Part Two-Quick And Dirty Water Cooler Cheat Sheet For The London Olympics

 Let’s dive right into part two of my London Olympic 2012 track preview. 

This go round were looking at the 400 meters, 400 meter hurdles, 1500 and the sprint relays.

400 meters Men

Where have all the great Jamaican quarter-milers gone? It has been a very long time (by my account, Bert Cameron in the 1980’s) since Jamaica has had a 400 meter world beater. Unfortunately I don’t see that changing this year.

Lashawn Merritt of the USA is the favorite going into the Olympics. He has the fastest time in the world this year and has been running consistently well all season. Tony McQuay of the USA, the impressive youngster Luquelin Santos of the Dominican Republic and Kirani James of Grenada are also medal contenders. James won the World Championships last year in a great finish beating Merritt at the line.

If anyone can defeat Lashawn Merritt, James is the guy. Barring injury however, I don't see it happening; Merritt should get the gold medal, James silver and McQuay bronze. 

400 meter Women

This race is sure to be interesting for several reasons. Jamaican born American star Sanya Richards-Ross is the presumptive favorite. She has been simultaneously the best and the must uneven 400 runner for the last six years. She has never won an individual 400 meter Olympic gold, but was on both the 2004 and 2008 4 x 400 relay teams. She has finished first overall in the Golden League circuit three times, and won the World Indoor and Outdoor 400 meter titles. 

Richards-Ross will be hard pressed by a pair of Russians, Antonina Krivoshapka and Yulia Gushchina as well as Amantle Montsho of Botswana who is the defending World champion from 2011. 

Richards-Ross is a great runner, but seemed to have worn down in the 2008 Olympics and the 2011 Worlds. She will have a battle on her hands with the two Russians, Montsho and Jamaica’s Novolene Williams-Mills.

Sanya is overdue for an Olympic title, and I think she gets it in London.

400 Meter Hurdles Women

This is a wide open race with several legitimate contenders. Lashinda Demus of the USA, Kaliese Spencer and Melaine Walker of Jamaica, Perri Shakes-Drayton of the UK, Natalya Antyukh of Russia, Vania Stambolova of Bulgaria all can be considered serious contenders for the gold. Demus is a veteran and the World champion from last year. Melaine is the 2008 Olympic champion and Antyukh has the fastest time in the world this year. 

If you want a long shot for this event, I would say T’erra Brown of the US could sneak onto the podium.

As a footnote, I believe that unlike the quarter-milers, Jamaica’s future in this event is very bright. Jenieve Russell, who just won the World Junior Championships for Jamaica in this event and Ristianana Tracy are on a trajectory of greatness and come 2016 they will be major factors. T'erra Brown and Queen Harrison  should likewise be carrying the torch high for the US in the near future.

400 Meter Hurdles Men

Javier Culson of Puerto Rico is the prohibitive favorite. His all out, run from the front style seems to lack tactical substance, but no one has caught him yet. David Greene of Great Britain is his closest competition and if Culson wears down running the rounds of this grueling event Greene could win gold for the home team.

I think Culson is ripe for an upset here.  Greene is my pick to win gold for the hometown folks.

1500 meters men

This event should probably be renamed ‘the Kenyan Invitational’ to reflect their dominance.  Asbel Kiprop, Silas Kiplagat and Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba between them have the five fastest times of the year. 

I think Kiplagat wins this, but one thing’s for sure: a Kenyan will be taking home the gold medal and he wont be alone on the podium.

1500 women

Mariem Alaoui Selsouli of Morocco, Abeba Arigawe of Ethiopia and Asli Çakir Alptekin of Turkey are all contenders, but I think Arigawe and Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia will be battling for the gold.

Sprint relays – 4X100 men and women

In the men’s relay, this is a Jamaica versus USA duel. The US has a troubling recent history of failing to pass the baton all the way around, but if they do, they have enough great runners to make this a very tight race. Trinidad should also be in the mix for a medal. 

Unless there is a miscue, It should finish Jamaica, USA, Trinidad in that order.

In the womens race, the USA teams have had the same issues in recent years that plague the men.  They should also take it down to the line with Jamaica if they can pass the stick, but that has proven to be a big if. 

