Steve,
Why is he a Dick for saying that the way the sport is being marketed is not exploiting its strong points. While the show down between Mo and MJ was a fizzer, the publicity that it generated among the general public was far greater either of them was able to generate through their years of dominance in the 100 or 400 where the only question was how much they were going to win by.
I think its reasonable on an individual basis that Bolt charges as much as the market can bare. However what is the rational course of action for the individual agent in the short run is not necessarily the best action for the sport in the short run or long run - if athletic careers weren’t so short it is likely that the behaviour would be detrimental to the individual as well. This is what we see in markets all the time and I think MJ has identified this occuring in athletics - and he’s not the first either; I’ve heard quite a few, top tier but not the very top, voice the same opinions.
Focussing on one athlete breaking a WR or running in a novel event may draw attention to the one race they’re in and get a 15 second clip on the news at 6 once in a blue moon, but it doesn’t expose the general public to the drama of the sport that will sell the sport as a whole. It becomes a freak show that sits along side crocodiles crawling out of peoples loos in new york.
MJ has shown himself to be a prick in the media and on the track, however that doesn’t warrant every article he writes being met with ad hominems and no commentary on the views themselves. I didn’t read anything in the article that resembled MJ having a go at Bolt; if any one was being critisized it was the promoters and marketers.
BTW did any one notice that according to the article that Shawn Crawford ran the last 5m at 20m/s?