Were you ever cut from a team when you were a kid?

Dan O'Brien, Olympic decathlete: I was cut from my seventh-grade basketball team. I kept at it and made the team in eighth grade.

Sheryl Swoopes, forward, Houston Comets: I tried out for the U.S. national basketball team in 11th grade, but I didn't make it. I made the team in 1994.

Frank Thomas, first baseman, Chicago White Sox: I was cut from the varsity baseball team in high school.

Wacky Sports Inventions

INVENTION: Conehead Luge Helmet

WHO INVENTED IT: A West German research and development company

WHEN: Mid-1970s

HOW IT WORKED: At the 1976 Winter Olympics, the West German lugers wore helmets that looked like coneheads. The helmet reduced air resistance, so the lugersslid faster.

WHY IT FAILED: The helmet was banned after the Games. Olympic officials felt it gave the Germans an unfair edge. They won the silver medal.

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Pub Date: 01/20/99