Unraveled mawashi is wrestler's undoing

Baseball has the infield fly rule. Sumo wrestling, it turns out, has a zip-your-fly rule.

Asanokiri, in a match against Chiyohakuho last weekend, became the first Sumo to lose a match because his loincloth fell off, giving him more exposure than fans watching on national television were expecting.

The 23- to 26-foot loincloth belt, called a mawashi, is wrapped tightly several times around the massive wrestlers' bodies. At least it's supposed to be wrapped tightly.

"I tied my mawashi the way I always do, but today it just came loose," said Asanokiri.

Said a Japan Sumo Association official: "This is the first time in the 83 years since we instituted the rule that anyone has lost a match."

But credit the alert Sumo elder sitting ringside, who immediately invoked the little-known exposure rule. Apparently he'd seen enough.

Taking the fight out of Elon

When it comes to Fightin', Elon College is turning the other cheek. The 3,700-student private college in North Carolina is scrapping its "Fightin' Christians" nickname that dates back to the 1920s.

Dan Anderson, a school spokesman, said students at Elon practice a variety of religions, and officials didn't want the nickname to imply the school, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, excluded other faiths.

So, are you ready for . . . the Phoenix? The name refers to the college's recovery from a 1923 fire that destroyed the campus main building, including classrooms, records, library and chapel.

Express, Mighty Oaks and Golden Eagles were other finalists. Also among the 125 suggestions - but not too far down the list, we hope - were Aardvarks, Fat-Tailed Geckos and Rabid Existentialists.

Charting active volcanoes

For those of you scoring at home, Mount St. Helens blew her top exactly 20 years ago today.

Meanwhile, Bob Knight is entering Day 4 of the dome-building stage.

Bet on the old Buckeye

If you want to get a Triple Crown bet down, Art Schlichter might get better odds than Fusaichi Pegasus.

The former Ohio State quarterback, whose gambling problems busted his NFL career and landed him in prison, is out facing charges on three fronts:

-- Money laundering to sell tickets to sporting events, in Indianapolis.

-- Using someone else's credit card to try to obtain cash, in Grove City, Ohio.

-- Driving a car at a motorcycle cop after a routine traffic stop, in Columbus, Ohio.

And if he beats any of those charges, he still faces charges of illegal gambling, allegedly committed while he was in Indiana - in prison.

Nice tri, but try again

It wasn't for the Schlichter Stakes, but three bettors hit the trifecta for a record $52,612.60 payoff for the first race at Churchill Downs on Sunday.

Montreal's Best, a 45-1 first-time starter, won the 5-furlong race for 2-year-old maidens, followed by Afternoon Breeze, at 16-1, and 34-1 long-shot L.D. Operator.

If any winners want to go double or nothing, we offer up The Chat Trifecta:

-- Knight keeps his cool;

-- Schlichter beats the rap(s); and

-- Asanokiri keeps his drawers up.

- Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times