CYBERSPORT : THEY'RE GRINDING THEIR GEARS AGAINST GORDON.

Byline: Tom Hoffarth

It's one thing to dislike NASCAR star Jeff Gordon. Many apparently do, as was pointed out in stories Saturday following his Brickyard 400 victory in Indianapolis.

But to go so far as to create one of the anti-Gordon Web sites and maintain it with endless lists about why one should ``hate'' the most successful driver on the Winston Cup circuit seems to border on exposing an intolerant obsession that really doesn't reflect well on motor-sports fans in general.

On the CBS Sportsline-created Gordon official Web site (http://www.jeffgordon.com), there's a contest where the winner gets a chance to meet him.

On the anti-Gordon sites, don't expect to find any such contests. After all, who'd want to meet Satan in the flesh anyway?

On the ``Fans Against Jeff Gordon'' site (http://www.inxpress.net/(tilda)tis/jeff.html), the claim is that 3,000 Gordon-haters come by for daily visits and there are 1,800 registered members who check out the latest doctored photos, view the new Gordon crash videos or participate in chat rooms to vent about No. 24. (And don't forget to order your T-shirt).

On the ``Gordon Hater's Page'' (http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Down s/1445/), there's a weekly updated list of Gordon's ``wrong-doings,'' ranging from the latest things he's complaining about to who he rammed into to win a race.

At least on the ``NASCAR Fans Against Jeff Gordon (NFAJG) (http://home.klis.com/(tilda)brobertsjr/nfajg.html), there are three chances to bail out before you're hit with obscene cartoons.

A couple of the sites claim to have been constructed in good humor and aren't promoting any kind of physical abuse toward Gordon. At least not now.