It was one of those moments where sports can have an impact beyond the field. Such was the case with
Cathy Freeman, who became the Aborigine to win an Olympic gold as she blazed to a win in the 400 meters. Freeman has been an outspoken supporter of the rights of native people in Australia, who have suffered great discrimination that the country only recently has been acknowledging.
``She's brought the people of Australia together as one group,'' said Bruce Barber, Freeman's stepfather. ``Whether it is Anglo-Saxon, Asian or whatever, she's admired by so many people.''
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
BRUCE COSLET
Bruce Coslet, maybe the most hapless NFL head coach to ever keep his job for four seasons, is gone after being outscored a whopping 74-7 in his Cincinnati Bengals' first three games. Coslet has never had a winning record in 8 1/4 seasons as head coach, and is 7-28 in his last 35 games. He officially "resigned" -but even the cheap Brown family, who owns the team, must have seen better than to keep this guy - "resigned, but with coaxing," no doubt.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
GAY OLYMPIANS
Gay Olympic athletes hide their sexual orientation for fear it could affect their chances to compete or attract sponsorship, a Sydney 2002 Gay Games official said Sunday.
Garrie Gibson estimated there are more than 1,000 gay men and lesbian athletes competing at the Sydney Olympics.
''For the vast majority of them, their sexuality is something that they have had to hide, to keep hidden because they did not want their sexuality to be an issue in competing in sports,'' he said.
''(They) don't come out about their sexuality because of the fact that it can have an impact on their opportunities to compete or on their opportunities to attract sponsorship.'' ...
Gibson said there had been many inquiries in the past week about the Gay Games in 2002 and was confident they will attract ''quite a few'' elite athletes. Among the 31 official sports are a number unique to the Gay Games, including power lifting and physique.
''There's a lot of sports at our event which are mainstream but there are a couple that are very much targeted at the gay and lesbian community and physique is one of them,'' Gibson said.
Our comment: Gibson's remarks are very in line with what we know about the fear of athletes to come out. But the estimate of more than 1,000 in Sydney seems like nothing more than taking the number of competitors and dividing by 10 (the classic 10% figure). No one really knows. The fact that AP is even discussing the topic is another small sign that the ``gays in sports'' angle is one the media is at least considering.
It is odd, however, that AP did not mention the six openly gay Olympians: diver David Pichler (USA); tennis player Amelie Mauresmo (France); tennis player Conchita Martinez (France); discus thrower Lisa-Marie Vizaniari (Australia); and legally married (in Denmark) handball players Mia Hundvin (Norway) and Camilla Andersen (Denmark).
OLYMPICS: THE
UNBEATABLE IS BEATEN
Rulon Gardner
winning the gold in the superheavyweight final of Greco-Roman wrestling was one of the most amazing upsets in Olympics, or sports, history. Consider:
His opponent, Alexander Karelin, had NEVER lost in international competition.
Karelin had won three straight Olympic golds.
Karelin had not given up A POINT! in 10 years.
The last time they met, Karelin lifted up the 286-pound Gardner THREE TIMES and dropped him on his head.
Gardner had never won as much as a state wrestling title.
But there was Gardner, a farm boy from Wyoming who was called ‘‘fatso’’ as a kid, beating Karelin, 1-0, in overtime. Sensing defeat, the Russian essentially gave up with four seconds left. Gardner did a somersault after the win (Richter reading: 7.0) and couldn’t believe what he had done. Incredibly modest, he still insists Karelin is the greatest G-R wrestler of all-time. That may be, but Rulan Gardner’s feat must go up there with the ‘‘Miracle on Ice’’ and the Jets beating the Colts in Super Bowl III.
NFL
Keyshawn just couldn't walk the walk.
Keyshawn Johnson of Tampa Bay spent all week woofin' about the Jets, the team that traded him earlier this year. We gave Keyshawn a ``Top'' because we thought he was pretty funny and had game. But now we're not so sure.
It's not that Key's Bucs were stunned, 21-17, by the Jets, who scored two TDs in the final two minutes.
It's not that the winning pass was caught by Wayne Chrebet, who Johnson derided as a flashlight
next to his always-bright star. It's not that Keyshawn was pretty much useless, catching 1 pass for 1! yard.
No, what cost Keyshawn respect in our minds was the fact he wasn't talking after the game. He waved off cameras as he huddled with his posse. Hey, Key, be a man and admit it: You lost.
Jet coach Al Groh, another guy Keyshawn ripped all week, had a great line after, when he said the win goes to show what happens when 46 flashlights work together.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
These 'Cocks just can't be beat.
It's hard to believe this team was 0-fer last year. But, in Lou Holtz's second year as the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, they have pulled off another win, this time a 23-19 upset over Mississippi State, to post the first 4-0 start for the school in twelve years.
While a lot of people aren't aware that South Carolina even has an athletic program, they are maybe most famous for the line of hats that read, in big letters, COCKS, and "University of South Carolina" under it. Not shocking that you're most likely to see these hats in Chelsea or a college fraternity house.
BASEBALL
In one of the oddest years in baseball, three teams who weren't even in the playoffs have clinched
division crowns. The shocking performances of the season have come from the AL Central Champion Chicago White Sox and the NL West Champion San Francisco Giants, both of whom were picked by most to finish much closer to last than first. The St. Louis Cardinals, even with Mark McGwire sitting on the bench most of August and September, have clinched the NL Central.
Of course, you also have the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees repeating as division champs. What a shame it would be if, after all of the fun of the 2000 season, it was these same old two teams in the World Series.
And then you have the AL West, being pulled back and forth between the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland A's. This one will come down to the wire, after the A's took three of four last week in Seattle.