Blotter

Warned
?Colleges, by the NCAA, that putting U.S. flags on team uniforms might offend some players. "Institutions desiring to place flags on uniforms should consider the nationalities of all of their student-athletes before doing so," read a note the NCAA had posted on its website.

Established
?By Japan's Naoko Takahashi in Berlin on Sunday, the women's record in the marathon. Her time, 2:19:46, would have been sufficient to earn a spot in the U.S. men's 2000 Olympic trials.

Launched
?The Adriatic League, featuring 12 basketball teams from the former Yugoslavia—four from Croatia, four from Slovenia, three from Bosnia and one from Montenegro. Serbian clubs Partizan and Red Star are also expected to join. Organizers hope the league will strengthen basketball in the region that produced Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoc and Drazen Petrovic.

Secured
?By the Downtown Athletic Club, meeting space for Dec. 8 in a Manhattan hotel, in the event that this year's Heisman Trophy ceremony has to be moved. Inspectors are checking whether the club's building, located near the World Trade Center, is structurally sound following the terrorist attacks in New York City.

Withdrawn
?The Bears' permission to sell naming rights to Soldier Field, which might have netted the team $300 million. After Sept. 11, Chicago mayor Richard Daley insisted the rights arrangement be stricken from the city's stadium renovation deal with the Bears.

Discovered
?By researchers in London, that Viagra may aid the breathing of mountain climbers at high altitude. The drug blocks the action of an enzyme that hampers not only sexual ability but also the function of the lungs in low-oxygen environments.