Popular coach, NSAF board member Cedrik Walker dies at 49 Walt Murphy Mar 13, 2013

Cedric Walker, the popular coach from Rochester,NY,  passed away yesterday at the age of 49 after suffering a massive heart attack at his home. Walker, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation(NSAF)   had spent the weekend at NY's Armory watching the organization's New Balance National Indoors.  Among the many assignments he had over the years, Walker was an assistant coach for the U.S. team that competed at the 2003 World Outdoor Championships in Paris.
No details yet on services.

NYU Great Byron Dyce Loses School Record Walt Murphy May 18, 2011

NYU senior Matt Turlip ran 3:45.76 for 1500-meters at the Last Chance meet at Swarthmore on Saturday(May 14) to break the 44-year old school record of 3:46.6, which was set by Byron Dyce at the 1967 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada(Dyce was 5th).

Larry Rawson--End of an Era in TV Broadcasting Walt Murphy Jan 12, 2010

Larry Rawson--End of an Era in TV Broadcasting

by Walt Murphy

Larry Rawson, the (T&F) “Voice of ESPN” for its 30 years of existence, will no longer be part of the broadcast team for USATF’s series of indoor and outdoor meets.

While Rawson has been replaced by Ato Boldon for meets such as the Millrose Games, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, and the Penn Relays, he will still have a presence on ESPN this year at the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Championships, the NCAA Indoor Championships, and major marathons in Boston, Chicago, and New York.

Said Rawson, who anchored Boston College to victory in the DMR at the 1963 Penn Relays, “It’s been a great honor to represent our sport on TV and try to do my part to build our audience and make it interesting to the viewer. I’m proud to have had a hand in the growth in the ratings(on ESPN)”.

Some “purists” in the sport might have cringed whenever they heard a Rawsonism like, “A mile is 4 laps around your local high school track”, but that is his way of trying to educate the casual fan. While they were waiting for a hotel elevator in Fayetteville recently, a coach approached Rawson and said with a smile on his face, “My mother LOVES you!. You help her understand what’s going on”.

Standing out among the many great races he’s called over the years, Rawson cited Eamonn Coghlan’s 3:49.78 World Record mile at the Meawdowlands in 1983.

On a personal note, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Larry in the TV booth for many years and I’ve never been around a harder working, or more passionate,  announcer. No one patrols an athletes’  hotel lobby better than he does, and he has built many lasting relationships with the sport’s elite athletes. I look forward to working with him again this season, even if it's on a limited basis.

And he has been, and will continue to be, a tireless advocate for the sport through his contacts at ESPN, always pushing them to get more events on the air.

While his opportunities might have been reduced, he’ll still bring that great enthusiasm and  passion to whichever event he happens to be working on.


Walt Murphy's News and Results Service  (wmurphy25@aol.com)
(c)Copyright 2009-all rights reserved. May not be reprinted or retransmitted without permission

TV Alert: Tyson Invitational, including best shot put in 20 years by Adam Nelson Walt Murphy Feb 17, 2008

From Walt Murphy's News and Results Service...

Adam Nelson, who set a big personal best of 72-5 at the Millrose Games on February 1, entered new territory at the Tyson Inv.  on Friday when he exploded in the 3rd round of the shot put with a toss of 73-6(22.40). That's the longest throw in the world in almost twenty years. World Record holder Randy Barnes threw 74-4  1/4(22.66) and East Germany's Ulf Timmermann 73-11  3/4(22.55) in 1989. Former Arkansas All-American Christin Wurth-Thomas, running on her home track. won the women's mile in 4:27.18 to move ahead of Vicki Huber (4:28.31) into the #3 spot on the all-time U.S. peerformers' list, trailing only Mary Slaney(4:20,5) and Regina Jacobs(4:21.79).

The meet will be shown today on ESPN from 5-7pm (Check your local listings).

Ted Corbitt Passes Away Walt Murphy Dec 12, 2007

FROM WALT MURPHY'S NEW AND RESULTS SERVICE 
WMurphy25@aol.com 

One of the most loved and respected people in the sport, Corbitt, a pioneer in ultrarunning and road course measurement, started out as a sprinter in Cincinnati and didn't run his first marathon until he was 32 years old.  MORE INFO HERE

Boston Marathon goes on as scheduled - wet and windy and on TV... Walt Murphy Apr 16, 2007

From Walt Murphy's News and Results Service...

 
The rain is still coming down hard, but the Boston Marathon will go off as scheduled. (http://weather.boston.com/). Text commentary will be provided at http://baa.org/ beginning at 9am.

9:25 a.m. Wheelchair Division Start
9:35 a.m. Elite Women's Start
10:00 a.m. Elite Men & Wave 1 Start
10:30 a.m. Wave 2 Start

TV-coverage begins at 9:30am(ET) on Verfsus (Formerly Outdoor Life Channel)

Vote for your choice for T&F ESPY\'s... Walt Murphy Jul 02, 2006

From Walt Murphy\'s News and Results Service The ESPYs, ESPN\'s version of the Academy Awards, honors athletes in many different categories each year. The voting is open to the public and you can cast your vote for your favorite male and female T&F athlete at http://espn.go.com/espy2006/index.html

Penn Relays Previews: Walt Murphy, Ryan Comstock, Top PA Seeds... Walt Murphy Apr 24, 2006

Walt Murphy, who publishes Eastern Track and X-Country X-Press, has published his annual preview of the Penn Relays Carnival. It\'s an event-by-event look at the meet. Take a read, enjoy, and should you see any mistakes or if you feel he neglected a deserving individual or team, send him an email (his request) to WMurphy25@aol.com. Conestoga coach Ryan Comstock and his teams have high expectations, including Central League 4x400 records, hot 4x100\'s, and a great race at the front of the Girls\' DMR. We\'ve also included the top PA seeds in the individual events.

Ryan Whiting named Eastern Track\'s Athlete of the Year Walt Murphy Jan 04, 2006

Ryan Whiting (Central Dauphin,Pa) was the #1 U.S. prep in the shot put and discus to earn selection as the Eastern Athlete of the Year. Whiting, now a freshman at Arizona State, set an Eastern Indoor Record of 68-11 1/4 in the shot, then threw 70-feet even outdoors, just missing fellow Pennsylvanian Ron Semkiw

5/26-Alex Woodley, 71, Coach of Philadelphia Track Club, Dies Walt Murphy May 26, 2004

Alex Woodley, 71, Coach of Philadelphia Track Club, Dies

Alex Woodley, who coached and mentored many Olympic gold-medal sprinters in the 1960's and 1970's as head of the Philadelphia Pioneer Club, died on Saturday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 71.

The cause was a heart attack, his wife, Jean, said.

Woodley's athletes who won Olympic gold medals included Paul Drayton, Steve Riddick, Charlie Greene, Mel Pender, Herman Frazier and Hasely Crawford. Other leading athletes from the club included John Carlos, Ivory Crockett, Curtis Mills, Edwin Roberts, Tom McLean and Benn Fields.

5/6-Happy 50th sub-FOUR-MINUTE-MILE! Walt Murphy May 06, 2004

Thursday May 6, 2004 isn\'t just the last day of Friends, it\'s bigger. It\'s the 50th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister\'s historic sub-4-minute-mile. Walt Murphy has provided locations where recognitions (and races) will occur, plus links to more to read on the topic. Plus, Bannister will be one of several stories featured on \"The Barrier Breakers\" on ESPN Classic, at 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m. ET. Enjoy.