Scorecard

A FINE LINE

At the Baltimore International tennis matches, a young lady was enthusiastic about getting the players to sign her jeans and the players were enthusiastic about obliging her.

Soon she had all the names except that of Zeljko Franulovic of Yugoslavia, who declined, saying, "I'm sorry but we're not allowed to endorse clothing."

TAKE A DEEP BREATH

Addressing himself to the air pollution that may be contributing to upper respiratory ailments in horses that race at the Meadowlands (SI, Jan. 2), Irv Brechner has a suggestion that at first seems preposterous: "Don't let the horses breathe the polluted air."

Brechner, one of the owners of UltraAire, a Livingston, N.J.-based company, says his firm makes a negative-ion generator, a machine designed to electrically enrich the air. Brechner says it makes breathing easier, increases mental awareness, decreases fatigue and leads to more alertness. Which can't be all bad for a horse.

According to Brechner, polluted air upsets nature's balance of negative and positive electrical charges, called ions. The ion generator, which is about the size of a table radio and sells for $350, enriches the air by restoring its proper balance. The idea is to put the generators in the horses' stalls.

Dr. Jill Beech of the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center for veterinary medicine is enthusiastic about the machine and plans to test it. UltraAire's other owner, Alan Weinstein, says he will arrange free testing for horsemen. "If it does what we say," he says, "isn't it worth it?"