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Hi all, The cover of Parade magazine in Sunday's paper was captioned "My Favorite Athletes," and featured a photo of Ali, sportswriter Dick Schaap and Billy Crystal ... (Billy Crystal???) Read further! The article was about Schaap's most admired athletes and contained excerpts from his new book, "Flashing Before My Eyes." He writes about men and women who showed integrity both on and off the playing field. Among them are: tennis greats Arthur Ashe and Martina Navratilova; Tom Waddell, an Olympic athlete, doctor and gay activist; Paul Robeson, college and NFL football player, social activist, singer and actor, and Muhammad Ali. About Ali, Schaap writes, "...he went from heavy weight champion of the world to ambassador of the world...Today Ali's walk and speech have been slowed by Parkinson's syndrome, but his eyes and mind sparkle. He has a smile for everyone--and an autograph, a photograph or a hug too. His achievement is the greatest of all time: He brings love everywhere he goes." Sounds like a good book for sports fans and others who like reading about people who made a difference in the world. .... Oops, almost forgot ... Billy Crystal was a "so-so" basketball player in high school and baseball player in college before starting his career in show business. Schaap says he most admires athletes who do other things well. Linda