For The Record

Named
As head coach of the Nashville Rhythm of the American Basketball Association, Ashley McElhiney, the first female head coach of a men's pro basketball team. The 22-year-old, who is the alltime leader in assists at Vanderbilt, was hired by pop singer Sally Anthony, who led the group that purchased the ABA expansion franchise in February. "My goal [is] not only to put a competitive team on the floor but to give qualified females opportunities they are not normally afforded," Anthony said. "Ultimately, I think the Nashville Rhythm, and the ABA as a whole, can be a stepping-stone for a qualified woman to coach in the NBA,"

Unveiled
By officials in Pittsfield, Mass., a document written in 1791 that outlawed playing baseball near the town meetinghouse. It is the oldest recorded reference to the national pastime, coming 32 years before two newspaper stories mentioned the game being played in Manhattan and 48 years before Abner Doubleday supposedly invented baseball in Cooperstown, N.Y. While researching a book on the game's origins, baseball historian John Thorn found a reference to the law in a book about Pittsfield. Officials then searched the town archives and last week discovered the document, which proclaims that "for the Preservation of the Windows in the New Meeting House," playing baseball within 80 yards of the building would be illegal.

Banned
By a federal judge, direct communication between Mike Danton, the Blues' center accused of conspiring to hire a hit man last month, and his agent, mentor and alleged intended target, David Frost. The two had been in nearly daily contact since Danton's April 16 arrest, and earlier this month Frost orchestrated a public statement by Danton without consulting Danton's lawyer. Danton, who is being held without bail awaiting a July 20 trial, may talk to Frost's wife and two children as long as they don't discuss the case. But Judge Michael Reagan warned Danton, "Your best friends now are your attorneys.... It's best to keep your mouth shut."

Launched
By the Center for the Study of Sport in Society (CSSS) and Youth Sports USA, a national Sportsmanship 1st campaign. Children, parents and coaches in all youth sports organizations will be asked to sign a one-page contract stating that they will exhibit good sportsmanship, and before each game players, coaches and referees will shake hands and recite a pledge vowing to put sportsmanship first. "Of the 40 million kids who participate in youth sports, 70 percent quit before the age of 13," says former Harvard basketball coach Peter Roby, the director of CSSS. "And the Number I reason they give is that it's no fun."

Botched
By McFarlane Toys, a set of figurines representing Flames captain Jarome Iginla and Canadiens forward Saku Koivu. Iginla (upper right), the NHL's leading goal scorer this season and whose father is Nigerian, has been referred to as "the black Gordie Howe." But for fans who bought the two-figure pack, that would be a far more fitting title for Koivu, who is Finnish. "Saku mistakenly got the darker skin wash in this set," said Mark Weber, sports manager for McFarlane Toys. Weber apologized for the error but said there are no plans to recall the $8.99 figurines—which are being sold for $75 on eBay.