Mysterious Wooden Structure Causing Olympic Jitters

Olympic security officials in Athens, Greece conceded today that they
had failed to notice a giant wooden horse that had been wheeled to
within meters of the Olympic stadium sometime late last night.

The sudden appearance of the gigantic horse, which was said to measure
over one hundred cubits in width, has raised fresh concerns that the
security around the Olympic complex might be more porous than originally
thought.

"When you're spending over $1.5 billion in security, quite frankly,
somebody shouldn't be able to wheel a giant wooden horse right up to
your stadium," said one U.S. official today.

But Thanasis Kyriakou, who is coordinating the security efforts for the
2004 Olympics, said that the horse, while of unknown origin, posed no
serious security threat to the Games.

"If anything, this gigantic horse is only bringing more attention to the
Olympics," he said. "I see this horse as a tremendous gift."

Sharply disagreeing with Mr. Kyriakou is NBC Sports Chairman Dick
Ebersol, who said that the unplanned presence of a gigantic horse could
ruin his network's coverage of the Games.

"It's wrecking all of our camera angles," Mr. Ebersol said. "Everywhere
you look, there's that dopey horse in the background."

For his part, Mr. Kyriakou believes that the enormous horse could
enhance viewership of the Olympics and has even recommended wheeling the
mysterious wooden structure into the stadium itself.

"I say let the horse in," he said. "What's the worst that could happen?"