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Cyclist tells it like it is
Posted: Friday May 12, 2000 11:13 AM
Marty Nothstein is the best U.S. hope to win a gold medal in cycling at the Sydney Olympics, but Nothstein doesn't have high hopes for some of his Olympic teammates. Nothstein said he likes his medal chances in his individual events -- the match sprint and a new event, keirin -- but he would probably turn down a spot in the three-man Olympic sprint event if the coaches offered it to him. "I honestly don't think with the people we have that we can win a medal," Nothstein told me. "Why go if you're not in it to win?" StreamliningExpect Norman Blake, the new USOC boss, to continue cutting costs by merging some of the country's national governing bodies soon after the Sydney Games are over. The United States has separate NGBs for speedskating and figure skating, even though the international governing body is the same for both. And no less than four NGBs for swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming fall under the same international umbrella of FINA. The merging of national federations would reduce the USOC's financial responsibilities to its NGBs while leaving many longtime staffers out of jobs. "I've worked my butt off for 10 years," one NGB employee told me recently. "Now they tell me I'm just part of the fat." Russian hockey strugglesThe once mighty Russian hockey bear has been de-clawed. The quarterfinals are underway at the World Ice Hockey Championships in St. Petersburg, but the host Russians did not qualify for the field of eight. The team with NHL All-Stars Pavel Bure and Alexei Yashin went 1-4 in the tournament's second round, including embarrassing losses to Belarus, Latvia and Switzerland. Now not only are federation president Alexander Steblin and coach Alexander Yakushev likely to lose their jobs, but several players from the top teams in the Russian League are thinking of skipping future international tournaments if NHL players are included on their roster. Brian Cazeneuve is a Sports Illustrated writer-reporter who covers the Olympics. He is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his Sydney 2000 Mailbag.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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