-- Snowboard star Shawn "Flying Tomato" White almost made the Olympic team as a 14-year-old four years ago. Marjorie Gestring was the youngest ever at 13 years and 268 days in Berlin in 1936. What were you doing at age 14?
-- Did you know sensational Penguin rookie Sidney Crosby honed his skills taking shots against the family dryer in the basement and at seven gave his first hockey newspaper interview?
-- Golfer George Lopez played in this year's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, thanks to a kidney donation from his wife Ann. "You're the greatest honey, all kidney-ing aside," he joked.
-- Since the Cheney debacle, a Pennsylvania man has painted his farm animals and family dogs bright orange. Wonder if he plans to paint himself and his family?
-- Super Bowl pregame singer Stevie Wonder was asked if he has ever suffered a wardrobe malfunction. "Not that I've seen," he replied ... As the brutal calls continue, has the time come for full-time NFL officials? ... Seems more and more national anthem singers at sporting events fall in love with the sound of their voices and stretch a two-minute song into an agonizing 4:19 ... Can see why the Bucs are 30-1 to win next year's Super Bowl with games against Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati and Seattle on the schedule.
-- According to Victor Keller, a robin has almost 3,000 feathers.
-- Lakers' Kobe Bryant's new Nike shoe is called the Air Max 360. Wasn't that the name of the jet he used to commute from Los Angeles to Eagle, Colorado to beat the rape charge? ... Bulls recently gave center Tyson Chandler a six-year, $60 million contract and he's currently averaging 4.4 points and one blocked shot per game as the boos get louder.
-- Super fan, retiree Dave Moffitt has lived in his car for six years and seen every NHL, NFL, AFL, MLB, MLS, NBA and WNBA team play at home. He has covered 279,000 miles. His favorite? Spring Training ... New Red Sox CF Coco Crisp can now play next to Cuckoo (Manny Ramirez)! ... Bet greedy Roger Clemens is a free agent only to drive up the price to the Astros, squeezing them for another $18 mil. Not bad for a six-month gig ... When traded from the Rangers to the Washington Nationals, Alfonso Soriano expressed extreme reservations about moving from second base to the outfield. Seems weird--usually when people go to D.C., they're very willing to backpedal and change positions.
-- And finally, Jackie Baker to hubby Rich, "The two dishes I prepare best are meatloaf and apple pie." Rich: "And which is this?"
(Some of the information in this column was obtained from other news organizations)