Runnerville

Gearing up, the world comes tumbling down. With the Olympic Trials and the Games in sight, the athletes have stepped fully into the spotlight. Okay world, try harnessing Usain Bolt, who electrified NY, Jamaica, and even ESPN with a 9.72 WR in the 100m.  In California teen sensations German Fernandez and Christine Babcock continue to re-write history.  We’ll talk with Dyestat.com’s Rich Gonzalez, and USATF President Bill Roe joins us live for a penetrating interview about the sport and the search for a new CEO.  It’s all on this episode of the Toni & Matt Show.

The Big Story - USATF President Bill Roe joins us in the studio. We find out where USATF is in the CEO selection process (hoping for an announcement before the Trials), what types of candidates are still in the hunt (ones from the running industry and ones from outside the industry), and whether Hilary Clinton is a candidate (he never really answered, did he?). Bill also talks about the current challenges facing USATF (attendance, drugs, non-profit vs for-profit) and gives us his ideal TV deal.

Fernandez and Babcock on Fire - DyeStat.com’s Rich Gonzales joins us in studio to discuss the historical performances by German Fernandez and Christine Babcock. We get the inside scoop on their training and what races are up next.

Usain Bolt is the World’s Fastest Man - With his blistering 9.72, Usain Bolt becomes the world’s fastest man at the age of 21. A phenom at age 15, Bolt has finally reached what many saw coming. A new breed of sprinter for sure. But more importantly — one with a personality. Matt goes on a rant about the drug suspicions.

What do you think? Call us at 206-888-0346 or email to comments (at) runnerville (dot) com.

[Music is “Jammin’” by Bob Marley.]

I don’t normally read ESPN Magazine, in fact I detest ESPN for only covering the drug aspect of our sport, but I found myself reading it as I waited at the local Jiffy Lube for my car to get an oil change. On the cover was the face of Kimbo Slice, the newest MMA star. The article went into depth on Slice’s life and how he’s become such a big star in the sport despite accomplishing so little.

While the article was entertaining, it also got me thinking that one of the reasons MMA has become so big is because UFC and the other organizations in the sport have done a phenomenal job at putting a face on their sport.

In the article the author stated, “Truth is, a star and some buzz are good for any sport; MMA should welcome Kimbo’s charisma, personality and ability to attract the uninitiated.” What Kimbo seems to be doing is a smaller version of what Lance Armstrong did for cycling and what Tiger Woods has done for golf. Those sports found their one poster boy, the one guy who could take their sport to the next level in terms of popularity and marketed that person to the extreme.

I truly believe every sport has a Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods. That one person that has a story, shares their personality with the world a bit and comes out on top 9 times out of ten. But who are the athletes in our sport that have that charisma and personality, who win a bunch and can attract both old and new fans alike? I’d love to hear all of your thoughts on this.

Having the Golden League on ESPN?  Great.  Having it called by announcers who are watching a cut-up feed on monitors?  Not great.

Today was Day One in the 2008 Golden League, which ESPN, it was recently announced, would be covering at each stop on the tour.  I don’t know what I was expecting from the coverage, but suffice it to say, the telecast didn’t exactly encourage me to settle in and enjoy some track.  Now, I’m not going to get into a critique of the individual broadcasters because we do enough of that already.  Rather, I’m curious about what the viewership thought of the format.  Why do we need ESPN to provide two guys to narrate the Eurosport feed, when Eurosport already provides more than capable broadcasters?  Do Larry Rawson and Dwight Stones really bring that much to the broadcast that we’d rather them than the Euros? Read more…