Oops

Shania Twain in the news

Canadian country diva Shania Twain and her heavy-metal beau want to buy a ranch covering 42,000 acres (a mere 65 square miles) of New Zealand (presumably there’s not enough of Canada spare). Then they want to put a ruddy great fence round it with big evil signs saying “Private! Keep Out!”

However, New Zealand law means that if the couple do buy the land, then current access must be guaranteed. But with the arrogance of the super rich, the couple have offered over 4 times the farm’s valuation, presumably in the hope that once the Kiwis see their magic dollars, they’ll change the rules.

Singer Shania says stay away

Her last album Come On Over sold 34 million copies worldwide and helped propel the once down-to-earth country singer to stardom.

But it has emerged that that is the last thing that Shania Twain wants people to do. Especially ramblers. They, apparently, don’t impress her much.

Like Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie before her, Twain and her reclusive other half, Robert "Mutt" Lange have upset the woolly-hatted brigade with their plans to fight countryside access laws.

The Canadian star - who has become guarded over her private life to the point of insisting that her record company does not sell or promote her albums where she lives in Switzerland - is waiting for approval to buy Motatapu Station, a 42,000-acre sheep farm at Wanaka, New Zealand.

As a condition, the couple must comply with government requirements to give hikers, mountain bikers and hunters access to the land. But to preserve her privacy Twain has proposed a new hiking trail across land belonging to neighbours.

Twain and Lange, a heavy-metal music producer, have offered to pay for two huts and a track from Lake Wanaka to Arrowtown, near the Southern Alps, so that any offending hikers will pass them by.

The neighbours, Don and Vicky McRae, said they were "totally shocked" by the plan to use their land, the Otago Daily Times reported. Ms McRae said the track would affect their deer-farming operations and the terrain was treacherous.

Twain and Lange have reportedly offered NZ$16 million (£6 million) for the ranch - which is four times a government valuation for the property. Lange, with whom Twain has a three-year-old son, was recently reported to value his privacy so much that he tried to buy the rights to every photo ever taken of him.

In a recent interview, Twain said: "We just have to have boundaries in order to keep some normalcy in our lives. We just sort of decided - especially with me being in the spotlight so much - that I would associate myself with cameras and with the spotlight when it’s related to my music and when it’s not, then I won’t be there."

She added: "Mutt ... doesn’t desire the spotlight and it’s pretty hard to avoid it if you’re married to a famous person. So we don’t go anywhere together when I’m doing that sort of stuff."

Despite the couple’s generous offer for the farm, the deal is by no means assured.

In New Zealand, land access is a hot issue. There is deeply-felt concern that foreigners are buying up some of the nation’s most prized real estate and reducing access to beaches and mountain regions.

Michael Cullen, the finance minister and one of two ministers who must approve the deal, said last month that it would not go through unless public access to the property was maintained.

The battle has parallels with Madonna’s bid in June to stop ramblers traipsing over parts of her 1,200-acre Ashcombe estate on the Wiltshire-Dorset border.

Dave Dravecky

A player I haven't thought of in a while. He was always one of my favorite pitchers. Dave Dravecky

Man who believed mother was Satan, acquitted

Man declared insane, acquitted of murder

Karl Sneider, who was accused of stabbing and beheading his mother, remains in the custody of Cook County mental health officials after a judge ruled Tuesday that the Palatine man was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Sneider, 28, was charged with first-degree murder in the decapitation slaying of his mother, Kathryn Sneider, 49, in January 2003 at their home on North MacArthur Drive in Palatine.

Karl Sneider will be in the care of the Cook County Department of Mental Health for an unspecified amount of time and may be re-evaluated in the future, a Cook County State's Attorney's Office spokesman said Tuesday after Cook County Circuit Judge John J. Scotillo's ruling at the courthouse in Rolling Meadows.

Sneider chose a bench trial before Scotillo instead of a jury trial.

Several psychologists testified that Sneider was legally insane at the time he killed his mother, whom he then believed was Satan.

Dr. Susan Messina said she had interviewed Karl Sneider several times. Her initial interview was less than a month after the murder.

