Friday, March 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Athens, Rome, Stockholm, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were selected as finalists today in the race to host the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The selection by the IOC in Lusanne, Switzerland, contained no upsets but kept alive the chances, however remote, of Africa or South America hosting the Summer Games for the first time.
The United States did not have a city bidding to host the 2004 games.
"I always thought the best solution was three from Europe, one from the Americas and one from Africa," IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch said.
The five cities were chosen from a record field of 11 candidates by a panel of the International Olympic Committee.
The six cities eliminated from the race, the most crowded ever in picking an Olympic host, were Istanbul; Lille, France; San Juan; Seville, Spain; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Rio de Janeiro.
The winner will be selected by the full IOC on Sept. 5.
Four Iditarod dogs die
A fourth dog died in Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and race officials are at a loss to explain the deaths. An 8-year-old female in the team of Jean Lacroix of Bourdelins, France, died at 2:25 p.m. Thursday, two miles before the musher reached the McGrath checkpoint. Earlier in the day, a dog in the team of 80-year-old Iditarod founder Joe Redington died halfway between Nikolai and McGrath. Iditarod veterinarians have not determined why a dog, belonging to Wayne Curtis of Wasilla, died early Wednesday. Nor have they been able to pinpoint the cause of death Monday of a dog belonging to Anchorage musher Bill Bass. The leaders reached the halfway point in the race late Thursday, with defending champion Jeff King heading the pack.
Ex-Rebel Riley shares lead
Chris Riley, a four-time All-America selection at UNLV, shot a 2-under-par 68 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead in the NGA-Hooters Tour's season-opening Applebee's Classic at Peachtree City, Ga. Darrett Brinker of Evansville, Ind., and Tony Soerries of Orlando, Fla., also opened with 68s on the WhiteWater Country Club course.
Couch leads AC Delco
Jason Couch took the lead from Parker Bohn III in the first round of match play at the PBA's AC Delco Classic in Lakewood, Calif. Couch began the evening by defeating Bohn, 279-248, and ended the evening 172 pins ahead of Bohn. Couch, a former PBA Rookie of the Year, won six of eight games, had a pinfall total 6,547 and is averaging 244. Pete Weber was third, followed by Mike Aulby and Bob Learn Jr.
Quickies
Bob Wenzel was fired as Rutgers basketball coach. His record was 128-135 in nine seasons. ... Third-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain beat Christian Rudd of Norway 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Franklin Templeton Classic at Scottsdale, Ariz.
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