Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Saturday

President Arrives In Turkey For NATO Summit; 3 Turkish Workers Taken ostage In Iraq; Martina Navratilova Have Many Questioning Age In Sports

Aired June 26, 2004 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take you straight to Ankara, Turkey there where Air Force One has just landed, on board President Bush. And arriving in Ankara to take part in the NATO summit which officially begins on Monday. He's just arriving in Ankara after spending some time in Ireland where he met with the European Union there and many of them -- all of them agree, in fact, that NATO needs to provide troops to assist in the rebuilding and the restabilizing of Iraq.
And of course, as he's been on the plane there during his travel, likely he's been apprised of the situation going on in Iraq. Just four days before the handover with now 3 Turkish workers being taken hostage by members of the group claiming responsibility to be linked to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

And now insurgents in Iraq are holding 3 Turkish workers captive today. More on that now. They say they'll behead them if Turkish companies don't pull out of Iraq. CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Baghdad where he is hosting his show, 360 this coming week for the handover of power to the Iraqis. First, let's talk about the 3 being taken hostage there, the 3 Turks being taken hostage. Anderson, what's the latest that you know?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Fredricka that video first appeared on al Jazeera, the Arab language network, a short time ago, purporting to show three Turkish civilians being held hostage by two armed gunmen. Of course, the group, the same group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who have claimed responsibility for the beheading of that South Korean contractor as well as the American Nicholas Berg.

Their demand, one we have heard before, Turkey withdraw its personnel from Iraq. A lot of Turkish workers here working for companies here. This group says they must all leave Iraq within 72 hours or these 3 Turkish will be beheaded. What's particularly interesting, as you mentioned, President Bush in Turkey now, this video appearing just a couple of hours before he arrived there for that summit. Yet again, this group, Zarqawi's group, if it is indeed the same group showing their sense of a political timing.

These things are often well timed for maximum political impact. Obviously, this is something that President Bush is going to probably have to address now that he is in Turkey. So again, not only just a threat against human life. You know, there's the old cliche that terrorism is theater. These terrorists know how to capture the world stage and they have done it, yet again, with this new video -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Anderson, there have been threats leading up to the handover of Iraq that there would indeed be more disruptions, more violence and already, it seems indeed evident of that. Now, Associate Press is also reporting that there were some explosions in the center predominantly Shiite Muslim city of Hilla. Have you heard much about that?

COOPER: CNN has confirmed there was some sort of explosion in Hilla. It's about 60 miles south here of Baghdad. We do not yet have any confirmed reports of casualties. The U.S. -- coalition forces have not commented yet on any reports that they may have of casualties.

But again, this would not be a huge surprise. We have seen this sort of thing now, sadly, for weeks and for months as you pointed out, the prediction has been an escalation of violence leading up to, and after the June 30 handover. We have certainly seen that.

On Thursday, we saw coordinated attacks across Iraq in various cities, car bombs, suicide explosions, gun fights. So this report, this latest report that just came in a short time ago of some sort of a car bomb, some sort of an explosion in Hilla, which has been confirmed is not too great of a surprise and sadly, it will not be the last.

WHITFIELD: Anderson, there are clerics across the country now who have apparently come out very strongly asking the insurgent attacks to end and asking for the Iraqi people to support the coalition forces, as well as the Iraqi police. Are you getting a sense in the time that you've been there so far, whether Iraqi citizens are feeling more optimism than they are pessimism just 4 days away from the handover?

COOPER: Optimism, is a hard thing to old hold on to day in and day out here. You see these sort of improvised explosive devices, you know their timed for rush hour, for maximum human suffering. And there is so much suffering their seeing. But it is Iraqis who are paying a huge price here. Yes, more than 800 American troops have been killed, thousands wounded and injured, but untold numbers of Iraqis are being killed by these insurgents, by these terrorists and the various groups here opposed to the U.S.-led coalition.

