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(10/13/95 9:00am)
There are few things as magnificent as Niagara Falls. As it cascades down hundreds of feet, it is hard to find anything as powerful as the roar of Niagara River. But the Penn volleyball team can think of one. Hopefully for the Quakers, the Penn bench will have a reason to roar just as loudly when they step on the court tonight against Niagara at 7:30. Tonight's game against Niagara kicks off a three-game road weekend for the Quakers (8-7). Penn will also face Canisius tomorrow, and York University of Canada, Sunday. This trip is important because it will give the Quakers a rest from the rigorous Ivy League schedule they have had to endure. In two and a half weeks, Penn has already played five of its seven Ancient Eight opponents. Just three days ago the Red and the Blue fell to Princeton in three straight sets. At 3-2, Penn is in the middle of the Ivy League hunt. Unfortunately for the Quakers, and for the rest of the conference at that, the hunt is for second place. Unless Princeton is upset next weekend by both Cornell and Columbia, the Tigers, now at 5-0, will wrap up the top seed for the Ivy League tournament. Thus, the battle for number two is heating up. The fight for second place is important because whoever finishes as the runner-up will not have to face Princeton in the tournament until the championship game. Fortunately for the Quakers, their destiny is in their own hands. Currently Penn is in third place with a 3-2 record, trailing Cornell who is 3-0. If Princeton holds true to form and defeats the Big Red next weekend, and Penn does the same, the Quakers will secure a second-place finish if someone else knocks off Yale (2-2). If no one defeats the Elis, Penn will fall to third in the conference because Yale defeated the Quakers in the league opener. This weekend will provide the Red and the Blue with three low-pressure games that will allow them to touch things up for the stretch run. Niagara (8-12) is struggling, having three of its last five games, including one to Columbia. The Purple Eagles are led on offense by hitter Jessica Anderson, who is first on the team with 268 kills, nearly twice as many as Kelly Cruttenden, who is second with 137. The team is sparked by Karen Catalano, who is not only the setter, but is also perhaps the Eagles' best defensive player as well. She is leading the team in service aces, and ranks third in digs. Unlike Niagara, Canisius is hot. After getting off to a slow start, the Golden Griffins (10-8) have turned it around by winning five of their last six games. However, earlier in the year, Canisius was shut out by Harvard, and the Crimson is winless in the Ivy League so far. It is important the Quakers refine their skills this weekend to toughen up for the rest of conference play. They play three mediocre opponents, so the pressure is minimal. Penn needs to stay healthy and find some consistency to forge ahead in what has been an up and down season. When the Quakers stand at the falls this weekend, perhaps they will be inspired when they realize how hard it is to swim up stream.
(10/10/95 9:00am)
Two turkeys, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and the trimmings decorated the table at last night's Canadian Thanksgiving celebration, sponsored by the Canadians at Penn club. The meal, which was spread out on a red and white Canadian flag, was provided by University Dining Services. Twenty Canadians at Penn members gathered to enjoy a typical Canadian Thanksgiving meal and to become acquainted with other Canadian students. The club, co-founded by College junior Derek Smith and College and Engineering senior Matt Erskine, received Student Activities Council recognition and funding in January. The two founders worked closely with International Admissions Director Shelley Krause to collect a list of the University's 100 undergraduate Canadians. Attempts were also made to contact admitted Canadian freshmen over the summer to inform them of the group's presence on campus. "When I arrived here my freshman year, I found out that there was a previous club here that disappeared in 1988," Erskine said. "We wanted to promote Canadian issues on campus." He also noted that the Wharton School of Business already has a graduate Canadian club. "We plan on meeting once a month so that we can get together and discuss Canadian issues," Smith explained. The club is planning several Canadian film nights, and possibly a trip to the Canadian embassy in Washington this spring. Canadians at Penn also hopes to invite speakers to discuss recent Canadian events. A meeting to discuss the upcoming October 30 Quebec referendum on secession from Canada is also underway. Students can also access the Canadian Broadcast Company over the Penn Video Network on channel 21. Wharton freshman Tavis Cannell found out about the dinner through the group's e-mail listserv, which can be accessed through "cap@dolphin.upenn.edu". Cannell said he is glad to have the opportunity to meet other Canadians on campus and discuss Canadian issues. Erskine said he hopes more people will attend the group's future events. Anyone interested in Canadian issues is welcome to join the group and participate in its activities.
(09/13/95 9:00am)
Although most students' interest in frogs does not stretch beyond The Muppet Show, one University professor has centered the past 13 years of his life around them. Biology Professor Neil Shubin has been studying the amphibian's origins since 1982. Now, his efforts have finally come to fruition. Shubin and Harvard University Professor Farish Jenkins have discovered the fossil of the earliest known frog -- dating back 190 million years. Their findings were printed last week in the science journal, Nature. Jenkins and his team first discovered an unusual fossil during a 1982 dig in Arizona. Shubin, then a Columbia University senior, began graduate school at Harvard the following year, and Jenkins became his advisor. After spending several years studying the fossil, Shubin and Jenkins discovered that it was from a frog. After more years of research, they realized the fossil was from the early Jurassic period -- making it the oldest frog fossil ever discovered. Shubin, who has taught at the University for six years and has recently been granted tenure, noted that the initial discovery led him to conduct further research into how frogs jump. By analyzing the fossil, Shubin realized that a rod-like structure located in the frog's pelvis area had evolved from the tail of an older amphibian. That structure, called the urostyle, gives the frog the capability to leap long distances. "The exciting thing about all this stuff was to take something that seemed initially so inexplicable and to all of a sudden find a very simple reason for it," he said. And although high school and college students often choose the ever- popular "Kermit" when naming the frogs they are dissecting, Shubin and Jenkins chose a more scientific and symbolic name for their discovery -- Prosalirus bitis. The name, which means "to leap forward high over it," comes from Latin and Navajo -- the latter because the fossil was found on Navajo land. Shubin's interest in paleontology took root in high school when he took classes in archeology. As an undergraduate at Columbia, Shubin went on a dinosaur dig through a volunteer job with the Museum of Natural History. "On that dig, I decided that's what I was going to do," he said. In graduate school, Shubin targeted the boundary between the Triassic and Jurassic periods as his specialty. This era interested him because it included the origin of many reptiles and amphibians and the extinction of many older creatures. Throughout the 13 years in which Shubin was working on the project, he continued to teach evolution courses and other biology classes. And his students have said his research adds another dimension to his teaching. "It made what he was telling us credible," said Anthropology graduate student David Zonies, who took Shubin's class last spring. "I'm lucky enough to teach material I really like," Shubin said. "The research and the teaching feed back on one another." He has also led other unrelated digs throughout the United States, Greenland, Morocco and Canada. Shubin said that although his work is at times tedious, the moments of discovery make the hard work worth the extra effort. "You never know when something amazing is going to show up," he said. Shubin is continuing to do research -- this time focusing on the origins of hands and feet.