"At that time, he was coherent although his speech showed significant distortion in content," said Messina, who added that Karl Sneider showed signs of "elaborate grandiose delusion and perceived himself to be Jesus Christ at the time."

Sneider had a history of drug abuse and theft to support his addiction. From 1993 to 2001, he was arrested multiple times for residential burglary, theft, domestic battery and drug possession. According to court records, during the course of one crime, he was using crack cocaine.

Family members said Sneider had made an effort to get off and stay off drugs and entered a rehabilitation program.

Police and prosecutors said after Karl Sneider punched and stabbed his mother, he then cut off her head, placed it on the front porch and stole a neighbor's car, which was warming up in the driveway.

The neighbors called Palatine police, and an alert was sent out on the vehicle. The car crashed into a fence along the Northwest Tollway near Roselle Road in Schaumburg. Karl Sneider was apprehended by police after he left the home of a Schaumburg man who believed Sneider was homeless and invited him inside.

Kathryn Sneider had two jobs in Vernon Hills. Along with her full-time job at a financial services company, she also worked part-time at a department store to help pay for her son's treatment for drug addiction.

Athens Olympics Beach Volleyball Gold Medal game today

The USA has never won a medal in women's Beach Volleyball, since the sport became part of the Olympic Games in 1996. But Tuesday evening, they could very well have two teams on the podium, come the close of the Women's Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournament.

Reigning World Champions Kerri WALSH and Misty MAY have already secured one of the podium positions, by making it through to the final, Tuesday evening at 21:00, against Brazil's Adriana BEHAR and Shelda BEDE, at the Olympic Beach Volleyball Centre in the Faliro Coastal Zone.

View signals

WALSH / MAY entered the Athens Olympic Games as the tournament's number one seeds, despite an abdominal muscle injury that had kept MAY sidelined for the better part of the pre-Olympic period. Right until two weeks before the Games, MAY's participation was in limbo. But she made it through to play her with her regular partner, and they haven't looked back since.

WALSH / MAY have won match after match in this tournament to come into the final with a perfect record of six straight-set victories, including a semi-final victory over their fellow-USA team of Holly McPEAK / Elaine YOUNGS, the number four seeds of the Games.

ADRIANA BEHAR / SHELDA, meanwhile, also kept their seed of number two, to qualify to the final undefeated -- although they have dropped two sets on the way. One was in the Round of 16, when they survived a three-set scare from Bulgaria's YANCHULOVA sisters, Lina and Petia. The other was in the quarter-finals, when once more they staged a come from behind victory over fellow-Brazilians Ana Paula CONNELLY / Sandra PIRES.

While WALSH / MAY need the gold to confirm their number one status in the world, ADRIANA BEHAR / SHELDA also need it to better their previous Olympic performance of second, in 2000 in Sydney. They already took revenge from Australia's Natalie COOK for losing that final in Sydney, by eliminating her and teammate Nicole SANDERSON in the semi-finals in Athens. But the Brazilians still need have to create an upset over the USA.

Earlier in the evening, Tuesday, McPEAK / YOUNGS will meet COOK and SANDERSON in the bronze medal match, starting at 19:30. The two teams have met only once in the past, with the Australians winning in straight sets. COOK is out for her third medal in as many Olympic Games, following a bronze in Atlanta and a gold in Sydney, both with Kerri POTTHARST. Australia has never been absent from the podium in the past two Olympic Games.

Olympic Beach Volleyball

A geberal view of a player signaling a play to her teammate during the women's preliminary match on 16/08/2004.

Extra-Curricular Training

The Great Sex Before Sport Debate
Some trainers say that having sex before a major sporting event can hinder an athlete's performance. But some medical experts say it can actually help.

With the Olympic gold the ultimate goal for all the competitors taking part in the 2004 Summer Games, one would expect the athletes to adhere to strict regimes of fitness and diet in the quest to be the champion in their selected discipline. Many coaches have even advocated 16 days of celibacy as part of the charges preparation for greatness, believing that sex before competition would hinder athletic performance on track or field.

But the 17,000 Olympic athletes are likely to be ecstatic to find out that having sex the evening before a major event may not be damaging but in fact may help propel them to greatness.

