The Beat

MatthewMcConaughey and Barry Bonds have much in common. Both are now known for aFailure to Launch--McConaughey stars in the film, while Bonds (page 54) hasjust five home runs--and they may be among the very few people rooting for theembattled slugger to break Hank Aaron's home run record. On May 10 McConaugheyput down his bongos long enough to pound out a 380-word e-mail to his hometownnewspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, defending Bonds. (The paper publishedit the next day.) McConaughey said fans should cheer on the slugger as hechases Aaron: "[Steroids] or not, this man has more than the ability, butthe talent, to be the greatest home run hitter in baseball history, and I thinkhe is."

• And now, somenews that the ultraprivate Yankee Clipper would surely disapprove of. At theMarriott Marquis hotel in New York City this weekend bidders can make offers onitems from the Joe DiMaggio Collection, which includes more than 1,000 relicsfrom the Hall of Fame outfielder's life and career. Among them: the marriagecertificate from his 1954 union with Marilyn Monroe (above), photographs fromthe couple's honeymoon and receipts for roses DiMaggio purchased for his bride.There are also letters documenting the highs and lows of their stormyrelationship (one from Monroe reads, "I love you 'til my heart couldburst....") and a copy of the couple's divorce summons. The collection isexpected to fetch more than $3 million.

• His team's playdidn't turn Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops's stomach last season (the Sooners went adisappointing 7-4), so it shouldn't be too surprising that he held his luncheven while corkscrewing at 700 mph in an F/A-18 Hornet jet. To promote an airshow in Texas last week, Stoops joined former American Idol winner KellyClarkson for an hourlong joyride in one of the jets flown by the Blue Angels,the Navy's precision flight team. At one point Stoops challenged his pilot,Lieut. Kevin Davis, to make him black out with a tight turn. According toDavis, a turn that pulled 7.8 G's did the trick--Stoops momentarily lostconsciousness. "I wanted to see what it would take," Stoops said.

• O.J. Simpson istrying to make a few bucks by channeling his inner Ashton Kutcher. Simpson, whohas yet to pay off any of the $33.5 million in damages he owes the families ofex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman after losing a 1995civil suit, has reportedly filmed a show called Juiced, a Punk'd-like hiddencamera show he hopes to sell on pay-per-view and DVD. In the hourlong programO.J. dresses up like an Elvis impersonator and as an elderly bingo-gameorganizer. He also visits a used-car lot and tries to sell the white FordBronco that carried him on his slow-speed police chase through Los Angeles in1994. "[The car] was good for me," he tells a prospective buyer."It helped me get away."

PICTURE THIS

Ricky (Hitman) Hatton (left) didn't exactly tattooLuis Collazo in Boston last Saturday--someone obviously beat him to thepunch--but he did just enough to take Collazo's WBA welterweight belt. Hattonwon a unanimous decision, but there was controversy. Collazo had the advantagefor most of the fight (Hatton looked wobbly in the final round), and theex-champ immediately demanded a rematch: "You should do more than what hedid to win the title."

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

A California man sued the Los Angeles Angels for sexdiscrimination because they didn't give him a red nylon tote bag during aMother's Day promotion.

They Said It

ZYDRUNAS ILGAUSKAS,

Cavaliers center, on the jacket worn by teammate DamonJones (below):

"I had sheets like that at one point in mylife."

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BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS (PICTURE THIS)

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NATHANIEL S. BUTLER/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (JONES)

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BETTMANN/CORBIS (MONROE AND DIMAGGIO)