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The spotlight intensified on the Water Cube with each passing day of these Olympics as the world witnessed Michael Phelps' nine-day battle with history.

And the made-for-NBC drama reached a peak Sunday morning Beijing time as the U.S. phenom won an unprecedented eighth gold medal in the medley relay in world-record time.

Eight events. Eight golds. Seven world records.

The Australian team stood in his way, and Andrew Lauterstein said the Aussies were determined to ruin Phelps' pool party. "We're going to give the Americans a good shake and hopefully keep Phelpsy from getting his eighth gold."

No such luck. The U.S. led after the backstroke, and was in third place when Phelps dove into the pool for the butterfly leg. He regained the lead for the Americans, and Jason Lezak preserved it to fulfill Phelps' seemingly unrealistic goal. They won in 3:29.34.

Police say a woman returned to her home in the 2700 block of West Savannah after an errand Friday night to find clothes strewn all over the basement laundry room and bleach poured on them.

She went upstairs to call her husband. While she was on the phone, a man wearing only blue boxer shorts came up from the basement, grabbed her purse and ran out the door, police said.

The woman chased the man and pulled the purse away from him, Sgt. Diane Varnell said.

The suspect was described as a white man in his 30s, 5-feet-9 and 250 pounds, with light-colored hair.

On further inspection, the woman found the man's jeans and belt in her washing machine. Police said he entered the house by climbing through a window in the basement.

Terry Spexarth spotted his wife approaching in the Colwich city park Saturday morning and waved her over.

"You've got to see this," he announced, motioning toward a wooden box.

He flipped a switch beneath a standard incandescent light bulb and a meter measuring kilowatts began turning steadily. After turning off that switch, he flipped on a compact fluorescent light bulb.

"It barely moves," Spexarth boasted of the meter, which had slowed to a crawl.

Westar Energy officials hope to see residents of the small town in western Sedgwick County cut their energy use significantly by switching to the more efficient light bulbs.

A 15-year-old girl was critically injured when she was hit by a vehicle as teens scattered from an underage drinking party in far southeast Sedgwick County early Saturday morning, authorities said.

The large party was going on in the 11400 block of South 116th Street East, Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Hargus said.

"Word got out to the kids that law enforcement was on the way there," Hargus said. "Everyone was scattering, and that's when the young lady was injured."

The girl was hit shortly before 3 a.m. Hargus said he does not know where the victim lives.

"My understanding is that it was Derby and Mulvane kids involved in this party," he said.

This is a weekly series on day trips and weekend getaways within easy driving distance of Wichita

As the final days of summer wind down, try planning one last getaway before the daily routines settle in.

Explore the best of small-town Kansas, do something whimsical and stake your claim to festivals yet to come.

Larned

Distance: 141 miles

A Pratt County man was killed Saturday when the semi he was driving was struck by a train northeast of Pratt.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said a truck driven by Bryan B. Chambers, 57, of Coats was struck by a Union Pacific train at 10:55 a.m.

The semi was traveling east on Northwest 50th Street near K-61 when the accident occurred.

-- Hurst Laviana

Kansas featured in online travel show

A state board may finally bring the grinding, methodical casino selection process to an end late this week for Sumner County.

Or not.

The seven-member Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board will meet Thursday and Friday in Topeka to decide who will manage the county's casino, and whether it will be in Wellington or Mulvane.

But ultimately its choice could be overturned in court months from now thanks to pending lawsuits.

The board also has raised questions about the financial capabilities and strategies of the applicants.

Wichita is spending more on overtime pay for city employees than at any time in the past five years. A few workers nearly doubled their base salaries last year, sometimes earning thousands more in pay than supervisors.

The increase is largely driven by rising base wages and emergency work caused by snowstorms, bursting water mains and crime.

Overtime spending also rose for Sedgwick County employees, climbing to $4.9 million last year from $4.2 million in 2006. That overtime stems largely from staffing shortages at the jail that officials blame on stiff competition for workers.

Overtime data shows extreme cases, such as Sedgwick County detention Deputy Cleve Werner III, whose $36,335 salary became $79,920 with overtime, and city bus mechanic Richard Cooley, whose $38,313 salary last year grew to $70,346 with extra hours.

But The Eagle's analysis also found about 200 employees who got paid overtime in amounts that total at least a quarter of their base pay.

Should you be able to know what public employees are paid?

A range of people -- from legislators to journalists -- think you should.

