It’s a non-Olympic year. It’s a non-World Championship year. So why should care about track and field this summer?

1. The Diamond League. The Golden League was a neat idea — anyone who wins his/her event in each of six or seven meets gets a share of a golden jackpot. But after a while, it focused too much attention on the most predictable events, those that one person dominates. The Diamond League uses a points system so that the most competitive events will be the most interesting in the final. They’re also no longer limiting the events to a select handful each year — every Olympic event other than the marathon, decathlon and heptathlon is included.

And it’s no longer a strictly Euro thing. The 14-meet circuit starts in Qatar, stops by China and …

2. The Prefontaine and adidas Grand Prix (NYC) are on the elite circuit.

3. Lolo Jones. Charity-minded, working to overcome Olympic disappointment, blew away the field in the World Indoors 60-meter hurdles.

4. Steven Hooker. Olympic pole vault champion won 2009 world title while only taking two jumps because of a groin injury, then set a meet record at World Indoors. Somehow gets that hair over the bar.

5. Shot put. Christian Cantwell beat Belarus’ Andrei Mikhnevich with his last throw at World Indoors. Competitive season ahead.

6. Women’s pole vault no longer a foregone conclusion. Yelena Isinbayeva was only fourth at World Indoors.

7. Best street race since Seinfeld. Tyson Gay and Sanya Richards-Ross are among those competing May 16 in the CityGames in Manchester, where they’ll have a track going through the streets.

8. Shin Splints, the blog by USA Track and Field CEO and former Major League Soccer commissioner Doug Logan. As you may read in an upcoming book, Logan is quite a storyteller.

9. Penn Relays/Drake Relays weekend. The first big meets of the U.S. season are April 22-24, and at the Penn Relays …

9.58. Usain Bolt is running.