THE franco factor
The 14-egg-whites-to-fitness diet
Looking to stay fit for life? Check out the Mets' Julio Franco, the oldest player in Major League Baseball at 47. The New York Times describes Franco in a recent profile as having the "sculpted muscle definition and trim waist of an athlete half his age.'' The story goes on to detail his typical breakfast (14 egg whites) and habit of eating as many as six meals (5,000 total daily calories, natural foods, lots of protein). The devout Franco, the paper says, obeys the Ten Commandments and has three rules: Eat hard, work harder, rest hardest. "There are no magic pills," Franco says about fitness and his goal of playing until he's 50. His regimen includes lifting weights six days a week and attending weekly sessions with his chiropractor, masseuse and rolfer to align his spine and restore his balance. Oh, and did we mention, playing a little baseball?
COMPULSORY FIGURES
Take this record for a spin
Natalia Kanounnikova knows she isn't likely to hold any world championships in figure skating, so she's settled for a world record, making it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the fastest recorded spin on ice. (See her perform March 27 on the WE network's Skating's Next Star.) Her spins are dizzying to observers, if not to Kanounnikova. She turned a speedy 304.47 rpm, as measured by three optical tachometers. "I don't really get dizzy," she says. "From spinning so often, I have kind of built up a resistance to it. I guess my body's just used to it now."
outside shooting
When the NCAA meets the NRA
You think Duke is a dynasty? You think Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara, has a deadly outside shot? SportsTalk presents the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Nanooks (!) outshot Nebraska and five other schools recently to win the NCAA's National Champion Rifle Team championship. The victory was the school's eighth national championship and seventh in the past eight years.
by the numbers
5
The ranking of the U.S. national team in FIFA's monthly rankings - the highest it has ever been ranked by world soccer's governing body.
34
The jersey number of the late Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, which will be worn on a uniform patch by the Minnesota Twins this season.
268,000
The Internet record set for viewers of a live entertainment or sports event set Thursday when more than that number watched the free early-round coverage of the NCAA Tournament. CBS said the number counted each person who logged into the video coverage, not repeat visitors.
"For the record, I'm not getting in the car. I can't fit into no Indy car."
- 6-foot-8 Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, after announcing that he will be co-owner of an Indy Racing League team. The car will carry the name Car Melo, as well as a likeness of the NBA star.
Hockey highlights
Yeah, it's pink, wanna drop the gloves?
Just imagine NHL tough guy Tie Domi in pink. Okay, that's a scary image. Well, imagine him using a pink hockey stick, because he and other players, such as Mats Sundin, Steve Yzerman, Sidney Crosby and Ed Belfour, will use the bright sticks during games this weekend to raise awareness of breast cancer. Equipment manufacturer TPS Hockey is spending an estimated $50,000 for the initiative, which began after Wayne Gretzky's mother died of the disease. "Pink is not usually synonymous with hockey," Gary Ireland, a TPS plant supervisor, tells the Chatham (Ontario) Daily News to state the obvious. Each player's autographed stick will be auctioned to raise money for cancer research.
