Robinson, Richmond On Mission

Call them the bronze brothers, two guilt-ridden members of this year’s Dream Team who will forever be linked by a monumental failure in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Mitch Richmond and David Robinson were members of the U.S. team that lost to the Soviet Union in the men’s basketball semifinals and came home with bronze medals.

“It was a disgrace,” Robinson said. “We shamed our country. I remember the feeling that everyone had, and it wasn’t a fun feeling.”

Richmond concurred.

“It left a really bad taste in my mouth, and I think everyone felt that way,” said Richmond, who hasn’t even unpacked his bronze medal yet. He flew home eight years ago on “the longest airplane ride of my life,” went to his mother’s house in Fort Lauderdale and dropped off his bag.

“I haven’t pulled it out, haven’t looked at it. Sometime I’m going to, but I’ve got to get the gold medal first,” he said Thursday.

Robinson’s wife unpacked his bronze medal, framed it and put it on the wall of Robinson’s office. “It’s not in a prominent spot,” he explained. “The gold medal (from 1992) is in a prominent spot along with the jersey.

Fernandez tosses perfect game

Lisa Fernandez pitched a perfect game in the opener of the doubleheader and Michelle Smith followed with a one-hitter as the U.S. softball team finished its pre-Olympic tour with a 60-1 record.

Neither Fernandez nor Smith allowed an earned run during the pre-Olympic tour in 13 starts apiece. The U.S. team, the heavy favorite for the gold medal at the Atlanta games, outscored their opponents 441-3 on the tour.

Fernandez retired all 15 batters in a 9-0 victory over the Atlanta All-Stars in Decatur, Ga. The game was called after 4-1/2 innings because of the eight-run rule.

Team USA beats Cuba, 8-4

Travis Lee and Jason Williams homered early and the U.S. Olympic baseball team used four double plays and clutch pitching to beat Cuba 8-4 at Norfolk, Va.

The victory gave the Americans, playing their first game since the roster was trimmed from 25 players to 20 late Wednesday, a 2-3 record against Cuba, which heads for Atlanta seeking to defend its Olympic title in baseball. Team USA has eight exhibitions before the Olympics begin on July 19.

Captains chosen

Outside hitters Tara Cross-Battle and Bob Ctvrtlik have been chosen captains of the U.S. Olympic volleyball teams.

Accountant charged

An accountant with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games has been charged with embezzling thousands of dollars, which he allegedly used to buy a Mercedes-Benz and a certificate of deposit. Police said Stevie R. Council, 29, of Atlanta was charged with one count of theft by taking. A police report said he allegedly wrote about $60,000 in ACOG checks and deposited them in a bogus bank account, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said in Thursday’s editions.

Torch reaches Miami

The Olympic torch didn’t arrive in Miami on Independence Day via a sweaty runner or breathless cyclist. Instead, for the first time during its 15,000-mile trek to Atlanta, the 3-1/2-pound torch was put aboard a Short Sunderland - a 57,000-pound flying boat once used to search for Nazis during World War II.

“It’s neat to be part of the whole thing,” said the plane’s owner, Kermit Weeks, before the torch left Sarasota after spending a day on Florida’s West Coast.