A Series of Musings

NOTE: This title is stolen from Bob Dylan's great song "Series of Dreams"!
Thanks, Bob!

While this post was motivated by the fiasco involving Oiselle, Nike, and Tori Franklin, I decided to expand it into a collection of my "musings" on the sport at the "half-way" point of the 2018 OUTdoor season!
The subjects---
Oiselle vs Nike vs Tori Franklin
The DL's & the lack of event variety!
MIA's at Championship meets & the Honest-Effort Rule!
My Blog--"New" Combined Events listing & DDD lists with ALL-21st Century marks
Current status of T&F research outlets
TV's "coverage" of T&F & the Livestreams
NEW Events!!--the 50K Walk & the Decathlon for Women!!
What to look forward to the rest of 2018!

Oiselle vs Nike vs Tori Franklin
The basic story is this--
Tori Franklin--when a 44 to 46 foot TJ'er-- signed a contract with Oiselle, to end this August!
Franklin EXPLODED in her event out to an American Record of 48-8.25!
Just prior to competing at USATF, she switched from Oiselle to Nike, thus denying Oiselle the bragging rights to having the AR holder on their team at the USA Championship meet--arguably THE most important US meet of the year in this, an "off year"!
Franklin said she was paying back Oiselle $3500 in money given to her, but would NOT pay them her "bonus" she got for the AR!
Oiselle wrote an impassioned letter saying they would NOT sue Franklin or Nike for breach of contract, or other "illegalities" or unethical conduct on either's part!

So who wins here?
In the short run, Franklin and Nike do!
The athlete gets more money, and she wears Nike's uni's!
But does Franklin--who SEEMS like a VERY likable person--escape from this unscathed?
NO!!
MANY on the Let's Run & T&FN Message Boards lashed into her--not to mention the attacks on her on various social media--Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
(I personally softened my attacks after Kara Goucher tweeted me that I was harsh toward her!  I admitted--to Goucher!--that I'd been harsh, but that SHE'd had the power to refuse Nike's offer, and to stick with Oiselle--at least until after the USATF meet--when Oiselle said they WOULD have released Franklin from her contract a month early!!)
BTW, Goucher agreed that Franklin was wrong to break the contract--and to do so when she did!!

I have no doubt Nike will continue to flay the rules, invade our sport with their demonic and evil ways!
I'm sure Franklin will eventually win her fans back through her sparkling personality and massive talents!
And Oiselle?
They admitted they will be more careful who they sign in the future, and that contract specifications are read & understood by all involved!

One more thing, and this is HUGELY important!!
Certain IDIOTS on the MB's accused Oiselle of being an all-white racist group!
100% FALSE!!
They've had Megan Clark, a black PV'er, and a woman (can't recall her name!) from the Middle East--and probably others NOT white on their roster of fine talent!
Again, TOTALLY FALSE---a LIE!!

The DL's & the lack of event variety
I've offered my opinion on the DL's often in this blog!
Again, I feel they've been a DETERRENT to the progress of our sport!
For several reasons--
Their system is based on wins & points, not the quality of the marks!
Athletes must compete in the final DL's (Brussels & Zurich), but NOT in all 7 of their event's meets, in order to win a DL!
Event variety is limited by having the SAME events in each division of 7 meets!
Thus, no HT's or 10000's!
No Two Mile runs!
No 1000's or 2000's or 600's or 300's!
No Multi's--though that's okay!
AND there are NO demands that X, Y, or Z athlete even compete--assuming they have the necessary marks!
Thus, when Usain Bolt was still competing, you saw very little of him on the DL circuit!
US Collegiate athletes--no matter how GREAT--are rarely seen in DL's--the excuse normally given is that their "season has been long"!
Ditto with amazing HS athletes!

One thing not often mentioned--
Many of these meets were Invitationals BEFORE being assigned DL status!
The Prefontaine Classic, Rome's Golden Gala, Oslo's Bislett Games, Stockholm's DN Galan, Brussels Van Damme Memorial, and Zurich's Weltklasse!!
They were all doing just fine BEFORE their takeover by the DL system!!
Tons of World Records were broken at those meets--BEFORE the DL's began in 2010--or the Grand Prix set-up before that!!

And--IMHO--they would do well to DROP from the DL system & RETURN to their Invitational status!!
Become AGAIN what made them GREAT!

