OLYMPICS / Barcelona 1992: Clothes on the line

THE dream as nightmare part 54. So committed are the 'dream team' to the Olympic ideal that half of them may boycott their own medal ceremony in a 'who wears what' spat.

The official garb of the US Olympic team is provided by Reebok, under an agreement (unlikely to be for free) between the sportswear company and the United States' Olympic Committee.

But, as anyone who has watched a satellite television service saturated with the ads will tell you, Michael Jordan has a tiny little contract with Nike. As do Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Chris Mullins, John Stockton and Scottie Pippen.

Barkley, as has been his norm throughout a personally turbulent Games, is intransigent. 'I've got about two million good reasons not to wear Reebok,' he said. The USOC's spokesman, Mike Moran has just one why he should. 'Anyone who does not will not get on the awards stand. We will fight them to wear the awards suit.' Tickets are on sale now.

And there's more good news for the Americans. Carl Lewis has been given his second official warning that he should not work as a journalist during the Games.