By The Way...

Hey, did you know that the Americans are totally going to town at the World Gymnastics Championships? The American women's team took the gold for the first time ever, in what coach Bela Karolyi (you remember him) called "Our greatest win ever." That's not bad, considering he was there in Atlanta in '96. Karolyi's estimation here is in part because half the team was apparently sidelined with injuries. Now, that's drama.

But wait, there's more: Paul Hamm took the all-around gold as well -- and that's also a first. And he did it by performing nearly flawlessly on the high bar, which has long been his place to mess up: He made errors on the bar earlier in the competition and two years ago knocked himself out of competition by messing up on them at his last World Gymnastics Championships. So there's another heartwarming story of redemption for you.

I'm fan of gymnastics, because I like seeing humans flaunt the laws of physics. But like most people I pretty much catch them at the Olympics and in martial arts movies. So it's nice to be reminded that people are sticking their dismounts at other times -- and making some history while they're at it.

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