(06/30/95 9:00am)
Half Hollow Hills H.S. West '93 Dix Hills, N. Y. In an act of senseless violence, fifth-year Mathematics graduate student Al-Moez Alimohamed was shot and killed at 47th and Pine streets last August as students were preparing to return to campus. Alimohamed, 27, was shot once in the chest after five men robbed him of a small amount of money and personal belongings at about 11:20 p.m. across the street from his off-campus apartment. Plainclothes Philadelphia Police officers witnessed the robbery, but were unable to prevent the shooting. Eighteen-year-old Antoine Saunders, two 15-year-olds and two 16-year-olds have been charged with murder, robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime. All of the suspects will be charged as adults and are currently awaiting trial in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. In response to the homicide, University and city officials held a press conference at the 18th District Police Mini-Station at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue three days after the shooting. At the conference, University President Judith Rodin characterized the murder as a "tragic event." "We are concerned about the safety of our students," Rodin said to an audience of about 40 reporters and residents from the immediate neighborhood. "[Violent crime] is not a West Philadelphia problem, but a problem that affects the whole city." In addition to the press conference, a candlelight vigil and a memorial service were held to remember Alimohamed and express outrage over the incident. Alimohamed's parents, who live in Vancouver, Canada, attended the memorial service in October. They thanked the University community for its support and shared anecdotes about their son. "He probably had the purest heart I could think of," said Iqbal Alimohamed, Al-Moez Alimohamed's father. "The last six months Moez was on top of the world. It couldn't have been more perfect." In honor of Alimohamed, the Mathematics Department will establish a teaching prize for graduate math students in his name. And Alimohamed received his doctorate posthumously in December. In an unrelated incident last summer, Wharton senior Samir Shah was shot in the abdomen during a botched robbery. Shah and two friends were entering a house at 39th and Pine streets, adjacent to the Veterinary School, when two masked men approached them and demanded their money. After the students resisted, one assailant shot Shah with a 9-mm handgun. Shah was taken to HUP and has since made a full recovery. There were no arrests or suspects in that case.
(04/26/95 9:00am)
Most college athletes just dream about becoming an all-American, but Arkansas track star Graham Hood has made a habit of it. Since joining the Razorbacks, Hood has received all-American recognition eight times. He is one of the featured runners at the upcoming Penn Relays and has a good shot at winning three relay events at the Carnival. Hood, a distance runner, started his track career in high school, mostly because he was the best runner in his gym class while growing up in Ontario, Canada. Eventually he progressed to the point where Arkansas, the top track program in the country, offered him a scholarship. Under legendary coach John McDonnell, the Razorbacks have built a dynasty rarely seen in college athletics. They have won an amazing 12 straight NCAA indoor championships and are gunning for their fourth straight outdoor title. Over the years, Arkansas has relied on its distance runners to lead it to championships. "Because of Coach McDonnell and his training style, Arkansas certainly seemed like the best choice for me," Hood said. The Arkansas mystique is a lot to live up to. The names of past Razorbacks runners can be found throughout the NCAA and Penn Relays record books. Opponents of Arkansas are constantly trying to knock off the top team in the country and are known to say "I got me a Hog" when they defeat a Razorback in a race. "There is definitely a bit of pressure to live up to the past performances," Hood said. "But although there is the pressure, most of the guys on the team now are trying to make their own names." Hood certainly has done just that during his career. As a freshman in 1990-91, he did not expect to make an immediate impact, but he soon became a valuable member of the team. He finished fourth at NCAA indoors in the 800 meters, his time of 1 minute, 48.16 seconds a new Canadian national record. He also ran on Arkansas' winning distance medley relay team at Penn Relays. The following year, Hood continued his success by finishing second at NCAA indoors in the mile and fifth in the 800 at NCAA outdoors. He also was a member of the winning distance medley relay team and 4x1,500 relay teams at the Penn Relays. Hood capped off the year by representing Canada in the Olympics. He qualified for the finals in the 1,500 meters and finished ninth overall with a time of 3:42.55 "I hadn't thought too much about going initially," Hood said. "The fact that I wasn't expected to do well probably helped me at the Olympics." Hood appeared ready to have a great junior year, but saw it end by straining his knee during the cross country season in the fall. Hood was redshirted in 1992-93 to save his eligibility. "It was really tough for me after the sophomore year that I had to lose the next year," Hood said. "I felt that my junior year was going to be my year to shine." Hood came back with a vengeance last year. He was a member of the Razorbacks' winning distance medley relay team at the NCAA indoor competition. During the outdoor season he gained his first individual NCAA championship by winning the 1,500 in 3:42.10. "Last year was very important for me after coming back from the injury," Hood said. "It got me back into my own frame of mind." Now Hood is coming to the 1995 Penn Relays as one of four college athletes to be honored during the Carnival. Penn Relays is especially important to Hood because it was here last year that he finally felt he had reached the level he was at before his injury. He ran three great races as the Hogs won the distance medley relay, in which they set a world record, and the 4x1,500. With the exception of the NCAAs, the Relays represents the biggest meet of the year for Hood. "There is so much atmosphere and excitement with 50,000 fans, all of whom are knowledgeable about track," Hood said. "As coach McDonnell said, 'If you can't get fired up at Penn Relays, you should get out of the sport.' " Hood considers these Relays his first real meet of the season as he gears up to defend his NCAA 1,500-meters title. Despite Arkansas' team title, Hood did not have his best meet at the NCAA indoors event. He finished second to Kevin Sullivan of Michigan in the mile, while the Wolverines defeated the Razorbacks in the distance medley relay. "We really want to win the DMR this weekend because Michigan is going to be there," Hood said. "We want the chance to show everyone that we are the top team in the country." After this season is over, Hood will begin his professional track career. His ultimate goal is to win a medal at the '96 Olympics in Atlanta. If he does, he will add another piece to the Razorback's distance running tradition.
(03/22/95 10:00am)
Richard Glanton, president of the Barnes Foundation, shared his political views with more than 70 students Monday at the eighth annual Campus Organized Lectures On Racial Sensitivity forum. Glanton spoke in the place of Alan Keyes, former United Nations ambassador, who could not attend the event. Biren Johnson, a Wharton senior and co-chairperson of COLORS 1995, said the program, which continues throughout the week, is an intramural event co-sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Chi fraternities and designed to foster better race relations. Glanton, a Philadelphia lawyer, spoke about the history of the Barnes Foundation and his own relation to it. The Barnes paintings, by such artists as Kandinsky, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, had not been seen by the general public until the collection was exhibited two years ago. It is currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He then took questions from the audience, often discussing his political views on local issues. "Philadelphia is one of the only cities I know of that [delegates] money [for] renovating housing projects," Glanton said. "It doesn't make sense because it is much cheaper to relocate people from housing projects to restored vacant houses." One member of the audience asked Glanton about his views regarding President Clinton's health care plan. "It's foolish," he said. "People in Canada and Poland and other places with state-operated health care come to the United States to get first class care." Glanton also touched on the subject of affirmative action. "I am not for affirmative action. I am for equality," he explained. "But if we have to have affirmative action in order to have equality, than so be it. If affirmative action can be ended, however, and equality restored than that is fine also." Wharton sophomore Deacon Pham said he was not impressed with Glanton's lecture. Glanton "was very articulate, but overall I didn't think the presentation was really relevant to the whole COLORS theme until he answered questions from the floor," he said. College junior Chris Greene, co-chairperson of the event, explained that Keyes, who was originally scheduled to give the keynote address, cancelled at 10 a.m., leaving Glanton little time to prepare.
