THE LATEST LINE: MICHAEL'S MAD DASHES STOLE SHOW AT OLYMPICS

I can't say I'm an unconditional fan of the Olympic Games, because there are some events -- and why they are televised I have absolutely no idea -- that totally bore me. Show-jumping -- is that what they call it? -- comes to mind. You know, the sport (?) where people riding horses jump over barriers.

Anyway, those kind of events notwithstanding, the recently-concluded 1996 Summer Olympics included the usual share of thrills, easily topped by Michael Johnson's incredible performances in track and field.

The fact that Johnson became the first Olympic male athlete to win both the 400-meter and 200-meter races would have been enough to solidify his place in Olympic history. But the way he won the 200 will go down as one of the top Olympic performances ever.

Johnson broke his own world record of 19.66 seconds with a blistering 19.32. Generally, a world record in that kind event is set by maybe one-hundredth of a second or even less. But more than three-tenths of a second?

SEMO track coach Joey Haines, who took in some of the Olympics and saw Johnson cruise in the 400, called it probably the best track and field performance in history, not just at the Olympics. And I'd have to agree.

* Although I've lived in Cape Girardeau for more than a decade and I've enjoyed playing tennis for the past several summers, I got my first taste of local tournament action when I took part in last weekend's Summer Tennis Classic.

Let me tell you, it was some experience. First of all, I had a great time. Donna and Richard Ryan, who put a lot of time and effort into promoting local tennis, deserve plenty of credit for helping keep events like the Summer Tennis Classic and other annual tournaments going.

Second, I learned that next time I play in a tournament, I'll have to prepare my body a little better. I do pride myself in being in fairly good shape for a person approaching 40 and I have a decent tennis game.

But the extent of my tennis playing generally consists of a couple of sets in the morning about two times a week and then taking it to the house. I certainly wasn't prepared for playing three matches within about a five-hour period (stupid me -- I entered two divisions). I was fine my first match and won. After that, it was all over. I got gassed about five games into my second match, then was totally cramping by my third match. By that time, it was not so much a matter of winning or losing -- it was a matter of survival and being able to make it into work that night.

Needless to say, I lost to my last two opponents. But I was able to stagger into work, so I considered the day a success.

And, despite being a bit uncomfortable, I had plenty of fun, which I guess was the point of the whole deal to begin with.

* It's that time of the year again -- football time. Area high school teams will begin practicing Wednesday.

SEMO, because of a later-than-usual Sept. 14 opener, won't begin full-scale workouts until Aug. 19.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian