Sully on Sports

Jenn Speaks

BEIJING -- I caught up with Jenn Stuczynski by telephone Saturday afternoon, and as expected she gave an impassioned defense of her embattled coach, Rick Suhr.

Stuczynski, who was in Munich en route to a competition in Zurich, said the public misinterpreted the exchange that took place shortly after she missed her final pole vault attempt last Monday night and settled for a silver medal. She said she asked Suhr what had gone wrong and he told her. She said it actually made her feel better.

Stuczynski said the harsh public response to Suhr has made the last few days a ""nightmare'' for her.  ""I don't ask for him to be a cheerleader,'' she said. ""I don't want him to bring pom poms and tell me I'm great when I'm not.''

More on the interview in Sunday's News.

Rain Delay

BEIJING -- The gold medal softball game is in a rain delay with the U.S. trailing Japan, 2-0, in the fourth inning. The Americans, who have won all three previous Olympic golds, are in deep trouble. Two runs is monumental for an opponent. The U.S. women gave up one run in the ENTIRE tournament in 2004. They had given up two total runs in this Olympics until Japan struck for single runs in the third and fourth against U.S. ace Cat Osterman.

The tarp is off, so they might be about to resume soon here at Fentai Softball Field. Maybe it will be a lose-win situation for the Americans. The IOC has dropped Olympics after these Games. One of the reasons is that the U.S. is too dominant. It'll be hard to sustain that argument if the big, bad U.S. girls lose in the final.

They started again and Osterman retired the side in the top of the fourth. I wouldn't count this U.S. team out yet. They're getting good swings against Japanese ace Yukiko Ueno, who is pitching her third game in as many days.

Jacques Slap

BEIJING -- IOC president Jacques Rogge has caused quite a stir by criticizing Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt for supposedly showing up his opponents after winning gold in the 100 and 200 meters. Rogge said Bolt needs to show more respect for his opponents and shake their hands after his races.

Look, I'm all for sportsmanship, but I don't recall too many individual athletes taking the time to shake the hands of all their vanquished foes after races. I might be wrong, but I don't think Michael Phelps did it after all his swims. Yelena Isinbayeva certainly didn't congratulate her opponents after winning the pole vault. She was too busy setting the world record. Isinbayeva put on one of the most self-serving shows I've ever seen after Monday's competition. I didn't hear anything from Rogge on that one.

Maybe Rogge has something against sprinters. This could be a subtle way of expressing skepticism about Bolt and whether he's on the juice. Sprinters tend to be very emotional and flamboyant. I remember the USA relay team goofing around after winning and dancing with the flag. Sometimes you wish they'd show a little more restraint, but they're young and exuberant and filled with ego.

Rogge, 66, reminds me of some of the stuffed shirts who complain about TD celebrations in the NFL. There's a saying in the NFL that you should act like you've been there before. Well, a lot of Olympians haven't been there before, and their enthusiasm shows it.

Funny that Rogge would single out Bolt for criticism while remaining silent on the behavior of the host nation. There have been 77 applications for protests at the three locations for dissent designated by the Chinese. So far, the hosts have approved none of them. Zero. Talk about a lack of respect for your opponents. I guess when a host nation has poured millions into IOC coffers, it's easier for the president to turn his head.

More on Suhr

BEIJING -- Still no reply to my requests for an interview with Stuczynski or Suhr to address what happened after the pole vault the other night. I think they owe the public some sort of explanation, even if it's simply Jenn saying everyone is over-reacting to the frustrations of a disappointing, self-serving coach.

Given more time to reflect, I've cooled considerably in my feelings about Suhr. He probably went over the line, but it was an emotional moment and the cameras were rolling. He's a coach, and coaches are famous for being tough on their athletes in an attempt to get the most out of them. I think people are over-reacting to this and as one blogger said, I wonder if it would be different if Jenn were a man.

I'll get into more depth on the subject in Friday's column in the News.

Suhr Loser?

BEIJING -- Several readers  have emailed me to complain about Rick Suhr's behavior at the pole vaulting competition on Monday night. It appeared that Suhr was berating Jenn Stuczynski after she missed at 4.90 and lost the gold medal -- or should I say, after she WON SILVER. She did win silver! No other individual athlete from the Buffalo area had ever done that well, as far as I know.

I can't say for sure what went on with Suhr and Stuczynski. I know it looked bad on TV (click here to see the video). But it didn't come up in the brief interviews with her after the event. She didn't appear in the press conference because she was being drug-tested. There was a press conference at the press center Tuesday morning, but the media folks with the U.S. press office didn't bother to do a transcript.

All I can say is that Suhr has been unreachable lately. Both the Rochester paper and I tried to get him, to no avail.  At times in the past, he was available and willing to talk endlessly about pole vaulting. Maybe getting a protege to the national stage has gone to his head. Jenn doesn't seem affected by it. She was bubbly and engaging after her two days of performing. There are whispers that maybe Suhr is too controlling and has a Svengali type hold on her.

But unless I'm missing something, he embarrassed himself in front of the nation Monday night, and Jenn and her family ought to get in his face and let him know he went over the line. Hey, Rick, you weren't the one putting yourself on the line for your country against one of the best track and field athletes in the world!

