Editor's note: For those
looking for the column ``How To Not Treat
Your Closeted Boyfriend,'' click
here
Updated:
July 4, 2001
TOP OF
THE WEEK PEYTON MANNING
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is a breath of fresh air in a sports world grown stale by the frequent rude behavior of above-it-all jocks. Manning was recently at a summer football camp in Denver and wowed the kids by staying all day and taking an active interest. Said Chad Meyer, 17, Northglenn (Colo.) High School's starting quarterback to the Denver Post: "We thought we were going to have a pro come in as a guest speaker, talk for about 15 minutes and then leave in a big Mercedes. It was cool that he hung out with us."
BOTTOM OF
THE WEEK BAD WEEK FOR SAMPRAS
Seven-time Wimbledon men's champion Pete Sampras was bounced in the round of 16 by 19-year-old Roger Federer. It capped a week at Wimbledon that saw a bit of tarnish smudge the Sampras legacy. Earlier, all the buzz was about Sampras' failed attempt at humor Saturday during his Wimbledon match. Sampras slipped as he was trying to return a serve and the ball ran up his shorts and lodged between his legs. The player then asked the school-aged ball boy to retrieve it, and the obviously uncomfortable boy shook his head no. "Well, I said it was all his," Sampras said after, smiling. "He can pick up the ball if he wants. He declined. I guess he didn't want to go up my shorts." Sampras said he was only joking, but it was in totally bad form. Especially when one considers that Sampras' ex-coach has been jailed for molesting adolescent boys.
HIGHLIGHTS OF
THE WEEK
THE WNBA ACTIVELY
COURTS LESBIANS
The Women's National Basketball Association is breaking ground by encouraging its team to market to lesbians, who make up a large percentage of their fan base.
"We've opened up a new audience," WNBA Commissioner Val Ackerman told Debbie Arrington of the
Sacramento
Bee. "At the large level, we're trying to target everybody. Our basic message is basketball is beautiful, no matter who you are."
Arrington, who covers the Monarchs for the Bee, reported that at least six teams have marketed to lesbians directly, either with events or advertising. On July 21, the Monarchs will host the "First Annual Gay Pride Event."
"We're pretty excited about it," said Sonja Brown, director of public relations for Maloof Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Monarchs and the NBA's Kings. "We've discussed it with a lot of groups. When people learn about it, they think it's a wonderful idea."
Other teams making overtures include the Los Angeles Sparks, the Minnesota Lynx, the Phoenix Mercury, the Seattle Storm and Miami Sol.
The moves, while applauded from an acceptance level, are based on simple economics: The WNBA estimates its audience is 75 percent female, with a large but undetermined amount of that being lesbians. In a crowded marketplace the league is being smart in targeting a niche.
"The WNBA is still a fairly young league," Brown told the Bee. "We're still trying to identify our fans and how they can get the most value and best experience at a Monarchs game."
How these efforts will sit with straight fans of the WNBA remains to be seen, though the Monarchs will give sensitivity training to its arena personnel prior to the July 21 event.
The Monarchs have gone out of their way to make sure the July 21 pride night goes off without a hitch, said said lesbian Kat Fox, who organized a Monarchs game party last summer for a group from the Davis Dykes, more than 400 e-mail friends and UC Davis alumni.
"It's like an Italian chef cooking a Mexican feast," Fox explained. "Straight people are putting on a gay event. They wanted to know things like what music should be played, what we eat - like we're ethnic. They were looking for ideas from us, but they didn't have a clue. We're just people."
TENNIS
Perhaps the biggest surprise at Wimbledon has been unranked Goran Ivanisevic. The Croat says he has three personalities-- "Crazy Goran, Good Goran and Emergency Goran." Tennis' Sybill took all three into the men's semifinals after beating Marat Safin. Ivanisevic became the first wild card to reach the semifinals. As has become his custom, Ivanisevic ripped off his shirt after the win. On the women's side, Jennifer Capriati's pursuit of a Grand Slam ended in the Finals with a loss to Justine
Henin.
BASEBALL
A small raspberry to Yankees manager Joe Torre, who will skipper the American League in the All-Star game. Torre picked seven Yankees to fill out the All-Star roster, one-fourth of the total team. It is one more player than the Seattle Mariners have and they've won 12 more games than New York. It's also six more players than Boston has, and they trail the Yanks by only a half-game. One can make a case for most of Torre's picks, but seven is too many.
Mike Hampton of the Colorado Rockies hit his sixth home run of the season on Sunday. Nothing unusual except Hampton is a pitcher, and he hadn't hit a home run before in his career. Hampton's six are the most by any pitcher since 1971.