Let It Stop, Let It Stop, Let It Stop!

After a series of freakishly warm winters, Lillehammer Olympic organizers feared they might not have enough snow during the Feb. 12-27 Winter Games.

"Organizers wished for snow. They dreamed of snow. Some might even have appealed to Tor, the ancient Norse god of weather, or Skade, the Viking's snow deity," said an Associated Press dispatch from the Norwegian town.

They got snow. And more snow. Plus snow on top of that.

NO LONGER MERRY

"Enough, enough!" said Thomas Hovik, whose job is to shovel the white stuff at the Birkebeiner Nordic skiing stadium above Lillehammer.

Snow depth is at 51 inches, the most since 1969, as Lillehammer closes in on the record of 59.5 set during the Great Winter of '51.

"We had more than enough snow before Christmas," said Ole Melby, Olympic arena manager. "Everything we have had since then is just an annoyance."

MOOSE MAKE TRACKS

Nearly half the trains from Oslo to Lillehammer last weekend were late, most because of snow. A few were held up because moose - fleeing the deep snow - blocked the tracks.

At the Lillehammer Tourist Hotel, where the International Olympic Committee will stay during the Games, a porch roof collapsed under the weight, injuring three volunteers.

Bulldozers, snow blowers, dump trucks and plows growl through the night. Even the military has joined the fray, trading rifles for snow shovels.

ODDS FAVOR KERRIGAN

Las Vegas now has odds on Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding at the Winter Olympics.

The Las Vegas Hilton Race and Sports SuperBook set 4-1 odds yesterday on Kerrigan finishing above Harding in the figure-skating standings.

No word on odds for the Jamaican bobsled team.

HAIR HE GROWS

Scott Fowler of the Miami Herald outlined the ever-changing hairstyles of Matt Geiger of the Miami Heat: "In order, clean-cut frat boy; bald with Fu Manchu mustache; New Year's celebrator with '94 shaved in; back to bald, semi-normal growth, and the now-infamous Mohawk."

Explained Geiger: "I've never had great hair to begin with. So I decided I should just start doing some crazy things with it. It puts me in a good mood when I look in the mirror. I think I look sort of tough. And you only live once, anyway."

GUIDE ROCK BLUES

Orleans High School in Nebraska gets credit not only for helping Guide Rock High tie a state record but also bettering the record four days later.

Back-to-back Orleans victories over the Warriors left Guide Rock with the longest losing streak in state history, 70 games. The previous high - or low - was 69, set by Wynot in 1969-73.

Guide Rock's superintendent, Don Osborn, said the school won't talk about the streak, players, effort, numbers or anything else about the basketball program. "We hurt too bad to be interviewed," he said.

SHIRT DISPUTE

New York's 1969 "Miracle Mets" say a clothing maker was off base - to the tune of $16 million - when it used their photos on a T-shirt without their permission.

Members of the World Series winning team, newly incorporated as "Miracle of '69 Enterprises," said in court papers that Garan Inc. originally rejected the T-shirt proposal as a 25th-anniversary project.

But former outfielder Art Shamsky, president of the Met group, spotted such a shirt soon afterward in Manhattan - in a Yankee Clubhouse shop, of all places - selling for $35.99, said Shamsky's lawyer, Philip Klein.

FOR RENT ONLY

Jim Courier, ranked No. 3 in pro tennis, says the recent attack on Nancy Kerrigan reflects a warped emphasis on being No. 1 in sports.

"I think that people lose sight of reality a little bit," he said. "I don't know if it's the money that makes people do wacky things or the fame or what.

"For me, pride and self-esteem are more important than sacrificing everything that I've got just to get to a spot that you're just renting - you don't own it."

THEY SAID IT

-- Miami Heat forward Willie Burton, after he ordered a pizza from the bench, while sidelined with an injury, and ate it during a game: "What's the big deal? I was hungry, man. It's not like I committed a crime."

-- Eddie Murray, Cleveland's new designated hitter, on criticism by New York media during his two seasons with the Mets: "Back there, definitely, negative things sell. Dirt sells, whether there's dirt there or not. If it's not, you make it up."

QUOTE `The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must all pay for success.' Vince Lombardi

TRIVIA QUESTION

How many times has Jack Nicklaus won the Vardon Trophy, given to the PGA Tour player with the lowest scoring average?

None.

Compiled by Chuck Ashmun, Seattle Times