And you do hear a sense among Iraqis that there is a sense of hopefulness at least of possibilities of what might happen, what this hand over might bring, what elections might bring. Of course, what everyone says, the bottom line is security. Iraqi security forces need to be brought up to speed. The Iraqi military needs to be brought up to speed. The U.S. is trying to rush armaments to them, trying to rush RPGs, Kevlar vests, better training to them.

It is a long road. It is not going to be something that overnight you're going to see a new Iraqi police capable of dealing with these insurgents. It's going to take some time. And I think a lot of Iraqis know that.

WHITFIELD: Anderson Cooper from Baghdad, thanks very much as you continue to bring you show 360 from Baghdad throughout the week now.

Now, we want to take you back to Ankara, Turkey, where Air Force One has landed and President Bush is out and about now among with the members of his cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell there at his side, as well as his wife Laura, who are being greeted by a number of dignitaries there. A number of world leaders now in Ankara, Turkey this weekend. And you see back there National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice as well in Ankara this weekend, leading up to Monday's NATO summit.

And President Bush, of course, trying to appeal to NATO nations to offer their military support in any way to help in the rebuilding of Iraq now just four days away from the scheduled handover.

Now, a native son being remembered: the New Jersey family of American Paul Johnson is holding a memorial service for him today. It just ended less than an hour ago. Johnson was abducted and beheaded more than a week ago by terrorists in Saudi Arabia. CNN's Alina Cho is live from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, where the ceremony has wrapped up there -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. In fact, as you might imagine, it was an extremely emotional memorial service. All of Paul Johnson's immediate family was here today, including his mother who at times seemed as though she was in disbelief. His sister, Donna was here. She is a member of the Greentree Church where the memorial service was held, also, Paul Johnson's son, Paul Johnson III.

Other families were here as well; as well as close friends. About 100 people in all. There was music, hymns, including "God Bless America," a scripture reading and a long message from the senior pastor Kyle Huber who has been counseling the family during this very difficult time. Later on, just after the service outside the church, he delivered a statement on behalf of the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His remains have still not been recovered. And we do not have all the answers surrounding his kidnapping and death. Paul loved Saudi Arabia and its people. He gave over ten years of his life to his work. Much of it benefited the Saudi military. The Saudi government owes him and our family more answers surrounding his death and their continued best effort to locate his remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: The family also thanked people around the world for the hundreds of e-mails, phone calls and donations that they have received since getting word about Paul Johnson's death and the senior pastor here, Kyle Huber, reminded everyone here today to not forget that this is not a short-term pain, it is a long-term pain and to always keep the family in their thoughts and prayers -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Alina Cho, thanks very much for that report. 40, and near 40 and fabulous. Martina Navratilova made headlines at Wimbledon this week, but she's not the only one affectionately known as over the hill, who is turning heads. We'll examine the secrets of their athletic successes.

Also, a bombshell that could help defense attorneys defending Scott Peterson against murder charges. We'll find out what it means in our legal roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Age and gymnastics aren't a good match and sometimes neither are tennis or swimming, but usually you're considered washed up by your early 20s. Well, apparently not anymore, at least in some sports, age doesn't seem to matter as much. We'll talk to our guest about that in a moment. But first, sports correspondent Steve Overmyer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: When Martina Navratilova accepted an invitation to play singles in this year's Wimbledon for the first time in 10 years, many wondered why. But with the resounding win in her first round, the 47-year-old silenced her critics and put 40 something athletes back in the lime light.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, TENNIS PLAYER: It's not about age, it never should be. And I think the message I would always like to send, old or young is just enjoy what you're doing.

OVERMYER: It certainly wasn't about age last month for Arizona's Randy Johnson, when the 40-year-old left-hander became the oldest player to pitch a perfect game. Roger Clements changed teams and changed leagues at 41, but the results have been the same, he start the season an incredible 9-0 and is ranked third in strikeouts.

Fans have been wondering what's wrong with Tiger Woods, but no one has to ask that about 41 year-old Vijay Singh, he's won three times on the PGA Tour this year and is currently ranked third in the world.

