An Honest
Day’s Word

By Joe Edwards

Wednesday, February 11, 1998

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Some other Olympic
sports to consider

IS there anything better than the Winter Olympics? Where else can you see an event that combines skiing and shooting?

But just when I thought things couldn't get much better entertainment-wise, along comes a little news item from Nagano. And I didn't even make this up:

Pool, billiards, carom and snooker were recognized by the International Olympic Committee yesterday, paving the way for their inclusion in the Olympic Games. An IOC spokesman said the governing body for each of these sports may now apply for full Olympic status.

Really.

Pool as an Olympic sport.

Yee Hah! Isn't this the break most armchair athletes have been waiting for?

About four years ago, Frank Fasi proposed building an Olympic training facility on Oahu. Little did he realize, I guess, that we have full-on facilities already in place.

I'll bet there's one not 10 minutes from where you sit right now. Maybe you're even sitting -- or standing -- in one as you read this.

Certainly, every bar in town worth its satellite dish should be considered a potential Olympic training site.

The Shack? Both of them, training sites.

Scores? Definite training site.

Biggie's Nut Shell? Big-time training site.

But the IOC shouldn't stop at pool. There are plenty of other "sports" that deserve consideration now.

Let's start at the beginning and assume that since they are played indoors, they will be considered Winter Olympic games.

Darts. This is an interesting possibility that would have lots of interest, and not one, but two, disciplines. You'd have electronic darts for the arithmetically impaired, and real darts, the kind that are tossed at boards that don't talk back, keep score or honk.

Quarters. Hand-eye coordination is a premium skill here. If you sink your two-bits in a glass of beer, you get to pick the figure skater of your choice to chug-a-lug that baby. I don't know about you, but I'd want Tonya Harding on my team.

Pop-A-Shot. Current NBA players wouldn't be allowed, but retired players are OK. I once saw Dick Gibbs, who played for the Sonics about the time Gary Payton was born, hit 32 consecutive shots in less than 60 seconds. Right hand, left hand, right hand, left hand. Amazing. Even more amazing is that he was working as a hotel maid at the Radisson in Mesa, Ariz., at the time. He never had his shot at the gold, but now . . .

Foosball. A game I never mastered, but watching true aficionados play was always intriguing. How a guy could rotate his players around the ball and not screw up his shot was part of the magic. The little guys that hang from the poles are wearing shorts, so some might argue that it should be played during the Summer Games, but don't be swayed.

Dice. This is the perfect made-for-TV game. Every country that wants can send a player for a game of 6-5-4 or horses and the whole thing would be over in less than an hour. I can hear Jim Nantz now, interviewing the winner, his eyes welling up with tears, "Tell us, Ralph, what special thoughts were going through your mind when you rolled those two sixes after your opponent put an 11 on the bar? Did you ever think a perfect score was humanly possible at that point?"

Air hockey. It's as fast as the real thing and only two cameras would be needed -- one overhead and one at table side. If some skinny-armed kid whips up on a big, burly Russian lumberjack, could the announcers not help but cry, "Do you believe in miracles?!"