The Eagle obtained public salary databases through open records requests. But the state also is working to post state salary information on KanView (www.kansas.gov/kanview), which shows revenues and expenditures and is intended to bring greater openness to government.

Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, is one of the lawmakers who pushed to make the information easily accessible to the public.

"Any time you're talking about what we are doing with taxpayer dollars -- whether it is a program or personnel expenses -- the taxpayers have a right to know," she said.

Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics as a member of the victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay team, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games.

Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak won in a world-record time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds, lowering the old mark of 3:30.68 set four years ago in Athens.

The U.S. swept the men's relays in Beijing, with Phelps leading off in the 400 and 800 free relays. Lezak anchored the 400 free to a narrow victory over France to preserve Phelps' historic bid.

Australia took the silver in 3:30.04.

Japan earned the bronze in 3:31.18.

Wichita is spending more on overtime pay for city employees than at any time in the past five years. A few workers nearly doubled their base salaries last year, sometimes earning thousands more in pay than supervisors.

The increase is largely driven by rising base wages and emergency work caused by snowstorms, bursting water mains and crime.

Overtime spending also rose for Sedgwick County employees, climbing to $4.9 million last year from $4.2 million in 2006. That overtime stems largely from staffing shortages at the jail that officials blame on stiff competition for workers.

Overtime data shows extreme cases, such as Sedgwick County detention Deputy Cleve Werner III, whose $36,335 salary became $79,920 with overtime, and city bus mechanic Richard Cooley, whose $38,313 salary last year grew to $70,346 with extra hours.

But The Eagle's analysis also found about 200 employees who got paid overtime in amounts that total at least a quarter of their base pay.

A state board may finally bring the grinding, methodical casino selection process to an end late this week for Sumner County.

Or not.

The seven-member Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board will meet Thursday and Friday in Topeka to decide who will manage the county's casino, and whether it will be in Wellington or Mulvane.

But ultimately its choice could be overturned in court months from now thanks to pending lawsuits.

The board also has raised questions about the financial capabilities and strategies of the applicants.

The spotlight intensified on the Water Cube with each passing day of these Olympics as the world witnessed Michael Phelps' nine-day battle with history.

And the made-for-NBC drama reached a peak Sunday morning Beijing time as the U.S. phenom won an unprecedented eighth gold medal in the medley relay in world-record time.

Eight events. Eight golds. Seven world records.

The Australian team stood in his way, and Andrew Lauterstein said the Aussies were determined to ruin Phelps' pool party. "We're going to give the Americans a good shake and hopefully keep Phelpsy from getting his eighth gold."

No such luck. The U.S. led after the backstroke, and was in third place when Phelps dove into the pool for the butterfly leg. He regained the lead for the Americans, and Jason Lezak preserved it to fulfill Phelps' seemingly unrealistic goal. They won in 3:29.34.

Should you be able to know what public employees are paid?

A range of people -- from legislators to journalists -- think you should.

The Eagle obtained public salary databases through open records requests. But the state also is working to post state salary information on KanView (www.kansas.gov/kanview), which shows revenues and expenditures and is intended to bring greater openness to government.

Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, is one of the lawmakers who pushed to make the information easily accessible to the public.

"Any time you're talking about what we are doing with taxpayer dollars -- whether it is a program or personnel expenses -- the taxpayers have a right to know," she said.

Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal Sunday at the Beijing Olympics as a member of the victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay team, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games.

Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, Phelps and Jason Lezak won in a world-record time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds, lowering the old mark of 3:30.68 set four years ago in Athens.

The U.S. swept the men's relays in Beijing, with Phelps leading off in the 400 and 800 free relays. Lezak anchored the 400 free to a narrow victory over France to preserve Phelps' historic bid.

Australia took the silver in 3:30.04.

Japan earned the bronze in 3:31.18.

Professors, medical specialists and other academics dominate the list of almost 1,600 state employees who earn more than $100,000 a year.

But three-fourths of the state's 39,350 workers made less than $50,000, including salary, overtime and other pay, last year.

Those are among the findings of a database analysis of public employees' salaries, compiled by The Wichita Eagle. Salaries of state, university, Sedgwick County and Wichita city and school employees are posted online at www.kansas.com/salaries.

