"I am an avid sports fan and a Christian theologian." I feel like an alcoholic confessing my addiction at a 12-step meeting.

MY husband is a huge sports fan but I can't get worked up about it.

Lauren, a native of Rochester, NY, remains an avid upstate New York sports fan, especially the Buffalo Bills.

Kostas Giannis, a Greek sports fan, told the Sunday Times "I don't see why, after all the money that Greek taxpayers will end up paying to host the games, McDonald's should dictate what I can eat in my own city."

Mahler, a sports fan, spotted the connections between sports and ballet after her parents took her to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium.

CORRECTION (ran 9/18/03): The list of Sports Illustrated's 20 best places to be a college sports fan on Saturday's Page B1 contained an error.

From replica football kits that change every other day to any number of tacky souvenirs, the marketing men are constantly coming up with new ways to fleece the humble sports fan. But the Royal and Ancient have surpassed themselves at this week's Open Championship.

"I wanted to take a look at those athletes who were preparing for life after football and basketball right now," says Hughes, a lifelong sports fan who holds season tickets to watch his beloved New York Giants during the football season.

Lest one dismiss such rhetoric as mere hyperbole, consider that Bertie Ahern, the newly re-elected Irish prime minister, offered (in vain) to intervene personally in the dispute in an attempt to "salvage his country's World Cup hopes." The wry comments of one Dublin sports fan put things in their proper perspective: "This is far more serious than Partition.

Stories such as the 'rabbit' at the greyhound track running so slow that the dogs could catch it, the marathon runner running the wrong way when entering the stadium, a Finnish rally driver sitting on the roof of his car (driven by a teammate) after a mechanical failure and a cricket match delayed while a replacement artificial leg was fetched for a player are guaranteed to tickle the palettes of even the most jaded sports fan.

The recent NBA lockout turned into something positive for Keith Lane, despite the fact that the agency president is a rabid sports fan.

In a statement on Thursday, Loizidou said she was allowing the measure for the time being, until such time as the sports fan card comes into effect.