At 40, Dave Andreychuk finally raised the Stanley Cup for the Tampa Bay Lightning after 22 years in the NHL. And don't forget about Jerry Rice, already considered the best receiver in NFL history, ready to start his 20th season at the age of 41. But for sheer numbers, no sport can top NASCAR where 20 of the 43 drivers in last week's race were over 40. Steve Overmyer, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, Loren Seagrave is a world renowned speed coach and developer of the velocity sports performing training system. And he joins us in Phoenix to talk about the age game in sports. All right, good to see you, Lawrence.

LOREN SEAGRAVE, SPORTS COACH: All right. Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Martina at least making it through the first round at Wimbledon. She's 47. We've got Gail Devers, who is 37 and still kicking, and then there's even the Diamondbacks pitcher, Randy Johnson, who is 40. It seems like something's in the water. There was a time when athletes were considered washed up in their late teens or early 20s. What's going on?

SEAGRAVE: That really was the case as much as 30 years ago, but I think one of the answers is, is that you remember the first time you got an expensive toy or a bicycle? What was the message your parents sent? They said if you take care of this, it's going to last you a long time. And now, the way an athlete lives their life is much different than it was in the '50s and '60s.

WHITFIELD: But wouldn't it seem that a lot of these athletes, if they had started out very early on, gotten that expensive apparatus to play a sport, that there was a burnout issue, that perhaps they wouldn't be able to reach their peak, or they would reach pair peek and not be in the game very long because they would be burned out?

SEAGRAVE: Everything resolve involves around a dream and many of them have been dreaming for a long time of sport greatness. A couple of months ago, Curtis Ledbetter, a former professor at Brigham Young University shared a concept with me that I think really explains this, is that your dreams need to be greater than your memory.

WHITFIELD: But the three athletes that I mentioned, Gail Devers, Martina Navratilova, Randy Johnson, none of them were known to be real child prodigies. So, what is the difference? There does seem to be a huge difference between those conditioned to train all their lives and those who have the staying power.

SEAGRAVE: Well, the staying power comes from still having things to accomplish in their life and as Martina said it, having fun.

WHITFIELD: And that seems to be the key. And you know what, I also understand that training sophisticated, much more sophisticated training now more than ever, the repairing of muscles, the rebuilding of muscles, when does it get to a point where you really are trying to for the issue, trying to prolong the longevity of an athlete?

SEAGRAVE: Well, early training that allows the body to work at its optimal level is something that we're seeing more and more of. Athletes are no longer playing themselves into shape. They're taking cutting edge training programs delivered by the most highly trained coaches and implementing them not only in their formative years, but when the end seems near.

One great example of this is Shannon Sharpe who we've been working with at Velocity Sports Performance for several years. And he realized that he could no longer just run a few 200s and lift some weights and needed much more sophisticated guidance.

Injury rehabilitation is also critical. As the body ages, it's more important to get in and stay healthy. WHITFIELD: All right. Loren Seagrave, sorry to cut you off, we've got so much going on today, but we're glad we were able to keep our commitment and get you in on here. Thanks a lot for joining us from Phoenix.

SEAGRAVE: Thank you, Fredricka.

A trial date and a time line is set for the case against Kobe Bryant, but is it realistic? We'll examine that and other high profile cases next in our legal roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: On the docket today, secret testimony, alleged omissions and courtroom gymnastics in two major court cases this week. Joining us from Boynton Beach, Florida criminal defense attorney Richard Herman and in Cleveland, Ohio Avery Friedman, chief council for the Fair Housing Council. Good to see both of you gentlemen.

RICHARD HERMAN: DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How are you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL: Nice to see, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're talking about the Scott Peterson case as well as Kobe Bryant. Let's begin with the Scott Peterson case. A police officer admits to concealing information from a witness. How critical is this, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the fact is that this came out during cross- examination. And Mark Geragos knew that the other detective involved had the report. So really this is a game. It's a game that isn't going to work, and Mark Geragos should know better, because what's going to happen this coming week, Fredricka, is that that detective is going to take the stand and say yes, that missing evidence was in another report and Mark Geragos is going to discredit himself.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, do you think it's going to backfire?

