Red Sox ace pitcher Josh Beckett recently turned down Jordan's request for an interview for New York Times Magazine story. But even big stars in the 70s wouldn't dream of such a thing. Here's how he got a story on (now Hall of Famer) Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A's:

I checked into the A's hotel and went right down to the pool. I watched as Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, and Rick Monday eyeballed the chicks laying by the water. I asked one of the players which one was Catfish Hunter. He pointed to a shy, North Carolina country boy barely into his 20s with a chew of tobacco puffing out his cheek. I introduced myself to Catfish and said, "I'm here to write a story about you for Sports Illustrated." He nodded. I said, "Can I drive you to the park?" He nodded again.

Another current Hall of Fame pitcher, Tom Seaver, wasn't any harder to get:

I called the Mets, told them I was an SI writer, and asked for Seaver's home number. They gave it to me, gratefully. I called Tom, told him what I was doing, and he invited me to his home in Greenwich for lunch. We ate in the afternoon on the porch of Tom's farmhouse. He barbecued a huge T-bone steak, cutting out the filet for me and the sirloin for himself. Then I drove him to Shea Stadium in a rainstorm in my old Corvette with the T-top that leaked. Water dripped on Tom's forehead. He looked up and said, "Why don't you buy a Porsche?" I said, "Because I'm not Tom Seaver." Water dripped on his head. He laughed. "That's a fucking fact."

But today, even jerks like steroid fan Jose Canseco screw with him!:

Jose was, well, Jose, reneging on our arrangement only after I'd flown to L.A. at his request. Why should he have wanted to talk to me? He had by then written his second magnum opus and was scheduled to appear on David Letterman and Howard Stern.

So he wrote a story about what a jerk Canseco was, and Will Leitch ran it on Deadspin. Blogs win!

[Slate]

Leon Spinks is good at spitting between his teeth.

Stop poking Al Unser, lady!

George Foster is always ready to sneak up from behind and hit you with a bat.

Occasionally, basketball players will pull each others' shorts down, just for fun.

You don't want to meet Nancy Lopez in a dark alley.

BLOODBATH AT 1271 AND BEYOND;
'MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE'
IS MASSACRED
Time Inc. Wields Unmerciful Ax

Two years ago, Ann Moore, Time Inc.'s Chief Executive, was hailing its employees as its "most valuable resource." Thursday, after completing a year in which it notched a profit of about 18%, Time Inc. announced plans to slash almost 300 jobs company-wide, more than 100 of them Guild-represented.

In a world where Time Inc. continues to have layoffs, justifying them as "business decisions" and playing to Wall Street, we have become casualties in a war of profits. When is the top going to start sharing the pain?

The only hint of good news to Guild-represented Employees is that the job cuts will be conducted under the terms set down in the Contract that was due to expire on February 1. The severance-pay formula designated in the pact is the one that will be followed. When talks began in January, the company balked at the usual agreement to keep the current Contract in effect while a new one was being negotiated. At the most recent session held on Tuesday, January 16, Time Inc. agreed to extend the current pact until March 22.

The staff cuts were made in a series of meetings on Thursday except at SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, where the compensating day for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday was being celebrated. At SI, where Guild officials were told that up to 22 positions we represent are going to be sliced, the traumatic news was delivered in an email.

Hardly a Moment's Notice
Guild officials are normally given advance notice of details of a layoff. This year, Time Inc. officials apparently decided a half hour's notice was enough, scheduling a meeting with the Guild at 9:30 a.m. and a series of meetings with employees in the Time & Life Building starting at 10. In Miami it was even worse: Four members of PEOPLE magazine's Miami Bureau were told at 9:30, during the management announcement to the Guild in New York, that the operation there would close.

The Grim Elimination Numbers
What the Guild was told was that at TIME magazine, the company will be seeking "up to 40" volunteers to leave their jobs including:
3 artists
3 copy editors
1 negative reader
1 assistant photo lab technician
2 news desk assistants
2 news desk editors
1 letters correspondent
4 research librarians
8 reporter-researchers in New York
1 reporter-researcher in the District of Columbia bureau
1 reporter-researcher who handles the Map Room in New York
4 editorial assistants
Any combination of 5 writer-reporters or writer-editors
4 correspondents in the D.C. bureau

The News Desk will be closed. In addition, the Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta bureaus will be closed, which will bring the total job loss at TIME of up to 49 people.

At PEOPLE, Time Inc. said it was seeking "up to" 25 volunteers including:
2 page coders
3 copy editors
3 negative readers
1 low resolution scanner
1 letters correspondent
5 reporter-researchers
3 writer-reporters
7 writer-editors

In addition, Time Inc. said it was closing the PEOPLE bureaus in Chicago, District of Columbia, Austin, and Miami, bringing the total PEOPLE job loss to up to 38.

At SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time Inc. said it was seeking "up to" 22 cuts, including:
3 copy clerks
1 copy coordinator
1 copy editor
1 imaging specialist
3 photographers
1 news desk assistant
1 reporter-researcher
4 editorial assistants
1 writer-reporter
6 writers
The News Bureau at SI will cease to exist.

In the Picture Collection: 1 picture cataloger

The Guild will continue to represent and try to help the people affected. The Guild is here to give advice. We welcome any questions. Don't hesitate to call Unit Chair, Alex Blanco, Grievance Chair, Edith Fried, 1st Vice Chair John Shostrom, or Local Guild Representative Bob Townsend.

The Company's Attack on Future Severance
In the meantime, the Guild is embroiled in a very difficult Contract negotiation with Time Inc. management, which has proposals on the table to slash notice pay altogether in cases of job reduction and reduce severance pay, which makes up the other part of a job elimination package. The company wants to reduce severance to 2 weeks' pay per year of service with a 52-week cap.

The Guild's strength at the bargaining table is derived through its membership. If you're not a member, support the union in our effort to maintain an equitable contract and join the Guild. Contact Unit Chairperson Alex Blanco at xxx (while still here) or Local Guild Representative Bob Townsend at xxx.
###

Sports Illustrated: 23 total, among those, six writers, one senior editor, one photo editor, three copy clerks, one writer reporter, one reporter...I couldn't transcribe the rest in time. as of now, asking for volunteers. don't know the timing...

From the Entertainment Weekly business side, they've made the following cuts:
Fred Nelson - Vice President, Digital Media
Fabian Castro - Director, Entertainment Partnerships and Promotions
Jennifer Wade - Los Angeles Ad Sales Account Manager

They canned the entire DC bureau of People.

New York, issue dated March 13-20, 2006 (and every issue since Oct. 25, 2004):

Earlier: Graydon Carter Makes the Big Bucks for His Smart Ideas and Clever Headlines

What we really want to know now is who's leaving. The number is being reported, but no names. Did you take the buyout? Know someone who did? Let us know, and help us put names to that number.

Time Inc. Gets Enough to Take Buyouts [Ad Age]
Earlier:
Time Inc. Spins, Like Luce in His Grave
Final(ish) Numbers on Today's Time Inc. Cuts
More on the Time Inc. Layoffs: Fun With Union Rules
More on the Time Inc. Layoffs: The Union Does Our Reporting for Us

In addition to the magazine, which appears on newsstands tomorrow, and on the Web site at sportsillustrated.com., fans will also be able to purchase any of eight specially produced videos from iTunes.com, Apple's online store, for $1.99 each, or download content to a cellphone or to a hand-held device, through a partnership Sports Illustrated has made with American Greetings Interactive.

A perfect V-Day gift for our beloved subway masturbaters.

So Many Models in Bikinis, So Many Ways to See Them [NYT]
SI Swimsuit Collection [SI.com]