It's hard to keep results a secret

By GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 17, 2000

By Friday afternoon, before the Opening Ceremonies had been shown on TV, it was obvious how difficult it will be for fans to avoid finding things out about the Olympics before they watch each night's telecast.

CNNSI.com had a feature headlined "Opening Secrets," offering 10 highlights from the Opening Ceremonies. It's hard to spoil a four-hour event, but the story made a point to not ruin one of the biggest mysteries leading up to the Olympics: the identity of the athlete who lighted the Olympic torch.

Nice thought, but the site's main Olympic page had a large photo of Australian runner Cathy Freeman, identifying her plainly in the caption. The moral: If you don't want to know, be careful where you go.

As the nation's largest Internet provider, America Online took steps last week to make sure its clients can get online without having each night's TV viewing ruined. Fans who tried to access AOL's main Olympic page first were routed to a screen that asked them if they wanted to see results in real time or after events were televised. AOL configured its coverage based on each user's preference.

This decision came after a survey of more than 1,000 customers showed that 75 percent didn't want to see results before they watched the Olympics on TV.

"We also decided not to post any live results on our welcome screen," AOL spokesman Jeff Corbett said Friday. "We will run a lot of teasers like "How did Michael Johnson do?' or "Did Marion Jones win another gold?' but users will have to click through to actually find out. We don't want anyone to find something they don't want to know."

That's not to say people aren't looking for information about the Games. Last week "Olympics" became the most-searched term at lycos.com, vaulting past Pokemon and Britney Spears.

POINT AND CLICK: Kodak.com has put the pics back in Olympics with a beautiful collection of images -- athlete portraits, shots of Sydney and great moments in Olympic history. A "Shooting Sports" feature offers photos and tips from veteran Sports Illustrated photographer Peter Read Miller ("When in doubt, use the fastest shutter speed you can.") When the computer gods created the "save as wallpaper" option, this is what they envisioned.

IT'S HIS TOWN: Greg Norman's site, shark.com, has a photo gallery of Norman walking with the Olympic torch in Sydney and a five-minute clip from the Australian golfer's interview on NBC's Today show. In addition to carrying the torch, Norman's involvement with the Olympics included selling 82,000 square feet of hybrid bermudagrass grown in Avon Park and patented by the Greg Norman Turf Co. to be used in soccer and track and field. Here's hoping the javelin throwers replace their divots.

CHATWATCH: Three-time gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, who will work his third Olympics as a swimming commentator for NBC, will chat at webmd.com at 9 p.m. Tuesday. ... USA Today columnist Christine Brennan offers weekday chats from Sydney at 7 p.m. on AOL (keyword: live). ... U.S. swimmer Amy Van Dyken, who lists "fry cook" among her past occupations, will chat at mcdonalds.com on 8 p.m. Saturday. RINGLETS: Sydney has gotten a little more respect on the major sports sites' "navbars" -- the grid of links to each sport typically on the left side of a main page. CNNSI.com moved "Olympics 2000" to the first item on its list below the Scoreboard link, and Sportsline.com moved the Olympics to second on its bar across the top of its page, immediately beside its NFL link. ESPN.com still has the Olympics sixth from the top, just above the NBA. Foxsports.com has Sydney ninth, under even "All-Madden." ... Syd and Millie, the plush platypi serving as official Olympic mascots, are all over eBay.com, fetching as much as $52. A search for "Olympic mascots" draws 620 items from the past month, ranging from 1972's Waldi the Dachshund to 1996's forgettable Izzy, which has defied all attempts at animal classification.

- If you have a question or comment about the Olympics and the Internet, or a site to suggest, send an e-mail to staff writer Greg Auman at aumanac1@aol.com.

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