Another showdown in soccer?
The US women's soccer team could find itself in the same pressure-cooker as its male counterparts next month in Costa Rica -- playing an archrival in the semifinals of the regional qualifying tournament with an Olympic berth on the line.
The Americans and Canadians, heavy favorites to grab the two spots for Athens, are seeded so they won't meet before the finals. So, though, were the US and Mexico men's teams. But when the Mexicans tied Costa Rica and ended up second in their group on goal differential, the yanquis ended up playing the hosts last week before nearly 60,000 high-decibel fans in Guadalajara and losing, 4-0.
The American women, who've never lost to Mexico, Haiti, or Trinidad & Tobago, won't have any problem winning their group. But if the Canadians don't beat Costa Rica in their finale, they could meet the US in the semis, with the loser staying home.
Going nowhere
With the men's soccer squad failing to qualify (for the first time since 1976), the number of US teams sitting home from Athens is now up to five, including baseball, men's and women's team handball, and men's field hockey. On the bubble is the women's field hockey team, which plays in a last-chance qualifier next month in New Zealand. Everybody else -- men's and women's basketball, volleyball, water polo, and women's softball -- already have tickets in hand . . . Stunning downfall for International Olympic Committee vice president Kim Un Yong, who's sitting in a South Korean jail after being accused of embezzling millions of dollars from taekwondo organizations and taking Olympic-related bribes. The 72-year-old Kim, who was "severely" warned by his fellow Lords of the Rings for his role in the Salt Lake bidding scandal, now has been stripped of all his IOC duties by the executive board pending investigations. Kim has been a powerful behind-the-scenes player for years, using his clout with Third World members. It was Kim who rounded up the votes that nearly landed long shot Pyeongchang the 2010 Winter Games on the first ballot of last summer's vote. Kim's arrest and the recent shakeup of the US Taekwondo Union were overdue steps towards cleaning up what has long been regarded as one of the most corrupt sports on the program. The American federation, which has been an organizational and financial mess for years, was on the verge of being decertified by the US Olympic Committee, until its officers recently agreed to step down and let the USOC run things . . . Look for the IOC to lift its ban on Iraq's participation in the Games when the executive board meets at the end of the month. Now that the Ba'athist regime has been overthrown, former Olympic chief Uday Hussein (Saddam's brutal son) is dead, and a new national committee is in place, there's no reason to continue the suspension that was imposed last spring. The IOC also will organize training camps for the Iraqi athletes most likely to compete this summer; the wrestlers will be training at the USOC complex in Colorado Springs . . . If you missed getting Olympic tickets in the first go-rounds for hot events such as the opening ceremonies, men's gold-medal basketball game, and track-and-field finals, you can order them at www.athens2004.com/tickets. The new tickets became available as the venues neared completion and seating dimensions were fine-tuned.
Running debate
Even though Alan Culpepper (2:11:42), Meb Keflezighi (2:11:47), and Dan Browne (2:12:02) made the Olympic men's marathon team at the recent US trials in Birmingham, it's possible that all will opt for the 10,000 on the track instead. Unlike last time, there are ample backups who've all made the recently lowered Olympic standard, including Trent Briney, Clint Verran, and Eddy Hellebuyck. The question now is whether the top female runners will stick to the road if they qualify at the April trials in St. Louis. Odds are that Marla Runyan will not even enter the marathon, leaving it to Deena (Drossin) Kastor and Colleen De Reuck . . . The indoor track season, which began in Boston last month with the Adidas Games, returns to the Reggie Lewis Center Feb. 27-29 for the US championships. More than 800 athletes will be on hand, with the top two in each event making the team for the world meet in Budapest early next month . . . That was no misprint. France's Brian Joubert beat Russian world champion Evgeny Plushenko for the European figure skating title. Though Joubert, the first French men's victor since Alain Calmat in 1964, did land two quadruple jumps, Plushenko's implosion was the story: He fell on one triple axel, singled another, fell on a triple flip, and doubled a triple salchow. Plushenko, who was beaten by Canada's Emanuel Sandhu in the Grand Prix final, has been competing with torn knee cartilage that he plans to have surgically repaired after the season. With Plushenko skating on one leg, next month's world championships in Germany now appear up for grabs. With Irina Slutskaya still sidelined while recovering from myriad illnesses and Elena Sokolova off form, the Russian women are off the screen. Hungary's Julia Sebestyen, who was 14th in the world last year, won the European women's title. That's encouraging news for Michelle Kwan, who'll only have to beat the Japanese to claim her sixth global crown . . . Astounding performance by US speedskaters Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis, who finished an unprecedented 1-2 at the recent world all-around championships in Norway, ending nearly a decade of Dutch domination in men's skating. Equally impressive is that neither is a natural long-tracker. Hedrick, who hails from Magnolia, Texas, is a converted in-liner who has been on the ice for only two years. Davis, an African-American from Chicago, was on the Olympic short-track team two years ago. Hedrick's victory, which came with a world points record, was the first by an American since Pembroke's Eric Flaim in 1988, also the last time there were two US men's medals. The Netherlands got a consolation prize in the women's event, where Renate Groenewald became the first Dutch victor in 30 years after Germany's Anni Friesinger pulled out sick.
Native tongues
Besides its terrific action sequences, "Miracle," the new movie on the 1980 Olympic ice hockey team, makes Hollywood history: It nails the Boston accent. Using area actors such as Patrick O'Brien Demsey (Mike Eruzione) and Michael Mantenuto (a dead-on Jack O'Callahan) was the secret. So how come coach Herb Brooks (played superbly by Kurt Russell), a native Minnesotan, sounds like he's channeling Dan Aykroyd, eh? . . . With forward Sheryl Swoopes and guard Sue Bird on board, the US Olympic women's basketball team has filled nine of its 12 roster spots. The other three likely will come from among centers Cheryl Ford and Ruth Riley, forward Swin Cash, and guard Nikki Teasley. The Americans, who'll convene for camp this week in Jacksonville, got a terrific draw for Athens, facing no Sydney medalists and only one continental champion (China). They'll open with New Zealand, then face the Czech Republic, South Korea, Spain, and the Chinese. Top four advance to the quarterfinals . . . From Olympus to the jailhouse. That's the fate of US synchronized swimmer Tammy Crow, who was sentenced to 90 days after pleading no-contest to vehicular manslaughter. The SUV she was driving last winter slammed into two trees and killed her boyfriend and a 12-year-old boy. "I would do anything to get that day back," says Crow, whose sentence was deferred until after she competes in Athens . . . Who took the brunt of the fall for the Chinese table tennis team's recent romantic brouhaha? The women, who were sent home to "carry out deep reflection" after a spate of intramural affairs caused a training-camp distraction. Though three couples were involved, only one -- Hou Yingchao and girlfriend Li Nan -- was booted out together. Men's doubles partners Ma Lin and Wang Hao were allowed to stay, but not girlfriends Bai Yang and Fan Ying. The difference? Ma and Wang will be medal contenders in Athens.
Material from personal interviews, wire services, and other beat writers was used in this report.
