Sports

These days, even more interesting than the stories of the crime and punishment of our sports heroes are the stories of their mea culpas. Love may mean never having to say you are sorry. But these days, sports means having to say it all the time, say it without really saying it, or not saying it at all. Michael Vick's appearance in the confessional of Sunday's night's "60 Minutes" on CBS was one approach. The former NFL star and convicted dog-fighting felon appeared as if he would have admitted to, and been contrite about, stealing the Hope Diamond had he been asked.

Baseball TV ratings: In Friday's Sports section, the sports media column said that Game 7 of the World Series between Tampa Bay and Boston came in No. 4 among the most-watched television shows last fall. It was Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between those teams that came in No. 4.

Sifting through resumes, sports agents Gary Wichard and Leigh Steinberg can't count the exact number of prospects who say this sparked their career interest. "Hundreds," said Wichard. "Thousands," said Steinberg. It's been more than 12 years since the release of "Jerry Maguire," which profiled a sports agent fighting an industry depicted as valuing materialism over personal relationships. The movie was a smash hit and caught a supporting actor Academy Award for Cuba Gooding Jr. Steinberg and Wichard said sports agencies still benefit from the film's success.

USC-Stanford basketball: A correction on Page A2 on Tuesday erroneously said that Stanford basketball player Will Paul had been misidentified in a Jan. 30 Sports caption as Josh Paul. The caption misidentified him as Josh Owens.

While the Olympics and other major events are weathering the financial storm, IOC president Jacques Rogge is worried about the smaller sports and poorer federations. Rogge said Friday the economic crisis is hitting hard at the grass roots and national levels of many sports, with sponsorship, government subsidies and ticket sales drying up. "I am receiving witnesses and calls every day from many countries in the world," he said. "They are telling me: 'In my country there is a big problem with local clubs, with national federations.

Sports history: In Saturday's Sports section, This Date in Sports listed seven events for Sunday, Feb. 22, but three of the events actually took place Feb. 23: Joe Louis' knocking out Nathan Mann in 1938; figure skater Carol Heiss' winning the Olympic gold medal in 1960, and Indiana basketball Coach Bob Knight's getting ejected and throwing a chair across the court during a game against Purdue in 1985.

The Day in Sports page: In Sunday's Sports section, a College Basketball Tournaments listing under NCAA Division II, Second Round, said Cal Poly SLO beat Seattle Pacific 80-72. It was Cal Poly Pomona that beat Seattle Pacific.