China Plans Highway on Mount Everest to Speed Olympic Torch

Luke Putkonen shut down Louisville to keep UNC alive in the College World Series. (By Nati Harnik -- Associated Press)

China plans to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest to ease the Olympic torch's journey to the peak of the world's tallest mountain before the 2008 Beijing Games, state media reported yesterday.

Construction of the road, budgeted at $19.7 million, would turn a 67-mile rough path from the foot of the mountain to a base camp at 17,060 feet "into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails," the official New China News Agency said.

The agency said construction, which would start next week, would take about four months. The highway would become a major route for tourists and mountaineers, it said.

In April, organizers for the Beijing Games announced ambitious plans for the longest torch relay in Olympic history -- an 85,000-mile, 130-day route that would cross five continents and reach the 29,035-foot summit of Everest. Taking the Olympic torch to the top of the mountain is seen by some as a way for Beijing to underscore its claims to Tibet.

· COLLEGE BASEBALL: Starter Luke Putkonen and two relievers combined on a three-hitter to lead North Carolina over Louisville, 3-1, in a College World Series elimination game in Omaha.

North Carolina, the 2006 national runner-up, will meet Rice today. The Tar Heels (55-14) must beat the Owls twice to win their bracket and return to the best-of-three championship series, which starts Saturday. Louisville finished the season with a 47-24 record.

· HIGH SCHOOLS: Florida high school athletes participating in football, baseball and weightlifting will be subject to random testing for steroids under a one-year pilot program Gov. Charlie Crist (R) signed yesterday.

The Florida High School Athletics Association will supervise the testing. Its membership includes 426 public schools and 224 private schools that will be subject to the law, which takes effect July 1. The tests will be randomly administered to 1 percent of athletes competing in those sports. New Jersey and Texas have previously signed bills allowing the testing of high school athletes.

· GOLF: Michelle Wie withdrew from the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic as she tries to return from wrist injuries that have sent the 17-year-old from Hawaii into a deep slump. Wie said she still plans to play next week in the U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles.

· BASKETBALL: Former NBA all-star Vin Baker, 35, whose 14-year career was marred by depression and alcoholism, was charged early yesterday with drunken driving after leaving a casino in Connecticut.

-- From News Services