For Chinese, Medals Are Good as Gold

Chinese medalists got more than gold, silver, and bronze for their performances in the Summer Olympics at Barcelona.

Medalists have been showered with cash since returning to China, and Reuters news service reported that 13-year-old diver Fu Mingxia has been given $86,000 in cash alone for her victory on the platform.

Other gold medalists have reportedly earned much more in a country where the average monthly wage is about $30.

Trivia time: Six NFL quarterbacks have passed for 500 or more yards in a game. Who are they?

Heavy reading: From the Phoenix Cardinals’ media guide: Nose guard Jim Wahler, fourth-year man from UCLA, owns “a valuable collection of comic books, including approximately 250 issues of Spiderman.�

All aboard: During this summer’s British Open, a group of sportswriters conducted an early-morning sing-along at a hotel near Muirfield.

At 3 a.m. when they were on their fifth rendition of “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane,� the telephone in the bar rang and the bartender heard a sleepy voice, say: “Would you tell those gentlemen that this is the last call for boarding?�

The intimidator: Travis Hannah, USC’s senior flanker, is listed on the roster as 5 feet 8 and 160 pounds: “I’m actually 5-7 1/2,� he said. “They put me down as 5-8 to make me look big.�

Barkley II? Ohio State running back Robert Smith, who quit the team last year, is seemingly unfazed by any unpopular image he has created.

“Now that I’m unpopular with a lot of people, I really enjoy it a bit more,� he told the Sporting News. “It’s refreshing to have people down on me. Now I understand how Charles Barkley feels. I would love to be Charles Barkley, because he’s a guy who says whatever he wants.�

He also puts his foot in his mouth while doing it.

Laid back: Kevin Bass, traded by the San Francisco Giants to the New York Mets last month, noted the difference between the teams.

“(The Mets) are more mellow, a lot more mellow,� Bass said. “They don’t take losses as hard.�

Translation of mellow: fifth place in the National League East.

Are you sure? Phil Stone, announcing the Stanford-Texas A&M; game for the Raycom television network, had this observation after Aggie safety Steve Kenney was hurt: “He goes off holding what looks to be a left leg.�

FYI: Exercise walking was the most popular recreational sport in the United States last year, according to a survey conducted by the National Sporting Goods Assn.

Swimming was the next most popular activity, and the fastest growing was rollerblading.

Trivia answer: Norm Van Brocklin, Rams, 554 yards, 1951; Warren Moon, Houston, 527, 1990; Dan Marino, Miami, 521, 1988; Phil Simms, New York Giants, 513, 1985; Vince Ferragamo, Rams, 509, 1982, and Y.A. Tittle, New York, 505, 1962.

Quotebook: Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke, asked if he could hit teammate Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball: “I’d have a better chance of catching flies with Chinese chopsticks.