Since Johnson, the world 400-meter champion, hardly talks to anybody, Greene probably shouldn't be taking it personally. Luckily, the world 100/200 champion has a good grip on the reality of competition: "I believe Michael Johnson will race me when he believes he's ready."

Says Greene's agent, Emanuel Hudson, "It's really up to the champion to decide when's he going to take (Greene) on."

Two anticipated furlong matchups between the two fell through last season. Some have suggested that the 200 race at the Olympic Trials next summer also won't deliver a confrontation, if Greene appears capable of beating Johnson.

Unlike Johnson, Greene is a bit less vulnerable to charges of ducking races, since he loses from time to time. With losses in 1999 to Ato Boldon (twice) and Claudinei da Silva, he doesn't have much to lose if Johnson were to best him. Johnson, however, went undefeated in 1999, with the exception of the Stockholm race he failed to finish.

New and improved, with fluoride and nandrolone!
Drug cases are never good for the sport, but at least they can sometimes provide terrific theater of the absurd.

German Dieter Baumann, who won the 1988 gold medal in the 5,000 meters with a stirring kick, is now battling a possible ban after testing positive for nandrolone. Baumann's claim that someone must have broken into his apartment and injected the nandrolone into his toothpaste tube is being investigated by police.

One assumes that detectives are quizzing supermarket workers as to whether they have seen any suspicious-looking Kenyans loitering in the toothpaste aisle.

IOC cleaning up its act
Was it all for show or does the International Olympic Committee mean business? Battered by charges of wide-ranging corruption, the organization has passed 50 reform measures. While many passed unanimously, the biggest fight came over a ban on visits by IOC members to cities bidding for the Games.

That's understandable, since such junkets were the biggest plum of IOC membership. How the IOC will evaluate future candidate cities is up in the air. So far, a push from some quarters to instead send Internet sports columnists on the junkets has fallen on deaf ears.

Ranking the century
My countdown of the top 100 track-and-field competitions of the century continues with Nos. 11-20. For the previous 80 on the list, see the links to my last eight columns:

No. 20 -- Olympic Men's 5,000, Helsinki 1952: Four years earlier, Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek was largely an unknown when he won the 10,000 and missed gold in the 5,000 by mere inches. In Helsinki, however, he was both known and feared. All knew of his crazy experiments with interval training, with running in heavy boots. They might even have laughed at his horrid form if he had been slower.

In Helsinki, Zatopek wanted to win the double that eluded him in London. He had no problem with the 10,000, winning by 100 yards in an Olympic record. In the 5,000, however, the field would not be so easy to dominate. Zatopek counted among his rivals Alain Mimoun, Gordon Pirie, defending champion Gaston Reiff and Herbert Schade, who was also a friend.

Before the race, Zatopek advised Schade to avoid the lead for the first 2K. The crowd of 66,000 made plenty of noise, however, and the nervous Schade passed Chris Chataway at 800 meters. Twice Zatopek tried to pass Schade in order to take the burden of leading off him. Twice Schade fought back for the lead. Finally, the Czech yelled at him, "Do two laps with me, Herbert!"

Zatopek led for a while, before Schade moved ahead again. Then Pirie took over. With two laps left, six men were in the hunt. With the tension of 500 meters left, Reiff dropped out. Then the pack swept past Pirie. At the bell, Zatopek made his move to the front. Instead of crumbling, his three pursuers stayed on him. Coming off the next turn, Chataway blasted past, then Schade and Mimoun.

But Chataway had sprinted too soon, and on the final straightaway, both Schade and Mimoun pulled even. Then from Zatopek came a burst of amazing speed. He caught them. The four sprinted side by side, but at the end, it was all Zatopek, the "Human Locomotive." He won in 14:06.6. He wasn't done. On the last day of the Games, he entered his first marathon. He won his third gold of the week by a half-mile.

No. 19 -- World Championships Men's 4 x 400 Relay, Tokyo 1991: Many Americans have felt that the 4 x 4 gold somehow belongs to the United States, no matter who wins it. Great Britain, despite not having won an Olympic or World gold in the event since 1936, did not subscribe to that thinking.

While the British lined up a surprisingly strong team -- leading off with 400 silver medalist Roger Black -- the Americans bickered over the make-up of their team. The U.S. foursome had been selected from the top finishers in the 400 at the nationals. Michael Johnson, the No. 1-ranked quarter miler, had only run the 200 there. Said Quincy Watts, "If Michael Johnson wanted to be on this team, he should have run the 400."

