Cheap Seats
It’s 30-something love
When Andre Agassi was fielding e-mail questions on the CNN show “Q & A” on Friday, it was only a matter of time before the Internet asked the question everyone is asking around the water cooler at the office: How would he describe his “blooming” friendship with the nowretired Steffi Graf?
“I would describe it as blooming,” he said, laughing. “I’m enjoying her, and I’m enjoying the way I feel around her.”
There was no laughter when he was asked about recent comments by Jimmy Connors, who said Agassi didn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as himself and other tennis greats.
“I read that,” Agassi said. “I didn’t enjoy reading that.”
One chimp, one chump
Vasco striker Edmundo, known as “The Animal,” has been asked to explain to Brazil wildlife officials why he gave beer to a chimpanzee.
Friday editions of most Rio newspapers carried photos of Edmundo feeding the chimp beer at his son Edmundo Jr.’s first birthday party Thursday.
According to the O Globo news agency, the photo earned him a summons from the Wildlife Protection Agency that could, depending on his explanation, charge him with mistreating an animal under the country’s recently enacted environmental crimes law.
The law foresees penalties of up to one year in prison and fines for anyone who abuses, wounds, mistreats or mutilates wild and domesticated animals.
An Elway guy, all the way
John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News, on ESPN’s omission of John Elway from its list of the century’s top 100 athletes:
“And while I might argue how great an athlete a golfer is, compared with a football, basketball, baseball or hockey player, I understand the need to be inclusive in this kind of evaluation.
“ … but under every stretch of the imagination, even if the number of football players has an unwritten limit, John Elway absolutely must be on that list.”
We all have our priorities
Just before his execution by injection, William Prince Davis, 42, turned to football for his one final thought.
At the end of a statement in which he expressed love for his family and friends, he looked at the warden and said, “Oh, I’d like to say in closing, What about those Cowboys!”
A road trip for Big Mac
A 6-mile stretch of Interstate 70 is now “Mark McGwire Highway,” named after the St. Louis Cardinals slugger, who hit a record 70 home runs last season. The stretch of highway runs past Busch Stadium.
“Mark was obviously embarrassed by this,” Cardinals president Mark Lamping said. “And, very honored.”
The last word …
“They’re putting him in diapers.”
-Atlanta Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan, assessing what he sees as favorable treatment of Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss by NFL officials.