Harding's Hug Almost Unnoticed

Somehow the cameras missed it, but Tonya Harding did hug rival skater Nancy Kerrigan during the Winter Olympics in Norway, according to Kerrigan's coach.

Evy Scotvold told Michael Madden of the Boston Globe that the one-sided hug occurred at the draw for last Friday's free-skating program.

"The skaters were all there for the draw, and Nancy was standing there and waiting," Scotvold said. "Tonya came up to Nancy from the side and behind her - I'm sure Nancy didn't see her - and she put her arms around Nancy and said, `Congratulations for skating so well.' "

Kerrigan, taken aback, stepped back and uttered a perfunctory "Thank you."

The next day, the skaters and their entourages met in a restaurant.

Harding was moved to another room, "but there was just a glass window between us and them," co-coach Mary Scotvold recalled. She said restaurant officials "lowered a curtain over the window, and we couldn't see each other."

NO THANK YOU

The makers of No Excuses jeans have said "No thank you" to Harding.

"At this point, we have no plans to use her," said Dari Marder, vice president of marketing for No Excuses. "We want somebody a little more universally liked."

DIVERTED ATTENTION

Leander Paes, who is expected to lead India against the United States in a first-round Davis Cup tennis match March 25-27 in New Delhi, was conceived in Munich during the 1972 Olympics.

His father played on India's bronze-medal-winning field-hockey team, his mother on its women's basketball team.

"I don't know what happened," Paes told Tennis magazine. "They were supposed to be concentrating on sport."

FAMOUS VISITOR

It was a big day for kindergartners at Ponderosa Elementary School in Post Falls, Idaho.

Mark Rypien, Washington Redskin quarterback, came to visit along with police officer Pete Marion, the school's DARE (Drug Awareness, Resistance and Education) officer.

Teacher Mary Rohlman asked, "Children, do you know who this is?"

The class shouted back in unison, "It's Officer Pete!"

LET'S PLAY TWO, ONCE

How many major-league baseball doubleheaders are scheduled in 1994? Just one: San Diego at Colorado.

When does the season start? One month from tomorrow.

When's the All-Star Game? July 12, in Pittsburgh.

THEY SAID IT

-- TV's Jay Leno, on the figure-skating short program: "As you know, Nancy Kerrigan came in first, and Tonya Harding was 10th. Of course, right behind Tonya in 11th place was Connie Chung."

-- Scottie Pippen, All-Star forward, on being switched to shooting guard by the Chicago Bulls: "Playing two-guard takes me away from rebounding. It takes me away from the team defense we need and has me chasing all these little guys around the perimeter. I don't like it."

-- Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta coach, when asked if the Hawks' acquisition of Danny Manning might disrupt his team's drive toward the NBA playoffs: "I don't know why anybody would even think that. Just watch the way he plays. If he gets open, he goes. If he gets double-teamed, he passes to an open teammate. Even when he's not double-teamed, he gets the ball to people. No, Danny's going to make us a better team."

-- Rocky Thompson, a member of the Senior PGA Tour, on his other job as mayor of Toco, Texas: "If it was a paying job, someone might run and I might be out."

Compiled by Chuck Ashmun, Seattle Times