Jenn Jumps

BEIJING -- Jenn Stuczynski easily made her first jump in the early stages of the women's pole vault finals at the National Stadium here tonight.  Stuczynski cleared 4.55 meters -- or about 14 feet, 11 inches -- to move ahead. Yelena Isinbayeva hasn't attempted her first jump yet.

There was one confusing episode when Brazil's Fabiana Murer couldn't find her pole for the 4.55 meter attempt. There was a delay of at least 10 minutes as Murer searched through all the pole vault cylinders in search of the right pole for that vault. I had flashbacks to Thurman Thomas frantically searching for his  helmet before the start of Super Bowl XXVI. Finally, with her coach counseling her from the stands, Murer put on her sweats and decided to pass the  height. She missed her first two jumps at 4.65.

Most of the competitors survived the early jump. It will thin out at 4.65. Svetlana Feofanova, a Russian who  vaults in Isinbayeva's massive shadow, missed her first attempt at 4.65. She was the last vaulter to beat Isinbayeva at a major championshop, when she won gold at the 2003 worlds. Feofanova made her second attempt at 4.65. She could be the biggest threat to Stuczynski for silver if Jenn can't beat Isinbayeva.

A Near-Certainty?

BEIJING -- They're introducing the competitors for the final of the women's pole vault, which commences in a couple of minutes here at the National Stadium. Scott Pitoniak of the D&C and I think Jenn Stucyznski looks a little nervous. Why wouldn't she be? This is her big moment, and she's not expected to seize the moment and do what it takes to upset Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva.

The Olympic press folks don't think so, either. The Event Preview sheet in the media center had this headline on the pole vault preview: "Gold a near-certainty for Isinbayeva". It does say that Fredonia's Stuczynski "appears to be the one vaulter" likely to push Isinbayeva for first.

Isinbayeva has complained about a lack of competitors, but she said early this week she will  need to break her world record (5.04 meters, or 16-6 1-2 feet) to win. If that happens, and it's Stuczynski who pushes her to that height, it'll be a memorable final whether Stuczynski wins or not. It wouldn't be a shock if Jenn didn't medal, but it would be a major disappointment.

Honor these Guys

BEIJING -- One thing you can always count on from Buffalo guys. Get them in a big media setting and they'll be sure to let the world know they're proud of their hometown teams. Our rowing representatives, Steve Coppola and Tom Terhaar, carried on Sunday in a way that would have made Tim Russert proud.

During a press conference after the men's eight, in which Coppola rowed for the bronze-medal winning U.S. team, I asked the Buffalo native a question about the future of the American team. He answered it politely and in the end, added  "Go Sabres!' Coppola is a big Sabres and Bills fan. He said he was thinking of violating Nike protocol and wearing a Sabres cap to the press session.

Coppola said he's coming home to attend the Bills' opener against Seattle. He's going to stop in Norwalk, Conn., to pick up his buddy in the U.S. eight, Dan Walsh, and bring him to the game. "My parents grudgingly gave me the tickets,'' said Coppola, whose mother, Mimi Barnes-Coppola, is the daughter of Canisius High football coaching legend John Barnes.

Tom Terhaar, a Buffalo native and St. Joe's graduate, coached the U.S. women's eight to the gold medal. Terhaar has coached the national women's team since 2001. When I asked if he had been confident, he laughed and said, "Come on, I'm from Buffalo.' Terhaar is also planning to attend the Bills' opener. He'll be in town to attend a bachelor party for former Olympic rower Tom Murray.

Here's a thought: Maybe the Bills could honor our Olympians at the opener. Invite Jenn Stuczynski of Fredonia, too, and Caity Lever, the Amherst native who is on the Canadian softball team. There's a chance all four could win medals in China (if you count Terhaar as a coach). The Bills ought to do this. I think the crowd at Ralph Wilson Stadium would eat it up. What do you think?

Not a Joke

BEIJING -- I'm at the Water Cube and getting ready for Michael Phelps and the U.S. to swim in the 4x100 medley relay, the final race in Phelps' quest to win eight gold medals in a single Olympics. The Americans have never lost this event since it debuted in the Olympics in 1960. The only time they didn't win it was in 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Games.

Since I had a few minutes to kill, I checked out the headline from Haaretz, an Israeli English language newspaper, when the Americans won the 4x100 freestyle relay earlier in the week. The headline, right at the top of the website (Haaretz.com) reads "Two Jews and a black man help Phelps achieve Olympic dream.'

Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale, who swam in the relay, are apparently Jewish. Cullen Jones, the other member of the relay, is African-American.

Waiting for Jenn

BEIJING -- As of noon here (midnight in the U.S.), Jenn Stuczynski had yet to attempt her first qualifying Olympic vault. The bar just went up to 4.50 meters is (14 feet, 9 inches). The automatic qualifying height is 4.60, about 15-1. It'll be interesting to see if Stuczynski passes all the way to 4.60. Yelena Isinbayeva, the favorite and world record-holder, hasn't made her first vault, either.