7.20.96

FORECAST: Plenty of heat (93[degrees]) and evening clouds plus a
40% chance of thunderstorms.

HOT TICKET: U.S. vs. Italy water polo (WP9467). The Americans,
led by 6'7" Chris Humbert, will have to tread furiously against
the Olympic- and world-champion Italians. However, the U.S. beat
Italy last May in Nashville, so don't discount the home pool
advantage.

WHAT IF...the U.S. loses? Don't panic, flag-wavers. The 12 teams
are split into two divisions and play a round-robin format. Four
squads in each division advance to the quarterfinals, and the
Americans are a good bet to get at least that far.

TODAY'S GOLD RUSH

FENCING (1)
(2:55 p.m.) Georgia World
Congress Center

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL EPEE
Pick: Eric Srecki, France

JUDO (2)
(3 p.m.) Georgia World
Congress Center

MEN'S OVER 209 POUNDS
Pick: Frank Moller, Germany

WOMEN'S OVER 158.5 POUNDS
Pick: Angelique Seriese, The Netherlands

SHOOTING (2)
(11 a.m.) Wolf Creek
Shooting Complex

WOMEN'S AIR RIFLE
Pick: Vessela Lecheva, Bulgaria

MEN'S AIR PISTOL
Pick: Xu Haifeng, China

SWIMMING (4)
(7:30 p.m.) Georgia Tech
Aquatic Center

WOMEN'S 100 M FREESTYLE
Pick: Le Jingyi, China

MEN'S 100 M BREASTSTROKE
Pick: Fred DeBurghgraeve, Belgium

WOMEN'S 400 M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Pick: Chen Yan, China

MEN'S 200 M FREESTYLE
Pick: Michael Klim, Australia

WEIGHTLIFTING (1)
(4 p.m.) Georgia World
Congress Center

119 POUNDS
Pick: Halil Mutlu, Turkey

LOCAL CULTURE

TOUR OF HOMES
98 Greenville Street
Newnan, Ga.
9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow
The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society is sponsoring a tour of
five historic, award-winning homes in Newnan, about 45 minutes
southwest of Atlanta. Also on display: large collections of
"Gone With the Wind" memorabilia, and weapons and medical
instruments that were used during the Civil War. Tickets are $35.

SI ONLINE

WWW.SPORTSILLUSTRATED.COM
Visit SI's Web site and CompuServe (SIOLYMPICS) for instant
Olympic results plus Games-related stories published in the
OLYMPIC DAILY and the weekly SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Browsers may
also search the SI Olympic Preview issue, the official Olympic
program and a database filled with Olympic history, past results
and information on every sport at the Summer Games.

COLOR PHOTO: RICHARD MACKSON [Alexi Lalas]

SPOTLIGHT ON...

U.S. VS. ARGENTINA SOCCER
The U.S. has never advanced past the first round in the
Olympics, but a win or a tie tonight against Argentina would be
huge for defender Alexi Lalas (left) & Co. More than 81,000 will
pack Birmingham's Legion Field, billed as The Football Capital
of the South. What would Bear Bryant think?