Tom Clancy

Can anybody actually read his novels? Really?

I'm struggling with one I picked up somewhere a while back--it's a mindless read when I'm too tired to think much at the end of a long day--and really, it reminded me of the Simpson's episode when they mocked George Lucas for his boring fascination with politics in the more recently-made Star Wars movies.

Mr. Clancy loves his heroic politicians and lengthy descriptions of their good-guy heroicness (yes I know it isn't a word auto-correct) and how they aren't part of the mainstream bureaucracy...

Blah, blah, blah. Develop some sort of a plot line, soon. How has this guy made over a two hundred mil. from writing?

(He tried to put 200 million of his own money the Minnesota Vikings in the mid-90s but his divorce ended up costing too much.)

I just don't see the appeal. Then again, I thought the DaVinci Code was a terribly-written book.

They're not all prima donnas

Some athletes are jerks. Michael Vick is now among the NFL's elite even though a darker side was revealed a few years ago. Matt Cooke has been suspended yet again for recklessly endangering another hockey player. Bruins player Marc Savard's career is probably over after another recent concussion--a problem originating with a disgusting cheap hit from Cooke last season.

But there are scores of good people who appreciate their good fortune and haven't lost the common touch. A couple of examples are Mike Rupp of the Pittsburgh Penguins and yes, perhaps a little surprising to some, David Beckham, possibly the most famous active soccer player in the world.

I heard both of these stories while driving into work recently, and just thought I'd share.