HERMAN: This was not just some police officer, this was the lead detective in the investigation, and investigation and trial where they're looking to put him to death. As far as I'm concerned, the entire integrity of the prosecution case is now been questioned. There's no way, no way Peterson's going to get convicted in this case for a myriad of reasons, including this one.

WHITFIELD: Well interesting, juror No. 5, Justin Falconer, seems to feel the same way, Richard, saying after he was dismissed, that you know what, he doesn't feel like the prosecution has put on a good case. He doesn't feel that will Scott Peterson is anything, but innocent until proven guilty and in his view, he hasn't been proven guilty. So Avery, you're not surprised. Richard, are you?

HERMAN: He also testified he felt sorry for Peterson. This is coming out of one of the jurors in the case. And granted, this may be the view of only one juror, but when the prosecution took five hours to do their opening, the bells and whistles went off, they're in big trouble they're trying this case four or five weeks. Geragos is destroying every single witness they put on the stand. They're in total disarray. This case is an an abomination. And if you have friends who live in Modesto, they better go to a locksmith to get some locks in the house.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: He lost his best juror. This is a juror who should have been thrown off. He violated his oath. I don't know if this is a typical juror on that jury. The only thing I would agree with is that I think the prosecution is in a world of trouble at this point.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about a case that may be in a world of trouble according to some. The Kobe Bryant case, trial date set for August 27. But now apparently a court reporter admits to accidentally passing on some sensitive information, testimony about the sexual history of the accuser. And so Avery, you're laughing. Do you think this might imperil the case completely?

FRIEDMAN: I mean what in the world were these people thinking? These are secret -- this is secret testimony to make sure the rights of the accused are protected, and instead of sending the material back to the judge and the lawyers, this clerk actually sent it to seven media outlets. Oh, my goodness. Right now, this case is on appeal. We don't know what's going to happen. But that's terrible evidence to now go public.

WHITFIELD: Richard, quickly.

HERMAN: Yes, this is the second time I think medical records were also mistakenly distributed. But I don't think it's going to have any bearing on the case. I think this case will go in August. It will start.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, thanks very much, gentlemen. Appreciate it for your speedy thoughts.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you again.

WHITFIELD: All right, back to breaking news now out of Hilla where explosions were heard in Iraq. We'll have that in a short moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More now on the breaking story we're following for you. 60 miles south of Baghdad in a town called Hillah, Iraq. Our Jane Arraf is in Baghdad with the latest on a very deadly explosion there, a very deatly one -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, coalition officials tell us that it's a car bomb and so far, preliminary estimates say it has killed 17 people and wounded 40.

Now, this as you mentioned in Hilla, south of Baghdad, very close to the ancient site of Babylon. And it's a place where there have been frequent attacks, frequent unrest.

The other story, of course, we're following is the release of a videotape showing 3 Turkish hostages held by a group believed to be affiliated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That group threatens to behead the hostages if the Turkish authorities do not pull out companies supporting the U.S. coalition here in Iraq.

Now, most of those companies are supplying the private market here, not confirmed who those hostages are, but they are believed to be truck drivers as are most of the Turkish workers who are here supplying those routes -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Jane, what more can you tell us about this town of Hilla? you mentioned it's near Babylon. Is this strictly a residential community or is there any industry there, as well?

ARRAF: It's a very interesting town and very grim in a lot of ways, Fredricka. It's very close to the site of one of the major mass graves that was uncovered just after the war. You'll probably remember those horrifying pictures of hundreds and hundreds of bodies that stretched out into football-sized fields of people who had been killed just after the '91 Shia uprising.

It has a large Shia population and it is on a road where there have been frequent attacks. It's a road where convoys have been ambushed, foreigners have been ambushed, Iraqis have been ambushed. And it continues to be a dangerous place -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Jane Arraf, thanks very much.

Again, we're continue to follow this story. A huge explosion rocking Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. So far, the death toll is at 17, 17 believed mostly Iraqis killed in this incident, 40 wounded and all this taking place near, as Jane reported, near the ancient site of Babylon. We'll have more on that throughout the afternoon now.

