Pro football gave me a good sense of perspective to enter politics: I'd already been booed, cheered, cut, sold, traded and hung in effigy.
There are more great guys than jerks, so it's a huge list.
I know people my age (early 40s) who insist upon only writing. You know what we call them? Ex-journalists.
Another riveting one was Sterling Sharpe - mainly because everyone told me he's horrible. Sterling was playing in a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, and I drove up to see him (and others). I approached cautiously, figured he'd blow me off, etc. But, instead, he was fantastic. I mean, gracious, down to earth, funny, terrific memory, pinpoint insights. Could not have enjoyed my time with Sterling sharpe any more than I did. And how many journalists have ever said that before?
Dyan Favre, Brett's nephew, is also a gem. Not just a favorite person from the book - a favorite person, period. I actually wound up writing this about him. Simply a good, righteous man.
When I was covering baseball the Reds had a first baseman, Sean Casey. His nickname was "The Mayor" because he knew and connected with absolutely everyone. Incredibly lovely. . . even invited Red writers to his wedding. And that never happens.
A ton of athletes, even if they know your name, pretend they don't.
In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant. . . He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever. . . You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you cant buy courage and decency, you cant rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him. He needs to have, in that much maligned word, but a good one nonetheless, a vision of the future he wishes to create. . But a vision is worth little if a president doesn't have the character - the courage and heart - to see it through.
Boy George is all England needs - another queen who can't dress.
It was a confusion of ideas between him and one of the lions he was hunting in Kenya that had caused A. B. Spottsworth to make the obituary column. He thought the lion was dead, and the lion thought it wasn't
In the midst of regular life, running is the touchstone that breathes adventure into my soul.