Sports

Holmes has written a new autobiography, "Against the Odds" (Thomas Dunne Book) about how he came up through poverty, and his training as Muhammad Ali's sparring partner.

A few months ago, critic David Bianculli identified five shows to follow this season. Of them, he says "Sports Night" is the best.

Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Halberstam has turned his attention to Michael Jordan's impact on American culture in his new book "Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and The World He Made." (Random House) His other books include: "The Best and the Brightest," "The Powers that Be," "Summer of 49," and "The Amateurs." Halberstam says Jordan is the most popular human being in the world.

Actor and now author Bill Murray. He's co-written the new book "Cinderella Story : My Life in Golf." with George Peper. Cinderella Story is really two books. The first is a string of anecdotes about Murray's club-wielding adventures with a number of celebrities including: Jack Nicklaus, John Denver, Clint Eastwood, and Hunter Thompson. The book is also an autobiography of a kid who started out caddying for 60 cents a half-hour with his brothers.

Boston Globe sports writer Dan Shaughnessy who has written the new book "Fenway: A Biography in Words and Pictures." (Houghton Mifflin) The baseball park is scheduled to be torn down and rebuilt in early part of the next century. Shaughnessy has also written "The Curse of the Bambino," "At Fenway," "Seeing Red," "Ever Green," and "One Strike Away."

Boxing trainer Harry Keitt. He can be seen in the new documentary "On the Ropes" about the world of boxing at a Brooklyn neighborhood gym. Filmmakers Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen follow four boxers and Harry Keitt, their trainer, as they prepare for the 1997 Golden Gloves Tournament.

From the WNBA'S Houston Comets, Cynthia Cooper. She's twice been voted the league's Most Valuable Player. She's written a new autobiography about her rise from an inner-city childhood in Los Angeles, to becoming a pro-basketball player. Her new book is "She Got Game: My Personal Odyssey" (Warner Books)

We remember basketball great Wilt Chamberlain who died yesterday at the age of 63 from an apparent heart attack. In 1991 he was interviewed on Fresh Air at the publication of his memoir, "A View From Above." (REBROADCAST from 11/1/91)

The Manager of the New York Yankees, Joe Torre. He just clinched his third World Series as the manager of the Yankees. Torre is the author of the new book, "Joe Torre's Ground Rules for Winners: 12 Keys to managing Team Players, Tough Bosses, Setbacks, and Success" (Hyperion).

Attorney and former Deputy Commissioner of Baseball, Stephen Greenberg. He’ll discuss his father, legendary baseball player Hank Greenberg, who faced bigotry in the 1930s and 40s as America’s first Jewish baseball star. Greenberg played first base and outfield for the Detroit Tigers from 1933-46 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947. And he helped the Tigers win the pennant four times. There’s a new documentary about him, “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” (by Aviva Kempner).

We will talk about the psychology of sports and athletes with Doctor Michael Miletic. He is one of the few psychoanalysts currently treating active professional athletes. Miletic serves as a psychiatric consultant to the Detroit Pistons, several professional Hockey teams, and the parents group of the National Football League Players Association. Miletic himself was an athlete. He was even a member of the Canadian Olympic weight lifting team, until an injury cut his career short.

Director Barry Blaustein is making his directorial debut with the new documentary film “Beyond the Mat.” The movie takes a look at the personal lives of the stars of the World Wrestling Federation, men with names like “Mankind” and “Jake the Snake.” Blaustein previously was head writer and supervising producer at Saturday Night Live and he co-wrote many of Eddie Murphy’s best-loved characters like “Buckwheat,” “Velvet Jones,” “Gumby,” and “Mr. Robinson.”

Pro-wrestler Bret “Hitman” Hart of World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He comes from a wrestling family: his father was a wrestling promoter and ran a wrestling school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. All his brothers were wrestlers including his brother, Owen Hart, who was killed in a wrestling stunt last year. Bret Hart is the subject of a new biography, “Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart: The Best There Is, The Best There Was, The Best There Ever Will Be.”

Bodybuilders Pudgy and Les Stockton. Pudgy was an early pioneer of women’s body building, and began working out and performing at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach in 1939, often teaming up with Les who she married in 1941. Pudgy is featured in an exhibit, “Picturing the Modern Amazon” at New York’s New Museum of Contemporary Art (to June 25th). There’s also a companion book of the same title (Rizzoli publications).

T-V critic David Bianculli takes a look at this year’s Olympic coverage.

Writer F.X. Toole. At age 70, he’s just published his first book. It’s a collection of short stories about boxing called “Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner.” (ECCO/HarperCollins) For twenty years, he’s been a cut man, stopping the bleeding so fighters can go on to the next round. Toole has been writing for 40 years, but it was the publication of his first story last year in a small literary magazine that caught the attention of a book agent.

The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon. He's written a new memoir, "Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan"

Historian Jules Tygiel. He gained recognition and critical acclaim for his first book on baseball history “Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy”. Now in his newly released sequel “Past Time: Baseball as History” (Oxford University Press), he examines the relationship between baseball and American society over the past 150 years. He gives his thoughts on baseball history and this year’s World Series. He is a Professor of History at San Francisco State University.