Scorecard

The U.S. team will find itself playing in Tehran's glorious new stadium, the only tennis arena of its kind in the Middle East. It seats 3,000, has a tunnel through which players enter like early Christian martyrs marching to the lions, and includes a glass pavilion for the Shah, His Imperial Majesty, King of Kings. The Shah, a fine player himself, has gone so far as to lend his imperial water supply for the brick-dust courts. Moreover, the Shah has been invited to play exhibition doubles with the U.S. team, the first time he has played before his subjects, an occasion fraught with problems of diplomatic courtesy. Whether he plays or not, the U.S. team will present the Shah with a solid gold medal in thanks for his imperial support.

BIZARRE AS BAZAAR CAN BE

Occasionally a feminine acquaintance not entirely bemused by the women's fashion magazines will regale us with their latest bit of pastel preciousness. As long as the haute couture purveyors stick to recommending baths in champagne to the ladies, they do no harm and, indeed, promote healthy laughter. But when they make incursions into the male realm, as does Harper's Bazaar in its current suggestions for Father's Day gifts, the results promote reconsideration of suffrage.

"For the eternal athlete," trills Bazaar, the perfect gift may be "an Irish wolfhound to be worn with his tattersall vest" or an artificial ski slope at $18,000. "If he's utterly amphibious, [give him] an outdoor swimming pool, flanked by growing trees, as an extension of the living room. If he's a ten-goal man...[give] a second string of polo ponies to cheer him on. Then there's always, of course, a small, neat yacht."

How about just a small, neat box of gold golf balls?

NO PORK FOR SPORT

The Texas legislature finished its regular session the other day and went home, leaving behind a two-year budget bill which slighted physical fitness other than that derived from mass calisthenics. Texas' 20 state-supported colleges and universities were forbidden to spend state money for other compulsory physical education programs.

The idea seemed to be that it is all right to require two years of physical education, but you can't let the students have any fun or learn anything—like golf and tennis—that they could use after graduation, unless the necessary equipment is purchased with private funds.

The legislators were reported to have felt that their bill would force colleges to put "more emphasis on basic courses, such as mathematics and science, instead of snap courses like golf and archery," according to one eagerly anonymous informant, cowering before an expected storm of indignation. And, to be sure, the legislators had the example of one college that had spent extravagantly on maintenance of its golf course.

We have a certain frugal sympathy with the legislators' viewpoint but do feel that they are trying to cut off the patient's head to cure a headache.