RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – USA Track and Field’s Board of Directors has voted to sack Chief Executive Officer Doug Logan, ending his embattled two years in charge of the governing body, USATF said Monday.

The board made their decision at a meeting in Las Vegas at the weekend, USATF said in a statement.

“We sincerely thank Doug for his efforts and his passionate focus on our sport,” USATF president Stephanie Hightower said in a statement.

“After undertaking a performance evaluation over the course of the past few months, our board has decided it is in our best interests to engage different leadership to move the sport forward.”

Logan, whose contract ran through 2013, told Reuters in a telephone interview from Indianapolis, “I am deeply disappointed to be leaving USATF.”

“I am proud of the record I and my staff have achieved in the course of the two-plus years,” he said.

The outspoken former Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner had drawn fire for his on-hands leadership and desire for change since becoming the USATF CEO in July 2008.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – Embattled U.S. athletics chief Doug Logan is still awaiting word on his future with USA Track and Field (USATF) and told Reuters on Sunday he had “not a clue” when the agonizing uncertainty would end.

“I have no idea,” Logan said in a phone call from Indianapolis. “I met with them for an hour (on Saturday).

“I was able to speak my sentiments. There were a few questions and then they went to dinner,” the former Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner added.

Logan, USATF’s CEO since July 2008, has drawn fire for his hands-on leadership and desire for change, and the governing body’s board of directors met in executive session in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday to discuss whether to retain him.

His contract runs through 2013.

The board meeting continued on Sunday without Logan who has received strong backing from nine times Olympic champion Carl Lewis for his work.

“I have not a clue when they will make a decision,” Logan said.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – Chief executive Doug Logan’s future with USA Track & Field (USATF) will be on the line when the governing body’s board meets in Las Vegas this weekend.

“I think that is the sole topic,” Logan told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Logan, USATF’s CEO since July 2008, has received mixed reviews for his first two years.

His hands-on style and desire for change have drawn both praise and criticism. Concerns over the need for increased financial sponsorships also have been expressed.

But nine-times Olympic champion Carl Lewis said Logan was the person to move the sport forward in the United States.

“He brings credibility, knowledge and expertise,” Lewis told Reuters. “He understands the future and has a vision.

“They (USATF) were lucky he fell in their hands,” added Lewis, who was in Washington on Wednesday doing promotional work for his website (www.FitForever.com) and the October 23 Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge for runners, walkers and cyclists.

, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Hurricane Earl battered North Carolina’s coast with rain, winds and waves on Friday and swirled up the U.S. eastern seaboard toward New England and Canada as a weakened but still dangerous storm.

The impact of the Category 2 storm appeared to be less than originally expected as Earl churned north parallel to the U.S. Atlantic coast hours after it was downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane.

Surging waves pounded North Carolina’s Outer Banks low-lying barrier islands, the most exposed areas to Earl.

Local emergency officials said no casualties or major structural damage had been reported so far. At least one coastal road was cut by waves washing over it.

“Certainly conditions are not as severe as they could have been,” said Sandy Sanderson, the director of emergency services in Dare County.

At 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT), Earl was packing top sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (165 kph) and its center was passing east of the Outer Banks islands that jut into the Atlantic, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Earl’s core was located about 85 miles (140 km) south southeast of Cape Hatteras, and about 515 miles (830 km) south southwest of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) – Hurricane Earl began to strafe North Carolina’s barrier islands with dangerous surf and winds on Thursday as it spun parallel to the U.S. East Coast on a northward trek toward New England and Canada.

Earl was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity and had top sustained winds of 110 mph after weakening on Thursday from its Category 4 peak, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Additional weakening was expected but Earl was still a large and strong hurricane, the forecasters said.

As oil refineries, exploration and drilling platforms, and nuclear power plants along the Atlantic seaboard monitored Earl’s path, EnCana Corp said it suspended drilling and pulled personnel from a Nova Scotia rig in Canada.

Exxon Mobil said it had pulled nonessential staff from its Sable field in offshore Nova Scotia.

At least 100,000 people were ordered to evacuate from North Carolina’s Outer Banks islands as Earl bore down on the Atlantic shore. It was about 160 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras at 8 p.m. EDT.

It was due to pass near the Outer Banks overnight, making its closest approach near Cape Hatteras around 2 a.m. EDT on Friday, before turning gradually northeast to sweep up the East Coast on Friday and into Canada on Saturday.

HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) – As Hurricane Earl threatened the North Carolina coast, Kathleen O’Neal was preparing to ride out the storm with her husband, their two dogs, three cats and two dozen beloved bantam chickens.

They refused to join the thousands of people fleeing this island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, which jut into the Atlantic, and were hunkering down at home instead.

O’Neal said she couldn’t leave behind her pets, especially the chickens raised in a coop behind her house. “I am too attached to them to turn them loose,” she said.

She was among a small group of residents of the Outer Banks who ignored mandatory orders to evacuate as Hurricane Earl barreled toward the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard.

