IOC Should Share Blame for ’96 Billboard Olympics

Approaching the one-year anniversary of the 1996 Summer Olympics this week, the people of Atlanta are still seeking approval. I know because I was there recently. I didn’t meet one person who didn’t ask, “How ‘bout them Games?”

My impression was that the closing ceremony didn’t bring closure because of International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch’s remarks.

Instead of declaring the Games the best ever, as he traditionally does, he merely called them “most exceptional.”

Most Atlantans I know are dumb like Jeff Foxworthy, which means they’re smart enough to know when they’ve been insulted. In this case, however, I believe they overreacted.

Samaranch couldn’t have attached a superlative to the Games without being insensitive to the families of the two people who died as a result of the Centennial Park bomb.

In many ways, Atlanta’s Olympics were exceptional. I mean that in the best sense of the word.

I’ll never forget Muhammad Ali igniting the flame in the main stadium, Kerri Strug’s courageous vault, Michael Johnson’s record, Carl Lewis’ jump or the brilliance of U.S. women’s teams in basketball, soccer and softball.

My primary complaint was that the city didn’t have an Olympic feel. With the street vendors, ticket hawkers and carnival rides, it was more like a state fair.

I admit, though, I was mildly aggravated when I read a recent comment from IOC executive board member Dick Pound of Canada, who said, “Atlanta was very fortunate that [NBC Sports President] Dick Ebersol threatened to fire anyone who pointed a camera outside the arenas. The rest of America had no idea how bad it was.”

For that, IOC officials should accept some responsibility.

I understand that they sold the Olympic rings to corporate sponsors to better finance the Games. But they didn’t have to sell their souls, sitting idly by as the corporations attached their logos to every billboard, bus and building outside the arenas. You have no idea how bad it was.

If you’re operating a high-end brothel, don’t complain when streetwalkers show up outside.

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Not to diminish Dennis Reyes’ achievement, but the Dodgers have had a left-hander in their lineup almost every day for close to five decades. His name is Vin Scully. . . .

Fox last week touted Joe Buck, 28, as the youngest television announcer for the All-Star game. Not so. Scully was, in 1954. . . .

He was 26, I think. . . .

I qualify that because Scully won’t reveal his exact age. . . .

Cynthia Cooper is 34 and proud that she’s still more productive than most of the WNBA’s younger players. . . .

Houston Comet General Manager Carroll Dawson called Linda Sharp before the season to ask about her former USC player. . . .

Sharp gave Cooper an unqualified endorsement. Then Sharp took the Sparks’ coaching job. . . .

“I wish I’d kept my mouth shut,” says Sharp, whose team faces Cooper and the Comets tonight at the Forum. . . .

The Sparks won’t face Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes, who gave birth June 25 to a son, Jordan Eric Jackson, and probably won’t play until Aug. 1. . . .

UCLA’s Maylana Martin, Pacific 10 Conference freshman of the year last season, averaged a team-high 17.9 points as the United States won the women’s junior world basketball championship last weekend in Brazil. . . .

Maybe the Brother Benno Foundation and the San Diego County Kiwanis Clubs will want her socks some day. For Thursday’s charity auction, they have to settle for used socks from sports celebrities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt, Rollie Fingers and Steve Spurrier. . . .

I’m not sure about their socks, but USC football fans will have an opportunity to lose their shirts if the Trojans meet Colorado on Sept. 9, 2000, in Las Vegas. The game is on if the proposed new football stadium there is completed by then. . . .

The Trojans have scheduled Colorado at home in 1999 and at Boulder in 2002. . . .

The Kings announced they are meeting Colorado, the Avalanche, in an exhibition game Sept. 20 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. . . .

King management made a smart public relations move Tuesday by modifying the price of their cheapest tickets to $15. Those 249 seats still sell for $4 more than last season, but that’s more affordable than the $22.50 originally announced. . . .

Many other King fans will pay lower prices for tickets than last season. Money saved now can be lost in the slot machines.

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While wondering if it’s possible Don King soon will be out of heavyweights, I was thinking: Don’t bet on it, he could promote John Robinson in Las Vegas.