Sports Beat

For years calendar buyers have ogled actresses, pop starlets and swimsuit models, not to mention women's soccer teams, firefighters and the incomparable Women in Waders (SI, July 7). Now, pole vaulters are boldly going where pole dancers have gone before. The 2004 Vaultgirls calendar features Olympians, NCAA champions and former U.S.-record holders in "artistic as well as athletic photos," according to a press release. Sultry shots of vaulting stars such as Mary Sauer (below) are interspersed with images of the women in action. "We wanted to show young women that there's another body type to look up to," says Mel Mueller, the 1999 U.S. indoor champion and 2000 Olympian, who came up with the idea. "Being a model who's 5'10" and 100 pounds is not healthy. This is about being athletic and fit." The calendars can be ordered for $19.95 from vaultgirls.com, with profits going to fund the vaulters' training for the Olympics.

?Who says you can't party in Utah? As a way to reach out to "the people in the $10 seats," new Lakers and former Jazz forward Karl Malone threw himself a going-away bash at the Delta Center last Friday night. About 10,000 people showed up, lured by the promise of autographs, free hot dogs and the chance to see Malone's five-ton monster truck, called Power Forward. Governor Mike Leavitt spoke, then the Mailman took the stage and fought back tears as he thanked fans of the city where he spent the first 18 years of his career. It's been a weepy off-season for the NBA's No. 2 alltime scorer, who got a two-year, $3 million deal to take his act to L.A. "He cried a lot about this [decision to move]," says Malone's wife, Kay. "I did too, because I'm going to miss my friends. There were times when we held each other and just cried about this."

?The Red Sox dugout turned into a recording studio during batting practice on Aug. 7 when players laid down backing vocals for a version of Gary Glitter's anthem Rock and Roll, Part 2. Buffalo Tom singer Bill Janovitz handled lead vocals, and seven Sox sang the HEY!'s. The song will appear on the upcoming CD Hot Stove, Cool Music, raising money for the Jimmy Fund, which provides treatment for children with cancer. Other performers on the CD include the bands Sand Frog (featuring Angels first baseman Scott Spezio) and Stick Figure (with former Cy Young winner Jack McDowell) as well as Red Sox G.M. Theo Epstein, who plays guitar for the group Trauser. Lest you think it's safe to actually buy the disc, however, note that Peter Gammons contributed a cover of Chuck Berry's Oh Carol.

?You've probably heard rumors about Jimmy Hoffa's being buried in Giants Stadium. Now, acting on information from an informant, the FBI has torn up parking lot C at Chicago's Cellular One Field looking for the remains of mob enforcer Michael Frank (Bones) Albergo. The Feds found bone fragments and a tooth but have not positively identified them. Albergo is believed to have been killed in 1970 and buried at a construction site at 33rd Street and South Stewart Avenue, which has since become a parking lot for the White Sox....

The Devil Rays hosted their first pregame wedding on Aug. 9 when Army 1st lieutenant Don Curtis Little, who recently returned from Iraq, and Stefanie Alexa Schotanus were married at Tropicana Field. The couple received a bat autographed by the Devil Rays as a gift.