Zmeskal

ATLANTA -- Bela Karolyi found out about Dominique Moceanu's magic in the privacy of his Houston gym more than four years ago. There he saw his past, both in Romania and America, in an athlete who looked like Nadia Comaneci, smiled like Mary Lou Retton and worked like Kim Zmeskal."

BaseballOrioles -- Designated P Jose Mesa for reassignment.Chicago Cubs -- Traded P Danny Jackson to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 3B Steve Buechele.Chicago White Sox -- Acquired IF Eric Yelding as the player to be named to complete the trade made July 4 with the Houston Astros for P Rich Scheid.Florida Marlins -- Released 1B Rusty Bumgardner.Houston Astros -- Suspended P Mark Portugal for one game for an undisclosed violation of team rules.Hawaiian Winter League -- Canceled its inaugural season because of problems with stadiums and other logistics.

Sixteen days to go . . .There are tickets to sell, volunteers to train, and an arena to prepare, as Baltimore's local organizing committee puts the finishing touches on presenting the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics trials, June 6-13, at the Baltimore Arena."

In case the many promos have escaped your notice, NBC reminded viewers last night that the network of "I Witness Videos" is telecasting the Olympics.After sticking with the U.S.-Germany men's basketball rout for only about a half-hour -- a smart move -- NBC broke away for a short swimming segment.Then -- hey, lookee here, Vern -- it was the parade of falling horses.Maybe NBC was trying to expose a larger audience to the ballet of horse and rider working as one in the equestrian three-day event.

Mary Lou Retton has been a household word for years now, and she's still only 24.The kid from West Virginia who bounced into our consciousness in 1984 to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics now sells fitness for the president of the United States. She tries to motivate others with a "take-risks" talk that she delivers dozens of times a year to adults and youngsters and is, of course, still "the Revco girl.""I'm lucky that I've made the transition" from Olympic gymnast to salesperson extraordinaire, she said while in Baltimore yesterday to kick off ticket sales for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, to be held here in June.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Welcome to the Summer Olympics of parity.Twenty countries hit double digits on the medals table.One Germany wasn't as powerful as two.And the Unified Team of the former Soviet Union went out with a last bang, earning 45 golds and 112 medals overall to stand atop the Olympic pyramid.But for the United States, the Games that ended yesterday were filled with exhilarating surprises and several notable failures.Could anyone have guessed that America would earn more golds in synchronized swimming (two)

Mary Lou Retton has been a household word for years now, and she's still only 24.The kid from West Virginia who bounced into our consciousness in 1984 to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics, now sells fitness for the president of the United States, tries to motivate others with a "take-risks" talk that she delivers dozens of times a year to adults and youngsters and is, of course, still "the Revco girl.""I'm lucky that I've made the transition" from Olympic gymnast to salesperson extraordinaire, she said while in Baltimore yesterday to kick off ticket sales for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials, to be held here in June.

NCAA clears Laettner, Duke in GQ diary caseDuke's national championship is safe. Center Christian Laettner didn't break any rules by keeping a diary during his senior season, according to the NCAA."

Kiviat, 99, oldest U.S. Olympian, diesAbel Kiviat, a former world record-holder who won a silver medal in 1,500 meters in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, died Saturday at age 99 in Lakehurst, N.J.Kiviat was the oldest living American Olympian.In 1912, he broke the record for 1,500 meters three times in 13 days, making the Olympic team with a time of 3:55.8, which remained the world record for six years and the American record for 16 years.He is a member of the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Israel.

Declaring himself pleased with the fairness and correctness of a selection process he called a monstrous nightmare just a month ago, Bela Karolyi said yesterday that the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team he will coach -- something else he wanted no part of a month ago -- was fit and ready to take on the former Soviets, the Romanians and the Chinese in Barcelona, Spain."