Earl was expected to unleash powerful winds and pounding surf as it passes the North Carolina coast early Friday. Forecasters said they did not expect its core to come ashore and predicted it would move parallel to the U.S. East Coast.

O’Neal spoke by telephone from Ocracoke Island, a barrier island of nearly 800 residents accessible only by ferry or private plane on the Outer Banks.

Ferries leading to the islands stopped running earlier on Thursday.

, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Powerful Hurricane Earl bore down on the U.S. East Coast on Thursday on a path toward North Carolina’s barrier islands, which it was expected to lash with dangerous winds and pounding surf.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the massive Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity had strengthened with its top sustained winds reaching 145 mph (230 kph).

The center of Earl, which was located about 355 miles (575 km) south of Cape Hatteras at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), was expected to pass near North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday night before turning gradually toward the north-northeast as it tracked up the East Coast on Friday.

While a direct U.S. landfall was not forecast, Earl was on track to deliver a sidelong blow to the North Carolina coast ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend marking the end of the summer vacation season.

“Folks should not focus on the exact track because this is a very large hurricane,” said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist with the Miami-based hurricane center.

“Hurricane force winds extend out 90 miles (145 km) from the center,” Cobb said. “So even if it doesn’t make either a direct landfall, or even come within 60 miles (96 km) of the Outer Banks, they’re still going to get hurricane force winds just because of the sheer size of the storm.”

Large swells roiled the coastline, and experts warned Earl would bring dangerously high seas.

, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Hurricane Earl gained more punch on Thursday as the large storm churned up the Atlantic threatening the U.S. East Coast with dangerous winds and large swells and forcing evacuations in North Carolina.

The National Hurricane Center said Earl, a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, had strengthened with its top sustained winds reaching 145 mph (230 kph).

The winds are expected to reach the North Carolina barrier islands by Thursday afternoon and gain force during the night, though the hurricane is then expected to start weakening, the NHC said.

While a direct U.S. landfall was not forecast, Earl was on track to deliver a sidelong blow to the North Carolina coast ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend marking the end of the summer vacation season.

The hurricane’s center is seen passing within 100 miles (160 km) of the state’s Outer Banks barrier islands late on Thursday or early on Friday. The islands jut out into the Atlantic and are frequently smacked by hurricanes and storms.

Earl was a large storm with hurricane-force winds extending 90 miles (150 km) from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending out 230 miles (370 km). At 5 a.m. (0900 GMT), it was moving northwest through the Atlantic about 410 miles (660 km) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Watches and warnings were posted along the Atlantic coast for most of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts, alerting residents that hurricane and tropical storm conditions were possible within 36 to 48 hours.

, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Hurricane Earl strengthened on Wednesday, churning up dangerous swells, forcing evacuations on some of North Carolina’s barrier islands and prompting storm alerts along much of the U.S. East Coast.

Watches and warnings were posted along the Atlantic coast for most of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts, alerting residents that hurricane and tropical storm conditions were possible within 36 to 48 hours.

Earl had sustained winds of 135 mph (215 kph) as it barreled across the Atlantic, making it a powerful and dangerous Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

While a direct U.S. landfall was not forecast, Earl was on track to deliver a sidelong blow to the North Carolina coast ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend marking the end of the summer vacation season.

The hurricane’s center is seen passing within 100 miles (160 km) of the state’s Outer Banks barrier islands late on Thursday or early on Friday. The islands jut out into the Atlantic and are frequently smacked by hurricanes and storms.

Forecasters said a low-pressure trough moving out of the southwest over the United States would push Earl to the northeast on Thursday, keeping it off the U.S. Coast. But they warned that any westward deviation from the forecast track could bring the core of the storm over the coast.

“If the turns occur a little bit later than we’re forecasting it could bring more of a threat at that time to extreme eastern Long Island or southeastern New England,” said Hurricane Center Director Bill Read.

HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) – Visitors and some residents evacuated from low-lying vacation islands off the North Carolina coast on Wednesday as Hurricane Earl bore down on the U.S. eastern seaboard, churning up dangerous swells.

Earl, still a major Category 3 hurricane, weakened slightly overnight but was on a track that could approach the North Carolina coast by Friday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Packing top sustained winds of 125 mph, Earl was churning over the open Atlantic. The hurricane was expected to sideswipe the densely populated coast from North Carolina to New England on a forecast northward offshore path during the upcoming U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend marking the end of the summer vacation season.

This was expected to bring driving rain, high winds and pounding surf, but forecasters so far have not predicted a direct hit on the U.S. East Coast.

North Carolina’s Dare County ordered the mandatory evacuation of all visitors from Hatteras Island, a popular picturesque vacation spot that draws large numbers of tourists each year. Officials said high waves striking the island could wash over the costal highway, impeding safe travel.

Vacationers and residents were also being evacuated from Ocracoke Island, also on North Carolina’s Outer Banks that jut into the Atlantic Ocean.

At 8 a.m. EST (1200 GMT), Earl was moving across the Atlantic well to the east of the Bahamas and was located about 780 miles south southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.