When Gabriel Luke came up injured, coach Tom Tellez offered Johnson a spot in the 4 x 400 heats. He declined. The Brits produced a 2:59.49 in the heats, faster than the Americans. In the final, "the idea was to break America's heart early," quipped British coach Frank Dick. Black led off in 44.7. Andrew Valmon ran a step behind (44.9).

On the second leg, Derek Redmond blasted a 44.0, but was still run down by the 43.4 of Quincy Watts. Danny Everett ran the third leg for the U.S. in 44.31, but John Regis narrowed the gap with his 44.22. It came down to a duel between 400 champion Antonio Pettigrew and Kriss Akabusi, who had won bronze in the 400 hurdles.

On the first turn, a TV crew got in the way, causing Pettigrew to shout and miss a step. Akabusi stayed on him until the final stretch, when he attacked. The two fought their way to the finish, the Briton getting the advantage only in the final strides, 2:57.53 to 2:57.57. "It was a great race," said Pettigrew, "but we will be back."

No. 18 -- Olympic Trials Men's 800, Los Angeles 1984: The American record of 1:43.91 by Rick Wohlhuter had stood for 10 years. In that time, U.S. two-lapping had stagnated, with few challenging the top man, seven-time U.S. champ James Robinson. Earl Jones changed all that.

The sophomore from Eastern Michigan hadn't even qualified for the NCAA 800 the previous year. But a 1:44.5 relay leg in the spring of 1984 had him thinking of bigger things. In the Trials final, he went out hard, leading through 200 in 24.2. At 400, he passed the line in 50.2, with only Stanley Redwine running close. John Marshall and Johnny Gray held back.

At 600, Jones led in 1:16.7. Robinson, in seventh, began making his move. Ahead of him, Gray and Marshall caught Redwine. The expected demise of Jones never happened. Gray came the closest to beating him, missing by an inch, with Marshall a step behind. Robinson ran the race of his life, and finished nearly even with Marshall. He would have to wait until the final results to see if he had made the team.

Both Jones and Gray had run an American record 1:43.74. Marshall got third in 1:43.92, and Robinson, in heart-breaking fourth, clocked the same 1:43.92. It was the fastest time of his life, just a hundredth away from the record he had been chasing for years, and it didn't even get him on the team.

Jones earned bronze in the Games later that summer, and for two years remained one of the world's best half-milers. A car accident then left him with a severely damaged leg, ending his career at age 22.

No. 17 -- Olympic Men's Discus, Montreal 1976: The viewers at home were looking for an American hero, up close and personal. If they didn't already know Mac Wilkins, they didn't know what to make of him. He looked like a wildman with his long hair and beard. He openly criticized the U.S. Olympic Committee, stirring the storm even further by saying he hoped East Germany would win all the medals. The USOC president called him a "grandstander and a pop-off."

Then, rather than being friends with America's other top thrower, John Powell, Wilkins didn't even fake it. His best friend in the competition was the man who was supposed to be the enemy, East German Wolfgang Schmidt.

Wilkins, calm despite the controversy, knew what he had to do to crush Powell psychologically. In the qualifying round, on his first throw in the still air of the partially enclosed stadium, he produced a crushing heave of 224-0. Powell conceded: "I don't see how he can be stopped."

The next day, Wilkins threw 221-5 in round two. Powell managed a 215-7 in response. Schmidt, who had been in fourth, moved to third with a 213-9. In the fourth round, many thought he had produced a throw better than Powell's, but an official called him on a toe violation. Schmidt's argument went nowhere. Wilkins consoled him.

In the last round, Schmidt came through, launching the platter out to 217-3 to take the silver from Powell. Wilkins and he celebrated with a bear hug as Powell stalked off. Later, Powell said, "You're a fool if you don't think that winning is everything."

No. 16 -- Olympic Men's 200, Mexico City 1968: Most of what fans remember about this race is the still-controversial awards ceremony protest. Love them or hate them, you have to concede that the men who made the protest also made one of the greatest furlong races ever.

Both John Carlos and Tommie Smith were capable of world records. Their closest rival, Australian Peter Norman, wasn't far off, bringing his best down to 20.2 at high altitude in the weeks leading up to the Games.

With the help of Mexico City's thin air, the Olympic record was tied or broken five times before the top eight even stepped on the track for the final. After the second semifinal race, Tommie Smith limped off with a cramp. The finals were only two hours away. "I didn't think I was going to make it," he said.

In the final, Carlos ran a lightning turn, and had a solid lead at the top of the straightaway. Smith, his cramp vanished, drove hard and caught his friend with 60 meters left. Norman, only sixth after the turn, finished fast. As Smith approached the line, he threw both his hands up in jubilation, crossing in a world record 19.83. A tiring Carlos looked to his left to watch Smith finish, oblivious to Norman coming hard on his right. Norman snatched the silver away in the final steps, 20.06 to 20.10.

