A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : FROM THE HOME OFFICE IN TALLAHASSEE.

What's a good Seminole to do when the big game is three states away?

Easy: Grab a computer and insult the chief Gator on-line.

By the dozens, Florida State Internet junkies are keeping their keyboards busy tapping out new and creative ways to deride Florida coach Steve Spurrier for his propensity to complain.

``Spurrier Whine - The bitter aftertaste you recall, year after year,'' reads one entry.

``Spurrier Whine, made from the finest sour grapes,'' goes another.

The contest to create a marketing slogan for ``Spurrier Whine'' - ``a bold white whine that's decidedly lightweight, young and just a little bitter'' - is the brainchild of Jim Avery of Tallahassee's WBZE radio.

In preparation for Thursday's Sugar Bowl meeting for the national championship, Avery set up a computer home page depicting a bottle of white wine capped with a baby-bottle nipple.

Avery plans to take the computer entries as well as those faxed and phoned in to develop a Top 10 list. All 10 winners will get an FSU Seminole cap.

Mr. Ryun jogs to Washington

You might expect Jim Ryun to dash in the doorway of his Washington D.C. congressional office, attired in sleek runner's garb, puffing lightly.

Instead, the three-time Olympian, two-time world record holder in the mile, strolls in with a dark overcoat and a suit, pulling a dolly loaded with mail and mementos.

On a recent wintry morning, U.S. Rep. Ryun of Kansas' 2nd District drove a rental truck full of household goods from his home north of Lawrence, Kan. His staff helped him unload into an apartment near Capitol Hill in preparation for the 105th Congress.

At 49, he's just another freshman, Republican Ryun views his fame as a useful way of gaining access.

``Perhaps it provides an opportunity for easy discussion, but then once we cover a few of those areas in athletics we move on to the issues currently before Congress,'' Ryun said. ``So it does open a door perhaps a little more readily than others might have, but then we move on to other things.''

He still runs, 30 minutes a day when he can. So far, no colleagues have asked to run with him, so Ryun has jogged alone, up and down the Mall, the long greenway from the Capitol past the Washington Monument to Ryun's favorite Washington landmark, the Jefferson Memorial.

``I'm a slow jogger now,'' he says playfully. ``It used to be by tenths of a second. Now it's by calendar, January, February . . . It's real slow now.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Steam rises up behind a compaction roller as the track at the California Speedway in Fontana begins to take shape. Roger Penske's new track plans to hold its first NASCAR and IndyCar races in June.

(2) Hawaiian-born sumo grand champion Akebono pounds sweat-steamed rice as a lower-ranked sumo wrestler helps during an annual rice-pounding event in Tokyo.

Associated Press