God has blessed me far beyond what I have deserved through what he has given me in my family. Not only do I have a great wife who has patiently endured me for over 29 years, but he has blessed us with two wonderful daughters. We couldn't be more proud of either of them. They have done well in overcoming our imperfect parenting abilities.

Today is Stacy's 22nd birthday. She is living at home during this year, her last at the university. Gina and I enjoy having her back in the house (with her Yorkie, Ryley Dee). Stacy does well in school (a double major in business management and marketing), works a lot of hours during the week, and is actively involved with Christ on Campus, from worship services and Bible studies to the 2:00 AM Grill and Spring Break mission trips. Happy birthday, Stacy! Your mom and I love you more than you can realize.

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Last weekend I went with some students to our annual Fall Retreat in southern Missouri. We were there with about 200 college students from the region. It was a great weekend. The weather was beautiful and my friend, Tommy Oakes, did his usual great job in communicating God's Word to us. The highlight of the weekend was the decision of Kirstyn Day to be baptized into Christ on Saturday night. Sweet!

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Austin and Amy Brown are now at Children's Mercy Hospital in KC with Malachi. They are doing some more tests there, so please keep them in your prayers. You can keep up with what is happening at Malachi's blog.

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I'm sure all are aware of Paul Newman's death last Friday. In many ways, Newman seemed to be a model of what a star should be: Married to the same woman for over 50 years, created the "Newman's Own" brand (first with salad dressings and then other products) where all the profits went to charity, didn't seek the spotlight or media attention. And he was a gifted actor. At least three of his movies are in my "Top 25" or so - Cool Hand Luke, The String, and Butch CassidySundance Kid.

What was your favorite Paul Newman movie?

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One last thing. Check out what has to be the greatest personal library in the world. I would love to spend a day - or a week or month - wandering around in there.
and the

I'm posting this on here because gmail says I have sent too many emails today ...

Austin Brown (who works with me) and his wife, Amy, had a little boy on Wednesday afternoon. Malachi Andrew weighed in at 9 lbs. and 11 oz. They had planned on going home from the hospital today, but Malachi had some seizures overnight. They are now on their way to Children's Mercy Hospital for some more extensive tests. Please keep them (and Olivia, who is 2) in your prayers.

Earlier this week, I attended a retreat down in SW Arkansas. I was a gathering of a few ministers from around the state, most of whom serve in churches that help support Christ on Campus. I have been attending these since the fall of 1982. It was a good couple of days with some lively discussion and a chance to visit with friends, some of whom I have known for over 25 years.

Though there are many ministers that are well known in our country, the men who were there aren't among them. They don't serve megachurches of several thousand. For the most part, they serve small churches in rural areas. They are part of their communities, loving the people among whom God has placed them. They perform their marriages and their funerals. They attend the junior high and high school football games. Most don't have youth ministers or music ministers. But they do their best to fill the roles that are needed and to live out the gospel in places like DeQueen and DeWitt and Dumas. And they faithfully do it without fanfare or notice or high salaries. And in their communities and corners of the state, they are far more influential and far more important than Rick Warren or Joel Osteen.

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A couple of news items for you ...

Read about the postman in Germany who pulled a "Newman" (that's a Seinfeld reference) and didn't deliver over 20,000 pieces of mail.

Science proves that being a vegetarian or vegan causes your brain to shrink at a faster rate than those who eat meet. So go eat a burger!

Gina, Stacy, Ryan, and I had the opportunity to attend the UofA's tribute dinner for John McDonnell, the men's cross country and track and field coach who retired this past summer. About 800 folks gathered to honor him from around the country. It was a really good event. Several members of John's family came over from Ireland to be a part of it. There were a lot of the athletes he had coached over the past 36 years. Several "dignitaries" gave speeches. I was invited to give the invocation. Video presentations were made, including the preview of a documentary on John's life that will be finished by next summer. 

I've written about John's retirement in the past, so I won't rehash all that he has accomplished. But all the hoopla was well-deserved. I'm proud to call him a friend. Plus, anyone who still calls me "kid" at my age is OK with me.

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I'm a big fan of the Ryder Cup, which is being played this week in Kentucky. If you're not a golf fan, you may not be familiar with it. It takes place every two years and is, basically, a team competition between 12 of America's best golfers against 12 of Europe's best golfers. Because it is a team competition and the format of play is different, it is always fun to watch. There is more emotion and a rowdier crowd than most golf events. I think that this would probably be one of the top two or three sporting events that I would most like to attend - up there with the Olympic Games and the Master's.