Sill much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 26, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take you straight to Ankara, Turkey there where Air Force One has just landed, on board President Bush. And arriving in Ankara to take part in the NATO summit which officially begins on Monday. He's just arriving in Ankara after spending some time in Ireland where he met with the European Union there and many of them -- all of them agree, in fact, that NATO needs to provide troops to assist in the rebuilding and the restabilizing of Iraq.
And of course, as he's been on the plane there during his travel, likely he's been apprised of the situation going on in Iraq. Just four days before the handover with now 3 Turkish workers being taken hostage by members of the group claiming responsibility to be linked to terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

And now insurgents in Iraq are holding 3 Turkish workers captive today. More on that now. They say they'll behead them if Turkish companies don't pull out of Iraq. CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Baghdad where he is hosting his show, 360 this coming week for the handover of power to the Iraqis. First, let's talk about the 3 being taken hostage there, the 3 Turks being taken hostage. Anderson, what's the latest that you know?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Fredricka that video first appeared on al Jazeera, the Arab language network, a short time ago, purporting to show three Turkish civilians being held hostage by two armed gunmen. Of course, the group, the same group linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who have claimed responsibility for the beheading of that South Korean contractor as well as the American Nicholas Berg.

Their demand, one we have heard before, Turkey withdraw its personnel from Iraq. A lot of Turkish workers here working for companies here. This group says they must all leave Iraq within 72 hours or these 3 Turkish will be beheaded. What's particularly interesting, as you mentioned, President Bush in Turkey now, this video appearing just a couple of hours before he arrived there for that summit. Yet again, this group, Zarqawi's group, if it is indeed the same group showing their sense of a political timing.

These things are often well timed for maximum political impact. Obviously, this is something that President Bush is going to probably have to address now that he is in Turkey. So again, not only just a threat against human life. You know, there's the old cliche that terrorism is theater. These terrorists know how to capture the world stage and they have done it, yet again, with this new video -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Anderson, there have been threats leading up to the handover of Iraq that there would indeed be more disruptions, more violence and already, it seems indeed evident of that. Now, Associate Press is also reporting that there were some explosions in the center predominantly Shiite Muslim city of Hilla. Have you heard much about that?

COOPER: CNN has confirmed there was some sort of explosion in Hilla. It's about 60 miles south here of Baghdad. We do not yet have any confirmed reports of casualties. The U.S. -- coalition forces have not commented yet on any reports that they may have of casualties.

But again, this would not be a huge surprise. We have seen this sort of thing now, sadly, for weeks and for months as you pointed out, the prediction has been an escalation of violence leading up to, and after the June 30 handover. We have certainly seen that.

On Thursday, we saw coordinated attacks across Iraq in various cities, car bombs, suicide explosions, gun fights. So this report, this latest report that just came in a short time ago of some sort of a car bomb, some sort of an explosion in Hilla, which has been confirmed is not too great of a surprise and sadly, it will not be the last.

WHITFIELD: Anderson, there are clerics across the country now who have apparently come out very strongly asking the insurgent attacks to end and asking for the Iraqi people to support the coalition forces, as well as the Iraqi police. Are you getting a sense in the time that you've been there so far, whether Iraqi citizens are feeling more optimism than they are pessimism just 4 days away from the handover?

COOPER: Optimism, is a hard thing to old hold on to day in and day out here. You see these sort of improvised explosive devices, you know their timed for rush hour, for maximum human suffering. And there is so much suffering their seeing. But it is Iraqis who are paying a huge price here. Yes, more than 800 American troops have been killed, thousands wounded and injured, but untold numbers of Iraqis are being killed by these insurgents, by these terrorists and the various groups here opposed to the U.S.-led coalition.

And you do hear a sense among Iraqis that there is a sense of hopefulness at least of possibilities of what might happen, what this hand over might bring, what elections might bring. Of course, what everyone says, the bottom line is security. Iraqi security forces need to be brought up to speed. The Iraqi military needs to be brought up to speed. The U.S. is trying to rush armaments to them, trying to rush RPGs, Kevlar vests, better training to them.

