Updated:
May 10, 2000
TOP
OF THE WEEK FUSAICHI PEGASUS
What would you do if your trainer called you "young, good-looking, athletic, muscular, and powerful"? We'd just add "hung like a horse." Fusaichi Pegasus has been described as all of these and became the first favorite since 1979 to win the Kentucky Derby.
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
ERVIN ``NOT MAGIC'' JOHNSON
Someone get Ervin Johnson of the Milwaukee Bucks a calculator. 0+1 does not = 2. Johnson was at the free-throw line in Game 5 vs. Indiana with 5 seconds left, Bucks down by 2. He misses the first; Bucks still down 2. He HAS to deliberately miss the second shot and hope his team gets the rebound and a chance to tie. Doh! He MAKES the shot, the Bucks lose and we don't want Ervin doing our taxes.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
THE COREY
JOHNSON STORY, CONT.
National attention continues to be heaped on Corey Johnson, the Massachusetts high school football captain
who came out in March.
Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly devoted his entire May 8 column to Johnson's saga, using a light touch to make salient points. A Page 1 New York Times article was followed a week later by a column in the same paper that described the reaction to Corey's bold public stand, that included speaking at the Millennium March on Washington.
``Everyone was chasing me,'' Johnson told Robert Lipsyte of the New York Times. ``I'm weighing offers. After I graduate next month, I'd like to travel, check out some colleges for the year and think about the book and movie.''
Book and movie? Yikes! We only hope Corey doesn't become too overexposed and turn into what he said he didn't want: to be forever known as the gay high school football player.
But for now the publicity is good and his story continues to inspire. After reading an account on Outsports.com, an Israeli air force reserve medic (who himself has helped many come out in the macho Israeli military world) wrote this to Corey:
``Your article, which I read last Thursday before going home from work (we work Sunday-Thursday, weekends are Friday and Saturday), touched me so personally & intimately, that I felt your emotions exploding within myself while reading the article. I was so emotional that I had tears
coming down my face here at work in my office, especially when I read the part of you telling your mother and father about your being gay that my secretary went out to get me tissues and a glass of water. I later explained what had happened. I would like to personally commend your
parents on their enormous understanding and love for you. They are incredible and you should appreciate them for who they are.
``I have never written a letter of this sort to anyone, but I felt that it would be appropriate as a result of the similarities between a "football team" & "the Israeli air force" on top of which I simply wanted to say "WOW YOU ARE GREAT!!!!!".
SHAQ 121, HICKMAN 1
Duh. Shaquille O'Neal led the league in scoring. He led the league in field goal percentage. He was second in rebounds and third in blocked shots. His team won 67 games which was the best record in the league and one of the best in the history of the NBA. And, when he was injured, his team struggled without him. And then along came CNN's Fred Hickman who decided that 76er Allen Iverson, a hot-headed, poor-shooting prima donna, should be the league MVP. Fortunately, the other 121 voters for the NBA MVP gave Shaq his due. It was later revealed that Hickman was the only voter in a survey to pick ``Siberia'' as his favorite summer vacation spot and that ``liver'' was his favorite flavor of ice cream.
ROCKER'S
BONEHEAD PLAY COSTS BRAVES
John Rocker got distracted Monday night in Florida when he looked into the stands and saw a gay black immigrant couple kissing in the stands. With the winning run on third base, the Atlanta Braves' pitcher suspended for his bigoted comments dropped the ball, stepped back on the pitching rubber, and was called for a balk that scored the winning run for the Florida Marlins. It was the first time a pitcher balked in the winning run in seven years.
THEY
KEPT PLAYING AND PLAYING AND PLAYING AND ...
The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers played one for the ages Thursday night/Friday morning in Game 4 of their Stanley Cup playoff series.
-The Flyers won the game, 2-1, in FIVE! overtimes.
-The game took 7 hours and ended at 2:35 a.m. Pittsburgh time.
-It was the 3rd-longest NHL game ever.
-It was the longest game in 64 years.
-The goalies stopped 127 shots.
-The teams went 87 minutes between goals, more than a full game.
The players were so tired it was the first time in NHL history that no one try to pick up hookers afterwards.
The Flyers went on to win the series, 4-2.
YOU GO, GIRL
Martina Navratilova, out-and-proud lesbian and the greatest women's tennis player ever, has announced she will end her 5 1/2-year retirement to play in the doubles competition at Wimbledon this summer.
CNN-SI's Web site asked readers if it was a good idea. The almost-universally popular response showed that Martina is doing the right thing. As one person wrote:
``Why wouldn't the best woman athlete ever to play the game be able to keep it up at 43? Arguably the finest volleyer ever while playing, who could challenge her now? What a treat to get to see this great champion on the court again!''
YA' GOTTA
LOVE YOGI
From the Associated Press:
Yogi Berra, concerned about reports that Whitey Ford had a recurrence of cancer, called his former New York Yankees batterymate and immediately uttered a Yogiism.