MIA's at Championship meets & the Honest Effort Rule
I listed all the "important" MIA's I could think of in my USATF Preview post!
And I just spoke of those star athletes who never--or rarely--compete in the DL's!
But what about that Honest Effort Rule?
First, I have no idea if there even IS a "rule"--a written and enforceable rule!
But there SHOULD be!!
I LOVE Christian Taylor--a remarkable athlete & very friendly guy!
BUT--in at least TWO Championship meets, he has either walked through a "jump", or fouled once, and passed all other attempts!
As I said in a previous post, why even ENTER the event if you have ZERO intention to COMPETE---and I do mean COMPETE--to the best of your ability??!!
IMHO, Taylor did NOT in the two meets I speak of!!
Thus, he should NOT be able to move forward to whatever meet he "qualified" for!
If necessary, eliminate the "Wild Card" status of WC Gold winners, or however else you get a Wild Card!!
Then said athlete would be FORCED to compete if they wanted to move on to the "other" meet!!
What Taylor (and anyone else who does NOT put in an "honest effort"!) did hurts his fans, the "popularity" of the sport, the ability by TV to cover the "best" the sport has to offer, and the athlete him or herself!!
What Taylor and others did was embarrassing!

My Blog--"New" Combined Events listing & DDD lists with ALL 21st Century marks
Many years--um, DECADES!--ago, my T&F Record Book had some different classifications and departments NOT included today!
Among them were Combined Events lists for the LJ & TJ--and for the SP & DT!
I eliminated them because I saw too many athletes begin to specialize in one or the other of the two events!
And to a degree, they still do!
But with the arrival of athletes like Maggie Ewen and Alyssa Wilson, there seems to be a trend toward athletes expanding their field (sic!) of play!!
While I've not yet decided to bring back the SP & DT C-E lists, I HAVE begun to create lists for the LJ & TJ!
OUTdoors ONLY!!
I won't give out any stats here--my data is incomplete--as I just began this a day or 2 ago!
(See the thread I started about it on the T&FN Message Board!  It's gotten a LOT of great responses--even if NO ONE agrees with my method of merely ADDING the athlete's best marks together--and NOT referring to any formulated "tables" of assigned points for each mark!!)
But from here on, if & when an athlete makes these "new" lists, it WILL be mentioned in my results posts!!

Which events have the most marks dated 2018 so far this OUTdoor season?
(A subject area I didn't mention above!!)
For HS'ers, it's the PV for the Men, and the 2 Mile for the Women!
For the Collegiates, it was the 400 for the Men, and the 400 & HT for the Women!
For the US, it's the 100 & the Half for the Men, and the 2 Mile for the Women!!
And for the World, the Marathon rules for the Men, and the Half & Marathon for the Women!

As for those events with ALL 24 marks being dated from 2000 onward, there are few, and rather predictable!
For the Men, ONLY the Half and the Marathon lists for the World have ALL 21st Century marks!
NONE from the US, Collegiates, or HS'ers!!
The Women have a LOT more!
HS'ers lists for the PV, HT, and the 3000SC make this short list!
However, it should be noted that the SC list has just 14 marks, and has a cut-off point of 11:00!!
The Collegiates have the same 3 events--except their SC list has all 24 marks!
The US has the SAME 3 events---the PV, HT, and the 3000SC!
World lists with all marks dated in the 21st Century are PV, Half & Full Marathon, and the 3000SC!

Oh yes---as of right now, I have a total of 266 marks dated 2018 on my 4 OUTdoor DDD's!!
The Men have 106, while the Women have 160!

Current status of T&F research outlets
Simply, I speak of TFRSS, Mile Split, Tilastopaia, and T&FN (& its eTN)!

TFRSS is the Collegiate reporting of meet results & its listing of eligible athletes for the NCAA Championships, INdoors or OUTdoors!
Its flaws are multiple!
It converts marks made at altitude and on OT tracks, thus not giving the REAL mark!
It often includes GROSS errors--as in their infamous CONTINUOUS listing of Ayesha Champagne's FALSE "6.56" LJ this past INdoor season!
Even after EVERYONE said it was false, and after several people contacted the Minnesota coaches and officials--telling them why it was unacceptable!!
And they've made many other such "typos"!!
BUT, if you read the listings with a sharp eye, they DO hold a certain value!
And I LOVE that they Tweet meet results immediately after the meet ends!!

