DeFrantz Is Guardian Angel of Amateur Sports in L.A.

Anita DeFrantz was elected last month as an International Olympic Committee vice president, reaffirming her status as the most influential woman in sports.

But regardless how high DeFrantz rises internationally, which could be all the way to the IOC presidency if Juan Antonio Samaranch ever retires, I hope we never lose sight of the contributions she makes to Los Angeles.

Peter Ueberroth once said the success of the Summer Olympics here would not be determined in 1984 but years into the future as we became aware of the positive impact the Games had on our community.

Even as one of four IOC vice presidents, DeFrantz maintains that her first priority is to oversee that legacy. She is president of the Amateur Athletic Foundation, created with $95 million of the surplus from the L.A. Olympics to provide opportunities in sports for youth throughout Southern California.

In 13 years, the AAF has served more than two million young people through 850 grants at a cost of $75 million.

It’s possible that during February’s Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, we will see the first Olympians produced by one of those programs.

The Southern California Speedskating Track Assn. has two potential team members in Rusty Smith of Paramount and Kelley Cawthra of Fullerton.

DeFrantz was inducted Wednesday night into the L.A. Athletic Club’s Hall of Fame, where she takes her rightful place among such tenders of our local sports landscape as John Wooden, Tom Lasorda, Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, Jim Murray, Merlin Olsen and Ueberroth.

*

Asserting himself as a Laker leader, Shaquille O’Neal says he’s going to speak up more this season. . . .

He could start by speaking frankly with the team’s doctors. . . .

After straining an abdominal muscle on the first day of training camp, he sat out two days and then received clearance to play after he told doctors he felt fine. . . .

The suspicion now is that he didn’t feel fine and that he was trying to play through the pain. . . .

Brave though it might have been, it wasn’t smart. Now, after aggravating the injury, it’s possible he’ll sit out the opener. . . .

Maybe Jerry West should tell Shaq he shouldn’t take this kind of injury lightly. West’s career was cut short because of it. . . .

A fan who showed up at the Pyramid box office this week trying to buy $200 in Long Beach StingRays tickets was turned away because she didn’t have enough cash. The Pyramid doesn’t take credit cards. . . .

The StingRays, whose crowd Tuesday night barely reached four figures, are working with the Pyramid to change the policy. . . .

DeFrantz, who knows, says L.A.’s bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics would be well received by the IOC. . . .

She says the IOC, with not-so-fond memories of Atlanta, would rather entrust the Summer Games to a city with a proven track record. . . .

First, however, Los Angeles must convince the U.S. Olympic Committee. . . .

I’ll try to find time to explore this topic further before the USOC determines its official bid city in 2002 or ’03. . . .

Meantime, I’d be happy if we could get back our indoor track meet. . . .

Promoter Al Franken says he has received contributions from the AAF and L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission, but he’s still seeking a title sponsor for the meet tentatively scheduled for Feb. 7 at the Sports Arena. . . .

The most competitive UCLA-California game in Pasadena on Saturday probably will be in water polo. . . .

The nation’s fourth-ranked Bears and fifth-ranked Bruins will meet at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center two hours before the football game. . . .

Never have the women’s soccer teams from USC and UCLA met in a more important game than the one Sunday, when the No. 15 Bruins (12-2) and the No. 18 Trojans (13-1-1) play at UCLA’s Spaulding Field. . . .

For tickets to Stanford sporting events, the number is 1-800-BEAT-CAL. . . .

“seaQuest,” the old NBC show set in 2018, might not have been as futuristic as believed. . . .

One character wore a T-shirt proclaiming the Florida Marlins as world champions in 2010. . . .

If they win the World Series, they can celebrate with Florida Marlin Cabernet Sauvignon available for $50 a bottle from Maddalena Vineyards in Napa Valley. . . .

The Marlins are young but robust.

*

While wondering how Joe DiMaggio, Henry Aaron and Cal Ripken Jr. feel when they hear Bob Uecker called Mr. Baseball, I was thinking: I’ll just keep listening to Scully on the radio, now Steve Lavin can afford to pick up the check at Monty’s, Phoenix’s Dallas Drake should play for the Ducks.