GOODWILL GOBBLEDYGOOK

Soviet sportspeak is sometimes unfathomable, sometimes
entertaining and sometimes both, as examples from the Goodwill Games
prove. Pravda, the Communist party daily, criticized Washington
Post writer John Feinstein for an article that contained comments
critical of pole vaulter Sergei Bubka by characterizing Feinstein as
''unoriginal . . . dull, roundish'' and saying he ''weaves the
long-lost breath of the Cold War.'' Feinstein countered, ''Dull and
unoriginal, maybe, but roundish is hitting above the belt.''
Then Soviet officials explained why procedures at Goodwill track
competitions were sometimes looser than at other major international
meets. A spokesman said that since the games were being staged ''in
an atmosphere of goodwill and cooperation, we decided to violate some
of the rules.''