Topping the list of state employees is Lew Perkins, athletic director for the University of Kansas, who earns $646,281 a year. Less than a third comes from state dollars; the rest comes from Kansas Athletics Inc., which raises money to support the university's sports programs, from equipment to coaches' salaries. That's why basketball coach Bill Self and football coach Mark Mangino -- who earn $3 million and $2 million respectively -- don't appear on the list of state employees.

Perkins has been cited as one of the country's top athletic directors, said Lynn Bretz, KU's director of university communications. The sports program also helps connect alumni and fans worldwide to the school, which can help with other fundraising efforts, she added.

Terry Spexarth spotted his wife approaching in the Colwich city park Saturday morning and waved her over.

"You've got to see this," he announced, motioning toward a wooden box.

He flipped a switch beneath a standard incandescent light bulb and a meter measuring kilowatts began turning steadily. After turning off that switch, he flipped on a compact fluorescent light bulb.

"It barely moves," Spexarth boasted of the meter, which had slowed to a crawl.

Westar Energy officials hope to see residents of the small town in western Sedgwick County cut their energy use significantly by switching to the more efficient light bulbs.

A Pratt County man was killed Saturday when the semi he was driving was struck by a train northeast of Pratt.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said a truck driven by Bryan B. Chambers, 57, of Coats was struck by a Union Pacific train at 10:55 a.m.

The semi was traveling east on Northwest 50th Street near K-61 when the accident occurred.

-- Hurst Laviana

Kansas featured in online travel show

Police say a woman returned to her home in the 2700 block of West Savannah after an errand Friday night to find clothes strewn all over the basement laundry room and bleach poured on them.

She went upstairs to call her husband. While she was on the phone, a man wearing only blue boxer shorts came up from the basement, grabbed her purse and ran out the door, police said.

The woman chased the man and pulled the purse away from him, Sgt. Diane Varnell said.

The suspect was described as a white man in his 30s, 5-feet-9 and 250 pounds, with light-colored hair.

On further inspection, the woman found the man's jeans and belt in her washing machine. Police said he entered the house by climbing through a window in the basement.

This is a weekly series on day trips and weekend getaways within easy driving distance of Wichita

As the final days of summer wind down, try planning one last getaway before the daily routines settle in.

Explore the best of small-town Kansas, do something whimsical and stake your claim to festivals yet to come.

Larned

Distance: 141 miles

A 15-year-old girl was critically injured when she was hit by a vehicle as teens scattered from an underage drinking party in far southeast Sedgwick County early Saturday morning, authorities said.

The large party was going on in the 11400 block of South 116th Street East, Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Hargus said.

"Word got out to the kids that law enforcement was on the way there," Hargus said. "Everyone was scattering, and that's when the young lady was injured."

The girl was hit shortly before 3 a.m. Hargus said he does not know where the victim lives.

"My understanding is that it was Derby and Mulvane kids involved in this party," he said.

• Powerball winning numbers: 5-34-40-43-52

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The spotlight intensified on the Water Cube with each passing day of these Olympics as the world witnessed Michael Phelps' nine-day battle with history.

And the made-for-NBC drama reached a peak Sunday morning Beijing time as the U.S. phenom won an unprecedented eighth gold medal in the medley relay in world-record time.

Eight events. Eight golds. Seven world records.

The Australian team stood in his way, and Andrew Lauterstein said the Aussies were determined to ruin Phelps' pool party. "We're going to give the Americans a good shake and hopefully keep Phelpsy from getting his eighth gold."

No such luck. The U.S. led after the backstroke, and was in third place when Phelps dove into the pool for the butterfly leg. He regained the lead for the Americans, and Jason Lezak preserved it to fulfill Phelps' seemingly unrealistic goal. They won in 3:29.34.

On the same day that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced he had signed a cease-fire with Georgia, his military reportedly blew up a key railroad bridge and continued to occupy fighting positions along the main road to the capital.

While President Bush said from Crawford, Texas, that Russia "needs to honor the agreement" -- which calls for both sides to withdraw to the positions they held before war broke out on Aug. 8 -- the Russian forces gave little indication that they were leaving.

"Russia needs to... withdraw its forces, and of course end military operations," Bush said.

After pushing Georgia's military out of South Ossetia, the first battleground, the Russians moved farther south last week to occupy Gori, just 40 miles outside Tbilisi, the capital. And from Gori the Russians stretched their lines about 15 miles more to Igoeti, toward Tbilisi, where their troops were staged just outside of town on Saturday.

The Russians have made it clear that despite the political demands of Washington, and treaties signed in Moscow, they are in control.