Bahamas, Germany, Trinidad and Russia should also be competitive, but barring any mishaps, I think the USA wins this in a close race over Jamaica.

4X400 men

The USA has a stranglehold on this event.  The 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2008 teams all won gold medals. The 2000 USA team also won, but that medal was stripped because more than half the team (Jerome Young, Alvin & Calvin Harrison and Antonio Pettigrew) used performance enhancing drugs.

Jamaica has reached the podium on a few occasions during that 22 year stretch, and so has Great Britain. In 2012, No one is challenging the USA domination of this event. That teams wins in a walk, with Jamaica, Belgium, Trinidad, Bahamas and Great Britain fighting for silver and bronze. 

If-and it’s a big if-the USA stumbles, I think Belgium, led by the Borlee brothers, will win gold.

4X400 women

This will be a lot more competitive than the men’s race, at least until they get to the anchor legs. The USA has a team that should win, but they will be challenged by a few strong contingents; Great Britain, Jamaica, France and Ukraine all have more than a punchers chance to win the gold.

I think it comes down to this: If the USA is trailing going into the anchor leg by more than a couple of meters, they will lose. If Sanya Richards-Ross running the anchor leg gets the baton in first place, it will be a laugher for the USA.

Bonus: 

One of the most entertaining races will be the women’s 5000 meters. Meseret Defar of Ethiopia and Vivian Cheruyiot of Kenya have competed against each other several times this year in both the 3000 and the 5000 meters and each race has been a thrilling down to the wire affair.

Defar is the most decorated distance runner of the last decade, an amazing athlete who has won medals and set records at every major international meet, indoor and outdoor. She has lowered her own world record on three occasions between 2005 and 2008, and still owns the indoor world records in the 3000 and 5000 meters.

Cheruyiot is the younger of the two and over the last couple of years, the more consistent. In what is most likely Defar’s last hurrah, she will want to go out with another gold medal, but Cheruyiot may want to start her reign at the top now rather than later. 

This is too close to call, but it should be great to watch.

Let the Games begin!

Quick And Dirty Water Cooler Cheat Sheet For The London Olympics.

With a month to go before the 2012 London Olympics, all eyes, bets and conversation will be centered on the many track events that will be hotly contested and as of right now, wide open.

With all due respect to the American press and media, the100 meter finals is, was and will continue to be The blue riband event of the entire Olympics. Swimming is popular, so is gymnastics and boxing, but no high-ranking government officials worldwide are involved in scalping ticketsfor those events. 

At every Olympics, track and field reigns and the sprints are the crown jewel.

This year, the competition for events ranging from the 100 to the 10,000 meters will be hotly contested. Conventional wisdom has been turned on its head, with many familiar names coming up short and newcomers shouldering their way to the fore.

That being said, I’m going to give you the first part of my official “Quick And Dirty Water Cooler Cheat Sheet For The London Olympics.”

General disclaimer time: This is my outlook and preview on the events, not an inducement to wager money or services. But if you do wager and my selections are successful-which I fully expect them to be-I anticipate a small stipend as a token of gratitude.

So without further ado, here we go: 

Part one, the 100, 200 110/100 hurdles and 800.

100 meters, Men

The biggest name in track, Usain Bolt, has not looked sharp all season; some cynics have chalked it up to his enjoying his ‘global icon’ status. Others attribute it to other runners studying and stepping up to challenge Bolt, shrinking the gap he created in the historic 2008 Olympics. 

Yohan Blake has the pedigree to be the best sprinter in the world. He has been the ‘next big thing’ since his high school days at St. Jago and his desire is unquestioned. 

The only real contenders for this title are as follows:

Usain Bolt-Defending champ and as of right now, quite possibly the most motivated runner in the world.

Yohan Blake-Peaking at the right time and definitely the one to beat.

Justin Gatlin-He beat Asafa early in the year and hasn’t stopped chirping since. He’s running for bronze but if anyone slips up Gatlin could surprise.

Asafa Powell-Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “Asafa is running better than he ever has, but…” Powell has the talent to win but not the intestinal fortitude. He’s a medal contender but not really a challenger for the gold.

Tyson Gay-Broke down a year ago trying to catch up and keep up with Bolt. He’s running well but sparingly. Can he hold up through the grueling rounds to really challenge in London? I don’t see him getting on the podium.

