It’s easy to cheer for the most popular Olympic athletes and teams that get top billing and magazine cover attention.
Call it the “New York Yankee effect.”
So what about the Olympic athletes you never hear about? Where’s the love for the little engines that could?
Here’s a look at the news made by some of the lesser-known names and teams competing in the first weekend of the Athens Olympics as well some of the more offbeat items.
Rough start
Stocked with mostly American minor-league players, the Greek baseball team was shelled Sunday 11-0 by the Netherlands. And the Dutch didn’t even have to use Alexander Smit, an 18-year-old top prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization. Playing first base for Greece, Chicago’s Erik Pappas went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Settle down now
During Iraq’s men’s soccer team’s 2-0 win over Costa Rica, about two dozen jubilant Iraqi fans ran onto the field after one goal. Police and security personnel took about three minutes to clear the pitch of fans and debris.
Taking it all in
The U.S. women’s soccer team has spent time on Crete and in the ancient city of Thessaloniki. “It’s so different from our history,” Mia Hamm said. “Like, well, we have the Liberty Bell. That’s great, too. But we’re talking about stuff that was here B.C.”
NBA’s other stars
Manu Ginobili, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, hit an off-balance shot just before the buzzer to give Argentina a thrilling 83-82 victory over Serbia-Montenegro.
Two thumbs up
“I am 31, but I can still play PlayStation like I was 12. I think I will feel young when I am 60,” Turkish weightlifter Halil Mutlu, better known as “Pocket Hercules,” said. Mutlu won his third consecutive Olympic weightlifting gold medal.
Weight trouble
Two-time world judo champion Arash Miresmaeili of Iran, the gold-medal favorite in the featherweight class, forfeited his first-round match against Israeli Ehud Vaks after saying he would not fight an Israeli because he sympathizes with Palestine and doesn’t recognize the Israeli state. Miresmaeili showed up for weigh-in Sunday, but was officially withdrawn because he was overweight. Judo officials are investigating.
Nomar pride
Before he became governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney ran the 2002 Winter Olympics. In Greece, the die-hard Red Sox fan took a moment to comment on the trade of Nomar Garciaparra.
“You know, I’m sad. I mean, Nomar’s been such a part of Boston and has given so much to the community that it’s difficult having him leave and play for the Cubs,” Romney said. “But you know, the Sox move on. Life moves on.”
Pedal to the medal
In the women’s road race, Switzerland’s Nicole Brandii crashed over Dutch defending Olympic champion Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel just two laps before the end.
Blowing in the wind
Greece’s notorious Meltemi (“Air with no route”) arrived at Sunday’s sailing events with gusts up to 32 m.p.h. capsizing at least 30 boats. “It was full survival,” said U.S. sailing team’s Meg Galliard of Pelham, N.Y. The Meltemi was expected to continue Monday.
Guns ‘n’ roses
You may have missed this on prime-time TV: Ukraine’s Olena Kostevych won the women’s air pistol event, needing a shootoff to edge Jasna Sekaric of Serbia-Montenegro.
Saturation coverage
Access to one of the Olympic media villages was temporarily blocked Saturday while an American journalist’s bag was inspected by police. Police brought in sniffer dogs to check the bag and questioned John Anthony of The Associated Press before deciding that a bottle of aftershave was the item that had raised the suspicions of security screeners.
Familiar face
Sam Vincent, once a Chicago Bull and a star at Michigan State, is the coach of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team. Nigeria scared Australia, the 2000 silver medalist, before losing 85-73 Saturday.