The handtruck is stacked several feet high with the goodies of 21st-century global innovation and commerce: LG cellphones and Canon digital cameras, Game and GameCubes. Abderrafie el-Alami can't afford most of these items, but he handles the packages with care. Calculator, $20.99, top row. MP3 player headset, $24.99, third rung from the bottom.

Later, he'll leave the job at Circuit City for his four-story walkup in Alexandria, Va., a two-bedroom flat he shares with two other men from Morocco, his homeland. It is a neat, spare existence, as well as crowded: His bed sits on the floor next to a plastic nightstand.

Alami, who is not married, has a master's degree in public administration and will be 40 this year. Back home, his father is a respected former imam. But a job is a job, and Alami is not too good for the services industry, he thinks. There is no question that even after seven years of low-wage work and cramped living in Northern Virginia, and worrying about making ends meet, this $11.25-an-hour job will lead him to what he has come to understand is achieving the "American dream."

"You work hard, you get ahead and you don't stop," he said. "There is a job to be done, and it is a good job because it pays. It doesn't really matter what my education was at home. The opportunity is here. And you take it, and you do it and it will work out."

Alami's complex but unwavering view that this better life is not far from his reach reflects results from a new survey conducted by the Washington Post, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University that examined the experiences of low-wage workers in the United States.

Olympic glory isn't easy. It takes sacrifice, strategy, profound dedication. But this is America, and we're no quitters. If the going gets tough -- well, give us an extra 10 minutes on the snooze button and we will rise again... eventually.

But rise we will, with a spirit worthy of our spot on Team U.S.Audience. We might look like yawning, caffeine-drooling zombies by day, but come nightfall, each of us morphs back into a ferocious, if soft-bodied, cheering machine.

See, this Olympics -- entrancing us with all its thrilling midnight melodrama -- has us in its sleep-depriving grasp. And we would have it no other way.

"Oh yeah, it's worth it," says Michelle Lynch, who was two hours late to work Wednesday morning, tired and bleary-eyed after her Olympic habit kept her up past 1 a.m. the night before. "It's history."

We die-hard viewers realize this is our moment. We've trained for this: perfecting the custom-grooved indents on our couch cushions, memorizing NBC's talking points on synchronized diving. We've so mastered the TiVo "Pause-FF-Play" technique that all our snack breaks are now run with the efficiency of a NASCAR pit crew.

Mary Lou Martell put it off as long as she could. But she finally had to head to Memphis for an anniversary vigil at Elvis Presley's grave.

"It's my first Elvis Week. I'm a little ashamed to say that, but it is," Martell, 60, said as she took part in a candlelight procession to Presley's grave at Graceland, his former Memphis residence. "We watched it on the computer last year and I finally said, 'I have to be part of that.' "

The procession, called the Candlelight Vigil, drew several thousand Elvis fans who lined up in the street in front of Graceland for a single-file procession up a long, winding driveway to his grave in a small garden.

Fans weren't scared away by an intermittent drizzle during the vigil, which began Friday night.

"We're doing fine," Martell said, peeping out from the hood of a plastic parka. "It's just for Elvis we stay out doing this."

Residents and tourists in the Florida Keys prepared Saturday for Tropical Storm Fay, which forecasters said could strengthen to a hurricane and begin battering the island chain as soon as Monday.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency because Fay "threatens the state of Florida with a major disaster," he wrote in an executive order.

Forecasters predicted Saturday afternoon that the sixth named storm of the 2008 season would make landfall somewhere along western coast of Florida on Tuesday as a hurricane, said Corey Walton, a hurricane support meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Officials in the Keys' Monroe County said they were considering whether to order an evacuation today. Traffic during evacuations can back up for miles on the single highway linking the islands to Florida's mainland.

Besides damage from high winds, the low-lying archipelago would likely suffer flooding from Fay's storm surge. The storm caused flooding on Saturday that killed at least four people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Since the war in Iraq started, at least 4,143 U.S. soldiers have died there. To honor their service and sacrifice, here are some of their stories:

Javier Perales Jr.

Marine Lance Cpl. Javier Perales Jr. was described by his brother as a religious man with strong family ties.

"He didn't like to go out to parties," said Fernando Perales, 16, adding that his older brother was "very responsible."

Perales Jr., 19, of El Paso, Texas, died June 11 in Anbar province. He graduated from San Elizario High School and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

The secret to buying confiscated cars at the police auction, regulars say, is knowing what not to bid on.

