Forget Oscar and Felix. They may have been opposites, but the world should have its eyes paired on this odd couple.

Our first contestant is third all-time in blocked shots per game, and ninth all-time in career blocked shots. He wears size 16 1/2 skates, and he’s the newest member of the Indianapolis Ice. No, he’s not a goalie, and those blocked shots aren’t saves. He’s a former NBA player, and a man who used to have dignity — 7’7″ Sudanese basketball star Manute Bol.

The second, Jimmy Carter, is a good guy who never worked out as president. An oil crisis and recession killed his presidency the same way the first George Bush went down.

What’s the difference between them? Jimmy Carter just won the Nobel Peace Prize. Manute Bol just finished a bout on “Celebrity Boxing,” where he defeated William “The Refrigerator” Perry.

What do they have in common? They both deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, though one could argue that Carter deserved it far less.

Most would think this is an outrageous claim to make. But the key in seeing why is to know just why Bol appeared on “Celebrity Boxing” and why he’s about to become the tallest 40-year-old rookie in minor league hockey.

On its face, this is just a publicity stunt, almost on the level of dwarf Eddie Gaedel being used as a pinch hitter. Bol has never played hockey or even skated, but watches games on TV. Indiana is a basketball place, and Bol was a basketball player of the most bizarre variety. But this isn’t just about show. Otherwise, maybe it’d be Larry Bird or Michael Jordan. This is all about money.

Bol needs it, or at least wants it more badly than anyone short of Alex Rodriguez. Unlike Jordan, he never needed it because of gambling debts. He’s no Darryl Strawberry, whose paychecks turned to cocaine.

Bol needs this money for peace and salvation for refugees in the form of the Ring True Foundation, his charity that provides aid to families caught in a civil war in Southern Sudan.

This all hits close to home at Iowa State, the alma mater of John de Mabior Garang, the leader of the People’s Liberation Movement that Bol has desperately tried to help win their freedom. The People’s Liberation Movement has received an estimated $3.5 million from Bol, and even managed to win tacit support from President Bush, who urged the Sudanese government to end their war. Iowa and Nebraska are two of an estimated 20 states where the “Lost Boys of Sudan” have reportedly settled, trying to start over.

Lots of people can always claim they’d be better people if they hadn’t been so darned poor and low on Bud Light. If I were a millionaire, maybe my money would find its way to all the poor people who really needed it, and I could still live in posh comfort. Most of us probably have feelings like this.

Not Manute Bol. He could be a millionaire several times over, but everything he made ended up finding its way back to a place where it might someday mean that the south of Sudan isn’t engulfed in slavery and war. And he’s far from finished.

His efforts for peace span the globe. He’s traveled to war-torn Sudan, even though it can’t be easy to remain inconspicuous at 7’7″, even in a war zone. Now he’s providing money to those lost children, who end up finding their way to the United States and cleaning the bathrooms at casinos or trying to establish themselves any way they can.

Those jobs may be menial, but the frightening thing is that they won’t compare to Bol. He has signed with the Ice simply because people will come to gawk and laugh at the 91-inch Dinka tribesman trying to move himself across the ice. He may not have to clean the toilets after he’s done with the game, but if he’s willing to be their mascot, it’s almost certain he would if they asked him.

Jimmy Carter may be willing to sit and negotiate with Israelis and Palestinians even in dangerous situations. He is willing to stick his neck out for peace. Nonetheless, he does it in relatively safe conditions. He is willing to trade his time and hard work for peace, but not his dignity.

Manute Bol will. Whether it means being the skating and tumbling giant in Indianapolis, sparring with the Fridge, or maybe even showing up on David Letterman’s stupid human tricks, Bol will be there, so long as it can help the Sudanese people.

Even measured inch for inch, Manute Bol might be the best and unlikeliest candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

For more information about the Ring True Foundation or to contribute, call 1-866-54SUDAN.

Tim Kearns

is a senior in political science from Bellevue, Neb.