It is a long road. It is not going to be something that overnight you're going to see a new Iraqi police capable of dealing with these insurgents. It's going to take some time. And I think a lot of Iraqis know that.

WHITFIELD: Anderson Cooper from Baghdad, thanks very much as you continue to bring you show 360 from Baghdad throughout the week now.

Now, we want to take you back to Ankara, Turkey, where Air Force One has landed and President Bush is out and about now among with the members of his cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell there at his side, as well as his wife Laura, who are being greeted by a number of dignitaries there. A number of world leaders now in Ankara, Turkey this weekend. And you see back there National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice as well in Ankara this weekend, leading up to Monday's NATO summit.

And President Bush, of course, trying to appeal to NATO nations to offer their military support in any way to help in the rebuilding of Iraq now just four days away from the scheduled handover.

Now, a native son being remembered: the New Jersey family of American Paul Johnson is holding a memorial service for him today. It just ended less than an hour ago. Johnson was abducted and beheaded more than a week ago by terrorists in Saudi Arabia. CNN's Alina Cho is live from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, where the ceremony has wrapped up there -- Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. In fact, as you might imagine, it was an extremely emotional memorial service. All of Paul Johnson's immediate family was here today, including his mother who at times seemed as though she was in disbelief. His sister, Donna was here. She is a member of the Greentree Church where the memorial service was held, also, Paul Johnson's son, Paul Johnson III.

Other families were here as well; as well as close friends. About 100 people in all. There was music, hymns, including "God Bless America," a scripture reading and a long message from the senior pastor Kyle Huber who has been counseling the family during this very difficult time. Later on, just after the service outside the church, he delivered a statement on behalf of the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His remains have still not been recovered. And we do not have all the answers surrounding his kidnapping and death. Paul loved Saudi Arabia and its people. He gave over ten years of his life to his work. Much of it benefited the Saudi military. The Saudi government owes him and our family more answers surrounding his death and their continued best effort to locate his remains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: The family also thanked people around the world for the hundreds of e-mails, phone calls and donations that they have received since getting word about Paul Johnson's death and the senior pastor here, Kyle Huber, reminded everyone here today to not forget that this is not a short-term pain, it is a long-term pain and to always keep the family in their thoughts and prayers -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Alina Cho, thanks very much for that report. 40, and near 40 and fabulous. Martina Navratilova made headlines at Wimbledon this week, but she's not the only one affectionately known as over the hill, who is turning heads. We'll examine the secrets of their athletic successes.

Also, a bombshell that could help defense attorneys defending Scott Peterson against murder charges. We'll find out what it means in our legal roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Age and gymnastics aren't a good match and sometimes neither are tennis or swimming, but usually you're considered washed up by your early 20s. Well, apparently not anymore, at least in some sports, age doesn't seem to matter as much. We'll talk to our guest about that in a moment. But first, sports correspondent Steve Overmyer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE OVERMYER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: When Martina Navratilova accepted an invitation to play singles in this year's Wimbledon for the first time in 10 years, many wondered why. But with the resounding win in her first round, the 47-year-old silenced her critics and put 40 something athletes back in the lime light.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, TENNIS PLAYER: It's not about age, it never should be. And I think the message I would always like to send, old or young is just enjoy what you're doing.

OVERMYER: It certainly wasn't about age last month for Arizona's Randy Johnson, when the 40-year-old left-hander became the oldest player to pitch a perfect game. Roger Clements changed teams and changed leagues at 41, but the results have been the same, he start the season an incredible 9-0 and is ranked third in strikeouts.

Fans have been wondering what's wrong with Tiger Woods, but no one has to ask that about 41 year-old Vijay Singh, he's won three times on the PGA Tour this year and is currently ranked third in the world.

