Monday, July 10 Great Outdoor Games update
	June 29, 2000 Fly fishing analyst: The famous are just like us - struggling John Barrett, host of ESPN's Fly Fishing The World and the fly fishing analyst at the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, routinely travels to some of the world's most exotic locales with some of the world's best known celebrities. He's been to Argentina with Robert Duvall, New Zealand with Liam Neeson and Iceland with Kevin Costner. Soon he'll be in Belize with Niki Taylor for an episode in 2001. He sees firsthand how the outdoors humanizes even the biggest of stars, and says viewers of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games will observe this too: "When you get these famous people out of their area of expertise, they are all very human and simply passionate about the sport and learning every minute detail. Someone once said, 'The fish don't know who is casting. They don't play favorites.' In this way, the outdoors is a level playing field. The stars appreciate that, and just like for so many 'ordinary people,' the outdoors is their escape. "Our competitors - no matter how accomplished they are - will experience humbling frustrations and great joys. The viewers will feel these emotions and will relate to them, whether they fish or not. The essence of the outdoors is this battle to do your best." David Sparks to host retriever trials The commentator lineup for the inaugural ESPN Great Outdoor Games is now complete with David Sparks joining the team as the host of the Retriever Trials. Sparks worked 20 years in TV since leaving a career as professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Washington. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from Northwestern. He has hosted a variety of programs on ESPN; including Ultimate Outdoors, Jeep National Trails and Beach Volleyball; and Outdoor Life Network. They have it tougher than you'd think When you watch the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, you will be watching some of the most stress-filled people in the U.S. Surprised? According to the National Business Employment Weekly Jobs Rated Almanac, a listing of the most stressful jobs finds perhaps surprising entries at #21 and #23 - Fishermen and Lumberjack, respectively. Airplane pilot was #22 and emergency medical technician was #24. The rankings were based on various factors, including quotas, deadlines, long work weeks, hazards, physical demands, contact with the public and need for precision and stamina. (The top ten: U.S. President, firefighter, senior executive, Indy car driver, taxi driver, surgeon, astronaut, police officer, NFL player and air traffic controller.) The inaugural ESPN Great Outdoor Games, created and organized by ESPN, will take place July 20-23 in Lake Placid, N.Y. with more than 200 of the world's best competitors in outdoor sports vying for nearly $300,000 in prize money. The competition consists of 21 events in four sport categories. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine for 17.5 hours of original programming from July 27 - August 4. Mark Malone will host the coverage from Lake Placid, N.Y.		AUDIO/VIDEO  Great Outdoor Games video animations, Part I. avi: 1065 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  Great Outdoor Games video animations, Part II. avi: 579 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  Great Outdoor Games video animations, Part III. avi: 584 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  Great Outdoor Games video animations, Part IV. avi: 586 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1