Amy Acuff

Johnny Gray and the Los Angeles Invitational Indoor track meet hit the big four-oh this year, in varying degrees of wear and tear. The Invitational, which debuted in 1960 and played to full houses in its early years, finds itself all but alone as its approaches middle age--long since abandoned by its title sponsor, more recently by the U.S.

Here it is July already and there isn't a single quarterback controversy in L.A.. . . . Amazing. . . . Jeff Hostetler seems capable of leading the Raiders to the Super Bowl, Chris Miller should give the Rams a new and improved look, Rob Johnson of USC is an All-American candidate and Wayne Cook of UCLA is expected to get the ball into J.J. Stokes' hands 80 or 90 times this season. . . . Misfortune continues to plague the Super Bowl IV champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Middleweight Shawn Estrada of East Los Angeles dropped a decision on a tiebreaker to Germany's Konstantin Buga and light-welterweight Javier Molina of Commerce was defeated by Bradley Saunders of England on Tuesday at the World Boxing Championships in Chicago. "I started slow but I broke him down at the end," Estrada said. "The guy couldn't even stand at the end at the end of the round, but I did my best. I thought I had it, the guy was falling. I had him out-pointed, he couldn't even stand.

When Kevin Little crossed the finish line first in the 200 meters at the World Indoor track and field championships at Paris on Saturday, he had to answer questions about his race. Little is white. "I realize I'm a white man, but I'm trying to be the fastest sprinter in the world, not the fastest white man," said Little, 28, after tying the U.S. record of 20.40 seconds. "The way I see it, a man won the 200. It doesn't matter what color."

Dawn Dumble won her first two NCAA shotput titles so easily, she thought she might try winning another one with her knees tied in knots. Dumble, a UCLA senior, is making a comeback after having had surgery on both knees in 1993 and sitting out the 1994 season. She would appear to have a good chance at her third national title in the NCAA indoor meet Saturday and Sunday at Indianapolis. Until her knees failed her, Dumble's career had been a steady climb.

Greece, again? Only 2,780 years since the first Olympics were held there, the Summer Games return this month with a sense of deja-Zeus. Rounding third and heading for Homer, the hesitant sports world should fear not, for it is sliding into familiar territory. The early Olympians, for example, competed naked. These Olympians will feature Amanda Beard, a swimmer who posed for FHM, and Amy Acuff, a high jumper who leaped into Playboy. The early Olympics were free. With only one-third of the 5.

Lance Armstrong has cut all French races from his 2001 schedule other than the Tour de France, the cycling showcase he has won the last two years. Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service team is the subject of a French judicial investigation into whether the team used banned substances during last year's Tour de France. Armstrong, who listed his 2001 schedule on his Web site, competed in four French cycling competitions last year in addition to the Tour de France.