I Confess: I'm The Man Behind The Curtain!

Yeah, I know, that Bobby Knight column has been getting pretty stale. What can I say? I've caught Olympic Fever.

Actually, I didn't just catch it -- I was sorta given an injection, like when the vet pins your dog on the table and jams a six-inch needle into his hind flank. I don't want to say it was against my will, but if you follow my work you know that I'm more of a stick-n-ball guy. I don't do well with the Ring-Heads.

But my primary distraction the last two weeks has actually been a lot of fun. Now that the Olympics are winding down, I can make this confession: I am the man behind the curtain. I'm the guy responsible for our acclaimed Olympic Mailbag.

With some help from my pals Rex and Chuck I have been sorting through hundreds of questions posed by you, the reader, regarding all things Olympic. Below, I have culled a selection of my favorites. For one reason or another, these questions, or maybe the answers, are going to stick with me for a long time, like a banned substance with C.J. Hunter.

Enjoy, and keep scrolling for an Olympic edition of Shout-Outs.

Tammy from Anderson asks, "Why does the women's volleyball team from Brazil have Brazil spelled with an 's' on their team outfits?"

Well Tammy, "Brasil" is the way they spell it down there. Just because Americans call it "Brazil" doesn't make it the country's name. They are probably asking each other, "Why do the athletes from los Estados Unidos have a 'U.S.' on their uniforms?" Because down there, we're the "E.U."

Marco from Houston says, "There 3 mascots in the Olympics and I would like to know who they are. Thank you so much!!!"

This is why they say, "It takes all kinds." Because I, personally, couldn't care less about Olympic mascots, but folks like Marco are enthralled by them. Here you go, Marco. It's a link to the mascots page on the official site of the Sydney games. Follow that link and you can read about Millie, Syd and Olly until you're giddy with mascot fever.

Robert Lee of Williamston asks, "How many nations are in the 2000 Olympics?"

199. I counted.

Cassie of Linwood wants to know, "What would the main controversy of the Olympics be?"

Of course, that's a matter of opinion Cassie. But in my mind it continues to be the drug angle. C.J. Hunter casting a shadow (no pun intended) on Marion Jones' drive for five gold medals. Andreea Raducan losing her gold medal because her doctor gave her a pill for a stuffy nose. Every swimmer who posts a personal best getting thrown under the white hot light of public speculation. Nobody trusts anybody these days, because everybody knows some drugs can be masked, tests can be false-positive, and the pressure to win has driven many competitors down the slippery slope of performance-enhancing substances.

It?s a mess, and it's not going away any time soon. And that, in my mind, is the main controversy of the Olympics.

Toni of Davison asks, "What I'd like to know is why do they have any type of sport known to man but don't have golfing? I think that would be more interesting than trampoline jumping. What's going to be in the next Olympics, MARBLES????"

Toni, the main reason that golf is not included in the Olympics is that golf already has a number of more prestigious international team competitions -- namely, the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup. But, you argue, tennis is set up in a similar fashion, and that's an Olympic sport! Yes, well, in name only. Notice how many of the world's top players -- Agassi, Sampras, Hingis, etc. -- withdrew from the Olympics for a variety of reasons? To them, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, etc., are much more important, and the golf world would likely treat Olympic golf the same way. Why dilute the games even further by including a half-baked golf tournament when tennis has been more or less a spectacular failure? Don't be surprised if some sports are revisited in the next decade, and perhaps a few will lose their Olympic status.

Great question from Annemieke in Gainesville, Florida: "How is it that commentators can behave so rude in interviewing a foreign athlete: Inge De Bruijn? Inge was already insulted by Amy Van Dyken, spitting and commenting. Why was Amy not disqualified? Commentators and thus NBC can help set a better example for the youth, in the way they treat such incidents. I'd like to hear your response. Is there someone appropriate for me to approach? (Yes I'm Dutch.)"

You'll be surprised to hear this Annemieke, but I agree with you 100 percent. Now, I do like to see a reporter ask the tough question, but not over and over and over again. In particular, I wanted to see Inge shove Andrea Joyce into the pool after the grilling she received for winning the 50m freestyle. But to her credit, De Bruijn handled it with much more class than many "ugly" Americans have been displaying.

If you'd like to forward your comments to NBC, here's a link to NBC's Olympics site. Scroll to the bottom and click "Help/Feedback" and follow the instructions. For the record, Scott of Rocklin, Calif., voiced similar displeasure toward NBC's coverage in general and Ms. Joyce's interview of De Bruijn in particular.

As for Van Dyken, well, spitting into your competitor's lane isn't illegal, just rude and immature. But she got hers, didn't she?

