I’m sorry guys. I can’t watch anymore Grand Slam Track. Here’s what.

Yes it could easily be packed in 1 hour. Too much talking and interviews that do not add to the optical package. Athletes generally have little to say more than a short sound bite can cover. There is no doubling of events on a given day, and no field events to be a diversion from the track, either video or in person. I would not want to be sitting there spectating with so much down time and only a focus on events that are about money and less about performance, even if some of the races are captivating. But it is true that pacing and pacing lights are overdone, even down to the HS level. Racing for its own sake may take getting used to again (outside championships).

This is very much an American series, which is fine. The DL is European-centric. The markets are different in support (Euro's will show up to watch) and America needs its own meets - even more so in a MAGA world. I think there is room for both types of meets - eventually they may be able to arrange meets to not compete against each other.

I’d take Chris over John Anderson any day. But Centro is def missed.

Unfortunately reminds me of pro track from the 1970s. Like others I fast forwarded to the races. Not very good.

It’s off-putting I agree. Two things to dial back are the obsession with prize money and the forced how awesome was that narrative at all times. Let the athletes express it organically like Patterson. And the hurdlers doubling…I’m sorry just gotta go.

So I definitely agree with you regarding wavelight. I also don't understand the insistence on having it at every meet for every distance event and I think the DL could utilize this tool in much better ways. First of all I think having WL at the Diamond League final is absolutely horrendous - it's a "final" or a "championship" race in the same way a world or Olympic final is. I think they could either simply designate meets or races throughout the season where it was going to be used or they could even have different "sets" of times so not every 1500m (just as an example) was simply set up to cater for Jakobs physiology time after time.

Regarding the meets competing - well we know who won that battle. I don't think Grand Slam Track could realistically be at a more inopportune time in the season to be honest. We aren't seeing many of the marquee athletes at their best (Hocker, Hull just as two example off the top of my head) - but that's because usually this is the period in the season where these pros are really putting the final touches on getting ready for the "true" outdoor season which historically and traditionally has started with Prefontaine. Grand Slam Track is done a week before that even happens and sadly will be an afterthought come July/August.

I don't think many people believe GST is bad for the sport. That's a separate question from "is the concept and the execution good enough to survive it's seed/startup capital". I think many people just can't see the path right now for how it does. Getting a full(ish) stadium in Miramar, Florida - all 3500 seats, is not going to be enough. That's the level of national permit meets in Europe. And sponsors don't care how happy the athletes are at winning 100k - they want value from their investments. Not sure there would be much right now.

Said this after the first meet - the mentioning of the "hundred kay" is just a massive no-no. Nobody freaking cares except the athletes and their agents. It simply sounds like you are trying to manufacture value of your product via the athletes incentive vs what the product is itself. Who is watching this and is like "oh awesome that person just won 100k, I wonder what it would be like to have this sort of money myself". Nobody.

You said it so well here. So cringe the whole thing.

I think you mean John Anderson on bullet point #1.

The old white nationalist isn't a fan, guess they're doing something right.

The high school sized facility was weird.

My wife asked me what I was watching and I told her it was the "Grand Slam of Track" and she said, "it is not a grand slam if unless they are in Zurich or Brussels. This looks like a high school meet."

Obviously, she is very biased towards the old-school European scene, but it was funny that she said what I was thinking...

Yes, Diamond League has gone too far with Wavelight. It should be deployed as a tool for the pacers and occasionally a spectator-friendly thing for record chases. It should not be used for World Leads. I think we all die a little bit when we hear “they’ve let the lights go that’s a shame” said for the umpteenth time.

Yes, talking about money is something insecure people do. It makes the series look "needy" as hell.

If you are doing something for money, that means your motivation is not the thing itself. The thing itself is so-so, but the money makes it worth it.

You don't climb Everest for money. You don't win an Olympic Gold because you need the money. If you really value something, the money is not the primary motivation for doing something.

It’s Stones, not Stone. But is he even working on this broadcast or do you not know the difference between him and John Anderson?

I fast-forward it between events, so I didn’t even see any Michael Johnson, so my commentary is simply related to the races: Anson Henry is embarrassingly bad, and the camera angles on these races are even worse. The 1500m is probably my favorite event, and they had a compelling race with a bunch of big stars, and made it virtually unwatchable.

that’s the biggest thing that needs to be fixed: the races need to actually be presented in a way that you can watch them without getting motion sick and with the ability to see who’s leading, who wins, etc.

I think Salvitore right on the money here (see what I did there?).
What’s the financial model here?
The headline last year was that MJ had raised 30 million USD from investors. OK, these people aren’t hobbyjoggers in the finance world, but where is the ROI going to come from? That initial capital goes pretty quickly:
All 96 athletes get a base salary
Total announced prize money for 2025 is 12.6 million USD.
Then there’s the cost of housing, feeding (and perhaps transporting?) athletes
Each challenger is paid 2000 USD per race
The executive team does not come cheap: MJ, Steve Gera, Rick Qualliotine, Teresa Palladino
GSL employs three creative agencies for image, marketing, and collateral
deals. Since these agencies also work with big moneymakers like Pro Tennis and
Pro Football (American), they’re not likely to sign on for a percentage of
profits.
So, how much capital is projected to be left at the end of Season One? Will
MJ and Company have to seek a second round of financing? If that is successful
(quite an if, in my opinion), what would the original investors have to give up
in ownership shares? Will they still be interested?
And, about that prize money. Did Grant Fisher and Josh Kerr each get
checks for 100,000 USD at the end of the two meets in Kingston and Miramar? Or,
for “tax reasons” are these prizes going to be drawn down over a period of
years? If so, serious counterparty risk, if you ask me.
I don’t wish any ill toward MJ, his partners and their project. But I think their model needs some serious scrutiny, especially in light of the crowd size in both Jamaica and Florida.
Anyone have solid data on how this initiative is going to play out?

Yeah, in some events I'm fine with the doubling. It has led to some unpredictable outcomes, and that's a good thing! But the hurdlers doubling has just been...weird. We've had three slam champions crowned in the high hurdles, and all of them were the athletes who won the flat 100m on day 2 rather than the hurdle race on day 1. That just feels wrong.

The two events are weighted equally, but we all know these are hurdlers (particularly so in the high hurdles; some of the 400 hurdlers are actually quite good at the 400). So you get a scenario where Masai Russell runs one of the greatest hurdle races of all time but doesn't win the slam because she's not good at the 100, an event that doesn't matter to her or any of her opponents.

Good point - the "Grand Slam" of track has been done before - 30 years ago. It was called the Golden Four and it went from 1993(92?) to 1997. Oslo, Zurich, Brussels, Berlin.

The 48 racers get a base salary not the 48 challengers.

I wonder how Grant will approach today's 5000. Will he wait to see what the others do, risking losing again in a photo finish, which would jeopardize first place overall and $100K, or will he try to break away from Teare, Coscoran and Mills at a faster pace?

If one’s writing is a window onto one’s thinking I think it’s safe to say yours lacks both rigor and punctuation.