(03/22/95 10:00am)
Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, discussed her organization's efforts to advance the cause of gay and lesbian rights last night in Stiteler Hall as part of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian Awareness Days. Birch has been in her current position at HRCF -- the largest gay and lesbian political organization in the country -- for just eight weeks. This was her first visit to a college campus in that capacity. Birch, who formerly served as Worldwide Director of Litigation and Human Resources council for Apple Computer, said this move allows her to bring "very exciting, 21st century tools to the gay and lesbian movement." She spoke about her realization that she was a lesbian -- which came very early in her life while she lived in Canada. "I am one of those children that knew very, very early on about my sexuality, and it was unusual because I felt enormously special about it," she said. "Literally, I sprung whole on the Canadian prairie as a little tiny lesbian," Birch quipped to an audience of approximately 35. In speaking about her work, Birch said HRCF works within the political realm. HRCF "is about amassing power within the conventional American legislative and electoral processes," Birch said. She added that it is necessary for gays and lesbians to be able to influence legislators in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Birch also said gays and lesbians should work on establishing a political field operation in the United States, something which she said has not been done before. "We have never laid down the magical grid, so that?at the congressional district level, we build critical masses around each member [of Congress] to alter behavior at the top," Birch said. She explained that working to increase funding for AIDS research is among HRCF's top legislative priorities for the 104th Congress. In addition, Birch said HRCF will work to have the Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced. She said that although she does not expect it to pass in the current session of Congress, it serves as an educational tool, and therefore could be passed in the future. Birch added that HRCF is trying to bring moderate Republicans to support their cause. She also said the best way to promote a bipartisan support is by talking about gays and lesbians in the workplace. "It is our best, most fertile ground to organize on right now," she said. She added that this is "an extremely hopeful time" for gays and lesbians in the United States. "This country is way ahead of Congress in terms of gay and lesbian and bisexual issues," she said. "This country has been transformed in the last two years." Birch pointed to the corporate world -- which she called "a very conservative part of American society" -- for evidence of this. She noted that more than half of the Fortune 1000 companies have non-discrimination policies, and about half of these have been implemented in the last year and a half.
(03/03/95 10:00am)
For sale -- Panama City Beach, Cancun, Myrtle Beach, Montego Bay -- for the duration of one month. Contact your travel agent for prices. Believe it or not, many cities literally sell themselves to college students during the month of March. Travel agencies and independent business owners spend large amounts of money targeting college students across the United States and Canada, according to a news release from ConciergeConsultants of Fort Lauderdale. The businesses post flyers and take out advertisements in campus newspapers promoting the "rental" of their cities to students looking for vacation sites. Flyers promising white sand beaches, blue waters, night clubs, hot sun and hotter bods -- what the companies dub as paradise -- are all a part of the publicity campaigns for the promotion of Spring Break tourist spots. These business owners have probably learned a lesson from the Fort Lauderdale's decision to discourage the annual gathering in their city. In 1989, city politicians in Fort Lauderdale decided they no longer wished to have their city invaded by college students during Spring Break, according to the ConciergeConsultants news release. Students got the message. They left Fort Lauderdale and took with them more than $175 million in revenue, a loss from which the beach community has never recovered. Now private business owners in the area have started their own campaign to bring back the students and with them, economic stability. A flyer promoting package deals to Cancun and the Bahamas caught the eye of College sophomore Amy Rosenberg. Seeing it prompted her to search for more information about the hot spots advertised. Rosenberg and seven of her friends plan to stay in the Bahamas during the week of Spring Break. "I actually wanted to go to Cancun," Rosenberg said. "But one person in our group was dead set against it, so we are going to the Bahamas." Wharton junior Dave Coughlin started planning to go away last semester. However, it was just a week and a half ago that he and his friends decided their destination would be Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. He heard about the area from friends who had been there previously. "We chose Myrtle Beach because it is shorter in terms of distance than other places, so we were saving gas and time," Coughlin said. "It is also not a typical Spring Break spot so we got a good deal with the hotel." College sophomore Mike Barrett, founder of the Penn Spring Break Club, was also attracted by the idea of a vacation spot that was not frequented by many people. "Cancun has too much of a club atmosphere -- loud nonstop partying," he said. "I have been planning to go to Nassau since last year because it is very relaxing." While some students looked for beach vacations, others chose alternative places. Wharton and Engineering sophomore Matt Finkelstein plans to go skiing in Vermont with some friends. "We were going to go to Mexico or Florida, but those ideas never panned out," Finkelstein said. "Then we all decided that we wanted to go skiing." College sophomore Leslie Metzger sums up the Spring Break attitude for all students -- whether renting out a typical Spring Break city, hiding at an unknown beach spot, skiing or even going home. "I just basically want to give my brain a rest," Metzger said.
(02/13/95 10:00am)
The Penn women's track team continued its successful streak Saturday at the Cornell Invitational. Coming off an outstanding performance at West Point and a victory over Princeton, the Quakers finished in first place in Ithaca. Senior co-captain Maggie Morrow saw this success as part of Penn's season-long plan. "This is what the training was supposed to accomplish," Morrow said. "Everyone is supposed to peak now." Morrow thought the team's performance last week against Princeton was stronger than at Cornell. The Cornell meet was more low-key than Princeton, and now most people are focused on the upcoming Heptagonal Championships, which are less than two weeks away. Cornell finished second out of the five teams competing with 67.5 points, 15.5 points behind Penn's 83. The other three teams were all from Canada, and finished with 56, 43 and 19.5 points. Once again, one of the most successful events at the meet for Penn was the high jump. Freshman Tiffany Archer and Senior Nicole Maloy finished first and second respectively with jumps of 5-feet-6, and 5-4.25. Archer and Maloy have finished in first and second place in practically every meet of the season. Archer believes their success comes from hard work and hopes they will continue to do as well at Heptagonals. Her goal is to break the school record of 5-9 set by Maloy. She came closest last week at Princeton with a jump of 5-8.25. The Quakers saw a tremendous improvement in the performances of their distance runners. For most of the season, Penn coach Betty Costanza has spoken about the need to improve in that area. With the return of Morrow, improvement has been evident. For the second consecutive meet, Morrow won the 5,000 meters. She finished 17.5 seconds ahead of Cornell's Megan Kilbride with a time of 17 minutes, 59.5 seconds. Junior Melanie Gesker finished third. Senior Jenee Anzelone added to the success of the distance runners with a victory in the 800 meters. She was able to edge past Cornell's Kate Walker by one tenth of a second. One reason for these great performances was the lack of solid competition. Cornell is a legitimate Ivy League power, but the three Canadian teams were not as strong as most American schools. Morrow said although the Canadian schools had good jumpers, they did not seem as strong as many American schools in the other events. Archer added they were not very strong in most field events. Still, the victorious meet gives Penn another reason to feel confident about the Heptagonals. After three consecutive successful meets, the Quakers see no reason why their dominance should falter. "We can definitely win Heps if we compete as well as we did against Princeton," Archer said.
