USOC president lauds Kim

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MOSCOW - A week before the vote, South Korea's Kim Un-yong received a boost for his International Olympic Committee presidential hopes from an unlikely source - the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Kim, running against American Anita DeFrantz and three other candidates, would not be bad for the Olympic community despite being linked to the Salt Lake City scandal, USOC President Sandy Baldwin said.

"Dr. Kim is one of the brightest people I have ever met," she told The Washington Post.

Baldwin later said she supported DeFrantz to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch as IOC president. The USOC has endorsed DeFrantz, considered a longshot.

"I wasn't endorsing him," Baldwin said of Kim. "My endorsement is for Anita. ... All I have said is, `We are very supportive of Anita.' However, it's going to be difficult for an American to win the election."

Kim also received what could be viewed as a more symbolic lift when it was determined his name will be atop the ballot at the election Monday.

Judge questions case

SALT LAKE CITY - U.S. District Judge David Sam bluntly questioned why federal prosecutors are making a federal case out of the Olympic bribery scandal.

The government's felony case relies almost entirely on a Utah law that makes it a misdemeanor to offer or take bribes or kickbacks in business affairs.