Re: t-and-f: Webb going pro
I think Webb would have been better off to stay in college, but people are blowing this decision way out of proportion. As far as I have heard he is still going to be getting an education and he will likely be running in some of the same meets he would have at Michigan. It really boils down to a coaching decision, which I believe Webb should be allowed to choose for himself (It is his career). A lot of the posts are right to point out the notable diffrences between Webb and Tiger Woods or Kobe Bryant. However, I think it is safe to assume Webb is being paid enough to pay his bills. If he doesn't develop in the next couple of years, he is likely going to be in the almost the same place he would have been if he didn't develop at Michigan. More than likely fairly debt free with a college degree and 40+ years in the working world ahead of him. Even if he doesn't graduate from college in a timely manner he could go back in a few years if running doesn't pan out. It's not ! like he's going to end up homeless on the street if he doesn't develop into a great miler. Matthew
Re: t-and-f: the state of Duck track
I think what Heinonen is saying is that Stanford got the jump in adapting and marketing their meets to the current qualifying format. It is interesting that in the preliminary entries for the Twilight mmet that were on the Ducks page, before the articles in the Register Guard came out, Kyle Robinson was the only Duck distance runner listed. However, if you look in the meet results, Logsdon, Andrus, Bergquist, and Hartmann all ran. Whether this decision was influenced by the article, or made beforehand, I don't know. But, I would like to thank Martin Smith for running those athletes in the meet. While, I'm not sure the glory days of Oregon track attendance will ever return, I'm hopeful the future will be brighter.
Re: t-and-f: any replays?
It looks like it is going to be on Fox Sports Northwest today at 2pm.
Re: t-and-f: Cardinal Invite
Gabe was in second and when the rabbit dropped (with 500 to go) he looked good and was in the lead... he was running hard and could not drop the two guys who were with him Gabe began to tire with about 250 to go and with 200 to go, a guy went by (Berryhill). To Gabe's credit he ran the whole last 200 hard and was able come back for second (I think Ed. Note: fourth) but SAGE came from WAY back (maybe 15m) with a HUGE last 350m to go by with about 45-50m to go. Sage looked awesome. As far as the 1500m race goes, Berryhill was in heat one and Jennings and Sage were in the second heat, so they were not racing against each other. In an otherwise excellently run meet, the heats in the 1500 were the one thing that didn't make sense to me. What an awesome meet though. I ended up buying a plane ticket at 1:15 for a 2:55 flight down to California, and was definitely not dissapointed. If any of the organizers of the meet are on the list, you did an outstanding job. Matthew
t-and-f: Stanford Meet
Just a side note on the Stanford meet, I don't have my a program from the meet in front of me so I hope I got the name right, but Dave Cullom from the farm team gets the superhuman award, it seemed like he was either racing or rabbiting every distance race.. Garrett
t-and-f: Track accuracy
There was an article in the Oregonian newspaper today about the track at Willamette University in Salem. During some recent work to the track they discovered that each lap was actually 406m. The steeplechase was the only event that was accurately measured. No one is sure when the mistake was made, but it has probably been like that for some time. Just made me wonder how many other tracks like that are around. Matthew
Re: t-and-f: DI Regional Qualifying Discussion
As far as high school state meet attendance goes, I don't think the main factor has anything to do with fans becoming more familiar with the athletes over time. This may be different in California, but in Oregon, the vast majority of the fans are not huge track fans, or even general sports fans who are there for the drama. The vast majority are coaches, parents of athletes, friends of athletes etc. While some may be drawn in by the qualifying system, I doubt the number is very high. Matthew
Re: t-and-f: Eligibility question.
I don't have rulebook, but I believe it is five years from when you first enroll in school not from when you graduate, up to a maximum age of like 29, something like that. Chris Weinke, the quarterback for Florida State this year, was 28, graduating from high school in 1989 and spending 6 years playing minor league baseball. I believe the rules are the same for US and foriegn students.
t-and-f: Webb runs 3:59.86
According to a report on Dyestat.com, Alan Webb broke the 4 minute barrier at the New Balance Indoor meet today, running 3:59.86. There is some more information on th dyestat message boards. Looks like we have a great indoor and outdoor season ahead of us.
t-and-f: Jennings and Stember 6th year?
This quote by Vin Lannana was in an interview Geoff Thurner did for www.trackire.com. Is there any basis on which they would be granted a 6th year of eligibility. No one forced them to run in the Olympics. I don't know the NCAA rules, but it just seems that there is no logical reason they should be granted more eligibility unless they were injured all year etc, and not just worn out from the Olympic experience. Gabe and Michael handled it (Olympics) really well, and it was a marvelous experience for them. They gained a tremendous amount of experience about what to expect for the rest of their times as competitive athletes. We decided that when they got back to Stanford, it was in their best interest not to compete this season, so we're petitioning for a sixth year of eligibility for each. Matthew
RE: t-and-f: oregon men's regular-season record
This is a portion of a message from the tnfmedia board that was posted by the Air Force XC coach. It details a plan that was rejected by the coaches. To me it sounds a little complicated, but I like the idea of the sliding points for the teams you beat. (Down to a certain point.) Any other comments? The basic idea of the proposal we presented was to create a "power ranking" based on results throughout the qualifying period and then, utilizing that power ranking, give more weight to the region meet in those regions that showed strength and depth throughout the qualifying period. Another aspect of the proposal was that it was completely objective without any room for subjectivity. Also, we felt that losses to teams which did not finish in the top 4 in their respective regions should count against you. The specifics of the proposal were: 1) Score 10-8-6-4-2-1 for wins during the qualifying period against the top 6 finishers from any region including your own region. 2) Subtract 1 point for all losses to 5th place and lower finishers from any region including your own region. 3) No more than two wins can be counted against any one team. No more than two losses can be counted against any one team. 4) A team gains and loses for a tie. 5) A sliding % factor of the positive points accumulated by those teams you beat in your region is added to your score. 25% of the points of the 4th place team, 20% of the 5th place team, 15% of the 6th place team, 10% of the 7th place team, and 5% of the 8th place team's positive points. The 3rd finisher in a region gets 4th on down, the 4th place finisher gets 5th on down, etc. If a team has a negative total, their points are not utilized so beating a team with negative points cannot hurt you.
