For those scoring at home ...
July 2006: Playing an attacking brand of soccer that is an exciting departure, Germany finishes third in the World Cup. The host nation goes wild.
February 2007: Now we find out just how wild.
According to ananova.com, German maternity wards are fully booked and having to arrange for beds in other wards to accommodate all of the women expecting babies in April.
“The women say the baby is a souvenir from the World Cup. A product of the euphoria from the tournament,” said midwife Barbara Freischuetz of Cologne.
Most of the women expecting sons say they plan to name them Lukas, Bastian and Michael -- after German national team players Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack.
At the same time, U.S. officials have forecast a sharp decline in baby boys named Landon, DeMarcus, Kasey and Claudio.
Trivia time
Since 1970, which television play-by-play announcer has called the most NBA All-Star games?
Master of the draw play
USC tailback C.J. Gable grew up an aspiring artist who was drawn to football by an unlikely source.
“I never really liked to play football,” Gable told the Associated Press, “but my mom made me.”
Good thing for Trojans fans. As a freshman last season, Gable netted 159 total yards in USC’s 23-9 victory over California and rushed for 107 yards in the 44-24 rout of Notre Dame.
And now, Gable’s other talent is on display at the Galen Center as part of an exhibit called “Artletics 2,” featuring art created by USC athletes.
“When I’m playing football, I’m in my own zone,” Gable said. “When I’m drawing, I’m in my own zone too. It makes me relax, and [the creativity] just comes out of nowhere.”
Gable’s contribution to the exhibit is a drawing called “Untitled Still Life,” which, it should be noted, is not a rendering of Michigan’s offense during last month’s Rose Bowl game.
Week 7 Power Rankings
This was the week the San Diego Chargers finally put themselves out of their misery ...
1. NBA All-Star game: Today’s winner advances to the next round, where it will play the No. 1-seeded team -- Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer.
2. Las Vegas: The city wants a professional basketball team. It used to have one, but Jerry Tarkanian left town.
3. David Stern: His visit to Vegas has been helpful in developing a new program to curb negative headlines about players’ off-court misbehavior: “What Happens in the Association Stays in the Association.”
4. Nissan Open: Riviera can make a claim no PGA player can: Too tough for Tiger.
5. Daytona 500: The so-called “Super Bowl of NASCAR” scares off potential viewers in Chicago.
6. LeBron James: Lakers discover he’s unstoppable from the free-throw line.
7. “Pitchers and catchers report:” For baseball, a refreshing change from “Investigative journalists report ... “
8. BALCO reporters: Once in a while, the good guys win one.
9. Duke: Every once in a while, the Blue Devils win one.
10. Boston Celtics: They have a better record than the Lakers in their last five.
Trivia answer
Marv Albert, who calls his 10th today. Dick Stockton is next with eight.
And finally
ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, addressing criticism that singer Beyonce shouldn’t be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue because she has nothing to do with sports: “What was Heidi Klum, power forward for the Atlanta Hawks?”
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