N.Y. braces for Tomato landing

The Flying Tomato is headed to the Big Apple, and New York might never be the same.

Shaun White, the snowboarder with the flowing red locks, is competing on a nine-story ramp with the city skyline as the backdrop. The competition, Red Bull Snowscrapers, will take place at a park on the East River tonight.

White, 22, became familiar to many folks who never had given his sport a second thought before his gold medal at the 2006 Olympics. A popular ad pitchman with his own clothing line and video game, White appreciates any opportunity to expand snowboarding's audience.

"It's important to do things like this because it stirs it up and gets people out of their element," White said.

• ESPN, THE SCHOOL? -- ESPN the Magazine is offering to help the New York City Department of Education create a new high school focusing on the business side of sports.

The Business of Sports School, or BOSS, will open in September in Manhattan with 81 ninth-grade students. The school plans to emphasize real-world skills through mandatory internships at companies including ESPN the Magazine.

Mike Soltys, a spokesman for the Bristol, Conn.-based sports network, said ESPN's magazine, which is headquartered in New York City, made a "nonfinancial commitment" to help develop the curriculum and provide volunteer support.

The school is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's push to modernize outdated vocational or trade schools.

• A NEVADA FIRST -- Kimberly Yee was able to accomplish something even Andre Agassi couldn't.

The 12-year-old from Las Vegas recently captured the singles and doubles titles at the USTA National Championships.

"This is the first time in Nevada history that I know of a player winning the national championships in singles and doubles," said Ryan Wolfington, USTA-Nevada executive director.

Yee, ranked fifth in singles, learned the game from her father, Adam, a tennis professional. She trains at the Las Vegas Hilton Tennis Academy, working with Tim Blenkiron.

• SHUTTLECOCK DIPLOMACY -- Iran invited the U.S. women's badminton team to compete in a tournament, then denied its players visas Wednesday, saying there was no time to process their applications.

The team's participation in the event starting Friday was to have been the first U.S.-Iranian exchange under the Obama administration. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution and the hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

The U.S. State Department, which sponsored the squad's trip to the Middle East, said it is disappointed that Iran failed to issue visas.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Iran has provided no official explanation for not providing the visas and that the U.S. team had supplied all required paperwork to the Iranians.

Wood said the team is returning to the United States.

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL