The Blotter

Died
After undergoing two operations for brain hemorrhaging, Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn, 85. Hearn, the only full-time play-by-play announcer the Lakers have had since moving from Minneapolis in 1960, was hospitalized after he collapsed in his backyard on Aug. 2. His 3,338-consecutive-game broadcasting streak ended last December when he took a leave of absence to have heart surgery.

Hired
By Nike, for one of three basketball sports marketing summer internships, Akron sophomore Maverick Carter, the cousin and former high school teammate of LeBron James, the nation's top high school basketball player. James is expected to be the target of a major bidding war among sneaker companies should he forgo college basketball and apply for the 2003 NBA draft, as most people expect he will.

Discovered
By antiterrorist police in Greece, a cache of explosives including dynamite and a hand grenade buried near an Athens arena that is scheduled to be used as a venue in the 2004 Olympic Games. Police have made no arrests but say the explosives may have been buried by November 17, Greece's most dogged terrorist group.

Burned
By members of the Triple A Rochester Red Wings in hopes of snapping a losing streak, a barrel of bats and batting gloves on the pitcher's mound of Rochester's Frontier Field before a July 31 game against the Ottawa Lynx. The Red Wings lost the game 4-3 and at week's end had dropped 12 straight.

Collected
By the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surveys from 4,728 college undergraduates that asked about the relationship between sports and suicidal thoughts. The federal study found that college students who play varsity or intramural sports were between 1.6 (women) and 2.5 (men) times less likely to consider or attempt suicide.