's also a knowledgeable fan of the sport, as shown in his interviews with track athletes last summer.
Thinking about this meet more, they shouldn't stop with the 100m race. Make it a mini meet. Let's see NFL linemen challenge Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs in the shot put. Let's have Anthony Edwards go up against Hamish Kerr and Gianmarco Tamberi in the high jump. Bring in Simone Biles for a pole vault contest against Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon. It could be big!
