It Uncovers a Year’s Worth of Controversy

A calendar featuring heptathlete Jane Flemming and other Australian women’s track and field stars is getting plenty of free advertising from some angry officials and politicians.

“I don’t think it’s an entirely satisfactory way of drawing attention to the very real skills and athletic prowess of our female athletes,” Australian Health Minister Carmen Lawrence said.

The “Golden Girls of Athletics” shows Flemming wearing only gold paint and strategically placed tresses of hair; walker Jane Saville in a bikini, and marathon runner Tani Ruckle in a leotard.

“It could turn away women who are good athletes but who do not have the looks or want to pose in calendars,” said Debbie Simms, manager of the Australian Sports Commission’s women’s sports unit.

Then there’s Tonya: Penthouse magazine has obtained a sexy home video of Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly--which may have been taken on their wedding night--and will publish explicit still photos from the tape in its 25th-anniversary edition in September.

Readers will see shots of the controversial figure skater as she strips off her wedding dress and cavorts on a water bed in a variety of activities with now ex-husband Gillooly.

Trivia time: How many Southern California teams have won the Little League World Series?

Drink up: Astrodome officials have decided to permit Houston Oiler and University of Houston fans to have tailgate parties before games. The Astrodome was the only NFL or major college site with a ban on the parking-lot style of partying before games.

One for AARP: Dale Williams, 55, will be going for his third consecutive NASCAR Southwest Tour victory Saturday night in Bakersfield.

“I’m doing it for all you old guys,” the Sacramento real estate developer turned race car driver said. Williams calls his Oldsmobile “the Geritol Special.”

Strong opinion: New York talk show host Chet Coppock, on the Detroit Lions’ signing of former Miami Dolphin quarterback Scott Mitchell:

“I think Scott Mitchell will be the biggest free-agent bust in the history of the NFL.”

Disciplinary action: Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees is impressed by slugger Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox:

“I think it’s Frank’s discipline that makes him such a great offensive player. He’s big as a house and strong and athletic and disciplined, and what’s most amazing to me is that he never swings at a bad ball.”

No star wars: From a Houston Post story about the American Professional Soccer League’s Houston Force, which folded after one game: “The Force is no longer with us.”

Trivia answer: Four--El Cajon in 1961, Granada Hills in 1963 and Long Beach in 1992 and ’93.

Quotebook: Golfer David Feherty on Nick Faldo: “The only time he opens his mouth is to change feet.”