When I was working on the unauthorized biography 'Stan Musial: An American Life,' which came out in 2011, old opponents recalled how Musial knew their names after they had been in the majors only a few days.

Some great players, like Ted Williams and Stan Musial, had one more great hitting season left around the age of 40.

In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls.

I have had demanding jobs since I was 18 years old. I have had two sick days in all my working life.

In the old days, you dealt with one regulator. Now it's five or six. You all should ask the question how American that is.

Crime and the fear of crime have permeated the fabric of American life.