Jet set appeals to golfer

As far as ambition goes, British Open champion Padraig Harrington has set himself quite a goal.

The 36-year-old Irish golfer told the Sunday Times of London that he wants to own his own private jet, so that his transatlantic commutes to tournaments are easier and more comfortable.

Winning the Open will no doubt lead to more lucrative sponsorship contracts, but a $45 million jet?

"If I had any financial motive, that would be a little carrot," Harrington said. "Warren Buffett calls his plane 'The Great Unjustifiable.' I don't think I will be able to justify it either."

• THAT'S HOT -- The NBA, with all the time in the world to think of something original, has filed for trademark rights to six pretty lame nicknames for its Oklahoma City franchise: Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind.

Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News is no fan of singular nicknames, writing that they are "very confusing for the sportswriters.

"If Dwayne Wade plays for the Heat, what does that make him? A Hot?"

• HALFWAY THERE -- Jockey Kent Desormeaux won his 5,000th race on Sunday, this one at Saratoga, but to put the three-time Kentucky Derby winner's latest victory in perspective, it still leaves him only halfway to catching Russell Baze, who has hit the wire first more than 10,000 times.

• SPACE TO PONDER -- Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently visited the Seattle Seahawks' imposing new $60 million practice facility, a 19-acre spread on the shore of Lake Washington.

He came away suitably impressed.

"Besides a 90,000-square-foot indoor field tall enough to hold the loftiest punt -- and even the Mariners' most aggravating bases-loaded popup -- the property has outdoor space for three complete fields, plus a giant berm for spectators," Thiel wrote.

"On the top floor, there's a large VIP room overlooking the outdoor fields that has party rental written all over it. Sponsor appreciation day? Corporate celebration? Birthday? You know nothing says love like a wedding site overlooking large sweaty men adjusting themselves."

• BATHED IN GLOOM -- Whether it was fog, haze, pollution or a combination of all three, muggy Beijing was cloaked and shrouded for Sunday's opening of the Olympic Athletes' Village.

Nevertheless, Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the city's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, was quick to offer a somewhat plausible explanation along with a decidedly odd comparison.

High temperatures, humidity and a lack of wind were to blame, he said, adding that it is like "when you are taking a bath in the bathroom, you are unable to see the person opposite. It does not mean there is pollution."

The person opposite? Where does Du bathe?

• EASY RIDER -- From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times: "It shouldn't be too difficult to spot Hiroshi Hokestu, Japan's 67-year-old equestrian, at next month's Olympics. Look for the horse with only a left blinker on."

REVIEW-JOURNAL WIRE SERVICES