‘Banner’ gets into Hammon’s heart

The Star Spangled Banner" was full of emotion Monday for a member of the Russian Olympic women's basketball team.

Born-in-the-USA hoopster Becky Hammon suited up for Russia during Monday's pre-Olympic game against the Americans.

Hammon, a native of South Dakota, wasn't among the 29-player pool used to select the U.S. Olympic team, so she chose to play for Russia.

The 31-year-old former Colorado State player was able to do that because she plays for a Russian club team during the winter and became a naturalized Russian citizen.

Hammon stood with her eyes closed and her hand over her heart during the National Anthem.

Then her team lost to the Americans, 93-58.

• JUNIOR NOT MISSED -- It didn't take long for at least one Cincinnati reporter to bid good riddance to Ken Griffey Jr., who was traded last week from the Reds to the Chicago White Sox after nearly eight seasons in his hometown.

"Ken Griffey Jr. was the big box under the Christmas tree, unopened for nine years. His career as a Cincinnati Red was more melodrama than drama, more 'oh no' than 'oh my,' '' wrote Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"His last hit as a Red was a three-run homer; his lasting image as a Red was making a throat-slashing gesture toward Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley. Each symbolizes Griffey's time here."

• JUNIOR MISSED -- Once the door slammed on Griffey, Reds owner Bob Castellini only had kind things to say.

"He's a legend in baseball and this is an opportunity for him to be in a World Series," Castellini told MLB.com. "I think it's a good opportunity for him.

"You have mixed emotions when you lose a guy like that, no question. He's a Hall of Famer, a Cooperstown man and a Cincinnatian."

Griffey has never played in a World Series. He was batting .245 with 15 home runs, including the 600th of his career two months ago. Now with 608 homers, he's one behind Sammy Sosa for fifth on the all-time list.

• BULLDOGS PENNED -- It didn't take long for the Georgia Bulldogs to begin acting like a potential national championship football team.

A couple of days after the 'Dawgs were voted No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll and a day before preseason workouts were to begin Monday, two Georgia players were suspended indefinitely by coach Mark Richt after a wild weekend in downtown Athens, which resulted in one player's arrest and two others being sent to the hospital.

Long snapper Jeff Henson, a junior from Gainesville, Fla., topped the list after being arrested for public intoxication and urinating in public.

Henson was the sixth Georgia football player arrested and jailed this year, and now five will miss the team's Aug. 30 season opener against Georgia Southern.

COMPILED BY JEFF WOLF REVIEW-JOURNAL