Sports Beat
John and Janet Elway, once the NFL's most prominent couple, are
separating after 18 years of marriage. "We're taking a break
from our marriage to make us better," said Janet last week. "I
don't know if this will last for three days, three weeks, three
months or three years." Janet, 41, and the couple's four
children moved out of their $1.8 million Cherry Hills Farm,
Colo., home and into a nearby rented house. John, 41, was
unavailable for comment, but sources close to the family say the
split has been in the works for some time. This has been a tough
year for the former Broncos quarterback: In addition to the
breakup, MVP.com, the online venture he started with Michael
Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, folded, and his father, Jack, died of
a heart attack last April. Recently John has been spotted at
various events in Denver without Janet, whom he began dating
when they were both at Stanford. "We thought a lot about this,"
said Janet, "and this is what we've chosen to do."
Fickle is a woman's heart--especially when the woman is a
Playboy Playmate and her heart desires NFL quarterbacks. In 2000
Heather Kozar, the 1999 Playmate of the Year, began dating
Browns signal-caller Tim Couch. Couch then made the mistake of
introducing Kozar to his buddy, then Bears quarterback Cade
McNown, who fell for Kozar and ended up stealing her from Couch.
Kozar even moved from L.A. to Chicago to be with McNown.
However, according to an insider, Kozar, a model on The Price Is
Right, is back with Couch, and the duo are shopping for houses
in the Cleveland area. McNown, meanwhile, is in Miami, perhaps
pining but definitely riding the pine for the Dolphins.
Tampa Bay DH Greg Vaughn likes to help his teammates suit up.
No, he doesn't lace up their spikes. For the last three seasons
Vaughn has taken a few of the team's rookies shopping for suits.
On a recent trip to New York City, Vaughn brought outfielder
Jason Conti and pitcher Delvin James to Porta Bella, an upscale
men's clothing store. There Conti and James picked out three
suits each, plus shirts and ties; Vaughn then picked up the
$3,500 tab. "I know these guys make good money," says Vaughn,
whose $8.8 million salary is the Devil Rays' highest, "but a lot
of them have a lot of bills and stuff when they come up. This is
a way for me to take pressure off." Vaughn adds that players
such as Mike Felder and Glenn Braggs did the same for him when
he first came to the majors. "And hopefully later on these guys
will do the same," says Vaughn. "It's a tradition."
Life after baseball has been busy for Mark McGwire. He got
married in April to former pharmaceutical sales rep Stephanie
Slemer (SCORECARD, May 20). Now the happy couple are looking to
build their dream house. They've moved into a new, $1.84 million
home in Shady Canyon, an exclusive 1,000-acre development in
Irvine, Calif. But that three-bedroom Tuscan-style villa is only
a temporary pad: The two are constructing a much larger house on
two adjacent half-acre lots, also in Shady Canyon. The new house
will overlook a Tom Fazio-designed golf course on which McGwire
plays nearly every day.
COLOR PHOTO: BILL FRAKES The Elways in 1998
COLOR PHOTO: AARON HARRIS/AP
COLOR PHOTO: SERGEI CHIRIKOV/AFP PICTURE THIS Russian soccer fans rampaged near Red Square on Sunday after Russia's 1-0 loss to Japan. Rioters--about 8,000 in all--burned cars and smashed windows; one man was killed, dozens were hurt, and Japanese students were attacked. It was the worst violence in central Moscow since '93, when then president Boris Yeltsin ordered tanks to storm the parliament during a clash with deposed legislators.
THIS WEEK'S SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
Police needed pepper spray and batons to contain a melee
involving some 300 spectators that erupted at a girls' flag
football game between Montgomery and Santa Rosa highs in
California.
THEY SAID IT
Carlos Tosca
The Blue Jays' new manager, describing his first game: "It was
like my wedding night. You try to slow it down, but it goes real
fast."