"Once, I was looking at a nice BMW X5 going for only $5,000, a great price," said Mike Randall, 37, of Queens. "But then I saw that there were two bullet holes, and blood on the seats. I mean, you know what you'd have to spend just to clean the upholstery?"

Randall says he has learned to notice such warning signs by being a regular at the New York Police Department's twice-a-month auctions, where buyers bid on vehicles, some of whose owners have run afoul of the law.

"If the car was seized from a drunken driver, it'll still have the keys in it," he said. "But if it was taken from a deadbeat dad, or just repossessed from someone who couldn't make the payments, well, the owner's not going to come running in handing them over. So you have to have (a key) made before you can drive it home."

Police officials say roughly 200 vehicles are sold per auction, including cars that have been abandoned, towed for illegal parking and never reclaimed, or in some cases forfeited in criminal cases. So far this year, there were 3,095 sold, bringing in $2.7 million.

The Army's growth plans and the demands of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are contributing to a shortfall of thousands of majors, critical midlevel officers whose ranks are not expected to be replenished for five years, according to Army data and a recent officers survey.

Majors plan and direct day-to-day military operations for Army battalions, the units primarily responsible for waging the counterinsurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the Army, majors fill key roles as senior staff members, putting together war plans, managing personnel and coordinating logistics.

The gap in majors represents about half of the Army's current shortage of more than 4,000 officers, and officials say there are no easy solutions to the deficit. "We need more officers, and we are pulling every lever we can," said Col. Paul Aswell, chief of the Army's personnel division for officers.

The Army's plan to expand its ranks by 65,000 active-duty soldiers by 2012 -- to a total active-duty force of 547,000 -- is increasing the service's demand for captains and majors. The Army is currently about 15 percent short of its goal of 15,700 majors, and the gap is expected to surpass 20 percent in 2012, according to Army data.

The shortfall is forcing the Army to promote captains more quickly to rank of major, even though the service is also about 10 percent short on captains. While the Army projects that it will fill the captain shortage by 2011, it will continue to have a deficit of majors until 2013, according to Aswell.

The closing ceremony in Beijing is still a week away, but sports marketers are scrambling to determine which athletes are best positioned to squeeze sponsorship gold from their Olympic accomplishments.

The early favorites are the whale in the pool, the boomer's delight and a plucky gymnast.

But converting Olympic fame into long-term corporate sponsorship deals is no sure thing, even for record-setting gold medalist Michael Phelps, seemingly ageless Dara Torres, or Nastia Liukin, the third American to win gold in the all-around female gymnastics competition.

For proof, consider the divergent post-Olympics sports marketing careers of the first two American women to win the all-around gymnastics gold.

It has been 24 years since Mary Lou Retton's golden moment at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, yet 75 percent of Americans still recognize her name, according to Davie Brown Talent, a division of the Marketing Arm, a Dallas-based promotions agency. In contrast, only 10 percent recognize Carly Patterson, who won the all-around gold in 2004 at Athens, Greece.

Scouring the Earth for new sources of clean, renewable energy, scientists and engineers are exploring some unusual nooks and crannies.

Kites, waves, tides, ocean currents, geysers, garbage, cow manure, old utility poles, algae and bacteria are being enlisted in the effort to lower the world's reliance on climate-warming coal and oil.

Most of these ideas may never make economic or technological sense. It's always possible, however, that a daffy-sounding scheme could turn out to be the next Google, GPS, Facebook or similar breakthrough.

Here are some of the innovative ideas that researchers -- and venture capitalists hoping for profit -- are working on:

Waves

Bombers struck Shiite pilgrims Saturday for a third consecutive day, killing six people in the latest in a series of attacks apparently aimed at stoking sectarian tension.

The attacks have targeted pilgrims headed for the Shiite city of Karbala, where hundreds of thousands of people have gathered for festivities that culminate this morning.

No group has claimed responsibility, but assaults on Shiite civilians have been carried out for years by Sunni extremists such as al-Qaida in Iraq.

The latest attack occurred at about 9 a.m. Saturday when a car bomb exploded in the north Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab as pilgrims were boarding minibuses bound for Karbala, 50 miles to the south.

On Friday, a passenger van packed with explosives blew up at a bus station in Balad, north of Baghdad. The Balad hospital director, Qassim Hatam al-Qaisi, said nine people were killed and 40 were wounded.

