News In Brief

A PLAN FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE

Mountain climbers accompanied by a TV crew plan to scale the highest mountain in the Americas Dec. 31 to make an unprecedented live broadcast from its peak as part of year-2000 festivities. Mt. Aconcagua, which is in Mendoza Province about 700 miles west of Buenos Aires, rises 22,834 feet above sea level. From the foot of the mountain in the village of Las Heras, the climbers will also carry up a time capsule filled with greetings and messages of peace.

A PLAN FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY

The 20 residents of Pitt Island, New Zealand, who will be the first to see the dawn of the new year, won't be sharing the event with the rest of the world, after all. Technical difficulties have prompted Canadian-owned TV3 to back out of plans for a live link-up. Instead, the first available live footage of the dawning year will come from a farm on Chatham Island, where the sun will appear about 90 seconds later than it will on Pitt.

Magazine ranks states on their 20th-century athletes

After compiling a list of the 50 greatest sports figures of the century from each state, Sports Illustrated couldn't resist the temptation to rate the states based on those lists. California, a world Olympic power in and of itself, was an easy top choice. Texas, which came next, was one of five states led by a female superstar (Babe Didrikson Zaharias). The others: Illinois (Jackie Joyner-Kersee), Maine (Joan Benoit Samuelson), Tennessee (Wilma Rudolph), and Vermont (Andrea Mead Lawrence). The following state-by-state ranking takes into account the magnitude of each state's athletic talent as well as its depth:

1. California

2. Texas

3. New York

4. Pennsylvania

5. Alabama

6. Lousiana

7. North Carolina

8. Ohio

9. Illinois

10. Florida

- Sports Illustrated

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