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In case you need to be reminded, studies in Great Britain have demonstrated that sending text messages while you drive is dangerous. In fact, their studies show that texting while driving is more dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. So stop doing it!

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And finally, for those of you like Guitar Hero but would prefer more "wholesome" music on the game, Guitar Praise is now available. Same idea but with Christian music.

Last weekend was a good weekend all the way around ...

On Friday night we got to babysit the "Carter kids" and had a good time watching Cinderella with them.

Later Friday night (Saturday morning) we had our 2:00 AM Grill on Dickson Street. We had a pretty steady flow of folks and gave away quite a bit of food. I also had some good spiritual conversations with folks who came by. Now just pray that the seeds bring a harvest down the road

On Saturday we had a good group of students serve lunch at the Seven Hills Shelter.

Later that afternoon Gina and I went to see maybe the "chickiest" of all movies and then to dinner at Herman's (thanks to Thomas and Kimberly).

On Sunday we had a good day at church. I asked students to put down in writing how Christ had changed their lives and/or how they needed Christ to change their lives. It was great to read the testimonies and to begin praying for those changes to happen. Austin and the worship team are doing a great job with the music.

Of course, Ike blew threw on Saturday night/Sunday morning. There was no major damage done around here, but (as of this afternoon) we were still without cable, internet, or phone service at the house.

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It has been a little while since I wrote about the Olympics or track and field, so here are three articles that I've come across recently that I thought were worth reading ...

The first is Doug Logan's blog. He is CEO of USA Track & Field, the governing body of the sport in the US. In this post he writes about the US performance at the Olympics and some of the changes that are on the horizon.

The second is an article about estimates done by some physicists on Usain Bolt's world record in the 100 meters. According to their figures, if he had run all the way through the race, he would have finished in 9.55 seconds. I'm not sure I trust their work ...

The third is an interview with Carl Lewis regarding this past Olympics and some of the performances there. As Carl can be, he is controversial.

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Finally, another Youtube video for your enjoyment. I saw this on my friend Jennifer's Facebook
page. Now you know why Gina and I took dance lessons.

On a university campus, you can find some of the most intelligent people in the world, as well as those with the least common sense. A case in point ...

You may have read or heard about an initiative by some college presidents in the US to lower the national drinking age back to 18. Their theory is that alcohol abuse is a major problem among college students (which it is) because it is against the rules. If we make it legal, then it will lose its appeal and students won't drink as much. Therefore, less students will get drunk, drive drunk, or have alcohol related accidents.

Right.

As you can image, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others groups are against such a proposal. And, to his credit, the UofA chancellor has refused to sign on. Studies show that since the drinking age was raised to 21, alcohol-related accidents and deaths have dropped significantly.

What needs to happen is more consistent enforcement of drinking laws on college campuses and college communities. Parents need to take the reality of alcohol abuse on most college campuses seriously. Both need to get past the "kids will be kids" mentality and deal with a major social problem with serious ramifications.

To further this thought, see below ...

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I have a new book sitting on my desk called Guyland. You can get the idea of the book in this article from Newsweek.

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I hope you have been aware of the sweeping persecution of Christians in India over the past few weeks. If not, this article will fill you in a little bit. Please be praying for them, their safety, and their witness.

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And for those of you who enjoy the more "unusual" things I sometimes post ...

Read about the man in Great Britain who saw his father alive and on television, even though he had been cremated in 2003!

Increase your knowledge of physics by watching this rap video.

Today is Gina and my 29th anniversary.

God has been so good to me and blessed me beyond anything I can imagine or deserve. I was raised in a great family, have two wonderful daughters, a "job" that I love, and good people to work with. But the greatest blessing he has given me in this world is Gina.

I'm not too poetic, but I do want all to know how much she means to me and how fortunate I am to have her in my life.

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We got to spend the weekend in Ft. Worth, TX. We went down for Thomas Wolfe and Kimberly Forman's wedding and stayed an extra day to celebrate our anniversary. The wedding and all the festivities were great and it is always an honor to be asked to serve in such an event.

Ft. Worth was nice, but not the most exciting city to spend time in. But one of the interesting things we did was attend church at Lifechurch.tv. If you're not familiar with Lifechurch, it is a multi-site church based out of Edmond, OK. They have twelve "campuses" around the country, each with its own worship band, children's programs, small groups, and ministers. But the messages from from their senior pastor - Craig Groeschel - (or another teaching pastor) via satellite simulcast or video.