Prediction: Blake first, Bolt second, Gatlin third.

100 meters women

This is a three woman race. Set aside the US Olympic Trials Felix/Tarmoh mess for a second, as neither woman should factor in this race in London. This event will come down to Carmelita Jeter of the US, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Not every athlete can succeed in a world championship setting like the Olympics. Some runners, on any given day running one race, can be world beaters. In the Olympics you have to bring it, bring it and bring it again, often in the same day, consecutive days or several days in a short period. Many runners have been Diamond/Golden League superstars and wither by the time they get to the Olympic finals. 

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce is not one of those. She shows up best when it counts the most, and if she gets a lead on the field the race is usually over.

Alyson Felix, Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, Kelly Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Kerron Stewart of Jamaica all have the closing speed to crash that party, but I think this will end up as follows:

Fraser-Pryce first, Jeter second, VCB third.

200 meters men

This will have mostly the same cast of characters as the 100, except for Gay and Gatlin. The main challenge to Bolt and Blake will be American Wallace Spearmon, but he’s running for bronze. There could be a Jamaican sweep, but like Gay in the 100 meters, I am not sure how Warren Weir of Jamaica in his first major international championships will hold up through the heats, semis and final.

Bolt first, Blake second and Spearmon third.

200 meters women

This is one of the most competitive races in the entire slate of events. The top five female sprinters of the last decade will be in this one; Sanya Richards-Ross, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Alyson Felix, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, Carmelita Jeter.

Every single one of these women has at least one Olympic or World Championship gold medal on their resume. They are the cream of the crop in women’s sprinting and every one of them has a legitimate shot to win the gold. I think this will be best race of the entire Olympics.

VCB has had a very uneven season so far, but like Shelly Ann, she tends to raise her effort when it’s all on the line.

I think Veronica Campbell-Brown defends her 2008 Olympic gold medal, Alyson Felix second and Jeter third.

110 Hurdles, Men

This is another highly competitive race with a distinguished field. The biggest surprise going in is that David Oliver, the World Champion from 2008, did not make the US team. Personally, I could not see him getting on the podium with this field anyway, but rest assured, this race will be cracking.

Xiang Liu of China, Aries Merrit and Jason Richardson of the US, World Record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba, Hansle Parchment and the NCAA champion, Andrew Riley both of Jamaica are all medal contenders here.  I see this as a real fight between Robles and Xiang Liu, the two hurdlers involved in an infraction last year. (To those thatdidn’t see it, Robles was leading, Liu passed him, and Robles grabbed Liu’shand and slowed him down to a third place finish. Robles was disqualified and Richardson of the US awarded the gold and Liu the silver.)

00

This time around, Liu will leave no doubt. I think Liu wins this going away, with Robles, Merritt Parchment and Richardson vying for second and third. Don’t be surprised if Robles’ world record of 12.87 falls in this race.

100 Hurdles, Women

As competitive as the men’s race will be, this will be just as anti-climatic. Sally Pearson of Australia was the silver medalist in 2008, the race notorious for Lolo Jones’ stumble on the last hurdle.

Pearson has dominated the event since Beijing, putting yards of daylight between her and everyone else. She has 3 of the 5 fastest times of the year going into this Olympics and has been more dominant than Jones was going into 2008. If healthy, she should win easily.  Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica, Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells of the US, Lolo Jones and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada are running for second and third.

Pearson first, Harper second, Foster-Hylton third and it’s not even close.

800 meters, Men

David Rudisha is the name to know in this event. He has the three fastest times this year and is a full 2 seconds faster than everyone else. He has talked about taking the world record into the 1:30’s and he is quite capable of it. Rudisha owns the world record of 1:41.01 and this is another record that could fall in London.

Rudisha first, Abubaker Kaki of Sudan second and Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia third.

800 meters, Women

This is going to be another interesting and highly competitive race.  Pamela Jelimo is the favorite here. She is coming into this Olympics as the defending champion, and she has been consistently under 2:00.00 in all of her 2012 races. 

Kenia Sinclair is the wild card. Quite possibly Jamaica’s best ever distance runner, Sinclair was in position for a medal in Beijing and faded down the stretch to 6^th place. She has run sparingly this season, but won the Jamaica Trials and could be a serious medal contender next month. 

