Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Well I see the thread on the relay has been pulled completely... if that is because of anything I said about Tim I am sorry, no malice intended.

So what is his status ?

Is he in Paris ?

Is he going to run the relay?

Anybody know what's going on with all this ??

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

sounds like he is gone for good.

[6 5.5hjsteve]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

does anyone share my unhappiness about Monty ??!!

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

Nice... Greene out with an injury, Drummond out due to foolishness, and now Montgomery out due to... ??

Did he just leave his teammates in the lurch, or is there a good reason for this?

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

Williams plus the trio from the 200 looks like the team to me. It will be interesting to see what they can do.

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

i would have left also if i was monty. US 4x1 might be in for a beatin haha but im styl hopin they pull out the win.

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

What are you guys worried about? This comment might appear outrageous but I really think that a squad of Capel, Williams, Patton & Johnson is stronger than the original squad.

Capel and Drummond were basically on par and Johnson with a baton in his hand is superior to the 2003 edition of Maurice Greene.

The USA by at least five meters

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

"What are you guys worried about? This comment might appear outrageous but I really think that a squad of Capel, Williams, Patton & Johnson is stronger than the original squad.

Capel and Drummond were basically on par and Johnson with a baton in his hand is superior to the 2003 edition of Maurice Greene."

I agree. I don't think that losing these people is really a loss at all. They would have all had to be in the final probably mainly because of the politics that goes along with the relay. But as far as the people who are most capable of running fast right now, I still feel they are there. My only concern is them having to run all the rounds and I am wondering if people can be added to the relay pool and if any other athletes (i.e. Gatlin, Grimes) are there.

[abinferno]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

They actually commented on this on Sports Center. They said Maurice was out for injury and Monty was out for "personal reasons", a euphamism for losing all confidence is my guess.

[Randy Treadway]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

>Monty was out for "personal reasons"

The only rational conclusion is: Monty is pregnant!

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

>>>>What are you guys worried about? This comment might appear outrageous but I really think that a squad of Capel, Williams, Patton & Johnson is stronger than the original squad.

Capel and Drummond were basically on par and Johnson with a baton in his hand is superior to the 2003 edition of Maurice Greene.

The USA by at least five meters >>>

i hope you are right, but who needs those clowns anyway. hopefully patton, capel and jj will stay healthy in thr 200 meters rounds. add to that williams, miller and gatlin and the team is still very good. this group has more sub 10 times this year than the three departed clowns, but of course there is more to relay racing. sometimes younger unselfish runners who are willing to run the curve or backstretch instead of the anchor leg are more needed than the primadonas who want to take all the glory to themselves:
here is the team:
leadoff: capel
backstretch: williams
curve: patton or miller
acnhor: jj johnson
gatlin can sub for anyone for the heats
drummond might have always run a good lead off leg, but he has had his share of mishaps. so has monty. in fact jj has run better anchors than monty and even caught mo from behind. maybe it is better this way. let the primadonas go home !

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

Is Britian the consensus #2, and if so could they "nail it" and beat the US team straight up? I'm not too nationalistic when it comes to relays - actually I root for underdogs given our overwhelming sprint depth.

[dl]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

As an interesting sidebar (and not to take away from the excitement leading up to the relay) many in the press section are wondering if Montgomery will be banned from future USA relay teams. The general consensus from the journos is OF COURSE NOT. Just as many correctly predicted that Lassiter would be given no more than a slap on the wrist for his World Cup shamblings, Montgomery will still be eligible for next year's relay pool, when we'll surely revisit such idiocy in Athens.

[Guest]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

at first i was mad at him for abandoning his teammates, and i was like so what we can win without him. after hearing he left for personal reasons i would prefer to wait to hear what his reasons are, if its an illness in his family or something like that, then i agree with him leaving there are things more important than any track meet.

[Randy Treadway]

Re: Mongomery... status for relay ??!!

In such cases the right way to do it is to notify the USATF staff in Paris of your emergency situation- death in the family or whatever- and explain that you will not be able to run on the relay because you must leave Paris immediately and fly home.
USATF then releases a press release saying that the athlete has been "released" from relay duty because of a family emergency. Fine, nobody would have a problem with it.

That's roughly the process that you or I have to do with our employer, right? Elite athletes want to be considered "professional", then they have to act professionally even in a stressful family emergency situation, a severe personal problem or whatever. Simple communication is an absolute requirement.

USATF has issued no such press release, which leads me to believe Monty just packed his bag and left Paris without talking to anybody.

There would be repercussions if I did that with my employer, and there should be in the Montgomery case as well.

If Montgomery DID let USATF know about his situation before leaving, then USATF should issue a statement acknowledging it. Right now it looks like they were caught totally surprised by his going "AWOL".