"The night before has no effect on strength or endurance or any of the physical abilities of the athletes," says physiology expert Dr Ian Shrirer, a former president of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine in an interview with BBC Sport. "A lot of people think it has to do with the psychological effects."

Shrirer believes that most elite athletes need to be aggressive to compete at the top levels of their sport, but there is such a thing as being too aggressive, and that's where sex can make a positive difference.

"Think about that - that's the guy on the football team, who's always getting penalties. Or the guy in soccer who's getting red carded. That's not good for performance," he says.

"It's never been studied, how sex affects the psychological attitude the next day. But if it were true that it decreases aggressiveness, then you might expect it to be detrimental for those who aren't aggressive enough, but beneficial for those who are too aggressive."

Israeli physician Alexander Olshanietzky believes sex before competing is particularly useful for female athletes while he thinks men could suffer from fatigue. "We believe that a woman gets better results in sports competition after orgasm," he said in 1996, before the Atlanta games. "Generally, it's true of high jumpers and runners. The more orgasms, the more chances of winning a medal.

"Coaches generally tell their athletes to abstain before competition. In the case of women, that's the wrong advice."

It has been a contentious issue between sportsmen and women for as long as human beings have indulged in competitive activities and there have been many famous comments on the subject.

Casey Stengel, a former manager of both the New York Yankees and New York Mets baseball teams, once observed: "Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player. It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in."

Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland soccer legend George Best added his wisdom the argument once his playing days were over, telling the British broadsheet The Observer: "I used to go missing a lot - Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss Germany…I certainly never found it had any effect on my performance. Maybe its best not to have sex the hour before, but the night before makes no odds."

However, Britain's former Olympic 100 meter sprinting champion Linford Christie once claimed that having sex the night before a race always made his legs feel like lead.

Whatever the view, it is unlikely that placing a large number of consenting -- and horny -- adults together for a long period with plenty of free time on their hands will not lead to certain amount of extra-curricular physical workouts.

The athlete's village at any Olympics can appear to be one big pick-up joint with so many buffed and beautiful singles housed together for just over two weeks with all that testosterone and estrogen pulsing between events.

After every Olympics, there are stories of how many condoms are distributed -- and used -- and these games in Athens will be no exception. In Athens, 130,000 condoms and 30,000 packets of lubricant are being made available to the athletes. In Sydney, athletes were given a stash of three condoms a day, but more were brought in when supplies ran low.

The games in Greece, with its hot and sweaty climate, stand a good chance of out-doing Sydney in more than just the sporting stakes.

PHEVOS AND ATHENA - The two Mascots of the 2004 Olympic Games

Phevos and Athena are brother and sister and the official ATHENS 2004 Mascots. Their creation was inspired by an ancient Greek doll and their names are linked to ancient Greece. And yet the two siblings are children of modern times.

The names of two Olympian gods: Phevos, name of the Olympian god of light and music, known as Apollo. Athena, goddess of wisdom and patron of the city of Athens.

In this way, Phevos and Athena represent the link between Greek history and the modern Olympic Games.

Phevos and Athena represent the values of Olympism: participation, brotherhood, equality, cooperation, fair play.

Athena and Phevos are two dolls. They remind us of the pleasure of indulging in games; they highlight that the value of participation is higher than that of victory.

At the same time, they are brother and sister, a boy and a girl, symbols of equality and brotherhood around the world. Above all, the two children showcase the everlasting Greek value of human scale and remind us that humanity was, is and will remain at the heart of the Olympic Games.

Phevos and Athena are two children, simple and joyful, full of vitality and creativity, perhaps mischievous and hence lovable.

Phevos and Athena see sports like a game, as all children do. In this spirit, they add small flags to Shooting; they find new ways to overcome hurdles; they discover additional uses for their feet in Rowing and Synchronized swimming; Athena teaches Phevos how to dive by pushing him from the spring-board; they enjoy themselves at the Trampoline; they hit their targets in Archery. Their efforts are always marked by team spirit, noble competition and equality.

Through their laughter, their lively presence, their freedom of movement and their will to cooperate and stay united, Phevos and Athena will be with us from now on to express with enthusiasm and optimism our will to be united and to share the joy of the greatest celebration of humanity: the Olympic Games. Together, they are ready to show us the way towards the 2004 Olympic Games.