Caster Semenya of South Africa, Fantu Magiso of Ethiopia and Irina Maracheva of Russia are all in the mix for a medal but Jelimo is the class of the field and should get the gold medal.

Jelimo first, Semenya second and Sinclair third.

Next week i'll give you part two, and yes, there will be more surprises!

Indecision 2012 track style

Last week at the US Olympic trials, Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh tied for third in the 100meter finals. The top three spots are guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team competing in the 100, with the fourth joining the pool for the relay team.  

Felix and Tarmoh are training partners, and while Felix is the most decorated and easily the best all-around US sprinter of the last decade, having competed successfully at the 100, 200 and 400 meters as well as every successful US relay team. Tarmoh is trying to secure her first Olympic berth having made her first US team last year at the World Championships.

My issue is not with the runners. They did their part. The only farce here is with the USATF who did not have a procedure in place to deal with this. In the wake of what I will call ‘Indecision 2012’ they attempted to cobble together a procedure.

This procedure starts with the suggestion that one of the two runners should decline a spot on the team. I will not even comment further on the absurdity of that. 

It goes on to say that the runners will be given the ‘option’ of a run-off or a coin toss. To which I ask why? They are runners. World class competitors. Trying to make their national team for the Olympics. 

Why would there be any other option than running again, winner proceeds and loser is out?

To make this even more of a joke, the former head of USA Track and Field on NBC’s coverage of the trials stated  ‘that in the hundred years plus of the World Championship and Olympic teams, this has never happened, ‘ as an explanation as to why there was no procedure in place.

Maybe it’s because I have spent so many years dealing with insurance, risk, litigation, policy interpretations and contracts that I look at some things the way I do. After so much time spent working in the “wonderful world of ‘What If’ “ It is ingrained in me to always make what is one of the most basic of conclusions, to wit: Just because it has never happened before does not mean it cannot happen.

To think that in a century of organization, and the most advanced technology available, they never considered this particular ‘what if’ is ridiculous. The indecisive nature of the proposed solution is also a joke.

So now we have an issue that won’t be decided until at least a week later, and is nothing short of a complete embarrassment for the USA Track and Field. 

I hope the Jamaican Olympic trial organizers take note and get their ducks in a row. The world is watching this and while the media fallout has not been as loud as I think it should be, do not for a second think that if mistakes are made in Kingston, it wont be noticed and ridiculed. 

Make notes, make adjustments, be professional and be prepared. 

Look for my Olympic track and field preview coming up next week after the Jamaican Olympic trials. I got some surprises for you, and if you're the gambling type, some long shots you might want to put a quid on. 

Of Slights; Perceived And Otherwise

Heading into the 2012 London Olympics, fans of track and field are gearing up for some amazing contests across the spectrum. From the sprints to the middle distances, hurdles to the jumps, the competition has never been tighter and more unpredictable.

It is fitting that on the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence, the country is poised to continue its domination of the sprints that had previously reached a zenith in Beijing four years ago.

I watched a replay of the recent Penn Relays where an interview was conducted with the great Carl Lewis. As a young runner and fan of the sport back in the 80’s I was a huge fan of Carl Lewis. After the Ben Johnson scandal that rocked the entire sport, I supported his vocal opposition to cheating in track and field, particularly his pointed remarks about (among others) Florence Griffith-Joyner alleged use of performance enhancing drugs (PED’S.) As the greatest American runner since Jesse Owens, I felt he was sorely under-appreciated in this, his homeland.

When looked at in that context, I can understand it to some degree but I still have been more than slightly turned off by his continued bitterness towards every great runner to come along since he retired. He has been quite vocal in his skepticism about Jamaican sprinters and what he has said is their ‘sudden emergence’ on the scene. He stayed true to form at the Penn Relays interview, making another comment about the Jamaicans ‘coming out of nowhere’ before trying to backpedal and discuss ‘the long history of Jamaican runners.’

Now I could make the obvious statement about the multitude of American runners caught up in the BALCO scandal, and how the American sprinters have disappeared from the medal podiums since that saga came to light.  I could also point at Lewis’ admitted failing a test for PED’s; an act that makes his comments seems more than a little hypocritical. 