(02/03/95 10:00am)
Fritz Gramkowski takes kites to the extreme Just after the sun began to disappear behind the bare trees, and K-Mart's lights fluttered across the highway from the New Jersey field, it happened. Fritz slanted his gaze up through his wire rimmed glasses, scratched one of his fuzzy sideburns and glowed. Although it wasn't dark yet, the sun had set enough to remove the serendipitous January warmth from last Friday's afternoon. Only the crisp coldness of the winter remained. But you could tell it wasn't the sting in the air was that was exhilarating Engineering junior Fritz Gramkowski -- it was the 10 square meters of kite that he was about to bring to life. "This is the big one," he said. Seconds later and 100 feet above the ground, wind filled the green, blue and yellow banana-shaped kite --"the big one." In the center of the field, Fritz, in his black biker helmet and windbreaker, was turning around and around to untwist the angel-hair-like kite lines. Holding two handles connected by a rope behind his back, Fritz used his whole body to control the kite -- pulling hard with the right side of his upper body to move the kite right and with his left side to move it left. His efforts could have appeared to be part of a battle, but when he quickly harnessed the wind's power, it was obvious that if this was a battle, it would be a slaughter. Then Fritz slid into his oversized, tricycle-like buggy and the kite powered him across the field at about 15 miles per hour. Francis "Fritz" Gramkowski is a material science major and a brother in Pi Lamda Phi fraternity. And he has also been internationally recognized in Buggy Newz, The Official Organ of The Buggy Pilots as one of the "hottest buggy pilots" in the United States. According to Corey Jensen, the creator, author and distributor of the newsletter, kite buggying is not yet officially a sport so it doesn't have a specific ranking system. "Right now it's only recreation," he said. "But [Fritz] is widely acknowledged by other pilots." Fritz and his buggies have appeared briefly on SportsChannel and in publications such as Eastern League News. Last year at a kite festival in Wildwood, New Jersey -- near Fritz's hometown of Haddonfield -- the Associated Press took his picture and newspapers across the world printed it. Receiving these clips from friends in Philadelphia, California and Ontario, Canada didn't shock Fritz. After all, he will appear on the Discovery Channel's Beyond 2000 in March. "I kind of realized I was better than the other guys," he said. "But when you see it in print, I realized I better go out and go buggying." But when the captions beneath his photo promoted more than kites, Fritz just had to laugh. Although his name was not beneath this buggying image, in Japan the picture was used as a sushi advertisement. According to the second edition of Peter Lynn's Buggies Boats and Peels, State-of-the-Art Kite Traction and Owner's Manual, Englishman George Pocock's 19th century carriage-pulling kites were the first example of kite-powered transportation. Throughout the past 200 years, ambitious kite flyers have undoubtedly tinkered with the idea of kite power. A kite entrepreneur and manufacturer, Lynn describes in his manual an early example of kite-powered transportation utilizing a bicycle on a playground. Lynn then sailed into the 1990 Thai International Kite Festival with his model of a kite buggy. Fran Gramkowski, Fritz's father and the owner of High Fly Kites, bought the prototype. And for Fritz, that is where it all began. Fritz grew up flying kites with his family. His father organized some of the first big stunt competitions, so Fritz started flying kites at four or five years old. But until his father brought home the kite buggy, Fritz chose to surf rather than fly kites, he said. "I started to loose interest and then my dad got me a kite buggy," he said. "You could do more than just pull it around. It's real low so it seems like your butt's only three inches from the ground. It's like sailing but you go a lot faster." Soon after he became involved buggying, Fritz's skill impressed Lynn. Since then, Lynn has provided him with the expensive kite buggying equipment, and Fritz has reciprocated by offering feedback on prototypes, ideas for equipment and promoting the sport. The three-wheeled buggy, which costs about $450, is a completely detachable stainless steel cart weighing about eight kilograms. The massive kites look like parachutes, but are made of rip-stop polyester fiber. The fiber is similar to sail material, but differs in its air-tight coating. "The fabric is expensive because the kites have to be sewn by hand," Fritz said. "The lines have to be within a quarter of an inch or the angle or the kite is not right." Kite lines, which are made of a high density polyethylene fiber called Spectra, can be anywhere from 75 to 250 feet long. Spectra, a type of plastic, has a low melting point. So if the line caught someone's arm, the contact heat would break the line, preventing serious burns. But don't assume that means the lines are weak. Although they look fragile, they can support up to 300 pounds of strain. Buggying has lured Fritz to Florida, Hawaii, Thailand, New Zealand, England and France -- just to name a few locales. His said his favorite moments, though, are more a result of the beauty and companionship than the miles travelled. "It was July in a dry lake in California and 10 of us just found each other," he said. "The desert is really beautiful because you have all the mountains and stuff. We were buggying around and we watched the sun set." Although the strong winds will let a buggy pilot cruise in a dry lake at up to 50 miles per hour, it's not the power of the wind that challenges his skill, but the friendly competition, Fritz said. "When you fly with someone else, you try to one-up them," he said. "You try to fly a bigger kite, go faster -- that's how you figure out new tricks. "Someone does something to you and you have to figure out something to do back," he added. "It's more fun to buggy with other guys." Fran Gramkowski, however, told another story about Fritz's buggying companions. "He brought a girl from Penn down to the shore," he said. "And he can put two buggy's together and can take one buggy to the end of the ocean. He whipped the girl into the ocean, he stayed dry the whole time and she would get all wet. "The little kids idolize him at the beach," Fritz's father added. "He takes them all for rides." While he is in Philadelphia, Fritz said he just buggies and studies. "It's pretty much what I do now," he said. "It's the most important thing to me now. "I don't know if I'm going to be an engineer or a kite flyer," he said. "Not just flying though, I'd have to start making them or selling them out of a store." Fritz's mother, Mary Gramkowski, who is a nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said if flying kites makes Fritz content, she will be happy to say her son was a kite buggier. "I think it would be great," she said. "I want my kids to he happy. If that's what he wants to do then that's great. He and his father, they'll get on the phone and talk about graphite spars. He has a good time. He'll talk your ear off about it, but he has a good time." After a some prodding, Fritz admitted that he does do something besides buggying. "I play Doom," he said, describing the interactive computer game. "Actually, I have most of the grad students and a few material science guys playing. Their productivity is about to go down. We hang around the lounge and that's what we're doing most of the time. [Professors] don't really like that. "I apologized to them after I showed them how to play," he added. But when it comes to kite flying, Fritz makes no apologies. Is "the big one" hard to control ? "No," he said, as the 10 meter kite forced him to leap over his buggy, like he was running in the air.