Athens 2004 Olympic Medals

The Olympic Games medals are one of the most important design applications, since they are given to the athletes, the real protagonists and heroes of the Olympic Games.

The medals for the Athens Games were presented on July 2nd 2003, in Prague. The main side of the medals has been changed for the first time since the Amsterdam Olympic Games in 1928. The main feature of the medals is the Greek character shown on both sides, which is of particular importance, as from now on all Olympic medals will reflect the Greek character of the Games regarding both their origin and their revival.

ATHENS 2004 aim was to modify the main side of the medals and to include Greek elements in it that would highlight the close connection between Greece and the Olympic Movement. Therefore ATHENS 2004 asked the candidates that took part at the competition to include the goddess “Nike” of Paeonios and the Panathinaikon Stadium in their design.

Goddess Nike was worshipped as the personification of victory in the stadium as well as in the battlefield. According to Greek mythology, Zeus sent her to earth to crown the winners. Historical research has showed that goddess Nike was always represented as “winged”, full of movement and dynamism, descending from heaven either to sing praises for a victory, or to offer libations, or to crown a winner. Moreover, in the Museum of Olympia there is a statue of goddess Nike, three metres in height, created in 421 BC by the well-known sculptor Paeonios. Supported by a nine-metre triangular pedestal situated at the east facade of the Temple of Zeus, she gave the impression that she was descending from heaven.

Since goddess Nike would fly into a stadium to crown the best athlete, at the main side of the medals she is represent in a similar way in the interior of a stadium, and more particularly in the Panathinaikon Stadium where the Olympic Games were revived in 1896. The main side of the medals will also include the sport in which the athlete won it.

On the contrary, on the medals awarded to Olympic athletes from 1928 until the Salt Lake Games, goddess Nike was seated, holding an ear of corn in one hand and a wreath in the other, while the second element of the main side was the exterior of an arena that resembled the Colosseum.

There are three elements on the second side of the medals.
The first is the eternal flame that will be lit in Olympia and will travel through the five continents by way of the 2004 Torch Relay. The flame is accompanied by the opening lines of Pindar’s Eighth Olympic Ode composed in 460 BC to honour the victory of Alkimedon of Aegina in wrestling. The design of the second side of the medals is completed with the ATHENS 2004 Olympic Games emblem.

Elway Leads Class of '04 in Canton

CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 8 - Amid a scene that looked like a Denver Broncos home game, John Elway joined Barry Sanders, Carl Eller and Bob Brown on Sunday as the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Legions of Elway fans descended on this city wearing replicas of his No. 7 jersey, turning Fawcett Stadium into a sea of orange. Blessed with a powerful arm as well as mobility, Elway threw for 300 touchdowns and 51,475 yards, playing his entire 16-year career with the Broncos and winning the Super Bowl in his final two seasons.

He is the first Bronco to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Known for his prowess in clutch situations, Elway had a record 47 fourth-quarter game-winning or game-tying drives. The most famous was his 98-yard touchdown drive in the 1986 American Football Conference championship game against the Cleveland Browns, which has become known in football lore as the Drive.

Elway, 44, noted the coincidence of being inducted in Ohio, the state where he broke the hearts of many Browns fans.

"I have to be totally honest, I have never heard that in Ohio before," Elway said, smiling after being cheered as he took the podium.

He was introduced by his 18-year-old daughter, Jessica, the oldest of his four children. Jessica said that her father had surgery 12 times during his career, and that she wanted him to retire after his first Super Bowl victory.

"I've never said this before, and I may never say it again, but thanks for not listening," Jessica said.

During an eloquent speech, Elway became emotional when he spoke of his father, Jack, a former college football coach and a former director of scouting with the Broncos, who died three years ago.

"He taught me to compete, to never give up, to play every down like it's your last," Elway said.

Elway thanked his former teammates and coaches, and he admitted that making the Hall of Fame became a goal long before he retired at age 38 in 1999, three months after leading the Broncos to a victory in the Super Bowl.

"Any player would dream of this," he said. "This is the final chapter, something that closes the book on my playing career."

Elway is the only player in N.F.L. history to pass for more than 3,000 yards and rush for more than 200 yards in seven consecutive seasons.