Should you be able to know what public employees are paid?

A range of people -- from legislators to journalists -- think you should.

The Eagle obtained public salary databases through open records requests. But the state also is working to post state salary information on KanView (www.kansas.gov/kanview), which shows revenues and expenditures and is intended to bring greater openness to government.

Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, is one of the lawmakers who pushed to make the information easily accessible to the public.

"Any time you're talking about what we are doing with taxpayer dollars -- whether it is a program or personnel expenses -- the taxpayers have a right to know," she said.

While district leadership has been at the wheel, addressing the needs of nearly 50,000 students and 100 buildings in one of the nation's largest school districts, you, Citizens for Better Education, have sat in the backseat complaining.

You oppose the proposed $370 million bond we'll all vote on in November, and what we've learned so far is that there's no pleasing backseat drivers.

Every turn is the wrong turn. Someone's going too fast, going too slow or going in the wrong direction.

So why don't you drive for a while. What are your ideas? Where do you stand on the issues confronting the district? What is, as you say on your Web site, your "better way?"

Share some specific ideas with me and next Sunday, I'll devote this space to your solutions. So take the wheel.

With the price of oil still above $100 a barrel, everything from wood chips to chicken fat is being scrutinized as an alternative to traditional fuel. But when it comes to airplanes, finding the right mix poses a special challenge.

"When you're in an airplane, you don't want your fuel to start solidifying," said Robert Dunn, a Department of Agriculture chemical engineer who is studying biodiesel jet fuel.

The airline industry is aggressively pushing for homegrown alternatives to petroleum-based jet fuel, while leaning on customers with a variety of new travel charges to help control a projected $61 billion industrywide fuel expense this year. A number of alternatives to standard jet fuel have been studied for years, though aircraft manufacturers say the challenge is to find ideas that will work now.

Jet engines can be retrofitted to run on hydrogen, for example. But hydrogen does not pack the same punch as traditional jet fuel -- kerosene -- and would require airlines to buy planes designed with massive tanks. That is a tough choice for cash-strapped carriers, said Billy Glover, managing director of environmental strategy at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Synthetic fuels

Beth Tully has been courting Dean & DeLuca for a couple of years in the hopes of landing her Cocoa Dolce Artisan Chocolates in one of the company's catalogs.

"It's like when you're in high school waiting for the captain of the football team to ask you out," Tully said several months ago while waiting. "I'm giddy and excited."

But that's nothing compared to what she feels now.

Tully's Cranky Jack-o-Lantern Assortment of chocolates is going to be featured in a late-September Dean & DeLuca catalog, including its back cover, that has a distribution list of about 750,000.

"It's exciting and a little terrifying," says Tully, who is planning her first order of about 12,000 of the 1-inch ganache-filled chocolate pumpkins.

It could have been worse, actually. The Royals could have found a way to stick Zack Greinke with a loss Saturday afternoon in this blunderthon 3-2 gift to the New York Yankees that required 13 innings.

It was plenty bad enough, though.

The Royals wasted a terrific outing by Greinke by conjuring up a toxic mix of wasted opportunities, mental errors and physical mistakes. They also squandered some fine relief work, especially by Robinson Tejeda.

That the Yankees needed all of it to eke out a one-run victory suggests this really might be the year they miss the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

"What can I tell you?" Royals DH Jose Guillen said. "That was the kind of game you haven't seen from us in a while. We didn't do any of the little things. A lot of wasted opportunities. Both sides, too. They were the same."

We knew the Royals cut it close. But this close?

Joakim Soria recorded the final out of a crazy game in Yankee Stadium at 10:58 p.m. Friday, two minutes before the deadline for this June's draft picks to sign. At that point, the Royals were still working the phones to finalize the deal with first-round pick Eric Hosmer.

Years from now, if everything goes the way the Royals hope, this draft may be looked upon as a significant turning point -- both in the players it may produce, and the money it took to sign them.

The Royals spent about $10.2 million on their first 10 signees alone -- with $6 million of that going to Hosmer. All that cash shows a different kind of commitment to building a better farm system, even if Royals executives may not be crazy about the market direction.

"I guess I'd categorize it as somewhat troubling," general manager Dayton Moore said. "The market, unfortunately, forces you to be very aggressive if you want to be competitive. But at the end of the day, I feel great about the player (Hosmer)."

