7.21.96

FORECAST: More of the same, with a high of 92[degrees] and a 40%
chance of showers and thunderstorms.

HOT TICKET: Cuba vs. Japan baseball (BB12431). The recent
defection of star pitcher Rolando Arrojo and speculation that
more of their players could jump ship may be weighing heavily on
the Cubans, but they won the gold in Barcelona--Japan won the
bronze--and are favored again. This could be a preview of the
gold medal game on Aug. 2.

WHAT IF... Japan wins? Consider it an upset. The Cubans haven't
lost a tournament game in international play since 1983.

TODAY'S GOLD RUSH

CYCLING (1)
(11 a.m.) Buckhead

WOMEN'S ROAD RACE
Pick: Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, France

FENCING (2)
(2:50 p.m.) Georgia World Congress Center

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL EPEE
Pick: Timea Nagy, Hungary

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL SABRE
Pick: Bence Szabo, Hungary

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

MEN'S 209 POUNDS
Pick: Pawel Nastula, Poland

WOMEN'S 158.5 POUNDS
Pick: Yoko Tanabe, Japan

SHOOTING (2)
(Noon) Wolf Creek Shooting Complex

WOMEN'S AIR PISTOL
Pick: Maria Grozdeva, Bulgaria

MEN'S TRAP
Pick: Park Chul Sung, South Korea

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

WOMEN'S 200M FREESTYLE
Pick: Franziska van Almsick, Germany

MEN'S 400M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Pick: Tom Dolan, U.S.

WOMEN'S 100M BREASTSTROKE
Pick: Penelope Heyns, South Africa

MEN'S 4X200M FREE RELAY
Pick: U.S.

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

130 POUNDS
Pick: Nikolai Peshalov, Bulgaria

WRESTLING/GRECO-ROMAN (5)
(3:30 p.m.) Georgia World Congress Center

105.5 POUNDS
Pick: Sim Kwom Ho, South Korea

125.5 POUNDS
Pick: Dennis Hall, U.S.

149.5 POUNDS
Pick: Ghani Yalouz, France

180.5 POUNDS
Pick: Thomas Zander, Germany

220 POUNDS
Pick: Andrzej Wronski, Poland

LOCAL CULTURE

GEORGIA ON MY PLATE
Macon Centreplex
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (10 a.m. weekends) Through Aug. 6

Touting itself as a Festival Celebrating Southern Hospitality,
this gala kicked off yesterday in Macon, about 80 miles
southeast of Atlanta. Sample authentic Southern cuisine and
check out the celebrity cooking demonstrations.

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: HEINZ KLUETMEIER [Tom Dolan swimming]

SPOTLIGHT ON ...

TOM DOLAN

America's best bet for swimming gold gets his feet wet today in
the event in which he holds the world record: the 400-meter
individual medley. Only 20, Dolan is also among the favorites in
the 200 IM and the 400 freestyle, and he might swim in the 800
freestyle relay.