Our USA results in fiscal 2000 probably look like a good training run to Candice Baucham. Nothing special, just another day at the track, as it were.    On the surface, it looks like we did nothing more than get our miles in, as USA revenues were basically flat year-over-year. But even seemingly boring training runs can feel good sometimes. More importantly, they can also prepare you to do better in your next race.    There were quite a few encouraging signs for us in the USA over the past 12 months. Footwear revenues increased for the first time since fiscal 1997. Not much to brag about for a growth company, but the sales gain was achieved in a retail environment that saw significant square footage consolidation. The explosive store growth among athletic footwear retailers that helped drive industry growth through much of the '90s slowed abruptly over the past 12 months.     While our USA footwear revenues grew only three percent in fiscal 2000, it was accomplished in a manner that helped stabilize a sometimes volatile retail marketplace. Our growth was driven by compelling product—Tuned Air, Presto, Air Kukini, Jordan XV. That felt good. Our mission is to make compelling product that excites consumers. At the end of the day, that's where Nike lives. We certainly got back on that track in fiscal 2000 and we're feeling good about what's in the product pipeline. Working at a sports and fitness company, it's not often we get to paraphrase Francis Albert Sinatra. But it sure feels like we picked ourselves up and got back in the race this past year.    While sales from outside the USA will be our key revenue driver over the coming years, it is critical we capture the opportunities for growth in the USA, our largest market. We will continue to seek the bulk of our regional growth in businesses such as Women's, Golf and ACG, where we remain under penetrated. We believe we can also grow our core franchises by developing innovative product.    Our USA apparel business saw revenues decrease 11 percent in fiscal 2000. Not good. Even though our USA apparel business is less than a third the size of our USA footwear business, the ship has proven more difficult to turn around. We are still in the process of becoming a good apparel company in the USA. We made strides toward that end in the past year. At year-end, our futures orders for USA apparel were modestly positive. Progress.    When we got into the equipment business a few years back, people wondered how we would be able to bring innovation to such a staid market. Watch that kid from Stanford spin our golf ball onto the 7th green at Pebble Beach. Look at that runner in Central Park check her splits wearing our Triax watch. Keep an eye and ear out for our Tech Lab product that will hit the market in the next 12 months.    Through all the trials of the past few years in the USA, one constant remains. For consumers, Nike stands for something. In a world where "brands" can come and go faster than a teen pop star can boast "I've got the top-selling CD this week," consumers choose our products because they have come to stand for authenticity. If that's good enough for Candice Baucham, we feel pretty good about the future.