The service we went to was good and everything was done in an hour. Groeschel recently spoke at Willow Creek Community Church's Leadership Summit and I had heard that his message was great. The message at the service on Sunday was a shortened version of that talk, so I was glad to hear it.

Multi-site churches seem to be the current "in" thing right now. And there are some groups that are doing them very well. I think the live worship is important and the local staff can meet the personal ministry needs. And if we are honest about it, many (if not most) of those in ministry have great hearts for people but may not be the most gifted communicators. This model allows a gifted communicator to teach in a variety of places and, with modern technology, you don't really notice that he isn't there!

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Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. I can't decide if this is the biggest mistake in recent political history or a strange, genius decision. Right now, I'm thinking mistake. I don't doubt that she is bright and energetic and conservative. But her level of experience is so small - mayor of a town of 7,000 and governor of Alaska for two years. Plus, McCain admits that he had only met her one time before choosing her as his running mate. There goes any leverage John McCain may have had to make Barak Obama's experience an issue.

Any time I'm asked about me favorite movies, the top two on the list are always High Noon, a classic Western with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, and Chariots of Fire, the story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams in the 1924 Paris Olympics.

On today's Olympic broadcast, Mary Carillo did a really good piece on Eric Liddell that included interviews with his daughter and others who knew him. If you don't know the story, Liddell was the son of Scottish missionaries to China. He won an Olympic gold medal in the 400 meters (47.6 seconds) after refusing to compete in the 100 meters heats (his intended event) because they were held on a Sunday. Liddell later returned to China to serve as a missionary, where he died. In fact, there is a monument in his honor in China - a pretty amazing thing for a Scottish missionary. If you can find the video online, it would be worth your time to watch it.

The first Olympic gold medalist born in China? Eric Liddell.

Let me just offer my opinion that, regardless of the publicity that Michael Phelps received, Usain Bolt is the outstanding performer at the Beijing Olympics:

* Three events
* Three gold medals
* Three world records

I know that Phelps won eight gold medals and set several world records, but Bolt also did what had never been done and was more dominating in doing it. Plus, no one had got within .30 of a second of that 200 meter record since it was set in 1996.

Bolt is the champion.

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Part of the sadness of the US failures in the men's sprints at the Olympics is that the two athletes in the midst of it all are former Razorbacks and men that I know. Both Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon are humble and personable individuals who represent Arkansas and the US well. It hurts to see the frustrations they have faced in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 relay. Here is an article from NY Times on Wallace's disqualification.

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One of the realities, and frustrations, of the current state of US athletics is the competitiveness (and often pettiness) of shoe and apparel companies. At the Olympic Trials, we couldn't wear our usual uniform. We had to wear new shirts with the Nike logo because they were sponsors (and we were in their home territory). Some of you will remember the fiasco of past Olympics where certain athletes would cover the logo's on their USA uniforms because they were paid by a competitor. The latest incident: Carl Lewis refused to make a comment on Usain Bolt's performance because Lewis is on contract with Nike and Bolt is sponsored by Puma.

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Amazon.com has some free music downloads if you are interested. There are over 3,000 free songs, though most you won't have any interest in. But there are selections by Benny Goodman, Mahalia Jackson, and Billie Holliday!

Though we are moved by and celebrate those who accomplish so much at the Olympic Games - Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, and the rest - I am also moved by those who work so hard but come up short:

* Alicia Sacramone of the US Women's Gymnastics team, who fell on her last two events of the team finals and then finished fourth in the vault final.

* Four years ago, in Athens, Matt Emmons was leading the pistol shooting competition when, on this last shot, he aimed and hit the wrong target. This year he was again leading going into his last shot. But instead of shooting at the wrong target, somehow his gun went off before the was finished aiming and he again lost.

* Sanya Richards in the track and field 400 meters, who has been the best runner in the world for the past four years and yet finished third.

* Lolo Jones, whom I have watched run many times when she was at LSU and has been the best 100 meter hurdler in the world this year. You may have heard her story on the broadcasts - growing up homeless and living in the basement of a church and then in foster homes. She had dominated the preliminary rounds at the Olympics and was leading the final until she hit the ninth of the ten hurdles and fell back to seventh place. How could you not feel for her when you saw the look of agony on her face as she knelt on the track.

* And, finally, our friend Wallace Spearmon. Born and raised in Fayetteville and the son of a former Razorback All-American. To finish third in the men's 200 meters and then have the medal taken from you must be worse than not winning one at all.

NBC could do a great segment on the heartbreak of the Olympics.

