Rhodes Scholars

Chris Joseph's career is wandering down a road less traveled by other football players. Several of his former UCLA teammates are wringing their hands this weekend, hoping their names are called during the NFL draft. If not, their quest to land a free-agent contract will begin. But Joseph, a starting offensive lineman for three-plus seasons, is training to make the final cut for an even more exclusive goal -- a Rhodes scholarship.

Thirty-two men and women from across the United States have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2007, including five students with ties to California. The scholars were selected from 896 applicants endorsed by 340 colleges and universities. The scholarships, announced Sunday, are the oldest of the international study awards available to American students and provide two or three years of study. The students will enter Oxford University in England in October.

Thirty-two men and women from across the U.S. have won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships for study at England's Oxford University. Among the Rhodes winners are Florida State University football player safety Myron Rolle, who missed part of Saturday's game against Maryland because he was being interviewed for the scholarship. Rolle is a pre-med student and hopes to become a neurosurgeon. Scott W. Hugo and Christopher D. Joseph, both of UCLA, and Noelle R. Lopez of Santa Clara University were also selected.

Chefs often talk about how physically demanding their work is, about how drained and exhausted they feel after standing up, day after day, night after night, in a hot, cramped, pressure-filled kitchen. But I never thought of cooking as an athletic activity until one recent afternoon when a young friend called with the exciting news that he'd just won a Rhodes scholarship -- and told us that when the Rhodes interviewers had asked him what sports he participated in, he'd answered, "cooking."