Olympics a Nonprofit Event, Unless You’re Guy in Charge

In a welcome piece of news, the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games announced that it expects to run the event without incurring a deficit, even if it means using less staff and fewer volunteers.

Of course, top officials are still getting 6% raises. If this doesn’t sound like much, consider that CEO Billy Payne was already getting $631,238. With his raise, he’ll go to $669,112, the highest salary for any head of a nonprofit corporation in the United States.

The top 10 officials for the Atlanta committee average $317,000.

“There is nothing like the Olympic games,” says committee spokesman Dick Yarbrough, arguing that the salaries are legitimate. “It’s unique. We’ve gone from nine people to 70,000, from no assets to $1.6 billion.”

Trivia time: What was the largest crowd to watch a USC-Notre Dame game?

Is this an omen?The Irish of Notre Dame play the Trojans of USC today in their traditional football rivalry. The first three finishers of Thursday’s sixth race at Santa Anita were Mary Margaret, Sister Finnegan and Irish Rhythm. A $2 trifecta bet on the trio paid $1,621.60.

Shut up: NBA teams, which have cranked up the volume of their state-of-the-art sound systems until fans’ hearing has been imperiled, have been directed to knock it off.

The league has proclaimed a limit of 85 decibels, noting that some arenas were pumping it up over 100, the level for a jet taking off. Teams can no longer do their signature sounds--buzzing bees in Charlotte, race cars in Indianapolis--when the visitors have the ball.

The war of gimmicks reached its peak in the Eastern Conference finals, when the Pacers complained about Orlando’s rock concert effects and the Magic complained about Indiana fans’ pinwheels.

Magic announcer Paul Porter, who bellows into a reverb machine, considers the new rule a tribute.

“We try to have the reverb going while the other team is bringing the ball up the court,” Porter said. “Visiting players say it’s an obnoxious place to play. That means we’re doing something right.”

Thanks for the memories: Now that Dennis Smith, the Denver Broncos’ six-time Pro Bowl safety, has retired, people are putting the rap on him for the team’s defensive shortcomings.

Said Raider receiver Tim Brown, “Dennis was such an aggressive guy on the run that if you gave a play fake, he was going to bite. Everybody knew that. Dennis knew that.”

Even Smith’s old teammates are joining in.

“I’m not going to be biting up on a run fake like Dennis used to when he hung me out,” said Smith’s replacement, converted cornerback Tyrone Braxton. “I know how it feels when you’re out on the corner and they leave you all alone.”

Kind of makes you wonder why the Broncos brought Smith out of retirement last season at 35.

Trivia answer: An estimated crowd of 120,000 for the 1927 game in Chicago’s Soldier Field. Notre Dame won, 7-6.

Quotebook: Colt quarterback Jim Harbaugh on his plummet with the Bears: “That was a bad time. Me and my girlfriend broke up, my dog just about died. I thought I was living a country and western song.”