USOC undecided on 2016 bid

Will the United States bid for the 2016 Summer Games? That will be decided after the US Olympic Committee's top brass meets with the mayors of five interested cities -- Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia -- to go over the ''requirements and realities."

After New York (definitely not in the chase again) was smacked down for 2012, the USOC wants to make sure that its next candidate has no illusions about the process, which is both expensive and cutthroat. If the committee decides to go for 2016, two things will change from last time: The city will have a stadium in place or approved, and the state and local politicians will be on the same page.

The likely field already includes 2012 leftovers Moscow and Madrid and a Japanese city, either Tokyo or Fukuoka. The Lords of the Rings will make their choice in 2009 when they meet in Copenhagen.

As expected, the USOC is shaking up the dysfunctional US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation in the wake of last winter's doping positive by Zach Lund and coach Tim Nardiello's sexual harassment case. The ''remediation" includes a management and governance committee that will take over day-to-day operations. One thing that won't happen is separate federations for the two sports, since they report to one global body . . . If baseball wants back on the Olympic program after being bounced for 2012, it'll have to get even tougher on banned drugs. ''We still have issues about doping," International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said recently. ''Progress has been made, but not to the level where the Olympic family would accept it." . . . Is the Olympic tournament a season-killer for NHL clubs? It's looking that way for those that sent more than half a dozen players to Turin. The Red Wings (9), Rangers (9), Flyers (8), Lightning (7), and Stars (7) all went out in the first round of the playoffs, and the Avalanche (10) are down, 0-2, to the Mighty Ducks in their conference semifinal. Only the Senators (8) are thriving . . . The US and Canada, who didn't meet at Olympus this year after playing for the gold medal in 2002, face off today in their preliminary group finale at the World Ice Hockey Championships in Latvia. The Americans, who have no Turin veterans on the roster, already have qualified for the 12-team second round . . . Overlooked in the hubbub over Deena Kastor's victory and US women's marathon record (2:19:36) in London was the reappearance of injury-plagued Khalid Khannouchi, the men's record-holder, who finished fourth in 2:07:04 in his first 26-miler in 18 months.

If New York is picked to host the Olympic men's marathon trials, the US might have to send a masters team to next year's World Track and Field Championships in Japan. With the global meet at the end of August and the trials in early November, it's doubtful that any Beijing hopefuls would want to compete in both. ''Impossible, absolutely impossible," declares Kevin Hanson, whose Hansons-Brooks club provided three members of last year's squad in Helsinki, including top finisher Brian Sell. Meanwhile, as the USOC and USA Track & Field haggle over sponsorship issues, athletes who want to set their racing calendars for next year are growing impatient. If New York is the site, the top Olympic contenders likely would run a spring marathon, then prepare for the trials. If the site is Boston or Akron in April 2008, they could run in the world meet. ''With a spring trials, we definitely would be in Osaka," says Hanson . . . Next month's Reebok Grand Prix meet in New York has its usual glittering field. Besides Olympic champions Felix Sanchez (400 hurdles) and Meseret Defar (5,000), there's double world sprint champion Justin Gatlin and Athens triple medalist Veronica Campbell . . . Though he recently posted the fastest debut time by an American in the 10,000 meters (27:34:72 at Palo Alto, Calif.), miler Alan Webb says he isn't morphing into a distance runner. He'll take on Olympic silver medalist Bernard Lagat in the mile at the Nike Prefontaine meet in Oregon later this month . . . Olympic freestyle skier Jeremy Bloom didn't medal in Turin, but he made the grade in the NFL draft, as Philadelphia picked the former Colorado receiver/kick returner in the fifth round, 147th overall. ''A perfect fit for me," proclaimed Bloom, who hasn't played football in two years. Also drafted (by Cincinnati in the seventh round) was Bennie Brazell, the LSU wideout who was an Olympic finalist in the 400-meter hurdles in Athens.

Just as Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes proved in Salt Lake City, you can be the planet's best figure skater without having won a US championship. Kimmie Meissner, who outpointed Japan's Fumie Suguri and teammate Sasha Cohen in Calgary, is the first American woman to win the world title before winning a domestic crown since Kristi Yamaguchi did it in 1991 . . . Olympic speedskating champion Joey Cheek may not be going to Harvard, but he'll still have his choice of elite schools: Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, and NYU. Wherever he ends up this fall will be the scene of ''Joey Cheek Goes To College," a six-episode series on mtvU. ''I certainly never thought a speedskater from North Carolina would ever be fodder for reality TV," says Cheek, ''but here I am." Cheek, who recently returned from a trip to Africa for Right To Play, will be at the White House next week with his Turin teammates for the usual post-Games visit with the president. Also expected for the gathering on the South Lawn are fellow long-tracker Chad Hedrick, short-tracker Apolo Anton Ohno, Alpine skier Ted Ligety, figure skaters Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, hockey player Angela Ruggiero, bobsledders Shauna Rohbock and Valerie Fleming, and freestyle skier Toby Dawson . . . After the US track cyclists went 0 for Olympus and also were shut out at last year's global competition, Sarah Hammer's victory in the women's 3,000-meter individual pursuit at the recent world championships in France was a huge breakthrough. It was the first title for an elite American rider since Marty Nothstein in 1996 and the first by a female since Rebecca Twigg (also in pursuit) a year earlier. ''Hopefully, this can help jump-start us again," Hammer said.

Since they didn't want to switch to snowmobiles, the USA Cycling people have decided to move the site of their national mountain bike championships from Mammoth Mountain in California, where a record 664 inches of snow fell during the winter. Even now, the base depth at aptly named Mammoth is between 15 and 17 feet, which makes even a late July date iffy . . . The US women's field hockey team grabbed a ticket for this autumn's World Cup tournament in Madrid by finishing fourth at the recent qualifying event in Rome, where the Americans surprised second-seeded New Zealand. As a demanding tuneup, they'll take on the planet's top three teams (the Netherlands, Argentina, and Australia) in an August event in Maryland and Virginia. On the squad are Walpole's Dina Rizzo and Greenfield's Kelly Doton, plus Boston University grad Robyn Kenney . . . The US women's rowing team for this summer's world championships in England is starting to shape up. Anna Mickelson and Megan Cooke will be the pairs entry, with Julie Nichols and Renee Hykel, the defending silver medalists, returning in the lightweight double. Also qualifying, pending their meeting the time standard, are sculler Michelle Guerette, last year's bronze medalist, and the double of Susan Francia and Brett Sickler, plus men's sculler Ken Jurkowski . . . Athens isn't the only Olympic host city whose venue construction resembled an archaeological dig. While building the shooting range on the western fringes of the capital, the Beijing organizers recently unearthed tombs dating back as far as five centuries. They apparently contained the remains of imperial eunuchs from the Ming Dynasty.

Material from Olympic committees, sports federations, interviews, and wire services was used in this report.