SUMMER GAMES SPOTLIGHT : BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS : IT’S ALL NO. 2 NOW

Magic Johnson has had plenty of important days. After Saturday, though, they all vie for second place.

“It was the most important day of my life,” Johnson said of marching in the opening ceremony. “I’ve never been in anything so meaningful before.”

As much as he enjoyed it, the other athletes seemed to enjoy him more.

Johnson slapped hands with a bare-chested Mongol, walking around the track in traditional dress. He signed autographs. Athletes were standing on each other’s shoulders to take pictures of him.

Why?

“So much has been written about the fact that I may not be here much longer,” Johnson said, “but I hope some it was out of respect for the way I’ve been playing.”

This a daily roundup of Olympic-related items from reporters in Barcelona from the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Baltimore Sun and Hartford Courant, all Times-Mirror newspapers.