Tip of the iceberg

USOC scandal should lead to many reforms

Don't think the USOC's decision this past weekend not to expel Lloyd Ward means that the story is finished. When the committee brought Ward aboard in the first place, it wasn't because of his Olympic sports background; he had none. It was because, after a stellar presentation to the board, the former Maytag chief seemed like the type who could bring money and positive ink to an organization that needed both, especially since there would not be an Olympics on U.S. soil for at least another 10 years. Well, Ward has gotten the USOC in the news -- and in the long run this controversy really will help the committee, even if it irreparably damages Ward's own career aspirations.

First, Ward is as good as gone. So are many of the other staffers. It's a simple fact that money moves mountains, and sponsors -- fighting tighter budgets in tough economic times -- simply will not want to associate themselves with a dysfunctional group that doesn't serve its chief constituents (its athletes). Dave D'Alessandro of John Hancock said recently that he wondered why any sponsor would want to associate itself with the committee.

This bad publicity also won't help New York's chances of landing the 2012 Games. The bid has been picking up steam in some circles, but it can't afford a step backward because of unfavorable Olympic associations.

The athletes are not to blame for this. In the end their share of the pie should get bigger, as bureaucrats who are called on to justify themselves are let go or simply given fewer perks. Edwin Moses, the hurdles legend who is still an active supporter of athletes' rights, has questioned the need for such a high number of what he calls "suits" at competitions: staff people who eat up budgets by attending events on busman's holidays. When Congress digs into the inner workings of the USOC, look for many of those suits to be left in the closet during future events.

Kwan more time

Michelle Kwan's impressive victory last weekend at nationals not only gave her a record seven U.S. titles (she has three silver medals, too), it also set her up as a favorite to win her fifth world title in March. With the worlds in Washington, D.C., Kwan, Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen should enjoy the benefits of home-ice judging.

Kwan took a lot of heat last year for going without a coach just before the Olympics, where she settled for a bronze medal and looked as if major championships had passed her by. In Dallas, however, she appeared solid as ever at age 22, landing six triple jumps -- she took out one planned triple toe loop -- in a relaxed, clean program that earned her one perfect 6.0 mark, the 28th of her career.

Give Hughes full marks for putting her reputation on the line a year after winning the Olympic title. You have to go back to 1984 and 1988, when Katarina Witt repeated as Olympic gold medalist, to find a women's champion who actually came back to defend her crown rather than retire as a teenager, when her market value would be undiminished in the eyes of multi-million dollar sponsors. Hughes admits that she had taken time off from training to enjoy her success, even before a knee injury nearly knocked her out for the whole season. Now she's trying to figure out which Ivy League school to attend next year, while also training for another Olympics. For these reasons, Hughes had an excuse for looking a little slow at nationals, even if her long program had no major flaws. The bet here is that she'll be back on the podium in Washington, but she'll need another year to return to last season's form.

Cohen, on the other hand, is just a mystery. She is a sublime talent waiting to overwhelm the skating world -- if she doesn't first get overwhelmed herself. Consider that ABC commentator Dick Button, a double Olympic champ, called Cohen's spiral sequence the best he'd seen in 50 years of watching skating. Add to that the fact that Cohen seems to be able to land any jump she wants in practice, and you have a potential world-beater. After dumping longtime coach John Nicks and moving to Connecticut, a revived Cohen won two international Grand Prix events, then went to nationals and goofed up both her short and long programs.

Wotherspoon redeems himself

The world's fastest man on skates found some redemption this past weekend, though it may not make up for his blunder at last year's Olympics. Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon won the world sprint speedskating title on his home oval in Calgary. The competition included two races at each of the sport's shortest distances, 500 meters and 1,000 meters. It was Wotherspoon's fourth world title and sixth consecutive medal, and the performance certified him as perhaps the greatest male sprinter in the history of the sport. No other competitor has won more than three world titles.

Many felt the short sprint race (500 meters) was Wotherspoon's to lose in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, he lost it. Wotherspoon caught an edge and tumbled onto the ice just a few strides off the start line. After that race Wotherspoon walked around listlessly and told reporters, "It happens. I'll live, I think." As usual, he didn't show much emotion, only a few waves. This is a guy who admits he'd rather spend his time fishing. Perhaps his laid-back approach to life helps him withstand the demands of a sport that concentrates so much fury into such a short period of time. Regardless, he still does it better than anyone else.

Dutchman Gerard van Velde, who won the Olympic title at 1,000 meters, finished a distant second to Wotherspoon last weekend. "For Wotherspoon and for everyone, there comes a time when you'll be beaten because that's how sport is," van Velde said. "But right now, that's where he is. No one can beat him."

A huge loss

The running world lost a key figure last week when Will Cloney, the longtime race director of the Boston Marathon, died at age 91. Cloney oversaw the world's most famous race well before the running boom kicked in. From 1947 to 1982, he watched the race grow from a field of fewer than 150 entrants to thousands, from a regional curiosity to an international tradition.

He first saw the marathon as a wide-eyed 8-year old, and it became his obsession when he was named head of the Boston Athletic Association in 1964. Bill Rodgers, a four-time winner, used to say that Cloney, a Harvard grad and former Army lieutenant colonel, respected runners when nobody else would.

Ironically, though Cloney never courted controversy, he twice found himself in the middle of a mess. In 1967, when Katherine Switzer entered the then men's-only race as K. Switzer and officials tried to forcibly remove her from the course, Cloney defended the marathon's policy as a byproduct of existing AAU rules. In 1980, after marathon officials were duped into awarding first place to a woman who had jumped into the race along the course, Cloney was the first to decide that Rosie Ruiz was a fraud.

Cloney was also known for having enough pull with Globe and Herald writers that if he insisted there be a running story in one of those papers, they felt compelled to write one. Try doing that today.

Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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