Hope, anguish and disgust mark Road Warrior Omar Sofradzija's attempt to throw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs-Seattle Mariners exhibition game Saturday at Cashman Field. Photos by K.M. Cannon.
FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI spent $39.15 at a Summerlin Target store Wednesday. As a checker named Skip rang up the Republican presidential candidate's purchases, he asked, "Would you like to save 15 percent by opening a Target credit card today?"
Giuliani laughed. "No, that's OK," he answered, and paid full price.
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MOLLY BALL
WHILE AT THE STORE, GIULIANI WAS PERUSING THE BOOK SECTION when he stopped suddenly.
"What's this?" said Giuliani, noticing that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's book had been turned around in the store display.
"We can't have that," he said as he placed the copy of "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" so that shoppers could see the cover. "He needs to be able to sell books."
K.M. CANNON
THOUGH ITS POPULATION HAS GROWN FROM 1,500 to more than 18,000 in the past 12 years, Mesquite remains a small town in a lot of ways. Most people like it like that, said Kathy Lee, who sells ads for one of the community's two weekly newspapers.
"If two golf carts cross paths, that's traffic in Mesquite. We want to keep it that way."
HENRY BREAN
DENNIS KUCINICH IS RUNNING A LONG-SHOT CAMPAIGN for the Democratic presidential nomination. And not a very organized one, it seems.
Kucinich didn't RSVP for a rally held by the Culinary union on March 23, a rally that was attended by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson. But he did show up, half an hour after the rally was over, an event organizer said.
MOLLY BALL
WORDS WERE EXCHANGED LAST WEEK BETWEEN ATTORNEYS representing fitness champion Kelly Ryan and her husband, bodybuilder Craig Titus, who are accused of dispatching their personal assistant in December 2005.
Ryan's attorney, Greg Denue, was upset that Titus' lawyer, Marc Saggese, had visited Ryan in jail. Soon after, Ryan filed a motion to dump Denue. On top of that, attorney Michael Cristalli, who is attempting to fill Denue's shoes, happens to be Saggese's law partner.
In response to the motion, Denue said in a filing that "when it comes to courtroom experience, success at trials, and the ability to articulate coherently, comparing Saggese to Denue is like comparing Man O' War with Tony the Pony."
"Saggese has fawned over Craig Titus in the manner of a medieval penitent kissing the big toe of a marble saint."
He continued: "In sum, this Court can readily see that Saggese thinks this murder case is a game, a vehicle for him to do his close-ups before the cameras, and meet with television reporters for some more air-time. ... On behalf of Kelly Ryan, Denue states that they want no part of their (Saggese and Titus') little sophomoric games, their giggling at their mental slumber parties, where they fashion their 'best friend pinky-rings,' while making prank calls to the district attorney's office."
Oh, snap!
FRANCIS McCABE
Those at Saturday's Big League Weekend matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the Seattle Mariners at Cashman Field might have expected to see a bigwig toss out the first pitch. Instead, they got Review-Journal traffic columnist Omar Sofradzija.
The Road Warrior, a long-suffering Cubs fan, proclaimed all week that he wasn't going to practice. "I want the first pitch to be as much of a surprise to me as it is to everyone else," he said.
When the moment arrived, Sofradzija handed off a personal camera and marched out to the mound. He had one mission: reach the catcher 60 feet, 6 inches away.
He wound up and slung the hard ball. Time slowed down, much as it did for fictional baseball prodigy Roy Hobbs.
But alas, this Road Warrior is no natural. Like some wounded fowl, the ball crashed into the dirt before home plate, allowing a Cubs catcher to show off some dazzling glove work.
In response, Sofradzija threw up his hands and dropped to his knees before falling flat on his face.
He was followed to the mound by Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, who also was asked to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. The 58-year-old lawyer and former gubernatorial candidate tossed a perfect strike. He said afterward: "I threw it twice as fast as he (Sofradzija) did, and I'm probably twice his age."
The Road Princess, er, Warrior's experience on the mound can be summed up with three words: hope, anguish and, finally, disgust, similar to a Cubs fan's emotions over the course of a typical season.
