When I ran track in high school in the 1970's, one of my heroes was Jim Ryun, who set the world mile record of 3:51.1 in 1967 and held the record until 1975. But then Ryun became a rightwing Kansas Republican and gained fame for speaking in tongues.

Now Ryun is running again - but now he's running away from investigative bloggers at TPMMuckraker.com. That's because TPM is on the scent of a sweetheart deal between Ryun and the U.S. Family Network (USFN), a sham nonprofit controlled by former DeLay Chief of Staff Ed Buckham and funded by Jack Abramoff's lobbying clients.

Just How Sweet Was Ryun's Townhouse Deal?
By Paul Kiel

USFN bought the house in January of 1999 for $429,000. Almost two years later, they sold it to Ryun for $410,000...

Don Boucher, an appraiser who focuses on residential properties in the D.C. area, said that the property should have appreciated "about 15% or more" during that time period, meaning that it would have sold around $500,000.

Another appraiser, who preferred to remain anonymous because he often works with members of Congress, said that the townhouse should have appreciated "by $100,000 at least." He said the low sale price "wouldn't make sense at all unless there was a fire and the place was gutted." He added, "It looks like they gave it away."

Of course we know that Vietnam ace Duke Cunningham's bribery conviction began with a similar sweetheart real estate deal.

The heroes of the 1970's are ending their careers as jailbirds.

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you.