I won’t go to any lengths about that, rather I will merely highlight some facts that might shed light on the ‘sudden emergence’ Mr. Lewis referred to:

Since the middle of the 20th century we have been consistently well represented in the sprints, first our men and within the last thirty years, both our men and women. In a sport that had struggled with PED use for decades, we have been consistent winners with very few cheaters in our ranks.

Even before independence, starting with the 1948 London Olympics and through to the 1950’s, there was the golden generation of George Rhoden, Arthur Wint and Herb “Herb Mac” McKinley,(R) the men who first showed the world the talent in our little island in the sun.

During the 60’s and 70’s Lennox Miller and Don Quarrie won medals on the world’s biggest stage.

The 1980’s and 1990’s ushered the women onto the podium next to the men; Juliet Cuthbert, Merlene Ottey (L, with her arm around Cuthbert) and Grace Jackson  joined the great hurdler Winthrop Graham in winning medals wearing the green and gold.

In addition, the number of sprinters Jamaican born and of Jamaican descent furthered highlighted our status as world beaters; Donovan Bailey won gold for his adopted homeland of Canada, Linford Christie did the same for Great Britain and Inger Miller, daughter of Lennox, won several medals running for the USA.

That dubious part of Jamaica's tradition continues today with Sanya Richards-Ross and Debbie Dunn representing the Stars and Stripes over their ancestral homeland.

It’s hard to make the argument that Jamaican runners have suddenly emerged when looking at that lineage.

Many will say Jamaicans have overachieved as a nation, stepping up on the world stage in a manner that a tiny country the size of Rhode Island and with less people than Brooklyn has no business doing. When you have been as consistently great as Jamaican athletes have been however, it is difficult to consider it overachieving. It’s most likely a case of being right where we should be.

With this current plethora of talent, what I will call the Greatest Generation of sprinters in our history, we are poised to stamp our pedigree once again. The Beijing Olympics of 2008 was a stunning introduction to the casual fan of what we can do. This time around there is no surprises, but 2012-our 50th year of independence-it will be an affirmation of who we are: World Beaters. And as we continue to rise, people like Lewis continue to shrink in stature.

To Mr. Lewis and those who question it as he has, I say this; Recognize greatness, Mr. Lewis. It’s always been there, maybe you just were too busy looking at yourself to notice.

And oh yeah, congrats to my favorite club, Chelsea FC of London for winning their first Champions League title. 

Didier Drogba and Robert DeMatteo need to be re-signed ASAP so this team in its prime can defend and repeat this success.

Last weekend of April; Recap of Penn Relays

“No place in America brings together the track and field community like the Penn Relays at Philadelphia's Franklin Field, run every year on the last weekend in April. Some 15,000 athletes compete, beginning early in the week with high school relays and culminating on Saturday afternoon when Olympians such as Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix race in the old stadium for crowds that regularly exceed 50,000. It is part athletic event and part family reunion, where a sport's passion is annually reborn.”

Tim Layden
Oh, The Places You Can Go
A DOZEN WELL-TRAVELED SPORTS ILLUSTRATED WRITERS NAME THE NO. 1 FAN EXPERIENCES IN THE SPORTS THEY KNOW BEST
Sports Illustrated April 9th 2012.


The last weekend in April. Spring is in full bloom and the Northeast USA begins the annual reawakening from the winter doldrums. This year though, was a little different. The winter season, unusually warm and strangely devoid of snow, raced along, giving everyone in the region hope for an early Spring and great Summer.

Alas, the last weekend of April comes along and it resembles what the last weekend of February should have been. Rainy. Cold. Less track weather and more NFL on the television weather.

Against this backdrop, teams of boys and girls, men and women of all levels of competition and abilities congregated at Franklin Field for the 2012 Penn Relay Festival. The overall vibe was different. The London Olympics are a scant few months away, so while several countries trying to reach qualifying times sent teams to Philadelphia, other countries and their stars stayed away, preferring to focus on the upcoming Diamond League races and getting ready for London.

So on a rainy, chilly April Saturday, the caravans of track and field fans-most of them Jamaican-from near and far entered the stadium on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania for the penultimate day of the meet. Many of the fans were there to support their alma maters or support friends. Some came to support family members, running for schools in their new homeland, building new legacies. Others simply came to Franklin Field to soak up the atmosphere, enjoy the food and mingle with one of the greatest crowds you will ever come across at a sporting event anywhere.