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As big a star as Michael Phelps has been, in my mind (and maybe it's because I'm a track and field fan) Usain Bolt has been just as incredible. His easy wins in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes - both in world record times - were incredible. In the 200 meters, he broke a record that many thought wouldn't be broken for another 20 years (no one had gotten within .30 seconds of it) and beat the rest of the field by over a half a second. Most track athletes don't reach their prime until their late 20's. Bolt is just 21.

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Even for all of the work that China has done, and for all the effort they have made to improve their image, the nature of China's totalitarian government still shows through. Of course, there was their move in the Opening Ceremonies to have a "cute" girl lip sync the song rather than have the "uglier" (and more talented) girl sing.

Here is an article from the New York Times on their move to "re-educate" two elderly women whose homes were taken to build the Olympic development.

For all of the difficulties our country faces, we are so blessed to have the freedoms that we enjoy and often take for granted.

The track and field portion of the Olympics haven't started off too well for most of the Razorback participants:

• Nicole Teeter dropped out of the 800 meters after just a few steps (illness/injury)
• Deena Kastor dropped out of the marathon after just a few minutes (injury)
• Tyson Gay didn't advance to the finals in the 100 meters
• Allistair Cragg didn't advance out of the first round of the 1,500 meters (but he was using it as a warm-up for his main event - the 5,000 meters)
• Amy Yoder Begley finished 26th in the 10,000 meters (though she wasn't expected to be a leader in the event)
• The good news is that April Steiner-Bennett advanced to the finals in the pole vault

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Did you see Usain Bolt of Jamaica run the men's 100 meters? His quarter-final win was pretty impressive: a 9.92 while he was jogging down the track, looking around. Then, in the finals (though it hasn't been shown on TV yet), he broke his own world record of 9.72 by running a 9.69. As a 6'5", 21 year old his potential in huge and his best distances are going to be the 200 and 400 meters.

OK, I just watched the 100 meter final. Now that was incredible! If he hadn't started celebrating with 15 or 20 meters to go, who knows how fast he would have run. Wow.

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As one who works with college students, I found this editorial in the Wall Street Journal interesting. Any thoughts on it?

A quick post with some Olympic ramblings ...

The Olympics have taken over the TV at the Armstrong house, which is fine. You can find us watching every night. Of course, the "real" Olympics start tomorrow with the beginning of the track and field competition. Though I've enjoyed watching those sports that I only watch every four years - swimming, volleyball, men's gymnastics, etc. - I'm ready for the "main event" to get started. Of course, my excitement about it has grown as I've had the chance to meet and work with more and more of the athletes who compete on that stage from a variety of countries. It will be fun to watch them.

One question that someone may have an answer to: what is the difference between swimming and track and field that allow an athlete like Michael Phelps to be able to set two world records within a couple of hours? One of the Razorback track coaches brought this question up but we didn't have a definitive answer. No track athlete could do the things he is doing. I don't think it is because they are less talented or aren't in as good of condition. There must be something in the nature of the sports. A track athlete couldn't run through 17 rounds of competition over 10 days and still be competitive. Tyson Gay pulled a hamstring on his sixth round at the Olympic Trials. Angelo Taylor qualified for the Olympics in the 400 meter hurdles, but 30 minutes later couldn't finish the 400 meter dash. I don't know if it is the way lactic acid is built up or dispersed, if it is the water, if it is the lack of "pounding", etc. Anyone have some wisdom on this?

One last Olympic issue before I quit. There has been some discussion on athletes from one country competing for another. There are US citizens competing for other countries in a number of sports, including track and field. These athletes didn't make the US team but found ways to compete for other nations - family heritage, playing professionally in other countries, etc. Are these athletes traitors to the US? Should they have said "no" to the chance to compete in the Olympics? One of these is a "friend" of mine. Jangy Addy was an All-American decathlete at Tennessee and is a great young man. He finished sixth at the US Trials, but because his parents were from Liberia he is able to compete for them. In fact, he carried the Liberian flag in the Opening Ceremonies.

On the other side of that coin are those athletes who weren't born in the US but not compete for the US as naturalized citizens. None of the three men running the 1500 meters for the US were born here (and there are some US born middle-distance guys who aren't too happy about that). Leo Manzano moved here with his family from Mexico when he was four. There wasn't much he could do about that. And Lopez Lomong was one of the "lost boys of Sudan" - orphaned and kidnapped, who finally found himself in a US foster home, then a US citizen, and now on the US Olympic team. That is a pretty sweet story. And then there is Bernard Lagat. Lagat won medals in the two previous Olympics for Kenya. Now he is a US citizen and running for the US. Let's just say there are a lot of cynical folks who wonder about his motivation for leaving home and coming here.

