In The 21st Century, Jocks Will Need To Be Gladiators
Sports Illustrated for Kids, that SI publication for the bubble-gum set, polled a few professional athletes about their predictions for 21st-century sports.
The results were a mix of the visionary and the pessimistic.
For example, skier Picabo Street sees a future of man-made mountains and ski runs. Sprinter Gail Devers said computers would serve as coaches. And diver Mary Ellen Clark predicted more interest in women’s sports.
Chicago Cub slugger Mark Grace, though, saw problems. “You’ll probably have to hit a ball 800 feet for a home run,” he said.
As for Seattle Mariner fastballer Randy Johnson, his view was that “You’ll probably be facing three pitchers who throw 98 miles per hour.” And, he added, “They’ll be throwing at you all at once.”
Loose talk
Joan Lunden on being a perennial magazine cover celebrity (in Redbook): “Someone told me the other day that I should just accept the lack of privacy that comes with my job. And I said, ‘You know, I don’t remember reading that in the job description or signing anything that said if I do my job well it meant I could have no private life.”’
This is one drummer who certainly gathers no moss
Charlie Watts turns 55 today.
That’s certainly true about the Windsor family
Jarvis Cocker (no relation to Joe), the Brit-rocker who lampooned Michael Jackson during February’s British Grammy awards show, has a simple reason for why he seems to have a sexy reputation. “The only reason I’m seen like that is because I write about sex in my songs,” he says. “Not many people in England do that.”
He’ll likely take Bubbles to bathe at the Casbah
If you’re in Europe in September, and you’re a Michael Jackson fan, you might try to catch the great Gloved One beginning Sept. 7 in Prague. Other stops include Budapest, Bucharest, Moscow, Warsaw, Zaragoza (Spain) and Casablanca (Morocco). After that, Jackson takes off for Egypt, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
With that upper lip appropriately stiff, of course
Sarah Ferguson, formerly her royal highness, has this to say about her divorce from Brit-royal Prince Andrew. “I think it’s a fresh, clean page,” she told British television. “I think I go onward and upwards.”
And guys, if you’re reading, can we have a grant?
In case you were interested, Forbes magazine lists the following as the five richest Americans: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, John Kluge, Paul Allen and Sumner Redstone.
What about the lavender haze of Liz Taylor’s eyes?
Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi continues his fascination with the past. “Lately I’m particularly obsessed by the color processes of the late ‘50s and the ‘60s,” he told Fashion Reporter magazine. “The colors of ‘Peyton Place,’ ‘Return to Peyton Place,’ ‘Nothing but the Best’ and the color of Marcello Mastroianni’s hair in ‘The 10th Victim.”’
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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster