Through an arrangement with Wasserman Media Group, USATF was able to webcast the Orono nationals last summer. There I chatted with the young camera crew high above the track at the University of Maine. I got the impression they were doing it on spec — basically showing USATF how they could generate an audience. They didn’t charge, I gather. Now word arrives that WMG may be in its last throes as an independent company, with an expected eight-figure loss for 2007. ESPN is among several broadcasters being solicited to gobble up WMG, according to Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal. A lump of coal in our stocking?

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How ironic. Three weeks after informing us that masters events aren’t welcome at the 2008 “Run for the Dream” indoor meet January 21 in Fresno, meet organizers announce that their headline entrants are — two masters athletes. M35 Allen Johnson and W35 Stacy Dragila — both Olympic champions — are the touted pair. And both have shots at world age-group records — the indoor hurdles and pole vault. The listed M35 WR for 60-meter hurdles is 7.40 by Britain’s Colin Jackson in 2002. The listed W35 indoor vault record is 4.25 (13-11) by Romania’s Gabriella Mihalcea in 1999. What would Fresno do without us old farts?

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Patty Blanchard, a 50-year-old French teacher, paid her $5 (Canadian) entry fee yesterday at the Universite de Moncton in New Brunswick and got her money’s worth — a reported 2:25.02 world indoor record for the 800 meters. (The listed W50 world indoor record is 2:25.28 by Great Britain’s Caroline Marler in 2001.) Patty recorded the mark at the Dash through the Snow indoor meet. She’s a distance legend in her parts for competing in recent years on the collegiate level in Canada. At Orono nationals last summer, she won the W45 1500 and 5000 and took second in the 800.

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In August 2008, USATF will honor its top masters athletes at the Spokane outdoor nationals. This will cover the 2007 indoor and outdoor seasons. I’ve already described the change in time frame for selection. But details haven’t been shared on how you can nominate folks for various awards. Doing the honors is Dave Clingan, chairman of the USATF Masters T&F Awards Committee. He’s written a column for the January issue of National Masters News, which he’s shared with me. Dave writes: “Nominations will be accepted from January 1 to January 31, 2008. You may nominate yourself or your fellow athletes. Please use the nomination form provided. Nominations can be submitted either by email or postal mail.”

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Don’t look now, but the 2008 indoor season is here. It started this month. Mastersrankings.com — subsidized by USATF via your annual fees — already has oodles of marks, including a remarkable 9:06.45 for 3,000 meters by 49-year-old Craig Fram. Of course, Craig (profiled here) holds the M45 American record of 8:39.74, set at Boston almost three years ago. The listed M50 indoor AR is Nolan Shaheed’s 8:54.73. The world 3K record is 8:49.37 by Britain’s Nigel Gates in 2004. Already, results from 15 indoor meets are listed. Our congrats to Craig — and USATF Masters Rankings chairman John Seto for his amazing work on the rankings database and software.

Despite the troubles of last season, the Millrose Games again beckon to masters 4×4 relay teams in February 2008. Mark Cleary, the USATF Masters Invitational Program coordinator, has posted info on who can enter. Four other meets are on the masters agenda this year as well — including the Olympic Trials in Eugene in June, where fast women will compete at 200 meters (the masters men’s event hasn’t been determined yet). This is the ninth year for these masters exhibitions at major open meets. Mostly, the events have been middle-distances and sprints. Once they had a men’s 110 hurdles (featuring the handsome and witty Willie Gault).

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Last week, M70 jumper Tom Langenfeld sent me a note with an interesting revelation: Of the hundreds of members of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, only 2007 inductee Herm Wyatt is strictly a high jumper. Many multi-eventers are in the Hall, but only Herm can say he was a HJ specialist. Interesting. Here’s what Tom shared: “I’m delighted to see that Herm Wyatt has been inducted into the Masters Hall of Fame –- for several reasons. I believe he is the first “pure” high jumper to make the hall.” (And speaking of the new Hall of Famers, USATF still hasn’t put out a press release on the inductees! Tsk-tsk)

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Riccione videos are still popping up on YouTube. The latest — lasting nearly 4 minutes — features the members of the Croatian team at the WMA world masters championships. Check it out, but turn the sound down if you’re not into head-banging rockers. AC’DC’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation” is the background track to this quick-cutting video, which shows Croats (about 30 were entered at worlds) in competition and wandering around Riccione. I spotted Americans Stephen Robbins and Mark Cleary in this video.

Geezerjock magazine is now titled Masters Athlete, and the cover girl of its current issue is Phil Raschker. Track is now 2-for-3 in GeezerJocks of the Year (which will remain the award’s name). Bill Collins won in 2005, and a racquetball player won the honor in 2006. Allen Lessels wrote a nice profile of Phil, which quotes moi. Also notable were the runner-ups in GJOTY voting. Shot putter Glenn Thompson is the M40-49 GJOTY and record-setting runner Jeanne Daprano won W70-79 honors.

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Bruce McBarnette is 50, so it’s no surprise he’s flopping over records. Nineteen months after clearing 2.00 meters (6-6 3/4), Bruce went a relatively modest 1.86 (6-1) yesterday at the site of the 2009 masters indoor nationals in Landover, Maryland, to set an American indoor record. He broke the listed AR of 1.85 (6-0 3/4) by John Hartfield in 1996 — which also had been the No. 2 best M50 indoor jump in history, according to mastersathletics.net. The M50 world record is miles higher, however — the 2.00 by German Thomas Zacharias in 1997.

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