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Outsports Clubhouse: Membership For Gay Sports Fans And Athletes
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Meet These Cool Parents; Hoop Dreams
 TODAY?S NEWS AND NOTES
By Jim Buzinski
Outsports.com
Andrew Harper is lucky to have parents as special as his mom Jan and dad Ken.
Not only did his parents fly to Sydney from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to root Andrew on in his water polo and swimming events, they further showed their support by registering as tennis players.
?It?s a great event to be a part of,? said Jan as she watched Ken compete in the singles semifinals of his age bracket.
Lest anyone think the Harpers don?t have a competitive streak, Jan let on that ?I was a little disappointed I got shut out in my first match. But on the other hand, now I could relax and enjoy everything else.?
The Harpers belong to the Unitarian Church, which is very inclusive. Being supportive was second nature to them. The church made a special effort a few years ago to be welcoming of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered.
Jan Harper was most impressed by the colorful Opening Ceremonies and how supportive athletes have been of each other during the week. The Harpers marched with Team San Francisco (which Andrew, photo left, is a part of), because they did not know there was a Team New Mexico until too late.
Ken works as a dermatologist while Jan co-owns a business that does background checks (her Web site is erscheck.com). Andrew, 24, is moving to Denver from San Francisco to further his education. A daughter in medical school could not make the trip to Sydney because she was taking her medical boards.
The idea for parents and son to compete was Andrew?s and was heartily endorsed by Gay Games officials. Between games of his semifinal match, on a court where the temperature was close to 100, Ken paused when told how special it was for he and his wife to compete. ?Andrew?s the special one,? he said proudly. (For photos of the Harpers see the day in pictures)
Hoop Dreams: The men?s and women?s basketball finals are perhaps the premier team event of each Games. It?s winner-take-all, with no novice or other divisions. The competition is intense, especially on the men?s side.
The Los Angeles Heat, behind Scott Fowler?s 15 points, pulled away from the Long Beach Rebels to post a 51-35 win in the men?s gold medal match.
The Rebels jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but were worn down by the Heat, which rallied to take a six-point halftime lead and never look back.
The final was raggedly played, with a lot of missed shots and turnovers. It was not surprising since this was each team?s 12th game this week. Both were also drained by tense semifinals earlier in the day, with the Heat beating the defending champion San Francisco Rock Dogs, 59-58, and the Rebels upsetting United American Ballers, 48-47. It would be a good idea to have the final on a separate day or later at night.
On the women?s side, Los Angeles-based Old School was dominating, posting a 59-43 gold medal win over Fatal Attraction. The winners were paced by Valerie Agee?s 20 points and 13 by Brenda Pantoja. Old School went 10-0 for the week, and Pantoja led all tournament scorers. (See basketball finals photos on the day in pictures.)
On a roll: It was a great week of basketball for Wanda Szeremeta. She won the gold medal as a player for the Old School women. She also coached the Long Beach Rebels men to an impressive silver medal showing. Fiery and intense, Szeremeta was obviously proud despite the Rebels falling short of the title. She also had success of another type, winning $80 on the Melbourne Cup horse race earlier in the week.
Records: How good was the swimming competition this week? There were 83 Gay Games records set by men and 78 by women. Swimmers called the pool at the Olympic Park complex the fastest they?ve been in.
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