(11/23/94 10:00am)
Call it growing pains. Call it a learning experience. The fact remains it was a blowout. With one of the nation's top women's swimming teams visiting Penn's Scheerr Pool yesterday, it was to be expected. "Princeton is the best team in the league," Penn coach Kathy Lawlor-Gilbert said. "They're pretty deep. They have a lot of good swimmers." The Tigers (2-0, 1-0 Ivy League) did nothing to tarnish their reputation, pounding the Quakers 162-97. The score could have been worse had Princeton not conceded the final three events to Penn (0-3, 0-3). "If there was a poll, they'd definitely be Top 25," Penn senior Grace Tsuei said. The Tigers can boast two All-Americans among their swimmers. Senior Carwai Seto has won the award in each of her three seasons in addition to all-Ivy and all-East honors. Seto also represented Canada in Barcelona at the 1992 Olympics. Fellow senior Grace Cornelius was also an All-American last year after winning Swimmer of the Meet honors at the Eastern Conference championship. Seto was in top form yesterday, winning the 50-yard breaststroke with a time of 30.61 seconds. She took the lead 20 yards into the race and overpowered the rest of the field, winning by seven yards. Princeton swept first through third places in the 100 butterfly, the 100 freestyle, and the 1-meter diving contest before handing the final events to the Quakers. Penn's most impressive performance came from junior Alison Zegar, who finished first in the 200 freestyle and third in the 50 freestyle. Freshman diver Naomi Stoller struggled on both the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards. On the 1-meter board, Stoller finished a distant fourth behind Princeton senior Debbie Rubin and freshmen Daphne Hernandez and Bianca Freda. The Tigers were able to complete the sweep even without star diver Sheryl Summerton competing. Summerton is a two-time NCAA qualifier and was the league's Diver of the Year last season. After having tallied 155.20 points on the 3-meter board against Cornell and Yale, Stoller's score dropped to 119.6. She was one of the Quakers to be awarded a first place to keep the score close. With only one diver on Penn's roster, each of Stoller's dives become crucial. The Quakers took the loss in stride. Penn will be one of many teams to lose to Princeton this year. The Quakers, many of whom raced in just their second collegiate meet, put up a strong fight. "They did the best they could at this point in the season," Lawlor-Gilbert said.
(11/22/94 10:00am)
Alex Trebek is undoubtedly one of the most recognized names in American game shows. He currently hosts Jeopardy!, which, along with Wheel of Fortune, is the most popular game show in television syndication. Trebek was in Philadelphia Friday when Jeopardy! held a tryout for next year's college tournament. He took a few moments to sit down with Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Daniel Gingiss. Daily Pennsylvanian: How did you become a game show host? Where did you start? Alex Trebek: I started in Canada -- way before you were born? I did all kinds of programs. DP: What are the other game shows you've hosted? AT: Classic Concentration, High Rollers, Wizard of Odds, Battlestars, To Tell The Truth, Pitfall, Double Dare -- that sounds like enough for now. [Trebek had said earlier that Jeopardy! is still his favorite game show, but he also really liked To Tell The Truth.] DP: What are your future aspirations? Are you going to continue hosting? AT: I would like to, yeah -- I'll be hosting Jeopardy! for awhile, as long as people keep watching it, and as long as I keep enjoying what I'm doing. And I don't see any reason for that to change in the near future, so yeah, I'll be around for awhile. DP: You always look like you really enjoy yourself on the show. AT: Yeah, I do. Oh sure, why not? It's a challenging program, I enjoy seeing how bright the contestants are and I'm giving away somebody else's money! DP: What do you do in your spare time when away from the cameras? Do you have any hobbies? AT: Oh, I work around the house, I spend time with the kids, I travel, what ordinary folks do. I putter -- I repair things around the house -- plumbing, electrical, whatever. DP: What makes Jeopardy! different from other game shows? AT: It's tougher, and we're unique in that we give you the answer and you have to come up with the question. So that means there's an added step for our contestants. Instead of my just saying, you know, 'What's Columbus' first name?' [he snaps] 'Christopher' -- you have to think, 'ooh, I have to phrase it in the form of a question' so there's that extra step that separates people. You have to be fast in terms of reflexes in order to ring in first and be the first one to come up with an attempt at providing the right question. And people everywhere enjoy being tested -- they want to see how bright they are -- and that work's to our advantage. DP: Do people perceive the difference -- or what do you think of the difference -- between a show like Jeopardy! and a show like Wheel of Fortune, where someone can go on and not really have too much knowledge and still win $100,000 in three days? There seems to be a perceived difference in ability between the contestants. AT: No, I think you're making a mistake in one regard, and that is you seem to be assuming that the kind of skill required of a contestant on Jeopardy! is more valuable than the kind of skill required of a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, and I'm not prepared to accept that premise. There are different skills in life, and the fact that a player for instance would be a Jeopardy! champion doesn't necessarily mean he could win on Wheel of Fortune, because you have to be able to figure out those puzzles. And not everyone can figure out those puzzles -- you can be a very bright person and not be able to do crossword puzzles. You could be a great crossword puzzle solver and not be able to play Jeopardy! very well, or play Wheel of Fortune. You could you be good at Wheel and good at Jeopardy! and yet bomb out badly on The Price Is Right. There are different skills for each show, just as there are different skills required in life. The same skills that will serve you well as a teacher of English literature might not help you at all if you had to fix the plumbing -- that guy has different skills. DP: Do you think that game shows in general -- and Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in particular -- have the same viewers? AT: I think our viewers -- there are certainly some crossovers between Wheel and Jeopardy -- but I think that we each have a solid core of our own viewers. With Jeopardy! particular, I would think that there are a lot of people who watch us who would not watch other game shows. DP: How are categories selected? Are you worried about potential biases, for instance if a plumber was on the show and a plumbing category came up? AT: That's not a bias. The games are selected at random and the contestants are selected at random. Just as it would be wrong for me to say 'oh, we've got a doctor on the program, let's put a medical category up there,' I think it's wrong for me to say, 'oops, there's a medical category up there and here comes a doctor, we'd better take the medical category out of there.' DP: Can you compare the sample tests used in the tryouts to the actual show? AT: I think they're tougher -- you've got 50 clues and 50 different categories, so you have to have a well-rounded education in order to do well on the tests. In the game, if you know one category you could perhaps run that category and pick up a fair amount of money. It's not that way on the test. DP: How would you do both as a contestant and as a prospective contestant taking