Sanders retired unexpectedly at 31, after 10 prolific seasons with the Detroit Lions. One of the most elusive running backs in league history, Sanders rushed for 15,269 yards in his career, making him the N.F.L.'s third-leading rusher, behind Emmitt Smith (17,418) and Walter Payton (16,726).

At only 5 feet 8 inches, Sanders had remarkable quickness and vision, giving him an uncanny ability to make tacklers miss. With his unique style, Sanders darted and danced among defenders, and he could turn an apparent 2-yard loss into an exciting gain.

"The anticipation of what was going to happen on the next play - that's what really drove me," said Sanders, 36.

Sanders was the first N.F.L. player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons, and the only player to do it in his first 10 seasons. He is the only player to rush for more than 100 yards in 14 consecutive games, and he remains the only player to record five 1,500-yard rushing seasons.

When he retired, Sanders had more yards than Smith, and he may have rushed for 20,000 career yards if he had played another three or four seasons. But Sanders retired in his prime.

Instead of talking about his reasons for retiring, Sanders focused on the honor of being inducted.

"When you think of other Hall of Famers like Lem Barney, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, it's only natural to ask yourself if you belong," he said. "It's awesome. I'm flattered that people took time out of their Sunday to watch me play. I hope they felt like I worked as hard at my job as they did at their job."

Eller, 62, made his mark as a defensive end with the Minnesota Vikings, part of a legendary front four nicknamed the Purple People Eaters. Eller played in four Super Bowls in his 16-year-career and was named to the Pro Bowl six times. But after waiting 25 years to get into the Hall, Eller admitted he had begun to give up hope, even when people told him he was sure to get in.

"They were well meaning, but it was kind of like a dagger in my heart," Eller said. "As a player, I gave it my all. It's an honor to be appreciated for the way you played the game."

Eller still lives in Minneapolis and remains active in the community. During his speech, he emphasized the importance of being a role model.

"We must lead African-American men to the great colleges and universities of this country, not to the jails," Eller said. "I am here today to say: 'I haven't given up on you. You have the talent, you have the intelligence, and you have the opportunity.' "

Brown, 62, was a punishing offensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Los Angeles Rams and the Oakland Raiders. Even in practice, he was known for setting the tone with his physical play.

"Bob believed in force," said Deacon Jones, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman who practiced against Brown when they were teammates with the Rams. "He'd kill a mosquito with an ax."

Brown, who retired after the 1973 season, had the longest wait of those inducted on Sunday.

"It's like a dream," he said. "I'm still wondering if I'm going to wake up somewhere else."

Athens 2004 Olympic competition schedule

I found this site in case you want to keep up with the results from the Olympics. The Olympics start Friday!

BUSH AND KERRY HEAD(S) TO COOPERSTOWN

HALL OF FAME REQUESTS PRESIDENTIAL BOBBLEHEAD DOLLS FROM GOLDKLANG GROUP-SPONSORED PROMOTION

(Charleston, SC) - The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has requested bobblehead dolls used in this week’s historic presidential Bobblection promotion, spanning seven ballparks in seven states.

The first-of-its-kind promotion was sponsored by the Goldklang Group, an ownership, management and consulting firm based in New Jersey.

Baseball fans went to the polls on Monday, August 2, participating in Bobblection 2004. Participants cast votes for either President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry, and were rewarded for their participation by receiving their candidate’s bobblehead doll.

The Charleston (SC) RiverDogs, Fort Myers (FL) Miracle, Hudson Valley (NY) Renegades, St. Paul (MN) Saints, Brockton (MA) Rox, Sioux Falls (SD) Canaries and New Haven (CT) County Cutters took part in the unique election event.

"The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum documents baseball's rich history and its relationship to American culture," said Jeff Idelson, Hall of Fame Vice President of Communications and Education. "Baseball has had ties to the presidency since William Howard Taft threw out the first pitch on Opening Day in Washington in 1910. The Goldklang Group's presidential bobblehead promotion clearly demonstrates baseball fans' interest in the presidency and how the Oval Office relates to baseball at a grassroots level."

Each candidate’s bobblehead doll will be sent to Cooperstown for display.