Here is an interesting editorial on the subject - just to get you thinking about it. Let me say, though, that I don't agree with the author in many of his points.

August is here and the new school year is around the corner. As with most in campus ministry, we are busy preparing for the arrival of a few thousand new students and the return of those who are coming back. Final programming plans, publicity, social activities, etc. are all coming together. Preliminary plans for mission trips in the fall, spring, and summer are being made. And our staff is making regular trips to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport to pick up newly arriving international students. It is a busy and exciting time and it will stay busy and hectic until at least the end of September. Then we will start thinking about slowing down a little.

Here is some interesting information regarding college students for you ...

The intro to an article from the New York Times:

"Many people associate property crime and other delinquent behaviors with low social status and a lack of education. But new research has identified a surprising risk factor for bad behavior — college. Men who attend college are more likely to commit property crimes during their college years than their non-college-attending peers, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Boston this weekend."


Some other items from the Ivy Jungle Report:

Inconsistent Religion: Although the US is one of the most religious nations in the world, a survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows many believe things which contradict their stated faith. 70% of those who claim religious affiliation believe multiple religions can lead to salvation and 68% believe in multiple interpretations of their own religion. 57% of self-identified evangelicals believe multiple religions can lead to salvation. 21% of self-identified atheists believe that some kind of God exists. 80% of respondents believe in moral standards of right and wrong, but only 29% claim their religious teachings help them determine those standards. A copy of the report can be read at www.pewforum.com (SFGate.com June 23, 2008)

Emerging Adulthood: Sociologists have remarked that being 35 today is much like being 35 in previous generations: career, family, marriage are part of most lives. However, being 25 today has changed significantly. In 1970 only 21% of 25 year olds had never been married. In 2005, that was true of 60% of 25 year olds. When asked what marked entering "adulthood," 96% of young adults identified having a full-time job. Less than half said being married. Jeffery Arnett, author of Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from Late Teens through Twenties has remarked on the very amorphous definition of entering adulthood. For most it meant "accepting responsibility for the consequences of one's actions." Often, parents are discouraging their young adult children from getting married to soon. Rather they encourage establishing a career and finishing graduate school before taking such a "destabilizing" step. Young adulthoods often enter a path of serial monogamy, living with partner after partner before marriage. 65% of young adults cohabitated at least once prior to marriage. However, research shows that those living with a boyfriend or girlfriend live lives much more similar to singles than to married couples. (UnMarried, Still Children in Touchstone June 2008 p. 15-18)

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I hope you got to see the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games. It was spectacular! Even better, I didn't get to watch it live, so I DVR'd it and watched the whole thing in a little more than an hour.

I am a big fan of the Olympics and I'll be posting thoughts and interesting things I find online about them. To get you started, here is one from the Washington Post about Olympic athletes and religious expression.

Odds and ends for your enlightenment ...

With the 2008 Olympic Games beginning on Friday, here are a couple of interesting web sites to get you prepared.

The first is Sports Illustrated's pictorial list of 24 track and field athletes to watch for at the games. Two of them are former Razorbacks.

The second is a series of short video interviews from the New York Times featuring eight gold medal winners from previous years from various sports. It is good.

And take time to watch Chariots of Fire over the next few days.

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You have probably heard about "six degrees of separation" - or the theory that everyone in the world is separated by just six relationships from everyone else, or at least from Kevin Bacon. Now there is research that indicated that this might very well be true!

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I have only heard from one who is interested in the "one hundred push up challenge" - and he had already started it. If you want to do it, let me know!

Gina and I have just returned home from a week in Omaha. It was a good trip with dual purposes: time with Erin and officiating the National Junior Olympic meet. During the day I would be at the track and Gina and Erin would hang out, shop, go to a movie, etc. On the two days Erin had to work, Gina worked on school stuff and other projects. Then, in the evenings, we would have time to spend together. We got to spend some time with Rick and spent an evening with his parents and aunt. The meet also had some special events planned that we were able to take part in - a dinner and evening at a local museum and a dinner and evening at the zoo. It was a good week all the way around.

Officiating the Junior Olympics (this is my second one) is a far different thing than the Olympic Trials. The Trials have a lot of down time with smaller fields, fewer competitions, more days, and more officials - 10 officials for 10 competitions over 8 days. The JO's had larger fields with 20 competitions over 6 days with 6 officials. Working with the 9-10 year olds is always fun - they are so attentive and so eager to compete. And there are some great efforts and great athletes. Many of this year's Olympians once competed in this meet. We had a 12-year-old girl set a national record in the high jump by going 5' 6 1/2". The previous record was held by Jacqueline Johnson, who will be competing in the heptathlon at the Olympics.

