But You Could Get a Room Without a View

Winning a gold medal in the Olympics is one thing, but getting a room in Atlanta next summer may be more difficult.

Until Nov. 10, ticket buyers have exclusive access to the rooms secured by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. About 40% of the 43,000 ACOG rooms are in hotels. The rest are in homes, apartments and condominiums. The inventory stretches from the heart of Atlanta into Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina--some as far as 250 miles away.

On your own, there’s little chance of getting a hotel room in Atlanta next summer. Most of them were booked long ago.

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Add Olympics: According to the Associated Press, people who didn’t get Olympic tickets have these options: (1) request a refund (2) order leftover tickets (3), buy commercial Olympic bricks (4) buy Olympic souvenir programs (5) make a donation to the U.S. Olympic team.

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Trivia time: How many drivers have won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix?

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One step ahead: USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson was chatting with reporters when someone asked him what he thought of Ohio State’s All-American candidate, Terry Glenn.

“Terry Glenn, he’s a fine, fine player,” Johnson said enthusiastically. “He could be the second receiver taken in the NFL draft.”

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No hero worship: Don Mattingly has many fans in New York, but New York Post columnist Wallace Matthews isn’t among them.

Matthews, who says his colleagues have given the Yankee first baseman “the longest free ride ever given a local athlete by the New York media,” denounced Mattingly’s rudeness to fans who waited for him outside Yankee Stadium when Mattingly cleaned out his locker earlier this week.

Describing Mattingly as “surly, sour and impatient,” Matthews said he “snarled and snapped at a small group of fans, who wanted nothing but to share a moment of what could be their last day together.”

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Don’t make him mad: When Dale Earnhardt failed to qualify for last Sunday’s Winston Cup race at Charlotte and had to start 43rd and last with a provisional exemption, it appeared to be a big break for Jeff Gordon, who is involved in a championship race with Earnhardt. Not so, insisted Ray Evernham, Gordon’s crew chief.

“All this has done is make him madder,” Evernham warned. “Just watch, Earnhardt will be leading the race within 75 laps.”

It took him more than 75, but he did lead and finished second, the best in history for a last-place starter.

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Know thy self: USC basketball Coach Charlie Parker, given a lavish introduction by emcee Tommy Hawkins at a Los Angeles Athletic Club luncheon featuring area coaches, said: “That’s the best introduction I’ve had since a luncheon last week when the emcee didn’t show up and I had to introduce myself.”

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Add Parker: On the upcoming season, the USC coach said: “I’m as excited as a mosquito in a nudist camp.”

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O.J. fallout: Norton Herrick, the Palm Beach millionaire who wants to put a third major league team in Florida, says the trial soured him on his original choice for a team name--Orlando Juice.

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Trivia answer: Four--Bill Vukovich, Johnnie Parsons, A. J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones.

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Quotebook: Kevin Malone, former general manager of the Montreal Expos, explaining the ills of pro sports to Christian Week: “The game is controlled by Satan.”