A. Links

     Go to the local golf course and chat with players and the people running the golf shop. Who are the best golfers in town, the man, the woman and the youngster? Try to interview one of them for a profile. Is the person a Sunday golfer or a regular player? How did the golfer start to play? How much of a handicap do competitors have to be given?

B. Bowler

     Make the rounds of the local bowling lanes and find a league in which there are some good bowlers. Then go out one night when one of the good teams is bowling. Do a story on the players, personalizing the match if possible.

C. Minor

     Many high school and college sports do not have the spectator appeal of basketball and football, but the participants enjoy them and there are vociferous and steady fans. Do a profile of one of these sports by interviewing the coach, players and fans: tennis, crew, swimming, cross country, field events (track), wrestling, fencing, soccer, golf, field hockey, rugby, lacrosse, squash, ice hockey.

D. Ambition

     Interview one of the prominent players on the local college or university team about his or her ambitions; continued amateur play or professional status; the driving force behind his or her desire to play; the help of coaches; the relationship of athletics and studies.

E. Spectator

     Are most students spectators, or do they work out regularly? Are students exercising sufficiently for good health? Have they embarked on exercises and sports that will engage them for their active lives, or are they playing sports that they will have to drop after they graduate?

F. Vacation

<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073511935/234798/W22_2.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (19.0K)</a> Chris Pietsch, The Register-Guard Fly fishing

<a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=jpg::::/sites/dl/free/0073511935/234798/W22_2B.jpg','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (21.0K)</a> Donnie Sexton/Travel Montana Whitewater rafting

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     What are some of the favorite vacation sports local people engage in?

G. Injuries

     The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that sports-related injuries send 2.6 million children and young adults to emergency hospital departments each year at a cost of $500 million. The most frequent injuries are associated with basketball and cycling, almost 900,000 a year, says the CDC. Other totals:

     Localize this material by:

1. Obtaining figures from local hospitals on emergency department visits for sports-related injuries.
2. Checking to see whether the city has helmet laws and other safety precautions.

     Write 350 words either for a Sunday feature in your local newspaper or for a radio documentary.

H. Best

     Michael Jordan is regarded as the best basketball player who ever played. There is less agreement about other sports:

Baseball: Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio.
Pro Football: Jim Brown, Paul Hornung, Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice.
Boxing: Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey.
Tennis: Margaret Smith, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Bjorn Borg.
Ice Hockey: Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard.
Track and Field: Jesse Owens, Harrison Dillard, Carl Lewis, Paavo Nurmi, Babe Didrikson, Gail Devers.

     Select a sport and nominate a player for a 300-word column that cites supporting data and the comments and observations of sports authorities.