Athletics Training

About a year ago, with baseball's owners already working on the concept of a spring lockout if the players rejected revenue sharing, their Player Relations Committee hired one of New York's largest and most powerful public relations firms, Howard Rubenstein & Associates, as consultants. On Day 12 of their lockout, not even Rubenstein and all of his associates could dig the owners out of the public relations morass they have created.

It's a Saturday morning in a quaint and sunny corner of Orange County, and I'm sitting down with Damon Wells for a purse-sized omelet breakfast of champions. Thirty seconds later — thirty grunting and messy seconds — breakfast is over. "I'm still hungry," he says, patting his taut midsection. "I'm always hungry. " You want an athlete with fire in his belly? This guy once competitively ate 19 burritos in 10 minutes. "You're either completely sickened by it or completely intrigued by it," he says.

Six days a week, Paul Pancoe jogs, swims and rides a bike to prepare for the upcoming San Francisco marathon. But he doesn't do it for fun. He does it to help save the lives of many people he has never met. Pancoe, 38, is training for his first marathon in 10 years, in an effort to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America and help find a cure for the deadly disease. "I used to be an athlete and I looked at this as a way to help people.

Memo to parents with children entering the world of competitive sports: It's not the way you remember it. A plethora of organized sports teams and the resulting competition has bred an industry of supplemental training: private coaches, sports camps and now private training facilities such as Velocity Sports Performance, which opened its first California branch in Irvine three weeks ago.

Gail Weldon, a pioneer in athletic training for women who was chief trainer and director of physical therapy for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, has died. She was 40. Ms. Weldon died Wednesday at UCLA Medical Center after a long struggle with liver cancer, her close friend and publicist Sydney Weisman said Thursday. In 1975, Ms. Weldon became the first woman hired by the Amateur Basketball Assn.

Women athletes who seek to become lighter and faster by dieting may merely jeopardize their competitive chances, according to a nutrition consultant to the U.S. Olympic swimming team. "Dieting during intensive training does nothing but starve a hard-working machine. Instead of losing weight, the body defensively conserves fat and burns the muscle tissue athletes need to perform," said Jackie Berning, a registered dietitian.

Despite a series of rival proposals, plans for a multiuse sports complex here are moving ahead as the Planning Commission will decide tonight whether to pursue zoning changes to accommodate the center. Commissioners are expected to approve a resolution that permits developer Tim L. Wood to proceed with Sportsplex, a sprawling ice-skating and athletic training center he wants to build near Camarillo Airport.

Heeding a patriotic call to duty, with the prospect of a little fun along the way, can spur even the weariest college basketball player into momentous action. Or at least convince him to give up his summer break. Which explains why 14 players, some of the game's best and brightest, were at Southern California College on Tuesday. Not that SCC isn't a fine place to be, but you don't typically find future NBA types hanging around. But there they were, practicing--hard--for the U.S.

Football players, track stars, actors, jazz musicians and a homecoming princess are among key members of high school teams preparing for Ventura County's annual Academic Decathlon beginning this month. Over its 16 years, the event has taught many students and teachers that being smart doesn't necessarily mean being a card-carrying geek.

Memo to parents with children entering the world of competitive sports: It's not the way you remember it. A plethora of organized sports teams and the resulting competition has bred an industry of supplemental training: private coaches, sports camps and now private training facilities such as Velocity Sports Performance, which opened its first California branch in Irvine three weeks ago.

Football players, track stars, actors, jazz musicians and a homecoming princess are among key members of high school teams preparing for Ventura County's annual Academic Decathlon beginning this month. Over its 16 years, the event has taught many students and teachers that being smart doesn't necessarily mean being a card-carrying geek.

Heeding a patriotic call to duty, with the prospect of a little fun along the way, can spur even the weariest college basketball player into momentous action. Or at least convince him to give up his summer break. Which explains why 14 players, some of the game's best and brightest, were at Southern California College on Tuesday. Not that SCC isn't a fine place to be, but you don't typically find future NBA types hanging around. But there they were, practicing--hard--for the U.S.

Despite a series of rival proposals, plans for a multiuse sports complex here are moving ahead as the Planning Commission will decide tonight whether to pursue zoning changes to accommodate the center. Commissioners are expected to approve a resolution that permits developer Tim L. Wood to proceed with Sportsplex, a sprawling ice-skating and athletic training center he wants to build near Camarillo Airport.

Six days a week, Paul Pancoe jogs, swims and rides a bike to prepare for the upcoming San Francisco marathon. But he doesn't do it for fun. He does it to help save the lives of many people he has never met. Pancoe, 38, is training for his first marathon in 10 years, in an effort to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America and help find a cure for the deadly disease. "I used to be an athlete and I looked at this as a way to help people.

Gail Weldon, a pioneer in athletic training for women who was chief trainer and director of physical therapy for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, has died. She was 40. Ms. Weldon died Wednesday at UCLA Medical Center after a long struggle with liver cancer, her close friend and publicist Sydney Weisman said Thursday. In 1975, Ms. Weldon became the first woman hired by the Amateur Basketball Assn.

About a year ago, with baseball's owners already working on the concept of a spring lockout if the players rejected revenue sharing, their Player Relations Committee hired one of New York's largest and most powerful public relations firms, Howard Rubenstein & Associates, as consultants. On Day 12 of their lockout, not even Rubenstein and all of his associates could dig the owners out of the public relations morass they have created.

It's a Saturday morning in a quaint and sunny corner of Orange County, and I'm sitting down with Damon Wells for a purse-sized omelet breakfast of champions. Thirty seconds later — thirty grunting and messy seconds — breakfast is over. "I'm still hungry," he says, patting his taut midsection. "I'm always hungry. " You want an athlete with fire in his belly? This guy once competitively ate 19 burritos in 10 minutes. "You're either completely sickened by it or completely intrigued by it," he says.

Kansas City Royal Manager Hal McRae was suspended for two games for bumping umpire Dale Scott. An American League official said McRae has indicated he will appeal the suspension, so it will be delayed until the appeal can be heard. The incident occurred during the 12th inning of a 4-3, 18-inning victory over Texas at Kansas City on June 6. McRae argued with Scott, who was umpiring third base, after three consecutive close calls went against the Royals.

Women athletes who seek to become lighter and faster by dieting may merely jeopardize their competitive chances, according to a nutrition consultant to the U.S. Olympic swimming team. "Dieting during intensive training does nothing but starve a hard-working machine. Instead of losing weight, the body defensively conserves fat and burns the muscle tissue athletes need to perform," said Jackie Berning, a registered dietitian.