In China, a uniform response to Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho, whose two goals against New Zealand on Sunday helped propel Brazil into the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic soccer tournament, caused a stir even among Chinese police when he and the rest of the Brazilian players arrived in Shenyang.
“Ronaldinho was surrounded by a multitude asking for autographs, shouting his name and taking photographs,” the Brazilian soccer federation said on its web- site.
“The biggest problem was that the police and security officials temporarily abandoned their jobs and joined in the autograph hunting.”
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Trivia time
Of the 12 left-handed hitters who have had at least three hits in a game against Randy Johnson, one was playing for the Dodgers. Can you name him?
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Water baby
If you think Tiger Woods started playing golf at an early age, consider the case of Irish sailor Tim Goodbody.
The 25-year-old from Delgany is a member of Ireland’s sailing team at the Beijing Olympics and is competing in the Finn class.
According to the Irish broadcast network RTE, Goodbody started sailing at the age of two months when his father took him out on the water strapped to a mast.
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Quarterback vote
The Miami Dolphins have picked up former New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who will more or less be a caretaker in the position until rookie Chad Henne is ready.
Taking note of that, Greg Cote of the Miami Herald said: “Chads haven’t gotten this much attention in South Florida since the 2000 presidential election.”
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Near the throne
Arne Ljungqvist is a former Swedish junior champion in the high jump, pole vault and javelin who represented Sweden as a high jumper at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Now a medical doctor, he has scaled the heights in the Olympic movement, rising to become an International Olympic Committee member, chairman of its medical commission and a key figure in the battle against drug cheats.
Back in Sweden, however, he also has a far more romantic-sounding title. He is Lord-in-Waiting to His Majesty the King of Sweden.
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Trivia answer
Shawn Green on May 10, 2000.
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And finally
Austrian Olympic swimmer Markus Rogan isn’t impressed by those high-tech swimsuits in which dozens of world records have been set this year.
“I tested it,” Rogan told the Associated Press. “I threw it in the pool and it didn’t move at all, so I’ll still have to swim.”
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Go beyond the scoreboard
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