Summer Games

Thinking of going to the Summer Olympics in Australia? Well, aren't we the little procrastinators? The good new is, you aren't too late. According to Bob Vasily, group sales manager for Cartan Tours, the official U.S. tour operator for the Olympics, there still is a good selection of packages and event tickets available for the Games, to be held Sept. 15 through Oct. 1 in Sydney. If you're a little cool about pursuing a package deal, don't be. With time running short, buying a package can solidify your travel plans in one fell swoop.

Carroll County athletes competed in the Maryland Special Olympics summer games June 2-4 at the University of Maryland, College Park. Prize-winners were: Amber Beall, 10, second place in 100-meter dash and softball throw, third in standing long jump. Randy Benzil, 39, fifth in 100-meter freestyle, seventh in 4-by-25-meter freestyle relay, first in 50-meter backstroke and 50-meter freestyle. Carrie Billings, 17, second in equestrian English equitation, third in equestrian gymkhanateam relays, first in equestrian working trails.

Sneaks will be one busy cat this summer.The longtime mascot for the Baltimore County Public Library system's summer reading program, Sneaks will become the symbol for summer programs in half of Maryland's libraries."

EXPULSION of six International Olympic Committee members, joining four who quit, is one step out of the pit the IOC has dug for itself. But alone it does not end the scandal by proving the IOC is purging itself of corruption. Nor does it restore the credibility the Olympic movement requires.The Justice Department is investigating reported bribery in the selection of Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games. Bills before the U.S. Senate would strip tax exemption from Olympic activities.In fairness, the IOC promises to do more, including cooperate with a U.S. Senate investigation and create an outside ethics commission and a commission to plan structural reform.

Baltimore will compete with four other cities for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Media Summit to be held shortly before the Sydney Games.Houston, Dallas, Raleigh, N.C., and Seattle have joined the race to play host to the planned three days of news conferences, interviews, photo sessions and social events. The event brings together top athletes in 28 sports, 400 media outlets, the United States Olympic Committee, Olympic sponsors and the national governing bodies -- the administrative bodies for Olympic sports.

Organizers leading the blitz to capture the Summer Olympic Games for the Washington-Baltimore area in 2012 started out anything but a unified team.At first, the neighboring cities unwittingly competed against each another for the most coveted prize in amateur athletics.The allure was clear. Each group saw the chance for billions of dollars in economic impact, a tourism boost that could last decades and international exposure they could never afford to buy.The opportunity came as each city struggled with crime, declining population and troubled schools.

John Morton III has turned around failing thrifts, controlled billions of dollars in assets and weighed in on some of the banking industry's biggest mergers.Now he's directing his trademark aggressiveness and energy toward a new challenge: helping to bring the Summer Olympic Games to the region in 2012."I have a passion for seeing us win this," he said. "Once it's established in my mind, everything becomes focused on getting there. The benchmark to every decision has to be: Will this further our effort toward winning the bid?"

Top business and civic leaders in Washington and Baltimore have moved into high gear to recruit a dynamic, high-profile person to serve as chief executive of the effort to bring the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to the region.The names of some of the best-known people in the country have been mentioned as possible candidates, according to several sources close to the discussions.A prominent executive search firm, Korn/Ferry International, has been retained to help recruit a chief executive. Although the formal qualifications and duties have not been finalized, sources said discussions have centered on finding someone who is not )

John Morton III, the new president of NationsBank Corp. Mid-Atlantic Banking Group, has been named chairman of the board of directors for the Washington/Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition, which is bidding on the future Summer Olympics.Morton will be a volunteer heading the group that is behind the region's bid for the 2012 Summer Games."The principal job of the chairman is to keep the board focused on winning the bid," he said. "Every decision we make will have to be regionally oriented."The other members of that board are: Mary E. Junck, president of Times Mirror Co.'s Eastern newspapers, which include The Sun, vice president and vice chair person; Robert Flanagan, vice president of Clark Enterprises Inc., an umbrella company controlled by Bethesda-based construction magnate A. James Clark, vice president.

Hotel rooms stand at 68,000 and rising. Three sports complexes have sprouted in the past year alone. And with its airports and Beltway road systems in place, Washington and Baltimore already handle millions of tourists each year.So what obstacle lies ahead for luring the Olympic Games to the region? An ingredient strangely foreign to cities existing less than 50 miles apart for close to two centuries: teamwork.Much as in a sporting event, winning the right to play host to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games requires clearing political, financial and logistical hurdles, ranging from providing a supportive "sports culture" to corraling corporate backers.