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow has the build of a linebacker, the mentality of a coach and the skills to play just about anywhere on the field.

Off the field, he's just as engaged in his Christian faith. Florida's star quarterback spends much of his spare time going on mission trips, working with underprivileged youth and visiting hospitals and prisons.

He even helped perform a few circumcisions in an impoverished Philippines village -- during spring break.

Although some might question his too-good-to-be-true persona, Tebow wants to make it clear that his achievements off the field define him more than his accomplishments on it, where he set all sorts of records running Florida's spread offense as a sophomore

"If people don't believe it, that's fine," Tebow said. "There's always going to be naysayers, people that are going to say it's fake. But that's fine because you can't control everybody. But I can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation.

The preseason college football poll released Saturday has five Big 12 teams in the Top 25, including Kansas at No. 14. Story and complete poll, Page 7D.

1. Georgia

2. Ohio St.

3. Southern Cal

4. Oklahoma

Six Heisman Trophy candidates not chasing Tim Tebow:

Chris Wells, RB, Ohio State: On a team with a pedestrian QB and no other real rushing threat, Wells was good for 5.9 yards per carry last season. If he can do that this year and keep the Buckeyes in the national title hunt, it's hard to see him not taking the trophy.

Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia: Speaking of highlight-worthy players, Moreno's going to lose carries in the Bulldogs' deep backfield, but he could more than make up for it with voters by ripping off a rewind-worthy play in one of Georgia's many big games.

Pat White, QB, West Virginia: His penchant for slaloming through hapless tacklers is well-known. But for him to appear in New York, the Mountaineers will need to stay in the national title picture.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri: No one has less control over his Heisman bid than Maclin. For one thing, WRs don't win unless they can return kicks (ask Desmond Howard, Tim Brown or even Johnny Rodgers). So Maclin -- now the primary target for Chase Daniel -- will need to hope that teams keep kicking to him, despite ample evidence (2 punt return TDs; 1 kick return) that this is unwise.

The Kansas Jayhawks, who won the Orange Bowl last season, start the college football season ranked No. 14 in the first AP poll. Oklahoma, No. 4, is the highest-rated Big 12 team, while Missouri, which gave KU its only loss in 2007, is No. 6.

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press preseason college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2007 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:<

Record Pts Pvs 1. Georgia (22) 11-2 1,528 2
2. Ohio St. (21) 11-2 1,506 5
3. Southern Cal (12) 11-2 1,490 3
4. Oklahoma (4) 11-3 1,444 8
5. Florida (6) 9-4 1,415 13
6. Missouri 12-2 1,266 4
7. LSU 12-2 1,135 1
8. West Virginia 11-2 1,116 21
9. Clemson 9-4 1,105 6
10. Auburn 9-4 968 10
11. Texas 10-3 966 15
12. Texas Tech 9-4 786 22
13. Wisconsin 9-4 771 24
14. Kansas 12-1 707 7
15. Arizona St. 10-3 631 16
16. BYU 11-2 590 14
17. Virginia Tech 11-3 578 9
18. Tennessee 10-4 509 12
19. South Florida 9-4 496 —
20. Illinois 9-4 483 20
21. Oregon 9-4 366 23
22. Penn St. 9-4 293 —
23. Wake Forest 9-4 227 —
24. Alabama 7-6 89 —
25. Pittsburgh 5-7 85 —

Others receiving votes: South Carolina 84, Fresno St. 83, California 59, Utah 53, Cincinnati 44, Florida St. 41, Michigan 36, Boston College 32, Rutgers 32, Michigan St. 21, Boise St. 17, Arkansas 14, North Carolina 14, Connecticut 10, Tulsa 7, UCLA 6, Oregon St. 5, Mississippi St. 4, Virginia 4, Arizona 3, Nebraska 2, Notre Dame 2, Hawaii 1, Washington 1.

Todd Puetz should have known better.

He was Logan Dold's high school football coach, after all. If anyone could recognize the potential of the former Garden Plain High star, the kid who ran for the second-most amount of yards in Kansas prep history and guided the Owls to a Class 3A title as a senior, it should have been Puetz.

He, like almost everyone else, assumed Dold would end up in the secondary at Kansas State. Dold thought so, too. Even the school's sports information department was convinced, listing his national ranking at safety from Rivals.com (No. 50) and Scout.com (No. 33) in his media guide profile.

"I always thought they'd stick him on defense," Puetz said. "I definitely thought he could play there right away, but I thought he'd play on special teams and contribute that way."

