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Sideline Chatter
<h3>They ain't nothin' but hound dogs </h3>

Osama bin Laden phobia has even reached the dog world, where a T-shirt or bumper sticker saying"I love Afghans" suddenly raises eyebrows.

Handler Peggy Coffman, in New York for the Westminster Kennel Club Show, told The Associated Press that police officers summoned her from a Baltimore restaurant in October. When she got outside, she says, police had her van surrounded — the one with the license plates reading"AFGHAN1."

"They wanted to know what that was all about," she said."Then a higher-ranking lieutenant told the younger patrolmen, 'It's dogs.'"

Lou Guerrero of Apple Valley, Calif., who owns a champion Afghan Hound, says he takes the Elvis approach:"When people ask what kind she is, I just say, 'She's a hound dog.'"

Added owner David Giordano of from Newark, N.J.:"Right after Sept. 11... I was thinking this would not exactly be the best year to win best-in-show at Westminster with an Afghan."

It's gotten so bad that the Afghan Hound Club of America briefly considered a name change for the breed. But fortunately, some curiosity seekers are now taking a lighter approach.

"I had someone see my dog and ask whether it was a Northern Alliance or a Taliban, but they were joking," said Anna Stromberg of Oyster Bay, N.Y.

"I mean, they're dogs."

Strike up the ban

Here's one"We're No. 1" you won't be seeing in any media guides. With Kentucky and Alabama landing on probation again last week, Southeastern Conference schools have been found guilty of major violations a record 42 times in the NCAA's 49-year history.

No. 2 — and hopefully not trying harder — is the Pac-10, with 36.

Minimum exposure

Comedy writer Alan Ray offers this spring-training scoop:"The Montreal Expos have announced practices will be closed to the public. They want to simulate a real game atmosphere."

Playing ketchup ball

Just how badly is Lee Trevino playing on the Senior PGA Tour?

Sayeth Super Mex:"If I grew tomatoes, they'd come up sliced."

— Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times

Quelle


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