US team's Laura Berg still having a ball

BEIJING (AP) Laura Berg's playing days are nearly over. Her pranking days are definitely finished.

"I'm done with that," the four-time Olympian said. "I think that might actually get me into the prank hall of fame. You can't get any better than pranking the most powerful man in the world."

A three-time gold medalist and the U.S. softball team's resident jokester, Berg pulled off a fast one last weekend on none other than President Bush during his visit to the Beijing Games.

Not long after Bush arrived to watch the Americans practice on Saturday, Berg walked up and patted him on the back, leaving a chalk handprint on the commander in chief's shirt.

It's called getting "Bergied;" the 33-year-old outfielder has been doing it to unsuspecting teammates for years.

"I had it planned the whole time," Berg said Monday as the Americans, seeking their fourth straight gold, practiced for the final time before facing Venezuela in Tuesday's round-robin tournament opener. "He didn't know about it until (catcher) Stacey Nuveman told him. Fortunately, he was a good sport about it."

So were others.

"I was a little worried about the Secret Service for a minute," she said with a laugh.

All jokes aside, Berg has left a long-lasting mark on USA Softball. She has been a member of the U.S. squad since 1994, and her resume is as golden as they come. Along with her three Olympic golds, Berg is a four-time world champion, three-time Pan American Games winner and two-time World Cup champion.

With the possible exception of Lisa Fernandez, she is the most decorated player to ever wear red, white and blue.

And as far as coach Mike Candrea is concerned, no player has meant more to the mighty U.S. program.

"She's USA Softball," Candrea said. "She sets a great example. She competes hard. She's a great teammate. She plays for this country. She plays the game the right way. If I was going to just mold a kid to play this game in this program, it would be after her.

"She's a little bit of everything. Her picture should be on our uniform."

Berg is one of only four players, along with Australia's Tanya Harding, Melanie Roche, and Natalie Ward, to compete in all four Olympic games since softball was added to the program at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

If she adds another title, she'll become the first U.S. Olympian in a team sport to win gold in four straight Olympics - a grand slam like no other.

"It's an honor, just to be a part of each Olympics," she said. "It's nice to know that they think I've still got it."

Berg's Olympic finale may also be the sport's: This is softball's final year as an Olympic sport until at least 2016 after the European-heavy IOC voted it off the 2012 program in London. The decision irks Berg.

"It's just not right," she said during the team's recent U.S. tour. "Our sport is as popular as it has ever been."

She dreamed of being an astronaut as a kid, and although the former Fresno State All-American chose a different career path, Berg has seen the world while running down fly balls in center field.

In Atlanta, she was just 21, the youngest member of the team. Now, she's American softball's grande dame.

Her teammates affectionately call her grandma.

"I grew up watching her play," said Olympic rookie Caitlin Lowe, who has replaced Berg as the team's starting center fielder. "I wanted to be her in the outfield."

Berg has embraced being a mentor to Lowe, the team's leadoff hitter, teaching her the subtleties of cutting off balls in the gaps and shading hitters to one side.

"I'm always picking her brain," Lowe said, "especially when she's in right field. I'll say, 'I just got that ball, what would you have done?' It's great to have her there because she has so many big-time game experiences."

Even when she's not in the lineup, Berg is in the middle of the action, constantly encouraging her teammates, who listen to her every word and marvel at her endless energy.

"She does more than anyone imagines, even behind the scenes," Candrea said. "She's the jokester. She's the leader. She's a competitor. She's a lady of many faces, and they are all quality faces - except for the pranking - that can get a little old.

"But she definitely got my respect when she got the president. That's big league."