Scratching Their Way To Glory
There are about 200 competitors itching to get back to ESPN's Great Outdoor Games. But that won't be the case for everyone, especially some of the production crew. Why? The crew covering the fly-fishing tournament caught poison sumac.

Gold medals, Bulls Eyes and Diamond Rings
Bob Mastroianni of Monson, Mass., shot perfect 100s on his way to winning the gold medal in the target sports rifle competition last year, then approached the woman he considered "a perfect 10" to ask a very big question. Mastroianni asked his girlfriend, Patti Wright to marry him. She accepted. "I told myself, 'If I win this, I'm going to propose.' We've been together for six years through highs and lows, and today is truly a high."

Medals' race
He's not Mark Spitz, but Dave Bolstad of Traumarunndi, New Zealand leads all others in the number of total medals won at the Great Outdoor Games. He has four, including two gold medals in the Timber Hard Hit and Team-Relay events, and two silvers in the Two-Board Jigger and Men's Endurance events. Of the 72 medals presented in the 2000 Games, competitors from countries other than the United States accounted for 29 percent, including six of the 24 gold medals.

Color-Coded For Television
There are many lessons to be learned in any inaugural event, and the 2000 ESPN Great Outdoor Games was no different. Fly fishing line, for example, is supposed to be clear so fish can't see it. But that doesn't play well for television. In the fly fishing event, it was discovered at the last minute fly anglers needed to use colored fishing line so it would show up on television. The only problem, that type of line isn't just laying around everywhere. Organizers of the event had to search the Internet for the closest colored fishing line. Lime green line had to be driven through the night to get to Lake Placid in time for competition.