Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Leaping 6.90 meters on her third attempt, Belarusian long jumper Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova missed out on winning by a hair at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The effort was good for first place, but when her pony tail touched the sand, it left her with a mark of only 6.74 meters. The winner, American Brittney Reese, jumped 6.82 meters... with her hair up in a bun. The wayward locks not only cost Mironchyk-Ivanova the gold medal, but also $60,000 in prize money. A new style is likely before the next race, but only her hairdresser will know for sure.

NCAA Uniforms Anything But Uniform

Maryland’s 32-24 victory over Miami (FL) in its season opener was expected to be a great early-season match-up between two ACC rivals, but the real story of the game focused on their Under Armor-provided uniforms. The Terps raised eyebrows last month when they previewed a plethora of new designs including a turtle-shell helmet. Monday night’s attire featured an asymmetrical look with each side of the helmet and the sleeves displaying parts of the Maryland state flag: a gold and black checkerboard-like design (the coat of arms of state “founder” George Calvert) and a red and white cross bottony (the coat of arms of the Crosslands, the family of Calvert’s mother). Georgia, Boise State and Oregon, among others, also trotted out new eye-popping gear sure to be a hit with video-game aficinados. NCAA, there's a Mr. Blackwell on line two...

Golf, Unexpected

After a tale of terror that left golfers and the Scottish rugby union team hopping mad, a rogue kangaroo was shot with a tranquillzer dart by a contracted veterinarian at Sanctuary Cove, a top-end private resort course on the Gold Coast of Australia. Golfers pay up to $6,400 (U.S.) a year for the privilege of playing on immaculately groomed fairways, but the Club's course guide fails to list maniac marsupials under its list of hazards. Word to the wise.

Snakes on a Brain

Between two-a-days, learning the playbook and the sweltering Arkansas heat, it can be difficult to keep track of what is happening around you. Gravette High School senior Darrick Strzelecki felt a strange lump in his helmet during practice last week and simply chalked it up to a tangled lock of hair. When the team took a rest break, Strzelecki removed his helmet and found what he initially thought was a rubber snake planted as a prank. Turns out the 10-12 inch snake was not rubber after all. Whatever happened to heat balm?

Coach Facing First and Long

South Carolina third-year quarterbacks coach, G.A. Mangus, 42, attending a meeting of state high school coaches, was charged with nuisance conduct after officers saw him urinating on a downtown Greenville street. Mangus appeared "unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person," according to Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Rampey. He has been released from jail and will face a $470 fine if convicted. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier, in keeping with team policy, wasted no time in suspending Mangus following his arrest. According to the report, officers also noted that the aspiring head coach "was uncooperative in providing straight answers to questions." Perhaps merely a prelude to SEC Media Days.

Center of Attention

Baltimore Raven's quarterback Joe Flacco exchanged vows -- and signals -- with Dana Grady recently and wedding photographer Jason Prezant was on hand to capture all the action and excitement. Prezant spent the special day with the couple as they made visits to a local movie theater as well as the high school the two attended, where they lined up on the site of Flacco's former football field. With the NFL lockout still in place, this impromptu workout should be an encouragement to Ravens fans hoping their QB is staying in shape.

Only One Carry-on Allowed

Leaping hurdles and negotiating a challenging water pool, Taisto Miettinen, a 46-year-old lawyer, and Kristiina Haapanen successfully defended their title in Sonkajarvi, Finland's annual wife-carrying competition in front of 6,500 enthusiastic spectators. With his partner's legs wrapped around his head, Miettinen sprinted 830 feet, less than a second ahead of Estonian rivals Alar Voogla and Kristi Viltrop, to defeat 46 other couples from ten different countries, including Israel, Russia and the United States, and win for the third straight time in the event's storied 16-year history. The competition has its roots in the legend of Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen, a local 19th-century bandit who lived in the forest and stole food -- and sometimes girls -- from nearby villages. Those were the days.