On this Saturday, with the temperatures approximately 40 degrees less than the Jamaican student-athletes were used to, it surprised no one that the times were slow and the results disappointing.

Both of the USA versus the World 4x100 relays (L) were won by the USA over watered down Jamaican teams. Not even the presence of the Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller could brighten the fortunes at that point.

After the US victories, the large crowd awash in green and yellow was subdued and in need of reason to cheer. They got it in the first College men’s 4x100 relay as UWI won in a time of 39.94. Despite the weather, the buzz was coming back. That race was followed by UTech (39.46) running a creditable second to Auburn University (39.34.)

That set the stage for the High School 4x100 relays.

Wolmers Boys and Jamaica College (R) ran first and second in their race, putting the crowd-estimated to be the fourth biggest Saturday crowd all time-into a nice buzz.

That was extinguished quickly however, as Junipero Serra High from California took down both St. Jago and Calabar in their 4x100. Kingston College had the fastest times pre-meet in the 4x100, but in their final with an unbeatable lead, they dropped the baton on the last exchange.

The USA versus the World 4x400 further served to quiet the crowd, as Jermaine Gonzales basically jogged the second leg and the USA again won going away. Ditto the women's race, with Sanya Richards-Ross running better than she has in a couple of years now anchoring the US to a convincing victory.

So it was left to UTech to try and get the crowd back into it, and they did, easily defeating Texas A&M in the College Men’s 4x200 relay, even as their third leg runner appeared to suffer a cramp before the handoff.

Quite possibly the best race of the day was the High School Boys 4x800 relays, and again the Jamaican schoolboys came up short, as KC, St Jago and Holmwood all fell to the number one US team, Westfield from Virginia. The anchor leg runners of KC and Westfield ran a stirring final 150 meters that had the entire stadium on there feet down the stretch.

What is usually the crown jewel event of track, the 4x400 relay, was the last stand for the Jamaican high schoolers. With the sun peeking out (just barely on what I can attest was the coldest day in recent memory) Munro College took it home, winning ahead of Kingston College, Lodge HS of Barbados, Manchester High, Calabar and STETHS. Delano Williams of Munro, who provided a stellar performance in the 100 and 200 at the recent Boy and Girls Championship, sprinted the anchor leg as if it were a 100 meter race to finish in an astonishing 45.8 split. He will be a force to reckon with in the future.

Despite the cold and the bleak weather conditions the Penn Relays did not disappoint, and as the season progresses and culminates at the Olympics, fans will be watching the stars of today on the world stage. And the next generation of young men and women who make track special and the purest form of competition known to man will be getting ready. People like Edward Cheserek, Delano Williams, Danniel Thomas and Mary Cain.

Ready for the next run, the next race, the next season and on the last weekend of April, their moment in the sun.

Who knows, maybe next year we'll see these guys out on the track trying to get in on the fun...

Thanks to Sportingeventsfotos.com for the great shots!

Messi will never be Pele. He may not even be Ronaldo

The modern footballer is a wealthy, globally recognizable star. The top players on the big teams, elite guys like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney are icons, and the players who are not on that level or playing for non-traditional powers are still well known and major attractions for advertisers and headlines. With that being said, I also say this: Lionel Messi, as great as he is, is not Pele. He’s not even Maradona. And he may never be.

Messi is so good that the mythical title of world’s greatest player has not been in dispute the last two years. Actually Messi and Ronaldo, the clear second best player have separated themselves so much from the rest of the pack the only comparisons for them that can be made are with the all time greats. And therein lies the biggest knock on Messi.

As great a player as Messi has been, his achievements have been almost exclusively on the club level. Barcelona has used their considerable resources to surround Messi with some of the most talented players in the world. They, along with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City have created a chasm between themselves and the other teams domestically by throwing millions of dollars at player after player to win every year. George Steinbrenner would be proud of the zeal in which these team owners collect stars and assemble teams.

More than half of the World Cup winning team from Spain wears the red and blue of Barcelona and that incredible collection of talent and cohesiveness is breath taking to watch and almost impossible to defeat. Champions League, La Liga and World Club titles have all been won by Barcelona in the last three years, prompting talk of them being the best club team of all time.

Messi has not been able to even come close to matching those accomplishments with his Argentine national team. And when you want to be named among the greatest of all time, the measuring stick is World Cup titles. Pele won his first at seventeen in 1958 and his 3rd in 1970. Maradona went to two finals, winning in 1986 and finishing second in 1990.

While the Brazil teams of Pele and Maradona’s Argentina teams were comprised of some of the best talent in their eras, the Argentina team that played in the 2010 World Cup also had very good not great players and a plethora of world class strikers. But led by Messi and coached by Maradona they couldn’t even make the semi-finals.  Its worth noting that the only international title Messi has won is the 2008 Olympics gold medal.

One of the true marks of greatness is elevating the play of others around you. While the current crop of Argentine players may not be as good as some of years past, they are still one of the top 10 national teams, and that doesn't figure to change before the next World Cup.

Having the transcendent best player of this generation should make them the prohibitive favorite for the next trophy in 2014, but if Messi doesn’t raise his game even higher when he puts on the Albiceleste jersey, his place in the pantheon of greats will reside below the likes of Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo (Brazil) and Zidane.


I’ve been closely following this crazy NBA season, and the more I see him, the more I think Derrick Rose’s playing style is the closest I have seen to Allen Iverson (minus the cornrows.) Like Iverson, I don’t see him having a long NBA career, because at the rate he’s getting dinged up, he will quickly lose his speed and once he does, he’s an average PG.

The baseball season starts this week, and my NY Yankees are reloaded for another pennant run. The AL is going to be stacked this year, with Texas, Detroit, Anaheim, Boston and Tampa Bay all legitimate contenders for a World Series spot.

In the National League, I don’t think any team can beat the Phillies, but I do think the Washington Nationals will be a contender this year. They are putting together a good young team in DC, and they will make the NL East interesting this year. Pitching is the major factor in a 162 game season, and the Nationals have some good arms on their team. They will be fun to watch.

Congrats to Calabar High School and Edwin Allen High School for winning the 2012 Boys and Girls Champs respectively. Penn Relays is coming up, and should be quite competitive. Some of the best individual performers at Champs; Shauna Helps, Delano Williams, Tiffany James and Shericka Jackson look like they will have very bright futures in track.

Check out the times below for the fastest US high school 4x400 times in all of 2012:
3:14.88 DeSoto, Tx
3:15.12 Boys & Girls, Brooklyn, NY (indoor.)
3:15.16 Timberview, Mansfield, Tx

Below are the times for the top three boys finishers at Champs 2012:
3:10.19 Calabar HS
3:12.64 Kingston College
3:13.64 Jamaica College

The Girls 4x400 breaks down like this:
3:43.01 Wakefield, Raleigh (indoor)
3:45.16 Lancaster, Tx
3:47.49 Garden City, NY ( indoor)
3:47.56 Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale
3:47.70 DeSoto, Tx
3:48.86 American Heritage, Plantation, Fl
3:49.25 Medgar Evers, Brooklyn (indoor)

The top three HS girls finishers at Champs 2012:
3:38.91 Vere Tech
3:44.04 Holmwood
3:44.51 Edwin Allen

Here’s to a great, competitive track season coming up in 2012!

On your marks. Get set. Go!

Madison Square Garden, New York City

It’s been a brutal winter in New York, and the season has only just begun. Seven snowstorms in six weeks, record amounts of snow every time out, and everyone in New York is sinking into a winter funk.

But with the first call of “On your marks. Get set. Go!” one can see the light at the end of this tedious winter tunnel. Long the premier indoor track meet in New York (104 years and counting) the 2011 Millrose Games kicked off with a bang on January 28, 2011.

With each sharp turn, sharp spike and sharp elbow, high school runners, collegiate athletes and professionals all navigated the notoriously quick bends of the track hoping to cross that finish line in first place.

The Millrose Games has been the premier track meet in New York through its tenure. With the recent emergence of the Adidas Grand Prix Meet, the Millrose Games have ceded a lot of the spotlight, but as far as indoor meets go this is the one that gets the season going and quite frankly there is none better.

