Ronaldinho finds plenty of Chinese pen pals

Ronaldinho, whose two goals against New Zealand on Sunday helped propel Brazil into the quarterfinals of the Olympic men's soccer tournament, caused a stir even among Chinese police when he and the rest of the Brazilian players arrived in Shenyang.

"Ronaldinho was surrounded by a multitude asking for autographs, shouting his name and taking photographs," the Brazilian soccer federation said on its Web site.

"The biggest problem was that the police and security officials temporarily abandoned their jobs and joined in the autograph hunting."

• HEAD-START PROGRAM: If you think Tiger Woods started playing golf at an early age, consider the case of Irish sailor Tim Goodbody.

The 25-year-old from Delgany is a member of Ireland's sailing team at the Olympics and is competing in the Finn class.

According to the Irish broadcast network RTE, Goodbody started sailing at the age of two months when his father took him out on the water strapped to a mast.

• HANGING CHADS: The Miami Dolphins have picked up former New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who will more or less be a caretaker in the position until rookie Chad Henne is ready.

Taking note of that, Greg Cote of the Miami Herald said: "Chads haven't gotten this much attention in South Florida since the 2000 presidential election."

• FANCY TITLE: Arne Ljungqvist is a former Swedish junior champion in the high jump, pole vault and javelin who represented Sweden as a high jumper at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Now a medical doctor, he has scaled the heights in the Olympic movement, rising to become an International Olympic Committee member, chairman of its medical commission and a key figure in the battle against drug cheats.

Back in Sweden, however, he also has a far more romantic-sounding title. He is Lord-in-Waiting to His Majesty the King of Sweden.

• WHERE'S DAD?: David Bauder of The Associated Press admitted it was a male perspective, but he was surprised by a fact that was left out of an NBC Olympic story about 41-year-old swimmer Dara Torres.

"Cris Collinsworth's otherwise fine profile made no mention of her 2-year-old child's father," Bauder wrote. "Someone else must be making a sacrifice while Torres does her grueling training. We hope the topic wasn't avoided because the parents aren't married."

• UNKNOWN: Wrestler Ben Askren wanted his picture taken with George W. Bush when the president visited U.S. Olympic athletes in Beijing, so he handed his camera to the closest person he saw and asked her to do the honors.

It was Bush's daughter, Barbara.

"I didn't know who she was," the free-spirited Askren told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal-Star, "but she took a good picture."

• AND FINALLY: Austrian Olympic swimmer Markus Rogan isn't impressed by those high-tech swimsuits in which dozens of world records have been set this year.

"I tested it," Rogan told the AP. "I threw it in the pool and it didn't move at all, so I'll still have to swim."

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