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A new book proves that The Games Do Count

A A A Comments Thursday, Jan 27 2005

FRI 1/28

Chris Buck

Funnyman Jon Stewart is a good sport in Brian Kilmeade's The Games Do Count.

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Imagine a young John Tesh booting a soccer ball downfield, a teenage Condoleezza Rice attempting a camel spin, and a four-foot-11 Tony Danza pummeling another lightweight boxer. Before you fantasize about how you would have kicked the crap out of all three, check out Brian Kilmeade's The Games Do Count: America's Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports. The book contains the first-person accounts of more than 70 would-be sports stars, who tell how their experiences as young athletes -- glorious and miserable -- guided them to success as politicians, actors or business moguls. "Most of people's small talk with me is about sports," says Kilmeade, a co-host on Fox News Channel's FOX & Friends. "When I talk to Henry Kissinger, it's always about soccer." (Kissinger played on an all-Jewish team in Nazi Germany as a youth.) Kilmeade interviewed the likes of Jon Stewart, Emme, Donald Trump, Burt Reynolds and both Presidents Bush in his apparent quest to unearth every sports-as-life cliché. So give a little respect to that geeky kid who always gets picked last: As Kilmeade says, "The guy on the edge of the bench could be president of the United States." He reads from and signs his book at 7 p.m. Friday, January 28. Barnes & Noble, 12850 Memorial Drive. For information, call 713-465-5616. Free. –- Julia Ramey

Hunting for Deals

THU 1/27

To quote comedian Eddie Izzard, "Guns don't kill people, people do. But I think the guns help." You can discuss topics like gun control with the thousands of hunters and outdoorsy folks who'll flock to this week's Houston Sportsman's Show. Aside from checking out all the hunting, fishing and camping wares, you can watch live retriever and bird-of-prey training, dabble in archery and paintball and even get your hands around a reticulated python at the snake show. Former Oiler Earl Campbell will be signing autographs, and the Rain Man wannabe who guesses the correct number of minnows in a tank wins a truck. The show runs from Thursday, January 27, through Sunday, January 30, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas. For tickets, information and schedule, call 281-356-1651 or visit www.houstonsportsmansshow.com. $3 to $7; free for children six and under. -– Steven Devadanam

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