the test? AT: I've passed all of the tests since day one, so I've scored pretty well on those. As a contestant, I don't know. I don't think my reflexes are fast enough to help me in a game against a couple of good 30-year-olds?but if I were a contestant in the seniors tournament I would do alright. DP: You said before [when speaking with prospective contestants] that you know 60 to 65 percent of the questions on the show. What types of questions don't you know? AT: I know a little bit about a lot of things, I guess. I don't know if there's any one subject -- the current music scene I don't know much about, but as far as the rest of them I'm usually able to come up with one or two responses in each category. DP: Do you have any favorite categories? AT: Not anymore, I used to like Civil War and Movies, but I don't have any favorites anymore. A lot of them are fun -- it's how they play and how well they're written. DP: To what extent do you see yourself as a cultural icon or a role model to people? AT: I never really think of myself in those terms. There was a survey done not too long ago after the movie Quiz Show came out to find out which quiz show or game show host was viewed as the most trustworthy by Americans and it's nice to know that they think I'm the most honest one. It's nice to think that they like you or they think you're bright or whatever and they feel comfortable with you. All of those things are positives to the extent that in that regard I act as a role model for our youth for instance. And I'm very happy, that's great, that's cool. But I don't go around saying, 'I'm a role model or I should be a role model.' I just try to do the right thing. I try to be honest with the people and not try to con them, not do snow jobs on them. I think that's the best approach. DP: As an icon or celebrity, how do you manage to keep such a low profile? Why don't we ever read about you in the tabloids? AT: I'm happily married, I don't go out much and I don't get into trouble. I don't drink to excess, I don't carry on, I don't do drugs -- never have -- I behave, and in that respect I'm kind of dull. But maybe we need more dull people in this world if that's the gauge we need to use. There are a lot of people out there scrapping and flinging and making noise because they're not at peace with themselves. I think certainly now more than in the past I'm more at peace with myself, I know who I am, I know what I'm capable of, I know what I'm not capable of, and I'm pretty content. I don't have anything to prove. ··· IF YOU NEED TO EDIT, TAKE OUT STUFF BETWEEN THE BULLETS!! ··· DP: Do you like the direction that Jeopardy! is going in? AT: Well, first of all you have to tell me what direction you perceive us going in, because I'm not sure that we're going in a direction. DP: Well, it's a very steady show -- there aren't a lot of gimmicks -- you do have different tournaments which people enjoy, but? AT: We're pretty well the same show we were eight years ago. So we're not going in a direction -- if you mean what we stand for and what we have stood for in the last 10 and a half years, yeah I'm happy with that. DP: But you had mentioned before [to the prospective contestants] about the possibility of a children's Jeopardy!, or on the computer there is a sports Jeopardy! -- any direction like that? AT: Not that I know of -- we wouldn't do a sports Jeopardy! -- it's fine for a computer version of the show I guess. I haven't seen the sports Jeopardy! edition so I don't know. We've had a lot of talk about kids, a lot of interest in us doing a kids' Jeopardy! and that might be a possibility, but not a big possibility for us I don't think. DP: What about any other types of tournaments? AT: No, if it ain't broke don't fix it! That's basically where we approach our current situation. It's a good show, it's solid, we have our core audience that likes us and appreciates what we're doing. We're not going to mess with the show and gussy it up. ··· DP: Do you have any other aspirations for the rest of your life, perhaps post-Jeopardy!? AT: Maybe produce different kids of programming, make some movies, stuff like that. Nothing definite -- I don't tend to plan stuff too far in advance. I let things happen and then I either move on them or I don't, but more short term than long term. I can see myself doing Jeopardy! for another few years, though. DP: To wrap up -- what kind of advice would you give to college students? AT: Don't screw up! Get a good education -- that I believe is very important. Be kind to your fellow man, learn to be charitable, care for the environment. But don't go overboard in terms of your crusades. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you're very passionate about something, whatever it is, that that must be the world moves, because it isn't. And just be a little more understanding of other people?I find if you try to get as much knowledge as you can, and try to be as charitable and individual as you can, you'll do alright in life.
(11/21/94 10:00am)
Just barely passing a test isn't always cause for excitement. But when it puts you in a select group of American college students who could get a chance to win thousands of dollars on Jeopardy!, it suddenly becomes more thrilling. College junior Aaron Shapiro was one of only six students from the Philadelphia area who passed the Jeopardy! entrance exam during Friday's tryouts at the WPVI-Channel 6 studios in Center City. The score required for passing the test was 35 out of 50 questions. Shapiro and the other five finalists scored between 35 and 39. Approximately 85 students gathered Friday to take the exam, after first sending in a post card requesting a tryout. The 50 exam questions were all from different categories -- including mythology, dance, government and royalty. "The test I thought was kind of hard, [but] it was kind of what I expected," said Shapiro, who took the test simply to "give it a shot and just have some fun." College junior Steve Leitzell, on the other hand, said the exam was quite difficult -- he knew he had not passed right after taking the test. "They tested you on everything," he said. "When you watch at home, the categories you know you do really well on. You don't really think about the stuff you don't know." Leitzell added, though, that being a history major helped him greatly on all of the history-related questions. After taking the test, the students were treated to a question-and-answer session led by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. Trebek was asked everything from where he went to college (he's a 1960 graduate of Canada's University of Ottawa) to how he pronounces foreign words so well on the show (he looks them up beforehand in foreign dictionaries). Trebek also said he knows about 60 to 65 percent of the answers on the show, and that a "very competent writing staff" is responsible for creating the questions. Other interesting facts that Trebek divulged about himself and the show include: · Jeopardy! asks the equivalent of two and a half "Trivial Pursuit" games each year. It is now in its 11th season. · The show is taped two days a week, three weeks a month, from July until March. · Trebek called Robert Redford's movie Quiz Show "good but not great." · Trebek was not in a fraternity at school because he feels they are an "excuse for stupid behavior -- I had a more serious attitude at school." · Though Trebek knows Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak, The Price Is Right's Bob Barker and Family Feud's Richard Dawson, he said they "don't socialize." Shapiro said he will find out in February if he is one of the 15 students nationwide who are selected to appear on the Jeopardy! college tournament, which will air sometime in 1995.
