Canadian Cycling Coach in Spit Spat

The Canadian Cycling Assn. is investigating an alleged spitting incident involving Andre Aubut, coach of Genevieve Jeanson, and a rival rider, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported.

Witnesses alleged that Aubut rolled down the window of a car on the road course during last month’s Canadian Championships in Kamloops and spat at veteran rider Anne Samplonius.

Aubut, who has denied doing so, was not expected to be appointed as part of the CCA’s Olympic staff for Athens, and an association spokesman said the incident would not affect Jeanson’s chances of making the Olympic team.

Samplonius had been publicly critical of Jeanson, who was pulled from last fall’s world road racing championship for having an elevated level of red blood cells.

Trivia time: Who was the last wire-to-wire winner in the British Open?

Looking back: On this day in 1914, Babe Ruth debuted in the majors with the Boston Red Sox.

According to The Official Babe Ruth Web Site at www.baberuth.com, Ruth is credited with the invention of the modern baseball bat. He was the first player to order a bat with a knob on the end of the handle.

Herculean task: As NBC prepares to air thousands of hours of Olympic coverage on its various channels, its hundreds of employees will engage in their own marathon.

Perhaps Jim Lampley, who will anchor NBC’s daytime coverage, once summed up the Olympic experience best: “At the Olympics, the workload always expands to the time allotted.”

League of his own: Mother Jones magazine has reported that five current and former big-league baseball owners have received ambassadorships since George W. Bush, a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers, became president.

As it happened, all five raised at least $100,000 for his 2000 campaign.

The baseball bunch:

* George Argyros, former owner of the Seattle Mariners, ambassador to Spain, 2001 to present.

* Mercer Reynolds III, co-owner of the Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals, Switzerland, 2001 to 2003.

* Stephen Brauer, co-owner of the Cardinals, Belgium, 2001 to 2003.

* Jeffrey Marcus, co-owner of the Rangers, was appointed ambassador of Belgium in 2003 but never showed because of divorce proceedings.

* Craig Stapleton, former co-owner of the Rangers and the husband of a Bush cousin, Dorothy, Czech Republic, 2001 to 2003.

Trivia answer: Tom Weiskopf, in 1973. Others who led from start to finish: Ted Ray (1912), Bobby Jones (1927), Gene Sarazen (1932) and Henry Cotton (1934).

And finally: Fashion magazines want Maria Sharapova, 17, to model for them -- following the lead of Italian Vogue, which has a nine-page photo shoot with the 6-foot Wimbledon champion in its August issue.

“Everybody loves a winner -- and especially a beautiful one,” said Sasha Charnin Morrison, the fashion director for Allure magazine. “This girl has a grace and elegance we haven’t seen in a while. She’s stunning.”