Samantha in Carmichael asks, "What is the significance of the 26.2 mile distance in the marathon?"

Here's the straight scoop, from the official site of the Sydney Games:

"The marathon is steeped in Greek history. According to legend, the Greeks originally introduced it to commemorate a soldier named Pheidippides, who ran 40 kilometres (25 miles) carrying news of an Athenian victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon. As the tale goes, Pheidippides, yelling triumphantly as he ran, delivered the news -- then dropped dead.

The ancient Games went the extra mile, literally, making it a 26-mile race. Today, it is 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195km). Where did that come from? The 1908 games in London. The marathon that year began in front of Windsor Castle so the royal grandchildren had a good view. That meant the race would finish across the field from the royal box in the stadium, however, so Queen Alexandra objected. The race was extended, and marathoners have had a little extra to thank her for ever since."

So there you have it. Cool story, huh?

Desiree of Cincinnati wants to know, "Where did the first Olympics take place?"

They were held in Athens, Greece, from April 6-15, 1896. And not that you asked, but Greece kinda cleaned up that year -- the hosts won 47 medals, compared to 19 for the U.S. and 15 for Germany. To give you an idea of how far we've come athletically since then, compare these swimming times: In 1896, Alfred Hajos of Hungary won the gold medal in the men's 100m freestyle with a time of 1:22.2. This year, Pieter van den Hoogenband of the Netherlands won the gold by swimming the same distance in 48.30.

Elsworth in Detroit says, "I see that the we have a first in the 2000 Olympics. While watching the trials my daughter, who swims for the Brewster/Wheeler team in Detroit, noticed we have a Black swimmer in these games. Is this a first? I have watched the games as long as I can remember and I believe this is a first. If this is true it would do the youth and black swimmers in the city a lot of good to read or see someone like them to inspire them to go beyond splashing and cannon balling. Thank you for your help."

Elsworth, I'm sure you're referring to Anthony Ervin, who won the gold medal in the men's 50m freestyle. Yes, he made history as the first swimmer with an African-American lineage to qualify for the U.S. Olympic swimming team -- his father is 75 percent African-American and 25 percent Native American, while his mother is white. However, Ervin doesn't like to make a big deal out of his race. According to his bio on NBC's Olympics site, Ervin says, "I hope to be a role model for everybody, black, white or brown."

However, his race is undeniably a big story for African-Americans and swimming fans throughout the U.S. I'm sure that somewhere Al Campanis right now is saying, "Huh, well I'll be darned . . . "

Carole asks a question that I was wondering about myself: "Why in the Women's Volleyball games do both teams score points when they win the volley, as opposed to only the serving team?"

Until this year, Olympic volleyball was played by the same rules we're all accustomed to -- namely, that you had to serve to score a point. However, this year the rules were changed.

According to the volleyball rules page on the official Sydney Olympics site, "Under the new scoring system, the team winning the rally scores a point. The match consists of five sets. The winner in the first four sets is the first team to reach 25 points or more with a two-point margin. The fifth set is played to 15 points, again with a two-point margin required."

My guess is that the rule change was made to speed up play. Incidentally, there was another major rule change this year -- the creation of a new position called the libero, a player who can substitute freely throughout the match and play only in the back row. The libero cannot serve, spike or rotate into the front, so look for a smaller, quicker, defensive specialist to fill that role. You will be able to recognize the libero easily -- he or she will be wearing a different-colored jersey than the rest of the team.

Mallory Z. says, "I know when they first held the Olympics that women were not allowed to participate, or even watch. I would like to know when women were first allowed to compete."

That's a fantastic question Mallory. Again, the Sydney 2000 site tells us that women first participated in tennis and golf in the 1900 Olympics in Paris. So this is the 100th anniversary of women being allowed to compete.

5. Andreea Raducan -- The next time somebody tells her to follow doctor's orders, she'll probably think twice.
4. Doug Mientkiewicz -- From Salt Lake malcontent to Sydney celebrity. Thank you, Tom Kelly.
3. Tatiana Grigorieva -- If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention.
2. Inge De Bruijn -- An Aussie coach said, "I can't imagine how you get a girl to swim that fast." Me either, but the Dutch found a program that helped a woman get there.
1. Rulon Gardner -- Are you kidding me? As upsets go, this one tops the '69 Mets, the 1980 U.S. hockey team and Keith Richards' continued existence on this planet.

Other Donnelly Columns:
September 14, 2000: Knight: Alpha Male, Phi Beta Kappa Jerk
August 31, 2000: Devil Rays Give Baseball A Black Eye
August 17, 2000: Too Much Tiger?
August 10, 2000: Ranting On Dennis Miller