(11/07/94 10:00am)
About 2,000 Union workers joined the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, and local elected officials Saturday to campaign for Democratic candidates in Tuesday's Pennsylvania elections. The event was held on the campus of Temple University in North Philadelphia. The crowd was greeted with a performance of Southern-style music and a step-show for about 30 minutes before the candidates arrived as part of the ongoing "Working Families Tour." At about 2:15 p.m., gubernatorial candidate Mark Singel ascended the podium and stood in front of a huge banner saying, "America works best when we say vote union yes." In front of him, thousands of people with jackets and signs representing various unions, such as the AFL-CIO, cheered as the candidate began to speak. Singel was flanked by Democratic City Council members, state senators and representatives, and national union leaders. "Pennsylvania is on a role because you have leadership," Singel said to the jubilant crowd, adding that he is on the side of the working people and not the "S&L; crooks." "We have a message for Congressman [Tom] Ridge?we will not go back to the days of the Reagan/ Bush neglect," he said. Singel added that Ridge's hometown of Erie, Pa. is closer to Canada than to Philadelphia. Singel's running mate Thomas Foley echoed many of Singel's sentiments. "We need you, we need your families and your whole neighborhoods," Foley told the crowd, which often broke into a chant of "vote, vote, vote." "If we get our votes out, we win," he said. Martin Luther King III spoke, and invoked his father in his plea for a large voter turnout in the city. "This Tuesday, we have a real responsibility," King said. "We have a responsibility to turn the City of Philadelphia and the State of Pennsylvania out. We have a great cadre of candidates that we should be proud of." The most charismatic speaker of the day, however, was Jackson. "This is, in my judgment, the most critical election since 1964," Jackson said. "We can win Pennsylvania by the margin of hope. Jackson said voters should consider this election an issue of teams, and that city residents and minorities should be on the Democratic team. Most of the people at the rally appeared energized by the speakers. "I think this is a terrific turnout," said State Senator Allyson Schwartz, who is also up for re-election. "It's all intended to keep up the momentum."
(09/02/94 9:00am)
A fifth-year Mathematics graduate student was murdered Monday night near 48th and Pine streets, Philadelphia and University Police officials said earlier this week. Al-Moez Alimohamed, 27, was shot once in the chest after five men robbed him of a small amount of money and personal belongings at about 11:20 p.m. Monday, Philadelphia Police Sergeant Paul Musi said Tuesday. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. A funeral for Alimohamed will be held today in Vancouver, Canada, where his family resides. He was a native of Pakistan. Plainclothes Philadelphia Police officers witnessed the robbery, but were not quick enough to prevent the shooting, Musi said. "It all happened in a matter of seconds," he added. "As [the officers] were going toward them, it all happened." Musi did say, though, that the police immediately arrested four of the assailants. The fifth turned himself into police Tuesday morning. Eighteen-year-old Antoine Saunders, two 15-year-olds and two 16-year-olds have been charged with murder, robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime, according to Musi. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich called the murder "an absolute tragedy." Although University Police jurisdiction does not extent to 47th and Pine streets, Kuprevich said officers from his department responded to the crime scene and helped Philadelphia Police guard the area. Alimohamed was described as "friendly" and "outgoing" by faculty members in the Mathematics Department. "It's been really traumatic for all of us that this happened to him," said Wolfgang Ziller, who is chairperson of the Mathematics graduate group. "He was such a nice person and has been doing really well as a grad student lately." In fact, Alimohamed had received a one-year fellowship from the Institute for Research and Cognitive Science for his studies for the upcoming academic year. Former graduate group chairperson Ted Chinburg said Alimohamed was to have received his doctorate degree next June. "He was one of the most energetic graduate students I have ever met,'' Chinburg. "It's a tragedy no matter who it happens to. "In Moaz's case, he was just on the verge of making a name for himself in the field." Assistant Vice Provost for University Life Barbara Cassel said the University has been arranging counseling for Alimohamed's friends and will organize a memorial service for members of his department and his friends at the beginning of this semester. English Professor Eric Cheyfitz, who lives at 46th and Osage streets, said the University must take added precautions in the area. "It strikes me that Penn ought to take a much more active role in gun control generally, and certainly in beefing up security in this area," he said, adding that crime is a nationwide problem. Cheyfitz said he was robbed at gunpoint on 47th Street, between Osage and Larchwood streets, last winter. Still, he said his neighborhood is tight-knit. "People care about each other and they look out for each other," he said. University President Judith Rodin said in a statement, "the safety of our students, both off-campus where this terrible incident occurred, as well as on campus is critically important to the university. "For Penn, there can be no higher priority," she added.
(02/25/94 10:00am)
Medals · Cross-country skiing Manuela Di Centa of Italy won a gold in the women's 30-kilometer cross-country race -- her fifth medal of these Games, more than any other athlete. Lyubov Egorova of Russia failed in her bid for a 10th straight Olympic medal, placing fifth. Marit Wold of Norway won the silver and Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi of Finland placed third. · Slalom Deborah Compagnoni of Italy won the gold medal in the women's giant slalom in a time of 2 minutes, 30.97 seconds. Compagnoni, who won the gold in the super-giant slalom at the 1992 Games, blew out her knee the next day in a fall on the giant slalom course and has only gotten back into top form this season. Martina Ertl of Germany was second in 2:32.19 and Vreni Schneider of Switzerland was third in 2:32.97. · Nordic combined Japan won its first gold medal of the Winter Games in the team Nordic combined event. Its three-man team ran the 30-kilometer cross-country relay in 1 hour, 22 minutes, 51.8 seconds, after leading in the ski-jump phase Wednesday. Norway finished second and Switzerland was third. · Freestyle skiing Lina Cherjazova of Uzbekistan won the gold medal in women's aerial freestyle skiing with 166.84 points. It was the first Olympic medal for her country since it gained independence during the Soviet breakup. Marie Lindgren of Sweden was second with 165.88 and Hilde Synnove Lid of Norway was third with 164.13. · Speedskating Cathy Turner of Hilton, N.Y., won the gold medal in women's 500-meter short-track speedskating in a time of 45.98 seconds. Zhang Yanmei of China was second in 46.44 and Amy Peterson of Maplewood, Minn., was third in 46.76. · Hockey The United States lost 5-3 to the Czech Republic and will play for seventh place against Germany, which lost to Slovakia 6-5 in overtime. The Czechs play Slovakia for fifth. Italy beat France 3-2 to finish ninth. Norway defeated Austria 3-1, finishing 11th. · Figure skating World champion Oksana Baiul needed three stitches in her right shin and Germany's Tanja Szewczenko suffered a bruised rib and nausea after the two skaters collided during practice. Szewczenko was carried off the ice and Baiul skated off. Szewczenko returned to the ice, did one jump, looked relieved, but then left. Baiul did not return. · Today's highlights Medal events: women's figureskating, free-skate final program; final round of men's Alpine-combined slalom; women's 4X7.5K biathlon relay; 90-meter-hill ski jumping; 5,000-meter ladies speedskating. Hockey playoffs-semifinals: Finland plays Canada, Russia vs. Sweden.