Millrose also represents the first installment of a series that has been in the works since the stunning (to some) sweep of the entire sprint schedule by Jamaica in the Beijing Olympics.

Yes, the Millrose Games is hosting the first installment of the USA v Jamaica sprint series.

In the city with perhaps the greatest number of expatriate Jamaicans, and gracing the same arena where Mohammed Ali, Willis Reed, Mark Messier and Patrick Ewing reached for greatness, a pantheon of elite sprinters will stake an official claim in a rivalry that has been the benchmark of sprinting for the last 60 years. Decades ago the names were different. George Rhoden, Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, Ollie Matson and Carl Lewis have given way to Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Carmelita Jeter and Tyson Gay.

The names have changed, but the rivalry remains unabated.

The USA v Jamaica race is a new wrinkle, one that will probably, hopefully energize the casual fan base in both countries. At bare minimum on this night it represented the starting gun for the beginning of a new track season, and all that comes with it.

Who knows if the competing athletes are aware of the historical rivalry of the two countries? Those same casual fans of track and field may think that the success of the Jamaican sprinters in Beijing came out of nowhere. They may not even be aware of the rich tradition of track and field in general and sprinting in particular in Jamaica.

But ever since the Helsinki Olympics of 1952 when the quartet of Wint, Laing, McKenley and Rhoden won the 4X400 relay gold medal, knocking the USA team into the silver medal, Jamaica has been the consistent overachievers of the sprinting world. In my lifetime I cannot recall a major track and field meet in which Jamaicans were not medal contenders, and I’m not even counting the fine runners of Jamaican descent (OJD) running for other countries.

On Friday night, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Nesta Carter, Lauryn Williams, Mike Rodgers and others toed the line in the indoors 60 meter dash at the Millrose Games hoping to stake a claim for sprint supremacy. For self and for country.

On a cold Friday night in New York, a day after 19 inches of snow blanketed the city, Veronica Campbell-Brown (L) who said in her post race press conference that she had ‘been in transit for over 36 hours’ trying to fly into the city, won the women's 60 meter dash ahead of Lauryn Williams and the Barber sisters. With Nesta Carter’s win in the men’s version and Vonette Dixon’s triumph in the hurdles(R), it is safe to say that Jamaica drew first blood. The point system showed that the US officially won the two race sprint series by virtue of their multiple runner up points in both events, but as Mike Rodgers of the US said in his press conference (seated on the left in the picture below next to Nesta Carter & Lauryn Williams) “The Jamaicans got us tonight. But we will see them at Penns.”

Yes indeed, Mr. Rodgers, we’ll see you at the Penn Relays. We’re coming to your neighborhood, and let the fun begin. Those races at Franklin Field in Philadelphia are called “USA v The World” but really, who do you think is representing the world in the sprints?

The track season has begun. On your marks. Get set. Go!

Welcome

Who is this guy? you may be asking yourself as you come across this blog.

Well, for starters, i'm a Jamaican born resident of Queens, NY who loves sports, politics, books (reading and writing them) and meaningful debate.

Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, my world view was funnelled through Radio Jamaica, Fame FM, JBC and the various local newspapers. There was no CNN, ESPN or Fox in this mix, but don't be fooled-the opinions and insights were as pointed and thought provoking as anything you see on the major networks today.

My initial sports interests were football, track and field, boxing, basketball and horse racing.

After moving to New York in the 1980's, I developed a love for baseball and American football. I also over the years followed other sports, notably tennis and golf with some degree of interest.

I have my favorites, some of whom may surprise you. I live in New York, but my favorite NFL team is the Oakland Raiders (followed by the the NY Jets.) My favorite NBA teams are the Knicks and the Lakers. In baseball, the Yankeees are my team, and one of my upcoming blogs will be about George Steinbrenner and why he is the best owner in all of sports.

Why is this longtime Queens resident not rooting for the Mets you may ask? Because the ownership of the Mets are scattered in both their resolve to win and acknowledgment of what they need to do to be a consistent contender.

So....what's my point?

Well, my point is I think sports are a microcosm of life; I want to share my opinion with as many people as possible, and more importantly I want to hear what everyone else has to say. That's that whole meaningful debate thing.

So, welcome, I hope you enjoy, and without further ado, lets get it.