Abbey Road Could Be a Hit for Argentina

The Argentine soccer team, which plays the United States in the opening Olympic match in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, may have a secret weapon--the monks of St. Bernard Abbey have been including the team in their daily meditations.

“Hopefully we’ve been some help, not only with physical work but in their prayer life,” Brother Theodore said.

The athletes are sharing the abbey grounds in Cullman, Ala., with the Benedictine monks, who arise at 5:30 a.m. and have said their prayers, made breakfast and are deep in their chores before the Argentines hit the practice field.

Trivia time: Who was UCLA’s starting center between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton?

Not enough? For his Bull fans, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti figured out that Michael Jordan will be paid $304,878.04 a game next season.

Not for sale: Eight teams have approached Toronto Blue Jay General Manager Gord Ash about acquiring outfielder Joe Carter, but Ash keeps saying Carter is not in their trading plans. Why do they keep asking?

“They think we’re having a fire sale because we’re out of the [pennant] race,” Ash said.

Looking back: On this day in 1941, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak of 56 games was stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians before 67,000 in a night game at Cleveland. The Yankees won, 4-3.

Olympic spirit: Christian Fittipaldi, a 25-year-old Indy car driver from Brazil, says being part of the Olympic torch relay was “the thrill of a lifetime.”

The nephew of veteran driver Emerson Fittipaldi carried the torch for half a mile as it went through the Orlando, Fla., area.

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal until it happened,” he said. “There were so many people out there cheering. That was pretty cool.”

For the record: Readers Mort Tenner and Ray Goldstone rightfully point out that the youngest Olympic gold medalist in track and field was not 16-year-old Ulrike Meyfarth in the 1972 high jump, but Barbara Jones of the United States in the 1,600-meter relay in 1952. Jones was 15 years, 123 days old.

Fresh air: Tired of hearing and reading about the multimillion-dollar deals cooked up by agents of NBA players?

John Stockton of the Utah Jazz, the NBA’s career leader in steals and assists, has no agent, no designs on the team’s bankroll and no plans to negotiate. One of these days, Stockton will quietly agree to three more years with the Jazz.

Probably for about $15 million.

Trivia answer: Steve Patterson, who was named commissioner of the Continental Basketball Assn. on Monday.

And finally: On a hit-and-run Monday night, the Detroit Tigers’ Brad Ausmus hit an RBI single on a pitch that bounced in front of the plate.

“I’ve only seen that in cricket,” Ausmus said. “I’ll probably get some offers overseas after they see the footage.”