Mile Split has ONE reason to dislike them!
They CHARGE a FEE to see their lists, and to watch their videos (of races)!
Ditto with FloTrack, Runner Space, and USATF-TV!!
Sorry, but I'm DONE putting out money for a product that's too often UNworthy of what such a product should be offering!

Tilastopaia is GREAT!!
For a short while, they were VERY late in including new marks!
This MIGHT have been because Mirko--the site's head honcho--was on vacation, or sick!
They are now caught up--although 1 or 2 marks are STILL not included in their FREE Top 20 lists!
But this is my go-to site for National Records, the latest marks, and for birthdates of athletes!!

T&FN & their eTN
I remain a fan of the magazine--even if in its digital online form!
I also use their eTN as my "official" back-up source for marks I missed during the previous weekend!
(Most of the "old marks" I often report in my blog come directly from the eTN!!)

BUT---they do have flaws!
I've announced these ad nauseum, but they include the listing of OT marks, the use of "absolute" listings for Records, and the UNforgivable inclusion of INdoor marks on what Yours Truly sees as their OUTdoor list---even though T&FN doesn't call it that!!
I've gone over the reason for this too many times--but briefly--If X athlete runs the Mile INdoors in 3:50.00, then runs the Mile OUTdoors in 3:50.01, the list readers will NEVER see that 3:50.01 listed!!!
T&FN goes on the premise of listing the best marks of the "year"---NOT each SEPARATE SEASON---as this Record Book & Blog does, and always will!!

TV's "coverage" of T&F & the Livestreams
Just read the Let's Run's Forum or the T&FN Message Board for the 100's of disparaging remarks about said "coverage"--particularly by NBC & ESPN!
(I do NOT speak of NBC's Gold Package--which I've NOT subscribed to, and never shall!!)
I personally don't see the commentary as all that bad!
But what I DO often complain about is their cutting into ALL races that take longer than 5 minutes to complete!!
Even the 3K's or 3000SC's are spliced into with ads and field event "coverage"!!
The latter often includes a MISS, a REPLAY of the miss, and then watching an athlete walk to the bench & take off their shoes!
Meanwhile, there is a RACE IN PROGRESS!!!
To be fair, NBC has recently played their ads while including an insert of the race!
Also, their ad with Shalane Flanagan on the shrink's couch is so HILARIOUS & FANTASTIC that I don't really mind watching it over & over & over again!!
But come on, guys & gals, PLEASE show a race in its entirety--uncut!!
(Baseball shows EVERY pitch & EVERY swing of the bat!!)

NEW Events--the 50K Walk & the Decathlon for Women!
As my loyal readers know, I wrote a separate post for the Women's 50K Walk at the London WC's last year!!
And was extremely critical of the way the officials handled it!!
And now there's the Decathlon!!
Becca Peter--aka PoleVaultPower--has organized and promoted a Decathlon for Women--to take place TOMORROW and Sunday!!
There are several athletes entered in its two main divisions--for Masters & for Elites!

The Dec for Women HAS a history!
(Wikipedia it, and I'm sure you'll find it---or I HOPE you will!)
And if Becca has anything to say about it, its history will only expand and deepen!!
And THIS BLOG will report on this "NEW" event in the same manner as I did the 50K Walk last year!!
Look for a separate post on that soon!!
And the best of luck to all the athletes!!

What to look forward to the rest of 2018
MUCH!!
There are--despite my complaints--the remainder of the DL's---in Paris, Lausanne, Rabat, London, Brussels, and Zurich!
There is the World Cup--coming in 2 weeks--and the Continental Cup--scheduled for mid-September!
There are the European Championships!!
Marathons in Berlin, Chicago, NYC, and Fukuoka!
The entire Cross Country season!
The first full month of the 2018-2019 INdoor season!!
Retirements, injuries, great races and throws & jumps!
New Records of all sorts!!
Shining examples of why THIS sport is the BEST sport!!
(Even if there might be the WORST mements--such as Nike STEALING Franklin from Oiselle, or more drug busts!!)

And ALL of it---the good, the bad, and the ugly--will be reported to you IN DETAIL on this Blog!!

See you soon!!