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Check out this article and test your "Pole Vault IQ".

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I found this website off another blog, so I'm gong to do the One Hundred Push-up Challenge. Want to join me?

Final Trials Installment - And Another World Record

Saturday, July 5

There were two major (in my mind) happenings on this last Saturday of the Trials. The first was our last high jump event - the men's final. It had the promise to be a wide open event with several of the athletes having jumped over 7'6" this year. But when it came down to the competition, only one cleared 7'6 1/2" on this day - Jesse Williams. Jesse was a four-time NCAA champion at USC. Andra Manson and Jamie Nieto tied for second with jumps of 7'5 1/4". But, of course, it wasn't quite as simple as that.

As I've mentioned earlier, an athlete has to have the Olympic "A" standard (since Jan. 1, 2007) to make the team - not just finish in the top three. There were six athletes in the competition that had the "A" mark - 2.30 meters, or 7'6 1/2". And though Nieto had won the 2004 Olympic Trials and finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Athens, he wasn't one of them. When the competition ended, the six who had the mark had finished first, tied for second, tied for sixth, ninth, and eleventh. So we began to do a jump-off to determine the last spot on the Olympic Team. The jump-offs were purely administrative and didn't effect the placing. First, we had Manson and Nieto jump-off their tie for second in hopes that Nieto would get his "A" standard (which was where their jump-off started). Unfortunately, he didn't make the height and, in retrospect, it probably wouldn't have counted if he had since it was not part of the competition per se and just administrative. The next two athletes with the "A" standard were tied for sixth (Dusty Jonas and Scott Sellers), so they had a jump-off for the final Olympic spot. Dusty won the position. He has had a great season, with the world's leading jump at 7'8 3/4".

The other major happening of the day was Tyson Gay's crash in the 200 meter quarterfinals. You have probably seen it on TV. He had a leg cramp and went down hard. You could hear the entire stadium groan. Fortunately, he should be healthy in time for the Olympic Games and he has his spot secured in the 100 meters. But he won't be able to run the 200 (where he is the defending world champion and has the second fastest time in history) since he didn't finish in the top three at the Trials.

Sunday, July 6

Those of us on the high jump crew got to spend the last day of the 2008 Olympic Trials in the stands. It was a great final day of competition - and a good day for those with Razorback ties as three more made the Olympic Team.

The first was Christin Wurth Thomas in the 1500 meters. When I watched Christin run during her first two or three years at Arkansas, I had no idea that she would ever reached this point. But she has worked extremely hard and has improved so much as an athlete.

The second was Wallace Spearmon in the 200 meters. Man, I wish he would learn to run the first half of that race! He had to come from way behind to finish third and make the team.

The third was April Steiner Bennett in the pole vault. Before this, she was often more well-known for winning Fear Factor. But now she is an Olympian. Check out her website. There is a great clip from a Little Rock TV station on her and her job as a middle school PE teacher. You can also contribute to the fund to help her parents and husband make the trip to China.

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In my last post, I mentioned that my home town of Ft. Scott, KS had recently set a couple of world records in the area of putting down rows of pennies - one for the fastest time to lay down one mile of pennies and another for the longest row of pennies (over 40 miles). I've had a couple of responses to that. Trevor, being Trevor, was motivated to get out is calculator and figure out how many pennies were needed for those efforts. John, however, was amused that I would brag about such things or a town that did them. But then, John lives in Cane Hill, AR - a town that makes Ft. Scott look like a metropolis!

It has also come to my attention that another record was set in Ft. Scott that weekend. A young man names Sean Durnal, age 17, ate five McDonald's quarter-pounders with cheese in less than three minutes.

What a town.

Olympic Trials (Part 4) and two world records in my home town!

Thursday, July 3

Something that you didn't notice if you watched the Track & Field Olympic Trials on TV was the amount of security that accompanies this meet. I also officiated the 2004 Trials, but the level of security in Eugene seemed even more intense that it was in Sacramento. Every night, the stadium and grounds were "swept" by bomb-sniffing dogs. Everyone who entered the stadium - fans, officials, and athletes - had to go through an airport-like security line with bag searches and metal-detectors. (Fortunately, we got to keep our shoes on!) Not only that, but in various places around the perimeter of the stadium were sniper nests! Security was intense.

