LITTLE ROCK — Records not fast enough for sprinter
Fresh from setting two world records at the World Championships in Berlin, Usain Bolt is ready to go faster.
The Jamaican sprinter, who took part in a ceremonial kickoff celebrating the start of the Spanish Primera soccer league at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid this weekend, said he can improve on his record times of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meters and 19.19 in the 200.
"I think I can go faster, but I leave that up to my coach," Bolt said Sunday. "We analyze each race. We try to go through the season without risking getting injured. We see what we can do to go further and achieve great things in the sport."
Bolt was in the Spanish capital on Saturday to attend Real Madrid's opening match of the season. He said he has become a fan of the team since striker Ruud van Nistelrooy moved there three years ago.
"Manchester United was my favorite team when I started to watch football because he was there," said Bolt, calling the Dutchman his favorite player. "I became a Real Madrid fan because I follow Ruud van Nistelrooy wherever he goes."
That's just what soccer needs ... a stalker with super speed.
And the wiener is ...
San Diego's fastest wiener dog swaddled down a race track Saturday, and the crowd went wild.
More than 350 dachshunds dashed for 53 feet at a time in the 13th annual Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals.
"It's hysterical," Pat Overman told Mike Lee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. "Look at these guys running. Have you ever seen anything more comical? Their ears, their heinies, their legs - they are flying in the wind."
Sixteen finalists won the right to square off at Petco Park during the Padres' game against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
The fastest eight will meet again in the championship Dec. 30.
Poppy Nichols of Newport Beach, Calif., said her dogs have different levels of interest in the race-day spectacle.
"Bruno knows exactly why he is here. He loves it," Nichols said. "But [16-year-old] Bo would probably rather be home in a nice, cool air conditioned house." That's not nice
Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had an odd take on reports of a possible rift in the team's locker room since the signing of on-again, off-again quarterback Brett Favre.
"I don't think anyone on this team knows what 'schism' is, let alone could use it in a sentence," Allen told ESPN.
Yeah, right ...
Several personal belongings of former Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith were sold at an auction Friday in Shakopee, Minn., including his infamous Whizzinator.
In 2005, baggage screeners at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport caught Smith with the Whizzinator, an elaborate kit used to beat drug tests, along with several vials of dried urine, all of which he claimed were for his cousin.
According to KMSP-TV in Minneapolis, Smith's Whizzinator fetched $750 Friday from an unidentified man who claimed it was for a friend.
The Shakopee Auction House received the property, which included letters from the NFL following the airport incident and a 2005 Vikings playbook, from an abandoned storage locker that held Smith's belongings. Smith failed to clear his bills and never claimed the property.
Quote of the day
"We're going to make sure we get guys who will
tackle. That's the bottom line." Arkansas defensive coordinator Willy Robinson on the competition for starting spots in the Razorbacks' secondary
Sports, Pages 16 on 08/31/2009