ACOG security officials addressed an incident during the
Opening Ceremonies, in which a man carrying a gun and dressed as
a security officer was able to enter the stadium. The ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION noted that officials "were still scratching their
heads" yesterday on how he eluded their system. The incident is
a "major embarrassment" for ACOG security (Ron Martz, ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 7/24). The HOUSTON CHRONICLE called it "another
blow" for Games organizers (Reid Laymance, HOUSTON CHRONICLE,
7/24). The N.Y. TIMES called it "another in a series of
operational embarrassments" (Jerry Schwartz, N.Y. TIMES, 7/24).
MEDIA STILL GRUMPY: A PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER headline refers
to the "Glitch Games" (PHILA. INQUIRER, 7/24). In Atlanta, Lyle
Harris notes that ACOG is "struggling with an increasingly
impatient Olympic press corps." Yesterday's press briefing
"seemed more like tag-team wrestling" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
7/24). In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes the problems "shouldn't be
happening" and compares Billy Payne ("who seems to view this as
an overblown Georgia-Georgia Tech tailgate party") to Peter
Ueberroth ("a didactic leader from private industry who made the
Games and buses run on time") (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/24). In
Minneapolis, Dan Barreiro predicts the Journal-Constitution's
Tuesday headline -- "Planning pays off as downtown remains snarl-
free" -- will some day rank with "Dewey Defeats Truman"
(Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/24). The WASHINGTON POST's Fred
Barbash notes the criticism in the foreign press, writing, "The
biggest casualty is the image of Atlanta itself" (WASHINGTON
POST, 7/24). SI OLYMPIC DAILY gives an overall grade of C+. The
breakdown: crowd management (D); transportation (F); hospitality
(A); ambience (C-); security (A); competition (A) (SI, 7/23).
In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes as the Games go on, the more it
seems as if this city finished its preparations with the frantic
last-minute haste of a college student readying his dorm for a
parental visit" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/24).
