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Olympics

SAMARANCH LOOKS TO BATTLE BACK; INT'L REAX TO IOC REFORMS

          With a "mixture of denial and defiance," IOC President
     Juan Antonio Samaranch "struck back at his critics [Monday]
     and insisted he should not be held accountable for the
     misdeeds of a few IOC members," according to William
     Drozdiak in a front-page report in the WASHINGTON POST. 
     Samaranch met with members of the media in Switzerland where
     he dismissed reports of his lavish lifestyle: "I am a normal
     person.  I may be of nobility, but I am not a rich man.  I
     travel widely, but I stay in small suites.  I have no yachts
     or planes, and I don't like fancy lunches or dinners." 
     Asked about the IOC vote of confidence he faces from the
     members in March, Samaranch said, "I am sure their reaction
     will be positive" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/26).  Asked if there
     could be more IOC expulsions following Sunday's announced
     reforms, Samaranch said, "I don't know, maybe" (USA TODAY,
     1/26).  Samaranch also said that the IOC would send two
     delegates to obtain more information on Sydney's bid for the
     2000 Games.  But he said, "We think nothing wrong was going
     on" (USA TODAY, 1/26).  Asked about the 2002 Salt Lake City
     Games: "I have not any kind of doubts that the United States
     and Utah can present a first-class Games" (SALT LAKE
     TRIBUNE, 1/26).  Samaranch also took a shot at former USOC
     President Robert Helmick, who has called for his
     resignation: "This is a man who had to resign because he was
     facing expulsion from the I.O.C."  In N.Y., Jere Longman
     notes that Samaranch "appears to have convinced himself that
     he can restore his legacy by cleaning up the contaminated
     bidding process."  Now that he has the support of his IOC
     colleagues, he is "displaying the resolve ... to finish out
     the last two years of his term."  But Longman notes that
     Samaranch was "not treated well as reaction to the scandal
     spread throughout Europe."  The "sentiment in daily
     newspapers was generally unforgiving" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/26). In
     L.A., Mike Penner notes Samaranch's comments to the media
     yesterday where he said, "I think I'm pleased with myself."
     Samaranch added that he was satisfied with the heavy media
     attention that the IOC received on Sunday, calling it proof
     that the IOC "is very much important -- much more important
     than I (had) thought in our society today."  Penner: "The
     President just doesn't get it. ... Turmoil?  What turmoil? 
     The IOC is getting killer ratings" (L.A. TIMES, 1/26). 
     CBS's Mark Phillips reported that Samaranch "began a damage
     control exercise to try to polish up the committee's severly
     tarnished reputation."  Samaranch, asked if the damage to
     the IOC was irreparable: "We've got some damage.  But this
     damage can be [repaired] in a few months."  IOC Exec VP Dick
     Pound, asked if the IOC comes out of the scandal a little
     more humble: "Decidedly" ("CBS Evening News," 1/25).
          EDITORIALS: A sampling of int'l reaction to the IOC's
     action announced Sunday: The N.Y. TIMES, under the header,
     "Fire The Olympic Patriarch," calls on Samaranch to step
     down, as "the I.O.C.'s next leader should be an executive
     who can operate the lucrative business of staging the Games
     ethically.  An unyielding devotion to clean and transparent
     business practices should match the athletes' pursuit of the
     Olympic ideal" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/26).  USA TODAY calls for
     Samaranch's resignation, saying he "belatedly reacted" to
     the scandal (USA TODAY, 1/26).  The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE calls
     the IOC's actions a "strong beginning," and adds that there
     "appears little to be gained" by Samaranch's departure (SALT
     LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/26).  The TORONTO STAR calls the IOC's
     actions "decisive and welcome. ... [But] not until
     [Samaranch] is gone can we trust that lasting reforms will
     be made" (TORONTO STAR, 1/26).  The LONDON TIMES called
     Samaranch "monstrously self-aggrandizing" who practices
     "passive corruption" (LONDON TIMES, 1/25).  The N.Y. POST
     writes the IOC "has rotted from the top down" and it's "high
     time for Samaranch to give up his dictatorial control and
     allow this organization of international goodwill a measure
     of respectability once again" (N.Y. POST, 1/26).  The BOSTON
     HERALD: "If there has ever been a sorrier spectacle in the
     world of sports than the current scandal over the Olympics,
     we can't imagine it" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/26). 
          D'ALESSANDRO'S OK: John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance
     President David D'Alessandro said Samaranch "should be given
     the chance to implement the reforms."  D'Alessandro: "But
     the moment he is seen as not carrying through with them in
     the future, he should be removed."  More D'Alessandro: "The
     IOC went further than most people would have expected on
     Sunday.  We were very encouraged by the report because it
     didn't try to cover up any wrongdoing" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/26).
          GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS: Australia's Seven Network said
     that it has sold "half of the eight" A$14M two-year telecast
     sponsorship packages around the 2000 Sydney Games and has
     "yet to see any impact from the bribery allegations
     plaguing" the Games (MELBOURNE AGE, 1/25).....The FINANCIAL
     TIMES reports that "some" of the six IOC members facing
     expulsion "indicated they would resist attempts to remove
     them."  Such a move would be a "blow" to the IOC and unless
     they resign, a vote of the IOC's 115 members will be
     required to oust them from office (FINANCIAL TIMES, 1/26). 

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