Lakers' Bryant Follows Sister Act

When Kobe Bryant dunks for the Los Angeles Lakers, he does it viciously and with youthful vigor, a style he learned from his older sister.

Sharia Bryant, 21, is an outside hitter for the Temple volleyball team and "every bit the athlete Kobe is," Peter Brewington wrote for USA Today. "When the senior coils her arm behind her head and snaps off a spike, the result is as devastating as any dunk."

Sharia's textbook form, raw power and 27-inch vertical leap - "She was dunking before Kobe," according to her father, Joe Bryant, a former NBA player - were in evidence recently in a victory over George Washington University that improved Temple's record to 20-4.

And Sharia is just 5 feet 10, eight inches shorter than her brother.

Sharia, who walked on at Temple in 1993 but soon earned a scholarship, is thinking about paying professional volleyball next year, perhaps in Italy. She speaks Italian fluently, and her father has connections there.

TOO MANY PAPER CUPS

Franziska Rochat-Moser, the New York City Marathon winner and gourmet restaurant owner in Switzerland, says she wouldn't want to live in the United States - because of American eating habits.

"I just wouldn't be able to stand seeing the entire population with a paper cup of coffee in hand every morning and with a carry-out bag at lunch," Rochat-Moser told a Swiss newspaper.

BON APETIT!

Figure-skating champion Tara Lipinski says her favorite dish is

grapes topped with whipped cream, M&Ms and sprinkles.

Adam Foote of the NHL's Colorado Avalanche prefers an egg-ham-cheese sandwich covered with mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.

A MILLION REASONS

Running back Gary Brown of the San Diego Chargers will earn a $1 million bonus if he rushes for 1,000 or more yards this season. So far, he has gained 730. Brown attended Williamsport (Pa.) High School. The school's nickname? The Millionaires.

HE WROTE IT

Gene Wojciechowski, Chicago Tribune: "I believe that the two hardest things in sports are making a downhill four-footer at Augusta's No. 16, or carrying four cups of beer in two hands. I (also) believe soccer will succeed in America shortly after Dennis Rodman wins an Academy Award."

HE SAID IT

Tony Gonzalez, rookie tight end, Kansas City Chiefs: "For the first time in my life, I'm around older men every day. They've got wives and kids and families to go home to every night. I'm used to asking, `Where's the party?' "

Compiled by Chuck Ashmun, Seattle Times