At 40, Dave Andreychuk finally raised the Stanley Cup for the Tampa Bay Lightning after 22 years in the NHL. And don't forget about Jerry Rice, already considered the best receiver in NFL history, ready to start his 20th season at the age of 41. But for sheer numbers, no sport can top NASCAR where 20 of the 43 drivers in last week's race were over 40. Steve Overmyer, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, Loren Seagrave is a world renowned speed coach and developer of the velocity sports performing training system. And he joins us in Phoenix to talk about the age game in sports. All right, good to see you, Lawrence.

LOREN SEAGRAVE, SPORTS COACH: All right. Good afternoon, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Martina at least making it through the first round at Wimbledon. She's 47. We've got Gail Devers, who is 37 and still kicking, and then there's even the Diamondbacks pitcher, Randy Johnson, who is 40. It seems like something's in the water. There was a time when athletes were considered washed up in their late teens or early 20s. What's going on?

SEAGRAVE: That really was the case as much as 30 years ago, but I think one of the answers is, is that you remember the first time you got an expensive toy or a bicycle? What was the message your parents sent? They said if you take care of this, it's going to last you a long time. And now, the way an athlete lives their life is much different than it was in the '50s and '60s.

WHITFIELD: But wouldn't it seem that a lot of these athletes, if they had started out very early on, gotten that expensive apparatus to play a sport, that there was a burnout issue, that perhaps they wouldn't be able to reach their peak, or they would reach pair peek and not be in the game very long because they would be burned out?

SEAGRAVE: Everything resolve involves around a dream and many of them have been dreaming for a long time of sport greatness. A couple of months ago, Curtis Ledbetter, a former professor at Brigham Young University shared a concept with me that I think really explains this, is that your dreams need to be greater than your memory.

WHITFIELD: But the three athletes that I mentioned, Gail Devers, Martina Navratilova, Randy Johnson, none of them were known to be real child prodigies. So, what is the difference? There does seem to be a huge difference between those conditioned to train all their lives and those who have the staying power.

SEAGRAVE: Well, the staying power comes from still having things to accomplish in their life and as Martina said it, having fun.

WHITFIELD: And that seems to be the key. And you know what, I also understand that training sophisticated, much more sophisticated training now more than ever, the repairing of muscles, the rebuilding of muscles, when does it get to a point where you really are trying to for the issue, trying to prolong the longevity of an athlete?

SEAGRAVE: Well, early training that allows the body to work at its optimal level is something that we're seeing more and more of. Athletes are no longer playing themselves into shape. They're taking cutting edge training programs delivered by the most highly trained coaches and implementing them not only in their formative years, but when the end seems near.

One great example of this is Shannon Sharpe who we've been working with at Velocity Sports Performance for several years. And he realized that he could no longer just run a few 200s and lift some weights and needed much more sophisticated guidance.

Injury rehabilitation is also critical. As the body ages, it's more important to get in and stay healthy. WHITFIELD: All right. Loren Seagrave, sorry to cut you off, we've got so much going on today, but we're glad we were able to keep our commitment and get you in on here. Thanks a lot for joining us from Phoenix.

SEAGRAVE: Thank you, Fredricka.

A trial date and a time line is set for the case against Kobe Bryant, but is it realistic? We'll examine that and other high profile cases next in our legal roundtable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: On the docket today, secret testimony, alleged omissions and courtroom gymnastics in two major court cases this week. Joining us from Boynton Beach, Florida criminal defense attorney Richard Herman and in Cleveland, Ohio Avery Friedman, chief council for the Fair Housing Council. Good to see both of you gentlemen.

RICHARD HERMAN: DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How are you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL: Nice to see, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're talking about the Scott Peterson case as well as Kobe Bryant. Let's begin with the Scott Peterson case. A police officer admits to concealing information from a witness. How critical is this, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the fact is that this came out during cross- examination. And Mark Geragos knew that the other detective involved had the report. So really this is a game. It's a game that isn't going to work, and Mark Geragos should know better, because what's going to happen this coming week, Fredricka, is that that detective is going to take the stand and say yes, that missing evidence was in another report and Mark Geragos is going to discredit himself.

WHITFIELD: So Richard, do you think it's going to backfire?

