COUNTDOWN TO OLYMPICS

* Days until opening ceremony: 23.

* Olympic update: For the first time since the war ended in 1995, a unified Olympic team--representing the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serb republic--will compete for Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sydney.

* March to the medals: Retired major leaguer Tim Raines has been rejected by the selection committee for the U.S. Olympic baseball team, meaning a squad of all minor leaguers will try to win a medal.

* Carrying the torch: Reached the most easterly point on mainland Australia when it passed through Cape Byron, but skirted the town of Nimbin--a former hippie enclave known for its organically grown food.

* Olympic footnote: A late winter flu outbreak has hit Sydney, and doctors say they expect it to last another four weeks--well into the Olympics. Doctors said stress caused by Olympic preparations is partly to blame.