Athletic Equipment

Race cars often don't have a speedometer. What they do have is a tachometer that shows how fast the engine is revving. A heart rate monitor is a tachometer for the human body -- it tells a user how quickly the heart is beating during exercise. Sports- and fitness-related use of the device has mushroomed since its invention in 1977, but many people don't know how to use one effectively. For starters, simple formulas to determine heart rate training zones aren't reliable.

Masahisa Tsujitani is getting a lot of attention these days for a man who has spent much of the last 40 years bent over a lathe in a garage workshop, where amid the sharp smell of burnt oil and iron he grinds out some of the finest 16-pound shots ever tossed by Olympic athletes. But Tsujitani's cheerful face is showing up on Japanese television and in newspapers not because of what he does, but because of what he is refusing to do.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' batting lineup didn't have much luck Wednesday. But the team's fan lineup in Dodger Stadium's Section 11, Row N certainly did. In the bottom of the fifth inning Glen Walker in Seat 1 caught a pop foul hit by Dodger first baseman James Loney. On the next pitch by the New York Mets' John Maine, Joe Castro in Seat 2 caught a line-shot fouled off Loney's bat. The crowd in the field-level seats between third base and home went wild.

The most prominent manufacturer of maple bats said Tuesday that baseball players and owners should ensure the quality of bats by paying roughly triple the price.

NEW YORK -- The players' union anticipates filing a grievance claiming owners improperly acted in concert to keep Barry Bonds out of the major leagues this season, a source familiar with the matter said late Tuesday. No final decision has been made, the source said, but the union is leaning toward filing a grievance. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly in advance of a decision.

Swimmers who will compete in the Beijing Olympics can pack light. All they have to bring is a suit, goggles and a cap. For the synchronized swimmers, add hair gel and glitter. Throw in a robe or warmup suit and they're good to go. Most track and field athletes can get by with minimal baggage too. Shirt, shorts, shoes, maybe a jacket and pants, and they're ready to toe the line. Same for gymnasts, who need to tote only leotards or pants and shirts.

What do Wonder Woman, Superman, Catwoman and Michael Phelps all have in common? Well, they don't all have blazing speed in the 100-meter freestyle, although Catwoman probably has some decent fast-twitch muscles. They are all included in the ongoing exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy." Amidst all the men and women of steel and savvy happens to be a Phelps figure, wearing the Fastskin LZR Racer. World records are one thing.

A dispute over how Oscar De La Hoya wraps his hands for a fight grew contentious Friday before the Nevada State Athletic Commission said his taping method can effectively remain status quo. De La Hoya's tape man, Joe Chavez, uses two-inch-wide brown medical tape around his fighter's hands and then rolls up the tape between the fingers to help cushion what the De La Hoya camp describes as sensitive hands.

When the first snow fell last season, traveling by air with skis or a snowboard to a mountain resort was mostly just burdensome. Now it's become costlier. The changes in baggage policies in the last year mean, at the outset, that most all but elite fliers will pay for checked bags, usually $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second. And that's if it doesn't exceed the weight limits, which could be as little as 50 pounds.

It's out with microfiber composite, in with leather for 2007. And for most of the NBA's players, that means a truly happy new year. The league's unpopular decision to switch to synthetic basketballs this season was met with almost universal unhappiness by the players, who complained about the abrasive surface, the erratic bounces and the tendency of the balls to get sticky and hard to grip as they became soaked in moisture from perspiration.