HERMAN: This was not just some police officer, this was the lead detective in the investigation, and investigation and trial where they're looking to put him to death. As far as I'm concerned, the entire integrity of the prosecution case is now been questioned. There's no way, no way Peterson's going to get convicted in this case for a myriad of reasons, including this one.

WHITFIELD: Well interesting, juror No. 5, Justin Falconer, seems to feel the same way, Richard, saying after he was dismissed, that you know what, he doesn't feel like the prosecution has put on a good case. He doesn't feel that will Scott Peterson is anything, but innocent until proven guilty and in his view, he hasn't been proven guilty. So Avery, you're not surprised. Richard, are you?

HERMAN: He also testified he felt sorry for Peterson. This is coming out of one of the jurors in the case. And granted, this may be the view of only one juror, but when the prosecution took five hours to do their opening, the bells and whistles went off, they're in big trouble they're trying this case four or five weeks. Geragos is destroying every single witness they put on the stand. They're in total disarray. This case is an an abomination. And if you have friends who live in Modesto, they better go to a locksmith to get some locks in the house.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

FRIEDMAN: He lost his best juror. This is a juror who should have been thrown off. He violated his oath. I don't know if this is a typical juror on that jury. The only thing I would agree with is that I think the prosecution is in a world of trouble at this point.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about a case that may be in a world of trouble according to some. The Kobe Bryant case, trial date set for August 27. But now apparently a court reporter admits to accidentally passing on some sensitive information, testimony about the sexual history of the accuser. And so Avery, you're laughing. Do you think this might imperil the case completely?

FRIEDMAN: I mean what in the world were these people thinking? These are secret -- this is secret testimony to make sure the rights of the accused are protected, and instead of sending the material back to the judge and the lawyers, this clerk actually sent it to seven media outlets. Oh, my goodness. Right now, this case is on appeal. We don't know what's going to happen. But that's terrible evidence to now go public.

WHITFIELD: Richard, quickly.

HERMAN: Yes, this is the second time I think medical records were also mistakenly distributed. But I don't think it's going to have any bearing on the case. I think this case will go in August. It will start.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, thanks very much, gentlemen. Appreciate it for your speedy thoughts.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you again.

WHITFIELD: All right, back to breaking news now out of Hilla where explosions were heard in Iraq. We'll have that in a short moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More now on the breaking story we're following for you. 60 miles south of Baghdad in a town called Hillah, Iraq. Our Jane Arraf is in Baghdad with the latest on a very deadly explosion there, a very deatly one -- Jane.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, coalition officials tell us that it's a car bomb and so far, preliminary estimates say it has killed 17 people and wounded 40.

Now, this as you mentioned in Hilla, south of Baghdad, very close to the ancient site of Babylon. And it's a place where there have been frequent attacks, frequent unrest.

The other story, of course, we're following is the release of a videotape showing 3 Turkish hostages held by a group believed to be affiliated with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. That group threatens to behead the hostages if the Turkish authorities do not pull out companies supporting the U.S. coalition here in Iraq.

Now, most of those companies are supplying the private market here, not confirmed who those hostages are, but they are believed to be truck drivers as are most of the Turkish workers who are here supplying those routes -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Jane, what more can you tell us about this town of Hilla? you mentioned it's near Babylon. Is this strictly a residential community or is there any industry there, as well?

ARRAF: It's a very interesting town and very grim in a lot of ways, Fredricka. It's very close to the site of one of the major mass graves that was uncovered just after the war. You'll probably remember those horrifying pictures of hundreds and hundreds of bodies that stretched out into football-sized fields of people who had been killed just after the '91 Shia uprising.

It has a large Shia population and it is on a road where there have been frequent attacks. It's a road where convoys have been ambushed, foreigners have been ambushed, Iraqis have been ambushed. And it continues to be a dangerous place -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Jane Arraf, thanks very much.

Again, we're continue to follow this story. A huge explosion rocking Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. So far, the death toll is at 17, 17 believed mostly Iraqis killed in this incident, 40 wounded and all this taking place near, as Jane reported, near the ancient site of Babylon. We'll have more on that throughout the afternoon now.

Sill much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com