The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be
held this weekend in Atlanta, with coverage on NBC and ESPN.
NBC track analyst Dwight Stones notes that current USATF
Exec Dir Craig Masback is trying to boost the sport, but
Stones is "upset" about the tenure of former Exec Dir Ollan
Cassell and members of his "old regime." Stones: "They're
like, 'Let the sport be damned.' Everybody knows it's
important to establish a circuit of events that will be on
television, but the old regime has turned that into a
tremendous uphill battle" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/24).
...Wayne Gretzky, on the NHL: "We have got to figure out a
way, not only as an association but as a league, that
everyone supports each other and that franchises like
Calgary and Edmonton are just as important as anyone else"
(CALGARY SUN, 2/24)....MA-based StarGames announced that its
"Best of the Beach" volleyball series has signed a deal with
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, which will host
the $100,000 "Best of the Beach Challenge," and Trump Marina
Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, which will host the
$125,000 "Best of the Beach Invitational" (StarGames).