Results from Monday’s voting were tallied in each ballpark, and the overall winner was determined in Electoral College fashion, based on states won.

In the end, President Bush proved victorious, winning four of the seven states to defeat Senator Kerry in the first coordinated promotion of its kind. Bush was victorious in New York, South Carolina, South Dakota and Florida. Kerry took Massachusetts, Minnesota and Connecticut.

“This should work out well for the candidate who loses the general election in November,” said Goldklang Group President Mike Veeck. “If he doesn’t make the White House, at least he can say he’s in the Hall of Fame.”

Beer Scam

Police today warned all men who frequent clubs and parties to stay
cautious when offered drinks by women. Females are using a date rape drug
called "beer" to target unsuspecting men. This drug comes in liquid form and
is available nearly everywhere. "Beer" is used by female predators to
persuade hapless male victims to go home with them.

Women need only persuade a man to consume a few of these "beers" and then
ask him home for no-strings-attached sex, a simple approach that renders
most men helpless. After several "beers," men will have sex with even
unattractive women. Often men awaken with only hazy memories of the night
before, a horrible headache, and a vague feeling that something bad
happened.

Some really unfortunate men are even separated from their life's savings
in a scam called "a relationship." In extreme cases, females have entrapped
unsuspecting males into long-term servitude through a punishment called
"marriage."

Apparently, men are much more susceptible to this scam once "beer" is
administered. Forward this warning to every male you know. And if you, or
some man you know, have fallen victim to this insidious "beer" and the
predatory women who administer it, rest assured: male support groups exist
in every major city where you can discuss the ugly details of your
encounter in an open and frank manner with similarly affected, like-minded
guys.

For the support group nearest you, look in the Yellow Pages under "Golf
Courses."

Olympic Spirit

A sizable number of the world's greatest athletes will begin competition at the 28th Olympiad this week, in a historic return to the games' origins -- ancient Athens. Yet these Olympics so far have not been marked by talk of dream teams, potential breakthrough performances or national rivalries.

Instead, it has been about doping scandals, security plans and terrorism targets. International competition that was designed to celebrate the human spirit has been lost in a fog of dark, modern realities. Even the most recent news coming out of Athens -- construction delays and a blackout that left millions without power -- seemed to shroud the games in pessimism, leaving some to ponder whether the Olympic flame might be the only light flickering at the opening ceremonies.

The problems are very real. The Greek hosts moved at a snail like pace after being awarded the games in 1997 by the International Olympic Committee. Slow progress on a few of the sports venues resulted in some well-publicized gaffes, like a swimming complex without a roof to protect swimmers from the blazing August heat. A security command center only recently became operational. And some guarantees offered by Olympic officials and Greek authorities have not come to pass, making assurances of a smooth-running extravaganza less credible.

But Athens is spending $1.2 billion on security, four times the amount spent for the 2000 Sydney games and the Greeks wisely pulled together a host of experts from the United States, Israel and Britain to help direct the Olympic operations. More than 1,300 cameras have been installed throughout Athens and a force of 70,000 Greek police and military personnel will patrol the city. The security network is so vast that NATO AWACS planes will patrol the skies over the Olympic venues.

But the best views will be on the ground, as athletes from 202 nations will compete in events ranging from whitewater kayaking to fencing. For a host of U.S. athletes, it may be the final chapter in their brilliant careers while some relative unknowns may rise to become national heroes.

Will the American women's soccer team -- led by soon-to-be retired veterans Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy -- return wearing gold? Will Maryland teenager Michael Phelps be able to handle the expectations and challenge Mark Spitz's record for swimming medals? Can the men's boxing team punch its way back to the winner's stand? Will there be enough dramatic moments like gymnast Kerri Strugg vaulting to glory or diver Laura Wilkinson nailing the gold medal after limping to the platform on a broken foot?

That is the true spirit captured in the Olympics. The thought of athletes running on the same paths as Phidippides in the town of Marathon in 490 B.C. to bring Athenians news of battle victory should stir the imagination. If Athens manages the games well, it could pave the way for other small nations to become hosts.

But a lot is riding on these Olympics because, in the new-world order, the games will forever be more than just a test of the globe's best athletes.

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