A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : BICKERING ARRIVES, ON THE DOT.

UCLA and USC did better at the Atlanta Games than many countries, but, as with many aspects of Olympics competition, there is controversy over their student/alumni final medal figures. Call it the overlap flap.

The Bruins claim 22 medals (12 gold, two silver, eight bronze), the Trojans 10 medals (seven gold, one silver, two bronze). The trouble is, both schools count softball player Dot Richardson, who was an undergraduate athlete at Westwood but now studies medicine at USC.

UCLA partisans scoff at USC counting Richardson, and they're right, except that the Bruins count beach-volleyball player Kent Steffes, which is also a little stretch.

Steffes, from Pacific Palisades, played at Stanford, transferred to UCLA but didn't get to play for the Bruins because he was declared ineligible, ostensibly because a beach-tournament partner accepted prize money. Stanford's publicity department hasn't been heard from, but the Cardinal would appear to have the best claim on Steffes' gold.

Lumbering into the ring, so to speak

At last, the secret to Cuba's incredible success in Olympic boxing has been revealed: blocks of wood hidden inside the gloves.

How else to explain a line in an Associated Press story from Atlanta? The AP reported: ``In 1992, the Cubans went home with seven golds and two slivers.''

Giants become raging bulls, put heat on DeNiro flick

Major League Baseball and the San Francisco Giants are apparently not immediate fans of ``The Fan.''

Both have asked that ``at least a dozen changes be made'' before the Aug. 16 release date of the baseball-based film staring Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, according to several reports. DeNiro plays a crazed fan who stalks his favorite player, played by Snipes.

Pat Gallagher, a Giants executive, said the suggestions are ``related to the violence and use of profanity in the movie.''

MEMO: Compiled by Joe Jares

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Photo

PHOTO German citizen Harold Buchholz takes a souvenir leapinto the long-jump pit in Centennial Olympic Stadium.

Associated Press