But Ron Prince, ever the contrarian, sees things differently.

By the time Georgia was done demolishing Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, it was apparent the Bulldogs were well on their way to being No. 1 -- to start the 2008 college football season.

Seeking its first national championship in 28 years, Georgia is on top of The Associated Press preseason Top 25 for the first time.

The Bulldogs received 22 first-place votes and 1,528 points from a panel of 65 media members in the poll released Saturday.

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said.

"I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Rookie running back Tim Hightower had a short touchdown run and Matt Leinart shook off a bad start and threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Steve Breaston, leading the Arizona Cardinals to a 27-17 victory over punchless Kansas City on Saturday night.

Kurt Warner, the 11-year veteran who's trying his best to unseat Leinart as the No. 1 quarterback for the Cardinals (1-1), started the game and hit six of nine passes for 54 yards. He directed a 13-play, 78-yard touchdown drive on his second possession, capped by Hightower's four-yard touchdown run around right end.

Brodie Croyle directed the Chiefs (1-1) on a scoring drive on the opening possession for the second week in a row. But the offense of first-year coordinator Chan Gailey produced only three field goals for the first 59 minutes in Kansas City's first appearance in Arrowhead Stadium since losing its last nine games of 2007.

Before he started rolling in the second half, Leinart had a terrible start and could have been intercepted twice.

Leinart was 7 for 11 for 62 yards. In the third period, Brian St. Pierre hit Tim Castille with a 24-yard pass against the Chiefs' reserves following J.J. Arrington's 78-yard kickoff return.

The northern California-raised new manager at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge is feeling right at home.

"I was raised in the forest but I'm a prairie and wetlands guy," Dan Severson said. "I'd always heard a lot of great things about Quivira so I decided to apply for the job."

He replaces Dave Hilley, who retired earlier this year.

Severson started at Quivira about two weeks ago. He comes from the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota, which he managed for 16 years.

During his 27 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Severson has also had 20 years of law enforcement and research experience.

It reminded me of a tornado, widest at its twirling top and gradually narrowing down to a tail.

But rather than dirt and debris, last Sunday's cyclone was a twisting cloud of dozens of birds.

Rather than dancing across the prairie, they stayed centered over an old chimney.

That's appropriate since the birds were chimney swifts.

I've always considered myself pretty wildlife-aware.

The first of its kind national gathering of predator hunters is slated to run Friday through next Sunday in Overland Park.

"For years we've had deer and turkey expos and fishing and boating shows," said Brent Rueb, World Predator and Hunting Exposition owner. "I thought it was time for predator hunters to get their chance."

He picked the Kansas City area because it's centrally located.

"There's also some fantastic predator hunting all across the Midwest," he said.

Rueb, who manufactures predator calls and shooting equipment in St. Francis, said predator hunting is more popular than ever.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

Archilochus colubris

You think it takes you a long time to get packed for a vacation, how'd you like to be a ruby-throated hummingbird?

They're a whopping 3 ½ inches at best and need to pack away enough groceries for an upcoming trip across the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Central America, Mexico or a Caribbean island.

No wonder they're so common around central Kansas hummingbird feeders this time of the year. Some will try to double their body weight before their migration. During normal flight, a hummingbird's pulse and respiration rates are about 250 per minute.

Hunting

Below is the basic listing of hunting seasons. Please check regulations for boundary, limits and permit requirements at www.kdwp.state.ks.us.

Open year-round -- Rabbit/hare season.

Through Feb. 28 -- Squirrel season.

Sept. 13-21 -- Youth/Disabled deer season.

I was a little queasy as I logged on to Google last week. The street-level maps were up, I'd just heard, and it was time to find out exactly what horrors the camera had captured at my house.

I'd been fearing this moment for months. The way my life works, I knew odds were good that I'd be bent over, backside to the street, pulling weeds from the yard. Or I'd be standing with my pug on a leash, watching him do his business. Or one of my crazy relatives would be passed out on my lawn. Again.

I'm just kidding about the relatives. They don't live here, so they're passed out on lawns in towns in Missouri that Google's not yet visited.

In case you hadn't heard, Wichita is now among the cities that Google has added to its street-view maps collection.

Street-view maps (available at maps.google.com) allow Internet users to view continuous photographs of every street in the city. Users can zoom in, zoom out and travel up and down streets with the click of a mouse.