One of the events on Thursday was the qualifying round of the women's pole vault. I mention it because it had three current or former Razorback athletes in it. In fact, there were at least four events during the Trials that had three athletes with Razorback ties - the women's pole vault, the men's 100 and 200 meter dashes, and the men's 1,500 meter run. There were at least 21 current or former Razorbacks (men and women) competing in the Trials. I don't know if anyone counted, but I doubt if there were many schools with that many representatives. When it was all said and done, there will be seven Razorbacks on the US Olympic Track and Field team (Tyson Gay, Wallace Spearmon, April Steiner, Nicole Teter, Christin Wurth Thomas, Amy Begley, and Deena Kastor) and at least two others representing other nations (Veronica Campbell Brown of Jamaica and Alistair Cragg of Ireland).

One of the upsets of the Trials occurred on this day as LaShawn Merritt defeated defending Olympic and two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner in the men's 400 meters.

Friday, July 4

One of the characters of US Track & Field - and one of the stars of the sport - is Breaux Greer - also known as "Hurricane" on American Gladiators. Breaux is by far our best javelin thrower and the only one we have who is really competitive on the international scene. But Breaux has had numerous surgeries on his knees and shoulder - the latest being rotator cuff surgery about six months ago. Because of that, Greer was unable to even make it out of the qualifying round this year.

Friday also was our first high jump final. The women's final went pretty much according to form with Chaunte Howard winning, Amy Acuff in second, and Sharon Day in third. Chaunte took last year off to have a baby and came back to win and make her second Olympic team. This will be Amy's fourth Olympics.

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My home town of Ft. Scott, KS set two world records this week. One was for laying out a mile of pennies in the fastest time ever. The second was for laying out the longest row of pennies - over 40 miles worth! You can read the details here.

A break from the Trials and flying in a lawn chair ...

The US Olympic Track & Field Trials have eight days of competition with a two day break in the middle.

Tuesday, July 1

On Tuesday, the officials working the Trials loaded up in buses and went to the Pfeiffer Winery outside of Eugene. We were there as guests of the Men's and Women's Track Committees. The evening featured wine tasting and a very nice banquet, all underwritten by Nike. We also had a chance to meet the coaching staff of the Olympic teams.

In many ways, these have become the "Nike Trials." Nike, of course, is based close to Eugene and is a major financial supporter of USA Track and Field. But their presence was more obvious than normal and wasn't always appreciated by some. The conspiracy theorists felt that they had too much influence on some of the decisions on who got into the meet (see Adam Goucher). For us who were officials, we received Nike shoes to wear, as well as other clothing items. In fact, we weren't allowed to wear our usual uniform shirts because they didn't have a Nike logo. We were issued new shirts to wear, with the "Swoosh." That wasn't too well received.

Wednesday, July 2

On Wednesday, Bobby James (another official from Arkansas) and I spent the day driving up the Oregon coast. It's a beautiful drive - much like the coast of Central California - with lots of cliffs, sea lions, and some lighthouses. We also were able to see a whale when we stopped by the little town of Depoe Bay.

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There are some who feel that the US way of picking their track and field Olympic Team - based on performances in this one meet - is not the best way. That maybe the team should be selected by a committee or by a series of meet set up over several months. Their thought is that one bad meet or one minor injury can keep your best athletes off of the team or that it causes athletes to peak for this meet rather than the Olympic games.

But I like the "do-or-die" nature of the Trials. Athletes have to peak at the right time and learn how to perform under pressure when it counts the most. There is no politics and no committee to complain about. You either perform or you don't. If you don't make the team, there is no one else to look to but yourself and your performance.

Here is a great article from the NY Times that deals with that.

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A few months ago, I posted an article about a man from Oregon who attempted to fly to Idaho in a lawn chair that was carried along by about 150 helium balloons. He didn't make it.

BUT he recently attempted the feat again and this time succeeded. You can read about it here.

Olympic Trials, Part 3

Day Three - Sunday, June 29

There were a couple of highlights on this first Sunday of the Trials. The first was the men's pole vault. Though I am the chief high jump official at this met, I officiate about as much pole vault as I do high jump. So I always watch those events (as well as the combined events, which I do quite a bit as well) with special interest. The best vaulter in the world over the past couple of years has been Brad Walker. In fact, he set an American record of 19' 9 3/4" here in Eugene just a month or so ago. But he just finished third at the Trials. The real story was Jeff Hartwig, who finished second. Jeff (pictured) lives and trains in Jonesboro, AR and held the American record until Walker broke it. I have worked with Jeff (and Derek Miles, who won the event) several times over the past few years. One interesting thing about Jeff is that he collects and raises snakes. He has over 200 of them. And an amazing thing is that he is 40 years old and still vaulting over 19' and making the Olympic team.

