Official 2013 Saturday Pre Classic Thread

#YOBRO wrote:

Walker Red wrote:

Ritz will be luck to qualify for worlds.

get the f out of here bro.

Not necessarily lucky but it is not obvious that he will make the team. The only lock is Rupp.

Why NBC's Coverage of Track & Field sucks:

1. They cover every meet as though they are broadcasting to the same large audience they have for the Olympics, i.e. one that is composed 90% of those who know nothing about Track & Field, when in fact they are broadcasting to a very small audience that is comprised mostly of Track & Field fans. There is no effort made by the producers to provide any insight or perspective on each event. This is especially evident in middle and long distance running events. NBC’s on-air talent for covering these events is a disgrace. Tom Hammond’s ignorance of the sport is quite evident, Lewis Johnson has absolutely no talent for commentary, and the outside commentators NBC brings in seem to be chosen for their high level of blandness. Can you imagine an NFL game being covered in such a vapid and superficial way?

2. They seem completely unprepared to cover the meet. Very little info is given about athletes who were not a major story in the last Olympics. They seem to be caught completely off guard when the featured athlete does not win (Women's 800m and Men's 15000m at the Pre). Even a quick graphic before each event showing the top times or marks would help. When you compare the NBC broadcast to the IAAF International feed of Diamond League meets with Tim Hutchings, et. al., there is no comparison. Considering that the IAAF crew has no control over the feed about which they are commenting, on the difference in the level of professionalism is even greater.

3. The complete avoidance of mentioning metric marks in field events (I know this is a running site but still). If your audience is almost completely ignorant of Track and Field, talking of heights and distances in only the British/US system might be excused. But a mark in a field event only has relevance when compared to other marks. Since 12 of the 14 Diamond League meets take place outside the US and many T&F fans follow the Diamond League, trying to relate the commentary on the field events in the US meets to what I going on in the rest of the world is very difficult. This is a shame because Dwight Stones is one of a very few US T&F commentators who makes insightful and frank comments.

DaveW wrote:

Lagat, Ritz, Teg, Sol, Webb and Hall are at the end of their careers. Rupp will continue to be a success for several years. Derrick and Jager seem to be the next great talents.

There is a lot of HS talent emerging. Let's hope they are well coached.

Not so sure about Solinsky. Whether he can come back fully from his injury is still uncertain. If he does, then he could have several more years of peak performance. DOB - Dec '84, 28 years old right now.

TJ wrote:

On TV, he went through in 49.38. That is not going out in 50. Scherer is good but he was off his game today.

Don't Blame Scherer wrote:

Don't Blame Scherer. He was hired to go out in 50 and that's what he hit. Others have gone out that fast in the past. Everyone else was just slow like in a number of the other events today.

He stated before the race that he was to rabbit through at 49.5. I don't think being .12 under contract pace can be considered being off his game.

Big fan145 wrote:

Taoufik Makhloufi was up down into 11th in 3:52.94 in the mile but don't be surprised if he turns up like a rocket in Moscow....first race in season .

He looked quite heavy today.

rojo wrote:

Dibab to lead just before 600 to go.

68.6 for that lap. only 3 in contention.

Cherono hangin in there.

30.14 for first 200. Dibaba won't let her go by.

29,72

what a great last lap. They were 2 meters apart the whole way.

Cherono was on Tirunesh's shoulder at 200, with the momentum to pass. Tirunesh drifted just wide enough at about 180 to slow her down a bit. Dirty trick.

Cool story Brah

Some events are up on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/McKaylaPerfect10?feature=watch

Each of those guys brought a whole new dimension to distance running in the US. Some of them could still do great things.

I was just thinking about the future a few years from now.

yogibear wrote:

Some events are up on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/McKaylaPerfect10?feature=watch

The first race video I click on, the pop-up ad is for "thyroid warning signs".

Someone trying to tell us something?

Agreed, how many phreaking questions/ references were there to

the London Olympics. Does Lewis make up his own questions or

someone else????????

up all nights wrote:

Agreed, how many phreaking questions/ references were there to

the London Olympics. Does Lewis make up his own questions or

someone else????????

Yea I thought that was really stupid

"Mo' tough race today, but you had a great race nine months ago in london, talk about that"