Etc...

Ever hear of hitchhiking?

When you think of Germany's autobahns, what image comes to mind? Probably motorists doing 100 m.p.h., right? So you can imagine the incredulity of police last Friday when they spotted a tourist rolling along ... on a skateboard. He was a Swede, en route home from a vacation, who couldn't afford a train ticket. He said he didn't think using the superhighway would be a problem. He was escorted to the nearest exit and was last seen continuing his trip on foot.

Iraq is having another summer of temperatures pushing 110 degrees F. Against that backdrop, a New Mexico company is donating 108,000 packets of its green chili sauce to US troops there, to "spice up their lives." But in a show of consideration, it's the "medium-hot" variety.

When it comes to overall athletic excellence, no major college can compare to Stanford. The academically competitive school in Palo Alto, Calif. - often called "the Harvard of the West" - has extended its streak of Directors' Cup victories, emblematic of broad-based sports achievement, to 10 in a row. The cup is awarded by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, and the only time Stanford didn't earn it in the large-school division was 1993-94, when the University of North Carolina won the inaugural competition. Order of finish is determined by a formula that assigns points for team finishes in championship events in 10 men's and 10 women's sports. The schools with the top athletic programs and their point totals:

1. Stanford 1,337.25
2. Michigan 1,226.25
3. UCLA 1,178.75
4. Ohio State 1,026.50
5. Georgia 1,005.25
6. Florida 993.25
7. North Carolina 925.00
8. Washington 919.50
9. California 899.50
10. Texas 880.25