Andrew Jennings

Andrew Jennings is the official gadfly of the Olympic Games, having written two controversial books exposing alleged corruption within the International Olympic Committee--"Dishonored Games: Corruption, Money and Greed at the Olympics" in 1992, followed by a revised version, "The New Lords of the Rings," in 1996. Five years ago, Jennings' work got him sued for criminal defamation by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Andrew Jennings is the official gadfly of the Olympic Games, having written two controversial books exposing alleged corruption within the International Olympic Committee--"Dishonored Games: Corruption, Money and Greed at the Olympics" in 1992, followed by a revised version, "The New Lords of the Rings," in 1996. Five years ago, Jennings' work got him sued for criminal defamation by IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The coming-of-age novel seems to have become an especially American genre. Every novelist either writes one or once planned to write one and somehow didn't. First novels, of course, quite often fit into this classification, since young novelists live--and write--with the fires of their own adolescence barely subsiding. This propinquity of the past gives the best of these novels the shimmer of actuality, as in this particularly fine first novel by Dana Andrew Jennings. Although the novel may well have nothing to do with the life that Jennings has lived, "Mosquito Games" seems close to autobiography.

The New Hampshire of white houses, village greens and gruff good neighbors that Robert Frost memorialized makes no more than a token appearance in "Women of Granite." Dana Andrew Jennings' second novel is set in places that tourists never see: on the overgrown logging tracks that form a kind of secret backwoods freeway system; in the bramble-choked swamps where copperhead snakes make a last lurking stand against extinction.

The New Hampshire of white houses, village greens and gruff good neighbors that Robert Frost memorialized makes no more than a token appearance in "Women of Granite." Dana Andrew Jennings' second novel is set in places that tourists never see: on the overgrown logging tracks that form a kind of secret backwoods freeway system; in the bramble-choked swamps where copperhead snakes make a last lurking stand against extinction.

Students borrowing money for college today are much likelier to default than people who took out loans just a few years ago, according to a new report. The student-loan delinquency rate in the last three years has risen to 15.1%, up from 12.4% from 2005 to 2007, according to FICO Labs, a unit of Fair Isaac Corp., which publishes consumer credit scores. That's a nearly 22% increase. The report is the latest red flag signaling that monstrous debt is a problem not only for students but potentially for the broader economy as well.

In other nonleague games: Liberty Christian 48, La Verne Lutheran 34--Lynlee Vaccaro scored 21 points and Lisa Winters added 19 to lead host Liberty Christian (6-5). In a Metro League boys' basketball game: Cal Lutheran 94, Pacific Shores 74--Josh Bahn and Jeremy Steele each scored 18 points and Ron Thompson added 12 points to lead host Cal Lutheran (2-1 in league).

The coming-of-age novel seems to have become an especially American genre. Every novelist either writes one or once planned to write one and somehow didn't. First novels, of course, quite often fit into this classification, since young novelists live--and write--with the fires of their own adolescence barely subsiding. This propinquity of the past gives the best of these novels the shimmer of actuality, as in this particularly fine first novel by Dana Andrew Jennings. Although the novel may well have nothing to do with the life that Jennings has lived, "Mosquito Games" seems close to autobiography.

The Orange County Athletic Directors Assn. will name its high school boy and girl athletes of the year at its annual awards dinner May 22 at Anaheim Stadium. The winners will be selected from the nominations made by each of the county's leagues. The girl nominees: Shay Trette (St.

Capistrano Valley Christian scored 30 second-quarter points and defeated L.A. Ribet, 57-0, Saturday to capture its first league title in 10 years. The Eagles (7-3, 5-0) also scored 21 points in the third quarter. Andrew Jennings scored on runs of 11, 21 and 40 yards for Capistrano Valley Christian. Teammate Bryant Wolfsberger rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Wayland Williams passed for one touchdown and returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown. In the Freedom League: St.