Sporting Pair Is Planning to Wed
She’s got gold, she’s got silver, she’s got bronze. What more could a woman want? Diamonds, maybe?
Mia Hamm, who for a dozen years or so has been the darling of women’s soccer fans worldwide, is someone else’s darling now. Nomar Garciaparra’s, to be precise.
They are engaged to be married, the Boston Red Sox shortstop perhaps having come to the conclusion that if he can’t win a world championship, at least he can win a world champion.
The Boston Herald broke the news, with the Miami Herald (no relation) adding the tidbit that Garciaparra was “shopping for a $50,000 rock.”
“It’s true, we got engaged over Thanksgiving,” Garciaparra, 29, told the Boston Herald.
“People want to know where and when we’re getting married, but you now what, I don’t even know those details. We’re just really happy right now and really enjoying our time together.”
Besides winning two world championships and her Olympic gold and silver medals, Hamm, 30, was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and is one of three finalists -- along with China’s Sun Wen and Germany’s Birgit Prinz -- for this year’s award.
That ceremony takes place in Madrid on Tuesday during the 12th annual FIFA Gala.
A Star Is Born
Had the nominations for the FIFA awards been made a little later and had the national team coaches who made those nominations paid a bit more attention, Christine Sinclair surely would have been a finalist.
The 19-year-old Canadian star-in-the-making has enjoyed a phenomenal year. Just consider:
* In September, she scored a tournament-high 10 goals in leading host Canada to the silver medal at the first FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship, won by the U.S.
* In November, she scored a tournament-high seven goals while helping Canada finish second to the U.S. in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup and thereby qualify for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China.
* In December, she scored both goals, including the game-winner in overtime, in a 2-1 victory over defending champion Santa Clara to lead the University of Portland to its first NCAA women’s title.
Along the way, Sinclair set an NCAA tournament record of 21 points with 10 goals and one assist, bettering the mark of 16 points set in 1993 by -- who else? -- Hamm.
No Credibility
The English-language online version of the Russian newspaper Pravda apparently has no more credibility than the Russian newsprint version.
On the eve of Thursday’s vote to select the host for the 2008 European Championship, Pravda reported that “Russia was confidently leading the list of candidates” and that its bid was supported by “almost 56%” of those surveyed by UEFA, whereas the joint bid by Austria and Switzerland had garnered only 0.28% of the votes.
The Austrians and Swiss, overwhelming winners, no doubt are still laughing about that.
Sigi’s Dilemma
The Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania Football Confederation have agreed on the dates for next year’s AFC/OFC Challenge Cup, and Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid would like to get on the phone and tell them to start over.
The two confederations announced Friday that Asian Games champion Iran would play Oceania champion New Zealand in Auckland, New Zealand, on March 28 and again in Tehran on April 4.
Considering that April 4 is the day before the Galaxy begins defense of its Major League Soccer championship and that New Zealand is likely to want Galaxy midfielder Simon Elliott for both games, something has to give.
Chances are, Schmid will figure out a way to keep Elliott in April in return for releasing him in June, when New Zealand plays in the eight-nation FIFA Confederations Cup in France.
War Games
Should war break out in Iraq, one of the victims will be the FIFA World Youth Championship, scheduled to be held a short voyage down the Persian Gulf in the United Arab Emirates cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Sharjah.
Monitoring events closely is FIFA, which said that the March 25-April 16 tournament, in which the U.S., Canada and Mexico are among 16 teams playing, would be moved in the event of war.
Where it would be moved to, FIFA would not say.
Potter-ing About
On a happier note comes this delightful tale from England, which as any Harry Potter fan knows, is the home of best-selling author J.K. Rowling.
It seems that Potter fans have noticed that the claret and amber scarves worn by supporters of the English club Bradford City are almost identical to the ones worn by Potter and his schoolmates in the hugely popular movie series.
As a result, they are flying off the shelves like, well, magic.
The club normally sells about 100 scarves a month, but has sold more than 10,000 this year.
