P Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy, formerly Sean Combs, has a son playing football at Iona Prep, which is in the New York City Catholic league. The kid is a talented defensive back who has drawn several scholarship offers from BCS schools. He is also the backup QB. An injury to the starter the previous week elevated him and he did great, scoring three touchdowns, according to an article in today's NY Post by Joseph Staszewski. When the team got off to a slow start this week with its regular quarterback at the helm, Diddy approached the coaches and demanded his son be put in charge of the offense. He dubbed himself the team's "most hated parent." Eventually, his son was put in at QB and rallied the team, which still fell short, 16-37, its first loss of the season. I coached in the 70's. Dealing with parents was the second toughest part of the job, a pain in the butt but way behind race relations. I don't envy Iona's coach, and the kid is stuck in the middle.
Also on football - kudos to Alabama coach Nick Saban, who was infuriated at the stupidity of one of his players, who risked a personal foul penalty by getting in the face of an opponent. According to the Post's Lenn Robbins, Saban bolted from the sideline, grabbed the young man and pushed him off the field, screaming. How refreshing in this era of in your face nonsense and the losses such behavior sometimes cause. I dub it the Jimmy Johnson legacy. Alabama is bucking the trend. It is second in the nation, drawing only three penalties per game. That is a sign of superior coaching. I've been critical of Saban in the past, calling him a whore for bailing out on a program as soon as a higher offer came along. I may have to change my opinion.
Also on the sports front, or should I say pseudo sports? - the floating bookshop got a visit from a regular today who describes his taste as "all over the place." He is currently simultaneously reading a book of essays on terrorism and the autobiography of wrestler Brett The Hitman Hart. I laughed, as just last night I did a quiz at sporcle.com which required the identification of caricatures drawn by Hart. I recommend the site, which has scores of quizzes on a wide range of topics. I take them to try to keep my memory from deteriorating. They're also great fun. Now - what was I saying?
Go figure - I went through a 49 day period without selling any of my own books, and I've now sold three copies of A Hitch in Twilight the past nine days. Thanks to lovely, young Tatyana, who impressed me further with the selection of books she chose as gifts: one of the first feminist novels by an American, Kate Chopin's The Awakening, and books on the philosophy of Aristotle and Plato. There is hope for America! No doubt Hitch will be too light weight for her. Thanks also to Giggles Pulaski, who bought Barbara Taylor Bradford's Three Weeks in Paris, and to the young Russian gentleman who opted for a pictorial on the opening of the American west.
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