For The Record

NAMED As head coach of the Nashville Rhythm of the American
Basketball Association, Ashley McElhiney, the first female head
coach of a men's pro basketball team. The 22-year-old, who is the
alltime leader in assists at Vanderbilt, was hired by pop singer
Sally Anthony, who led the group that purchased the ABA expansion
franchise in February. "My goal [is] not only to put a
competitive team on the floor but to give qualified females
opportunities they are not normally afforded," Anthony said.
"Ultimately, I think the Nashville Rhythm, and the ABA as a
whole, can be a stepping-stone for a qualified woman to coach in
the NBA."

UNVEILED By officials in Pittsfield, Mass., a document written in
1791 that outlawed playing baseball near the town meetinghouse.
It is the oldest recorded reference to the national pastime,
coming 32 years before two newspaper stories mentioned the game
being played in Manhattan and 48 years before Abner Doubleday
supposedly invented baseball in Cooperstown, N.Y. While
researching a book on the game's origins, baseball historian John
Thorn found a reference to the law in a book about Pittsfield.
Officials then searched the town archives and last week
discovered the document, which proclaims that "for the
Preservation of the Windows in the New Meeting House," playing
baseball within 80 yards of the building would be illegal.

BANNED By a federal judge, direct communication between Mike
Danton, the Blues' center accused of conspiring to hire a hit man
last month, and his agent, mentor and alleged intended target,
David Frost. The two had been in nearly daily contact since
Danton's April 16 arrest, and earlier this month Frost
orchestrated a public statement by Danton without consulting
Danton's lawyer. Danton, who is being held without bail awaiting
a July 20 trial, may talk to Frost's wife and two children as
long as they don't discuss the case. But Judge Michael Reagan
warned Danton, "Your best friends now are your attorneys.... It's
best to keep your mouth shut."

LAUNCHED By the Center for the Study of Sport in Society (CSSS)
and Youth Sports USA, a national Sportsmanship 1st campaign.
Children, parents and coaches in all youth sports organizations
will be asked to sign a one-page contract stating that they will
exhibit good sportsmanship, and before each game players, coaches
and referees will shake hands and recite a pledge vowing to put
sportsmanship first. "Of the 40 million kids who participate in
youth sports, 70 percent quit before the age of 13," says former
Harvard basketball coach Peter Roby, the director of CSSS. "And
the Number 1 reason they give is that it's no fun."

BOTCHED By McFarlane Toys, a set of figurines representing Flames
captain Jarome Iginla and Canadiens forward Saku Koivu. Iginla
(upper right), the NHL's leading goal scorer this season and
whose father is Nigerian, has been referred to as "the black
Gordie Howe." But for fans who bought the two-figure pack, that
would be a far more fitting title for Koivu, who is Finnish.
"Saku mistakenly got the darker skin wash in this set," said Mark
Weber, sports manager for McFarlane Toys. Weber apologized for
the error but said there are no plans to recall the $8.99
figurines--which are being sold for $75 on eBay.

COLOR PHOTO: DAMIAN STROHMEYER (MCELHINEY) McElhiney

COLOR PHOTO: RICHARD ARLESS JR./GAZETTE, MONTREAL (FIGURINES)

COLOR PHOTO: SHELLY CASTELLANO/ICON SMI (IGINLA)

COLOR PHOTO: FREESTYLE/ICON SMI (KOIVU)

COLOR PHOTO: THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (BASEBALL)