This Event’s Answer Is Blowing in the Wind

There seems to be some hot air emitting from Athens, site of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

High winds sank four boats on the first day of a rowing test event recently at a new Olympic facility. Dennis Oswald, chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s coordination committee, tried his best to put a positive spin on things.

“I can say that all the tests were brilliantly passed by the Athens organizing committee, except the wind,” he was quoted as saying in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Australian rowing team member Daniel Rollinson saw things a little differently: “The person who designed this course should be strangled.”

Bruce Arthur of Canada’s National Post says of Oswald’s glowing report: “The fact that 62 members of the German rowing team came down with salmonella [likely at a nearby hotel] must have slipped his mind.”

Trivia time: Who was the youngest tennis player, male or female, to win a U.S. Open singles match? Hint: It wasn’t Tracy Austin or Michael Chang.

He’s everywhere: Real Madrid’s David Beckham is set to star in a worldwide Disney cartoon as a Superman-type character, according to the London Sun. The 26-episode cartoon series, to be called “All-Star Striker,” could be shown in as many as 150 countries.

New type of disability: “Fantasy leaguers beware,” writes Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. “The Giants are considering placing psycho tight end Jeremy Shockey on the physically-unable-to-shut-up list.”

Cap caper: Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune reports that Tampa Bay Manager Lou Piniella, after a recent tirade in which he threw his cap twice and kicked it five times, said, “The hat was just laying there. It was begging for it.”

Double trouble: Michael Ventre of MSNBC.com on Randall Simon, the sausage-whacking Pirate who was traded to the Chicago Cubs: “Imagine the trouble he could get himself into if he mistakenly smacks a racing sausage with one of Sammy Sosa’s batting practice bats.”

Ouch: Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, on offensive tackle Larry Allen’s performance in the Cowboys’ exhibition opener: “It was the first no-hitter of the season.”

Ice try: “Bud Selig is considering letting Pete Rose back into baseball, but reaction around the game is mixed,” comedian Alan Ray told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Current players favor it. Ted Williams was reportedly cool on the idea.”

Driven to excess: Is Mom’s taxi bad for kids’ health? A study indicates American youngsters walk less than those in other countries. Researchers say this helps explain why a greater proportion of American kids are overweight.

Trivia answer: Mary Joe Fernandez. She was 14 years 8 days old when she beat Sara Gomer on Aug. 27, 1985.

And finally: Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, noting that TV networks have it written into contracts that they can get walk-off interviews from players and coaches at halftime of basketball and football games, wrote, “Just wondering if the NBA has a similar deal with Court TV.”

-- Larry Stewart