Eugene 08

Photos from Day 3 (6.29.08), & Day 4 (6.30.08) are up.
Click on any image to see the galleries.

This cat had his A-game on at the Eugene '08 fest Sunday. Play on player.

Brad Walker (3rd place men's pole vault) flexing on the way down.

Queen Quedith Earth Harrison fivin' on her victory lap.

Brian Johnson (2nd place men's long jump)

Men's 100m final

Trevell Quinley doin' the happy dance after getting the gold (in the men's long jump).

Tyson Gay's victory lap. Fans were HYPE!

Hazel Clark is nothing but smiles (after taking 1st place in the women's 800m).

Nick Symmonds (1st place men's 800m)

Dana Pounds (2nd place women's javelin) yelling some ferociousness!

UO's Rachel Yurkovich (3rd place) & Kara Patterson (1st place) hug after the javelin final.

Bernard Lagat (1st place men's 5000m) glides across the finish line & lets the crowd know!

Here are some of the media who I'll share the Media Tent with: The New Yorker (!), BET.com, Yahoo, Der Spiegel, Le Equipe, Time, The New York Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated ... as well as seven Register-Guard reporters (who ALL get front-row seats for their ass-kissing) and six Oregonian reporters.

I didn't request or receive a seat in the press box (who wants to be surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged white men, anyway?) but will be sending my blog posts from wherever I can find a place to sit (thanks Wi-Fi network!).

I noticed that even the people managing the media acknowledge that things can get pretty boring during the prelims and semifinals. They issued this small but hilarious request:

In order to keep bandwidth as low as possible, we also ask the press to please avoid surfing your favorite youtube or myspace videos while on the wireless system.

Here's a sneak peek at the most up-to-date listings of what's going down at the Eugene 08 Festival and the events being contested at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials, starting this Friday at Hayward Field.

Find the FULL SCHEDULE after THE JUMP.

For those who just want to see the 1500m final and be done with it, now's your chance! Single day tix and the "obstructed view" seats soon available for purchase! Here's the details (bolding mine):

A limited number of single day tickets for the 2008 Olympic Team Trials for track and field will go on sale Friday, May 30th at 9 am. Buy online HERE or in person at the Casanova Center Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT. Visa is the only credit card accepted for the Olympic Trials tickets. For fast and convenient ticket delivery, select Print-At-Home and receive your tickets instantly. If you do not already have an account with the Oregon Athletic Ticket Office, it is recommended that you create one prior to the onsale to avoid exceeding the time limit. Obstructed view tickets will also be on sale at this time by phone only. Strict limit of 4 reserved tickets and 8 obstructed view tickets per person, per day. For additional event information, please visit www.Eugene08.com

UPDATE at 10:15am, Friday: Single day tix are SOLD OUT. But obstructed-view tix still available!

Hey, there's no rule that says you have to stick in your seat the entire time. Buy the obstructed view tix and roam, people, on over to the curve around the final stretch (that's where all action will be as the runners dig in for the final sprint).

Seen on a billboard about 4 miles north of Eugene:

Think Running of the Bulls
Only the Bulls Are Wearing Nikes

— an ad for Eugene '08 (aka the Olympic Trials Cash Cow)

A few thoughts:

• Will there be a running of the Nike-wearing bulls as part of the festivities? If so, I vastly underestimated the creative thinking going into Eugene '08.

• Does this bullboard er, billboard, imply that Olympic hopefuls are like stampeding bulls, gonna charge right through Eugene, collect their qualifications, kick some ass and then leave?

• Or does this imply the tourists and spectators will be like the running of the bulls, in that the tourists are more likely to be wearing Nikes than the athletes and that they, too, will be charging (their credit cards) through Eugene's shopping districts and wonderfully landscaped malls during the Olympic Trials?

• Or better yet: this billboard implies that if you enjoyed nearly getting gored while running at high speeds through Pamplona, Spain's narrow cobblestone streets you will certainly enjoy sitting your ass in a bleacher and watching a flurry of arms & legs flash around in the field below you.

I can't really figure out the metaphor... Help!