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Aug. 22, 2001
KORDELL STEWART AND THE GAY RUMORS
 We'll say up front: We have no idea if Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback
Kordell Stewart is gay. And we have no intention of outing him if he did find out. But rumors about his sexual orientation have been rampant among Steeler fans for more than two years. We've heard it discussed on sports talk radio (the Jim Rome show for one) and there was a mention in Sports
Illustrated. Type ``Kordell Stewart gay'' on Google and you'll find ample chat room discussions.
True or not, at least one of Stewart's teammates says he sees a more comfortable Kordell this year.
``I see a different quarterback, in the sense of his relationship with the players,'' star running back Jerome Bettis told the Associated Press this week. ``He's a lot closer than he has been. For a while, he was defensive, he kind of kept his guard up. He's been more of a locker room guy this year. I think that's good, because it makes him a better football player in the long run.''
Stewart has been unusually circumspect when asked about being gay, not denying it but simply saying he won't discuss his private life. He gave these rather
interesting comments to KDKA radio two years ago, when the rumors reached their frenzy in the midst of his having an awful season:
``I was a guy who stood up in front of the team and just said, basically, this is what's going on,'' Stewart said in Dec. 1999. ``A rumor is a rumor, you look it up in the dictionary it will tell you exactly what it means. I'm Kordell Stewart, the guy who worked with you guys and ... has made some great plays around this place. And I don't want any fan or any knucklehead outside of this organization make you feel any differently about me as a player.
`The rumors can be real nasty sometimes, believe me. When you're out there on the field and you hear some of the things that are said, it can be real nasty. ... It can cause you to be bitter.''
There was no doubt that Stewart's on-field performance was terrible in late 1998 and '99 following a sensational '97 season that saw the former Colorado star take the Steelers to within three points of the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh fans can be fanatically loyal, but also turn on a non-performer with venom.
He rebounded late in 2000 and led the Steelers to four wins in their last five games. Bettis thinks the success will continue.
``There were a lot of crazy things that were going on then, swirling about him, and it has a tendency to make you withdraw because you don't know where they're going from,'' Bettis said. ``It was a simple case of pulling back to see where this craziness was coming from.''
Whatever the case, count us as Kordell fans. If he's not gay, it's cool that he saw no need to made loud disavowals, which would feed the idea that it's one of the worst things you can say about a man. If he is gay, but not yet ready to go public, his ``it's my private life'' answer is understandable. Either way, if Bettis is an indication, his teammates don't care with whom Stewart performs with off the field, as long as he succeeds on it. We call this progress.
2001 GAY WORLD SERIES
Here are the results in the various divisions of the 2001 Gay World Series, held last week in the Bay Area:
OPEN A DIVISION
Finals score: LA Straycats 14, San Francisco Seals 11.
Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Seals had pulled within 9-8. In the bottom of the sixth, the Seals' third baseman committed an error that allowed a Straycats' rally to run the score up to 14-8. At the top of the seventh with two outs, the Seals mounted a rally of their own, scoring three runs. But that's as close as they'd get.
OPEN B DIVISION
Finals score: LA Destroyers 11, San Diego Rich's 5
San Diego Rich's came out of the losers bracket and beat the Destroyers in the first finals game, 10-8.
OPEN C DIVISION
Finals score: Ft. Lauderdale Stingrays 13, Dallas Poison 7
WOMEN'S COMPETITIVE DIVISION
Finals score: Long Beach Yes I Am 13, Twin Cities Rebels 12
WOMEN'S ALTERNATIVE DIVISION
Finals score: Ft. Lauderdale Just For Kicks 11, San Diego Womenmoto.com 7
After the game, both teams were asked to stay at the field. A team previously eliminated had challenged the Ft. Lauderdale team's validity in the alternative division because they had a professional softball player on their team. Because the women's rules don't address professional players, the challenge was declined. In the open division, a professional player must play in the highest level--the A Division.
NOT ONLY THE BALL IS WHITE
A group in Arizona has announced plans to build a men-only golf course. PGA Tour player Fred Couples has been hired to help design the course. Brian Curley, a partner in the design firm, told ESPN, "we are creating a men-only pure golf experience that caters to a certain segment of golfers." Ten bucks says the 400-500 members happen to be all straight and white, too.
BASEBALL
Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux became the first pitcher since 1983 to record 200 hits in his career. With two hits against the San Diego Padres Wednesday night, he recorded his 200th and 201st. The Braves won the game, 6-3, and Maddux got his 17th win of the season.
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