Day 1, Session 1
3.30 P.M.

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Welcome to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field. This is the beginning session of the meet, on July 9. The men's pole vault has just started, and the sun is out, but the temperature is about 75 degrees, and the stands are filling up quickly.

The Alex G. Spanos Stadium looks the same as it did in 2000, and the 25,000 plus fans who have purchased daily tickets will find the facility to their liking. The meteorologists, or as we call them at ATF, weather wishers, tell us that the temps should be down about ten degrees below the average of 90 degrees that is common in the Sacramento region at this time of the year. I am not sure how they figured that out, but I do believe that some type of animal sacrifice, or reading of mussel shells was used.

As for the the ATF copyrighted sponsorship-marketing-how-much- money-track & field-should-be-making index, where 0 is we are getting less money than professional walleye fishing, and 10 is that NASCAR drivers are giving up their sport to take up the pole vault, I would put us as a healthy 6.5. We see signage for Bud Light, VISA, Chevrolet, Bank of America, Lynx, and that is about it. The banner area around the outside lanes is covered in a light blue with dark blue images featuring famous Olympic Trials of the past. Among them, Frank Shorter, Al Oerter, Madeline Manning, Jim Ryun.

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Tonight, we have the first day of the heptathlon, the quarter finals of the men's 800 meters, the semi finals of the women's 5,000m, men's long jump qualifying, women's 100m quater finals ( round one was cancelled), and the men's 10,000m final.

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Random notes

Dathan R-how will he do?

Dathan Ritzenheim took off his boot yesterday. He has a stress fracture and gingerly walked across the grass in his track spikes. He looked to be limping a bit, and will run the 10,000 finals tonight.

Alan Culpepper will not run the 10,000 tonight. My picks for the 10,000 mens? Well, Meb, then Bob Kennedy, and then...well, Abdi Abdiraham, but my dark horse pick is between Ryan Kirkpatrick and Matt Downin.

The press conference on Thursday featured Adam Nelson, John Godina, Reese Hoffa, and Christian Chastain. Adam Nelson believes that it will take 72 feet to win, Godina believes that someone will throw 72 feet and not make the team.

Godina had one comment that requires some consideration: "If seven percent of the Olympic athletes tested positive for drug use, like the professional US baseball leagues, then that would mean 1,000 positives. We have six problems right now. We need to go to extremes to clean up the sport, but we should (the sport) get some credit for it. Am I concerned about the drug crisis? Not really.

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My commentary on the drug crisis

In the U.S., the word Olympian means alot, and the American public expects Olympic athletes to live at a higher standard, and that is why the drug crisis in this sport hurts so much. The pro sports are looked at as entertainment, but the Olympic movement is the focus of so many Americans every four years, and track and field is a huge part of it.

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Best non-story

Dan O'Brien has retired. The most talented decathlete ever, announced his retirement after a pelvic injury. The decathlon was owned by the U.S., thanks to some great coaching, huge financial support from VISA, and the concurrence of a couple dozen amazing athletes. Mix in some spiritual support from the deca gods--Bob Mathias, Milt Campbell, Rafer Johnson, Bill Toomey, Bruce Jenner--and you have the US dominating the decathlon in the 90s.

Tom Pappas is one of the most underrated athletes in our sport. HIs fitness is pretty good, after some injuries this past winter. Tom did take second in Gotzis last month.

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NPR gets the BALCO thought for the day--a reporter this AM noted the wonderful feeling at the swimming trials, and then commented on the terrible cloud of drugs that was over the events in Sacramento--the reporter was not in Sacramento.

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We will give you an update right after the end of session 1 on all the events of tonight.

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If you are in Sacramento, make sure that you get a copy of the ATF Top marks list, sponsored by NIke. We printed 5,000 of them and will be giving them out around the stadium, in the USATF booth and at the Hoppy events all weekend. If you are not in Sacramento, then download the pdf from www.american-trackandfield.com

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