(02/24/94 10:00am)
Medals · Figure Skating The women's figure-skating competition finally moved onto the ice, and America's Nancy Kerrigan won the technical program with a serene and elegant performance. The gold medal will be decided by Friday's free skate. Judges ranked Kerrigan first, followed by Ukraine's Oksana Baiul and Surya Bonaly of France. U.S. skater Tonya Harding was 10th, all but out of contention. Katarina Witt of Germany, the 1984-88 gold-medal winner, was sixth. · Speedskating American speedskater Bonnie Blair won a gold medal in the 1,000 meters -- her fifth gold in four Winter Games. That makes her the most successful U.S. Olympic woman ever and the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all time. Blair, 30, clocked 1 minute, 18.74 seconds. Germany's Anke Baier won the silver and China's Ye Qiaobo took the bronze. · Giant slalom Markus Wasmeier of Germany won the men's giant slalom with a time of 2 minutes, 52.46 seconds. Wasmeier won the super-giant slalom last week. Urs Kaelin of Switzerland was second in 2:52.48 and Christian Mayer of Austria was third in 2:52.58. Alberto Tomba of Italy, who won the event in 1988 and 1992 Games, missed a gate in his second run and did not finish. · Biathlon Sergei Tchepikov of Russia won the gold in the men's 10-kilometer biathlon sprint. Ricco Gross of Germany finished second for the silver. Myriam Bedard of Canada won her second gold medal of the Winter Games in the women's 7.5-kilometer biathlon in 26 minutes, 8.8 seconds. It was one of the closest finishes ever in the event. Svetlana Paramygina of Belarus was second, 1.1 seconds back, and Valentyna Tserbe of Ukraine was third, 1.2 seconds back. · Nordic combined Japan took a commanding lead over Norway in the ski-jumping portion of the Nordic combined. The Japanese will start with a 5-minute, 7-second lead in today's 30-kilometer cross-country relay, which decides the gold medal. · Hockey quarterfinals Canada 3, Czech Republic 2, OT Finland 6, United States 1 Sweden 3, Germany 0 Russia 3, Slovakia 2, OT France plays Italy for ninth place today, and Austria battles Norway for 11th. In consolation play, the Czech Republic faces the United States and Germany takes on Slovakia. Semifinal play starts tomorrow, with Finland playing Canada, Russia vs. Sweden.
(02/23/94 10:00am)
Medals · Cross-country relay Italy won the 40-kilometer cross-country relay in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 15 seconds, edging Norway by 0.4 seconds and denying Bjorn Dahlie his sixth Olympic gold medal. Dahlie skied the anchor leg and lost a heated sprint for first place to Silvio Fauner. Finland won the bronze. · Ski jump Germany won the gold medal in the men's 120-meter team ski jump with 970.1 points led by Jens Weissflog, who won the individual gold on the large hill Saturday and at the 1984 Sarajevo Games. Japan took the silver medal with 956.9 points and Austria won the bronze with 918.9. · Speedskating Defending champion Kim Ki-Hoon of South Korea won the gold medal in the 1,000-meter short-track speedskating race at 1 minutes, 34.57 seconds. Chae Ji-Hoon of South Korea won the silver in 1:34.92 after two competitors were disqualified. The bronze went to Marc Gagnon of Canada. South Korea set an Olympic record of 4 minutes, 26.64 seconds in the women's 3,000-meter short-track speedskating relay. Five-time defending world champion Canada won the silver and the United States, silver medalist in 1992, took the bronze. China's team finished second but was disqualified. · Hockey Playoffs-consolation: France beat Austria 5-4 (shootout). Italy defeated Norway, 6-3. · Today's highlights Medal events: women's 1,000-meter speedskating, men's giant slalom, women's 7.5K biathlon, men's 10K biathlon. Other: Women's figure-skating technical program, with deciding free skate Friday; Nordic combined, 90-meter team ski-jumping with deciding 3X10K cross-country race tomorrow. Hockey: quarterfinal playoffs, US-Finland, Canada-Czech Republic, Germany-Sweden, Slovakia-Russia. · Harding PORTLAND, Ore. -- On the eve of Tonya Harding's Olympic skating performance, her ex-husband was denied permission yesterday to go to Colorado to testify against her at a disciplinary hearing. Circuit Judge Donald Londer refused Jeff Gillooly's request that he be allowed to go to Colorado Springs for the March 9 hearing -- a ruling that angered the prosecutor and surprised the attorney for the U.S. Figure Skating Association. The USFSA had asked that Gillooly appear at the hearing, which will consider whether Harding violated the association's code of ethics by her actions surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan.
(02/22/94 10:00am)
Medals · Hockey The U.S. team beat Italy 7-1 to clinch the last playoff spot. Canada's 3-2 win over unbeaten Sweden and Slovakia's 6-2 victory over France completed the pairings for the single-elimination medal round. Consolation play is today. The Americans will face unbeaten Finland tomorrow. · Ice skating Oksana Gritschuk and Evgeni Platov won the gold medal for ice-dancing, leading a one-two Russian sweep. Maia Usova and Alexander Zhulin of Russia, the reigning world champions, finished second, edging out 1984 Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. · Alpine skiing Pernilla Wiberg won the gold medal in the women's Alpine combined -- Sweden's first medal of the Games. Vreni Schneider of Switzerland, a double gold medalist in 1988, was second. Alenka Dovzan of Slovenia won the bronze -- the first Olympic medal ever for her country. · Speedskating Emese Hunyady of Austria won the women's 1,500-meter speedskating race in two minutes, 2.19 seconds. Svetlana Fedotkina of Russia was second in 2:02.69 and Gunda Niemann of Germany, the favorite, was third in 2:03.41. Bonnie Blair of Milwaukee was fourth in 2:03.44, her best time ever for the distance. · Cross-country relay Lyubov Egorova anchored Russia to victory in the women's cross-country 4 x 5-kilometer relay, winning her sixth Olympic gold medal to tie the all-time Winter Games record set by Soviet speedskater Lydia Skoblikova in 1960-64.
(02/21/94 10:00am)
Medals · Speedskating Norway's Johann Olav Koss turned in one of the best speedskating performances of all time yesterday to become the first triple-gold medalist of these Olympics. · Alpine skiing Katja Seizinger, Picabo Street and Isolde Kostner ran 1-2-3 in the downhill portion of the women's combined, the same order in which they finished the gold-medal downhill the day before. · Figure skating Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean took a slim lead after the original dance. Russians Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin were second ahead of Oksana Gritschuk and Evgeni Platov, also from Russia. · Ski jumping Jens Weissflog of Germany came from behind on the second jump to capture the gold medal in the 120-meter ski jumping with 274.5 points. · Bobsled Switzerland's Gustav Weder and Donat Acklin won the two-man bobsled over teammates Reto Goetschi and Guido Acklin -- Dino's brother -- in the second-closest Olympic bobsled finish in history. · Biathlon Sergei Tarasov won the men's 20-kilometer biathlon in 57 minutes, 25.3 seconds, making up for misses in shooting with superior cross-country skiing. · Hockey Russia edged the Czech Republic, 4-3. Finland routed Germany 7-1 to finish the pool undefeated and untied in the tournament in the preliminary round. Austria beat Norway, 4-2. Norway finished 0-5. The qualifiers from Pool A are Finland, Germany, Czech Republic and Russia. From Pool B, Canada, Sweden and Slovakia have qualified. The United States plays Italy for the fourth spot.
