MISSING THE REUNION: It is supposed to be the final hurrah. The last moments of a landmark group of athletes. When they gather in Athens for the Olympics, it will be the final time many U.S. women's soccer players compete together.
By Times Staff Writer
Published June 27, 2004
Players such as Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett are expected to go their separate ways after the Athens Games.
As for Tiffeny Milbrett?
She's already gone.
Never as popular as Hamm or Chastain but arguably the best player in the United States from 1999-2002, Milbrett opted not to return to the national team.
Milbrett, 31, has not retired. Instead, she has expressed distaste for the style of play used by the national team and, in particular, coach April Heinrichs. U.S. officials originally called her departure a needed rest, but Milbrett has recently talked openly about not enjoying herself.
"I'm an adult. I'm 31 years old," Milbrett told the Associated Press. "I've played maybe 1,000 more games in the modern era than April has, and I feel like there's things that need to happen in order to facilitate an environment for professional women's soccer players.
"If that environment isn't going to be professional and if that environment isn't going to allow me to be the player that I am, then it's not worth it."
Milbrett complains the U.S. strategy is too structured and restricts her creativity. She said it was the same under previous coaches Anson Dorrance and Tony DiCicco but she was willing to accept it when she was younger.
There also might be another factor. Milbrett clearly was not as effective in her final season of the WUSA or the 2003 World Cup. By the end of last season, she spent more time on the bench than in the lineup.
Milbrett averaged a goal every 1.59 games from '98-02. In 2003, it was every 4.5 games.
BAD COMPANY: It's obvious Tim Montgomery has done a fine job of messing up his own career. Turns out, he's doing no favors for girlfriend Marion Jones.
In the grand jury testimony that was leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle last week, Montgomery acknowledged getting human growth hormones and another steroid-like substance called "clear" from BALCO guru Victor Conte.
Along the way, Montgomery also said Trevor Graham, who was Jones' coach for the Sydney Olympics, provided athletes with drugs. Montgomery also suggested Jones was interested in getting help from Conte, but 100-meter rival Chryste Gaines objected because she already had a deal with BALCO.
If you're counting, this means Jones' ex-husband, C.J. Hunter, two of her ex-coaches, including Charles Francis, her ex-training partner, Michelle Collins, and the father of her child have been implicated in steroid investigations.
WAS IT ED McMAHON?: Not every steroid story has an unhappy ending.
At the Sydney Olympics, U.S. weightlifter Tara Nott was a surprise silver medalist in the 48-kilogram weight class. A few days later, Nott received a phone call from an Olympic official.
"They said, "Is this Tara Nott?' "Yes.' "Is this Tara Nott the weightlifter?' "Yes.' "Is this Tara Nott the gold medalist?' I said, "Nooo ... "' Nott recalled last month. "And that's how I found out."
She had not known at the time, but Nott was the gold medalist because Bulgaria's Izabela Dragneva had been stripped after a positive drug test.
Now married, Nott-Cunningham says she feels more sympathy than anger toward Dragneva even though it cost her the gold medal ceremony. There was no formality when Nott met with officials to swap the silver for gold.
Nott-Cunningham, as the No. 1 ranked lifter in her class in the United States, will have a chance for her own gold medal ceremony in seven weeks.
STATE OF THE TRIATHLON: Central Florida will be well-represented in the triathlon. Though they qualified earlier, Longwood's Hunter Kemper and Clermont's Sheila Taormina have officially been chosen for the U.S. team. Kemper, a 2000 Olympian, is ranked No. 5 in the world. Taormina is No. 2 behind U.S. teammate Barb Lindquist.
UPSET ANYONE?: Now that Carmelo Anthony and Emeka Okafor have accepted invitations from USA Basketball, the team has been remade in a year.
Only Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson remain from the squad that won an Olympic qualifier in Puerto Rico last summer. That means the United States will have a couple of weeks of practice and a handful of exhibition games before Athens. And that increases the odds of an upset against international teams that have far more stability on their rosters.