The other highlight was the men's 100 meter dash final. When we left Tyson Gay, he had finished an eventful Saturday with almost failing to advance out of the preliminaries and then setting an American record of 9.77 seconds in the quarterfinals. The world record was set just a few weeks ago at 9.72 seconds by Ussain Bolt of Jamaica. Tyson responded on Sunday. When the gun went off, he left the field behind. Over 20,000 fans rose to their feet and gave an audible gasp when the time flashed on the scoreboard - 9.68 seconds! Unfortunately, there was too much wind so it didn't count as a world record. But it was the fastest time ever run in any conditions!

Our high jump crew ran the decathlon high jump on Sunday. I really enjoy combined event athletes (decathlon and heptathlon). They tend to be very laid back and very supportive of one another. It is more of a competition against themselves and the event rather than against one another.

Day Four - Monday, June 30

We began the "open" high jump events on June 30. About 24-26 athletes are allowed into each of the field events and they go through two rounds of competition. On this day, we had the women's qualifying. The 26 jumpers were divided into two groups who jumped simultaneously at the same heights. The competition continues until the field gets down to about 12 athletes and then we quit. Those 12 (plus ties) then come back a couple of days later for the final and we start the competition again. The event went smoothly and everyone who should have advanced did.

The decathlon also finished on Monday, with Bryan Clay (pictured) winning another national championship and finishing with the second highest total in US history. Clay isn't your typical decathlete. He is about 5'10" where most of the better ones in the world are 6'3" or 6'4". But he is a great thrower and works hard at all of the events. Trey Hardee finished second and Tom Pappas finishing third.

Lastly, the men's 800 meters was an exciting raise, especially in this atmosphere. It had a decidedly Oregon flair to it as it was won by Nick Symmonds (who went to an NCAA Div. III school out here) in his usual "come-from-behind" style. But right behind him was Andrew Wheating, a sophomore at Oregon who has come out of nowhere over the past couple of months to make the Olympic team. Then here were two men diving for the finish line and the third spot. It went to Christian Smith who went to Kansas State but now lives and trains in Eugene. Needless to say, the crowd went nuts at the end of the race.

Olympic Trials, Part 2

The US Olympic Trials schedule is modeled after the Olympic Games, so they stretch over ten days - four days of competition, two day break, and four more days of competition. They are also being broadcast every day on either USA or NBC. Hopefully, you are watching them! But if you're not, here are some of the highlights of what you've missed...

Day One - Friday, June 27

Day One is mostly qualifying and preliminary rounds. Our high jump crew had the women's heptathlon event. And in the 5,000 meters, one of the guys from my track Bible study ran. James Strang didn't advance to the finals, but ran well. Plus it is just a thrill for any athlete to be a part of this competition.

The highlight of Day One was the women's 10,000 meter final. It seems strange to think that a 6.2 mile race was exciting and a highlight, but this definitely was! And it was so exciting because of the woman who finished in third place - Amy Yoder Begley, a former Razorback.

One thing you have to understand is that it takes more than just a top-three finish at the Trials to go to the Olympics. You also have to have the Olympic qualifying standard. It is possible for someone to finish in the top three and not go to the Games - or for someone who finished behind them but has the Olympic standard from an earlier meet to go in their place. Amy didn't have the qualifying standard coming in to the race and, though she had third place pretty well assured early on, her trip to China was in question. But she ran an incredibly fast last lap, with 20,000 people on their feet cheering her on, and collapsed across the finish line. She made the qualifying mark by less than two seconds. It was the most exciting distance race I've seen.

Day Two - Saturday, June 28

One Day Two, the women's heptathlon ended with Hyleas Fountain (pictured) dominating the field. The fun part about this event is that most of the athletes I've known for a few years, including all of our Olympic team. In fact, the third place finisher and her twin sister used to come to Fayetteville from Texas as high school students to compete.

But the men's 100 meter dash provided most of the fireworks. In the first round, defending world champion Tyson Gay (another former Razorback) misjudged which line was the finish line and pulled up too soon, almost failing to advance. But he came back in the next round to run a new American record of 9.77 seconds. I've always liked Tyson. He is not the stereo-typical sprinter. He is quiet and humble and polite. And very fast.