No. 15 -- Penn Relays Men's Distance Medley, Philadelphia 1987: Many fans feel that it doesn't get any better than relay races for excitement. And no meet has hosted more great stick races than the Penn Relays. Director Dave Johnson points out that the 4-x-mile used to be the meet finale, and a thrilling 1912 race on a muddy track saw Cambridge beat Penn by three yards.

Though few could compare the races, the 1987 distance medley may have been even better. Arkansas held the world best of 9:22.6 from the previous year, and had a tougher foursome this time around. Still, the Hogs were only in fourth at the first hand-off, as Mount St. Mary's Charles Cheruiyot led in 2:50.9 for the 1200 leg.

Then Arkansas' Roddie Haley got the stick. The autotimer caught him in 44.41 for the blazing lap in which he ran down Indiana, Villanova, and Mount St. Mary's. Lorenzo Brown took over for the 800 leg, covering two laps in 1:46.9. Miles Irish of Georgetown chased him, and brought the Hoyas into the hunt with his 1:46.1.

Arkansas' Doug Consiglio started the 1,600 anchor leg with an eight-meter lead, but the Mount's Kip Cheruiyot sprinted to catch him on the first lap. Also joining the party were Gerry O'Reilly of Villanova and Georgetown's Mike Stahr. For two laps they stayed together, then Consiglio fell off the back.

On the final lap, Stahr pushed hard, but couldn't lose O'Reilly. The two strained to the finish line, with Stahr prevailing in 3:54.9 to O'Reilly's 3:55.3. Georgetown, with its All-America squad, won in 9:20.96, as the first three teams all broke the world best. Said Stahr, "I just focused on the finish line."

No. 14 -- Olympic Trials Women's 1,500, Los Angeles 1984: When Ruth Wysocki made the Olympic team in the 800 with a PR 1:59.34, that was a dream-come-true comeback for the former age group star. The 1,500 final, five days later, she ran with hopes of getting a personal record and maybe another team slot.

That's because Mary Decker ruled. The previous summer, she had won world titles in the 1,500 and 3,000. She hadn't been beaten by another American on the track in four years. She had already clocked a 3:59.19 in 1984, and so no one predicted a 4:13 runner like Wysocki would give her a problem.

Decker led from the start, but her pace was modest enough (2:11.5 at 800) that with 300 meters left, six rivals still followed closely. The one who struck first was Wysocki, who later said, "I expected Decker to blast off." Around the turn the two battled, with Decker gaining a slight lead by the time they reached the homestretch. Then Wysocki inexorably pounded ahead. She won by a stride in 4:00.18, becoming the second-fastest American ever, with Decker crossing a step later in 4:00.40.

Wysocki later told Track and Field News, "My reaction was, 'What have I done?' "

No. 13 -- Olympic Decathlon, Los Angeles 1984: In the years leading up to their Olympic confrontation, Daley Thompson had beaten Jurgen Hingsen four times straight, three of those being world records. That didn't mean that beating the German was easy, for Thompson or anybody else.

Hingsen came prepared to LA, but Thompson came hot. He got his best start ever, with a 10.44 dash, a 26-3.5 decathlon record in the long jump, and a personal-record shot. It wasn't until the high jump that Hingsen (6-11.5) started narrowing the points gap. In the 400, both went nuts, but Thompson went a lot more nuts. His 46.97 (to Hingsen's 47.69) gave him the best-ever first day, 4,633 points.

On day two, the discus proved critical. Hingsen threw 166-9, the best ever in the Olympics. Thompson was at only 135-4 after two throws. On his third, he went wild and whipped it out to 152-9, another personal record. Thompson led by 32 points.

With three events left, Hingsen had every chance to win. The pole vault, however, proved to be his downfall. A 16-foot performer, he barely cleared 14-9 and could go no higher. A sudden illness had him vomiting. Thompson, meanwhile, vaulted 16-4.75. It was all over, except for Thompson's world-record chase, which was looking like a sure bet.

Thompson nailed the javelin toss, and in the 1,500, had only to run 4:34.8 to break Hingsen's world record. No problem for him usually, but he ran out of steam. He ran 4:35.0 and missed the standard by a point. "There are other times to break the record," he said.

Quipped Hingsen, "Some day I'll beat him. Of course, I may be 80 by then." Ironically, new decathlon scoring tables were adopted the next season, and Thompson's Olympic performance was retroactively ratified as the world record at 8,847 points, under the new math 15 points better than Hingsen's old standard.

