Inside the rings

7:00 PM

Stars slum it

Tennis millionaires Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles have abandoned the luxury of five-star hotels to enjoy a more down-to-earth existence in the Olympic athletes' village.

The stars, who have 12 Grand Slam titles between them, are used to travelling in style to tournaments around the world.

But US chef de mission Sandy Baldwin said the pair were keen to experience the village atmosphere.

Raw deal

Police on Games duty have warned they may take industrial action over the small portions of food they receive at Olympic sites.

"They must think we're Oliver Twist with what they are giving us and what we are now saying is, 'Please sir, can I have some more'," said one unidentified police officer.

Another officer said: " I reckon a baby eats more."

Iron man

Marathon runner Abdellah Behar, who had his appendix removed on Monday, still hopes to compete in the event on the final day of the Olympics.

Behar, a native of Morocco who runs for France, had the surgery a few hours after being admitted to a hospital with stomach pains. He was expected to remain in the hospital about 24 hours.

French team doctor Didier Polin said Behar, 27, still could run.

Da bomb

Bomb threats are no laughing matter at the Games or anywhere but we wondered how seriously to take the "bomb threat checklist" lying around some of the press workrooms.

It lists observations to make if you take a bomb call (note the accent and background noise, for example) and urges us to ask for a description of the alleged explosive device.

And just to finish off, it suggests we ask - in a casual, offhand sort of way - the caller's name and where she or he is calling from.

High praise

While Dutch swimmer Inge de Bruijn received a royal letter of congratulations for winning gold, an East Timorese boxer received something similar from the head of the United Nations just for taking part.

De Bruijn, 27, who captured her country's first Olympic swimming title in 16 years on Sunday, found a message from Queen Beatrix waiting for her at the athletes' village.

In contrast, boxer Victor Ramos, who was pummelled out of contention in less than a round, earned praise from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan because the athlete's presence in Sydney advanced the cause of the Olympics and the UN.

Advertising rules

TVNZ is not alone in coming under fire for seasoning Olympic coverage too heavily with advertisements.

Armchair spectators here are ringing the feedback line on rights broadcaster Channel 7 and complaining about frequent advertising interruptions. A Seven spokeswoman said advertising would be limited to 10 minutes per hour.

But the ads don't cause delays as they did with the opening ceremony coverage in New Zealand. When they go to commercials, the sport is just ignored.