No. 12 -- Olympic Men's 200, Atlanta 1996: I have a hard time considering a blow-out a great competition. But when the guy who was blown out is Frank Fredericks, and he runs 19.68 for a half-lap, just two-hundredths slower than the world record set a few moments earlier, then I have to reconsider.

We all know now that Michael Johnson can sandbag with the best of them. "Conserve energy," however, is the term I should use to avoid flames. And he had plenty of reason to conserve, as he was in the midst of a difficult double, the 200 and 400. No man had ever won both in the Olympics, though two women had.

After winning his semi in an eased-up 20.27, Johnson didn't look quite like the man who had run a world-record 19.66 at the Olympic Trials. Then Fredericks, who had beaten Johnson a month earlier, blasted 19.98 in his semi. The buzz indicated Johnson might have a race on his hands.

In the final, Johnson got out well, while Fredericks lagged. Both ran hot on the turn. Johnson passed 100 in 10.12, Fredericks in 10.14. Then Johnson found a gear that the rest of humanity has only dreamed about. He tore away from Fredericks as if the Namibian were jogging. He flashed across the finish with a scream while Fredericks came in nearly five meters behind.

The time, 19.32, could last for decades as the world record. Fredericks, 19.68 in second, and Ato Boldon, 19.80 in third, were stunned. Said Boldon, "If someone had told me Michael would run 19.32, I wouldn't have shown up."

No. 11 -- Dream Mile, MLK Invitational, Philadelphia 1971: The anticipation of the match race between up-and-coming Marty Liquori and come-backing Jim Ryun captured the attention of the entire sports world. Wrote Bob Hersh in Track and Field News, "The build-up was probably the greatest for any single footrace since the historic 'Miracle Mile' at Vancouver in 1954."

With no pacesetter in the race, Ryun may have been favored on the cold, wet day. He could kick like no one else on earth, and he had run much faster than Villanova's Liquori (3:51.1 to 3:57.2). The race went out slowly, with both big names hitting the 440 in the middle of the pack, slower than 61 seconds. Ryun took over at halfway (2:03.3).

After the next turn, Liquori moved decisively. He passed the world record holder and led him through a lap in 56.7. The two rivals dug deeper for the last lap. Where many expected Ryun to sprint past in the last 200, Liquori tenaciously hung on and would not surrender the lead. At the finish, the challenger prevailed as both clocked 3:54.6.

Liquori downplayed his win over the legendary Ryun, saying, "It's early in the season." Said Ryun, "It was such a great race."

The Mailbag
Brady Wilson, on Carl Lewis: "Part of being a true hero, I think, is the ability to stand away from the masses who make excuses and scream about all that is imperfect in the world. I would love to remember Carl as the Cal Ripken of track and field, a gracious, fierce competitor who did what it took to win. With no whining. Apparently that won't happen."

Jesse Squire: "I could not disagree more with your assessment of Carl Lewis' comments. As far as the first cheap shot, that 'he has never failed to disappoint when faced with a microphone,' you of all people would be aware of his popularity abroad. The only nation that seemed disappointed with him was his own. He said what he felt, he was usually right, and he always got under the skin of the power structure."

MonteRose: "You are certainly correct in characterizing (Lewis) as self-serving and arrogant. He always bemoaned the state of the sport while simultaneously looking out for himself. But I would offer one small correction, perhaps just semantic. Neither the sport nor Primo made Carl Lewis wealthy; rather, his hard work and incredible talent ... made him wealthy. It's a shame such a magnificent body housed such a lout."

Robert Heise, on Prefontaine: "I think he definitely had more than a 'fat chance' to win (the 1976 Olympic 5,000), or at least to challenge Viren. The truth is Prefontaine deserved more credit than many gave him."

Bill Huntington: "Although a loyal Pre fan, I tend to agree with you about the 1976 5,000. Pre probably would not have won, but the race might have been run differently. However, I think Pre might have had a chance to beat Viren in the 10,000. Viren ran 27:38 to win in 1972. Pre ran 27:43 in 1974 basically solo, in only his second or third race at the distance. I think he was capable of a much faster time in the 10K. Whether he would have run it in 1976, we'll never know."

Lindy Remigino, on "Ranking the Century": "How nice of you to include the men's 1952 Olympic 100 meters (No. 31). In the final I led from start to finish, and leaned too soon, barely winning in 10.4. Herb McKenley did pass me after the finish, and my remarks were as you quoted. Herb, Harrison Dillard and Art Bragg and I have remained close friends."

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.