| Costa Rica eco trip, 10 nights, $1,550
The Real Deal: Ten nights' accommodations, some meals, sightseeing excursions, workshops, and local transportation, from $1,550 per person — including taxes. When: June 21-July 1, 2008. The fine print: Breakfast and dinner daily, hotel taxes, airport-hotel transfers, sightseeing, activities, workshops, transportation by van, and the services of a bilingual tour guide are included. Based on double occupancy; single supplement is $200. Airfare, lunch, tips, and personal expenses are not included. Group size ranges from 5 to 15 participants. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for low-income applicants. Must be 18 to participate; those under 18 must be accompanied by a guardian. Please note that program activities and workshops may vary and are subject to change.
Riviera Maya all-inclusive, air/resort, from $879
The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare, five nights' accommodations at an all-inclusive resort, meals, and theme-park admission, from $879 per person—plus taxes of about $95. When: Through Jan. 31 and Apr. 1-30, 2008; add $90 for Feb.1-Mar. 31. Blackout dates are Feb. 16-23. Gateways: Fort Lauderdale; add $155 for Chicago, New York, Philadelphia; $199 for Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City; additional cities are available. .
Newy can be reached at his Web site, www.newdawg.com .
I hope the Big Aristotle does well in the desert, but I need to see him run the floor in transition over the next couple of months at the Suns normal breakneck pace before I declare him the Shaquille ONeal of old. Because right now ... hes just an old Shaquille ONeal. Will Nolan Ryans presence make a difference with the Rangers? NEW DAWG: Yes. Fans see Tom Hicks and they think liar. Fans see Nolan Ryan and they think integrity. BUCK: Most definitely, and I have the crystal ball to prove it. I believe in Annie Savoys Church of Baseball.....and I believe in osmosis. If Tom Hicks and Jon Daniels allow Nolie to do his thing, at his own pace, with complete autonomy, well see a difference in 1.) immediate perception and 2.) long-term results. But this is a Hall of Fame-sized mess even for a Hall of Fame guy to clean up.
Three years later, Backman still trying to get to the bigs
There is a seafarer's look to the man; one too many days engulfed by the salty air. In the two years following the Diamondbacks debacle, Backman dabbled in this and that -- a fruitless search for fulfillment. Baseball? Who needed baseball? Wally and his brother Mike chartered fishing trips. Wally opened up Prineville's first authentic deli, the New York on Seventh Street Caf, and worked as its chef (the business didn't last). He went on dozens of hunting excursions. Mostly, though, he subconsciously waited. And waited. And waited. In his first season as a manager, with Catskill of the Northern League in 1997, Backman went 3-23. That was an aberration. In the six ensuing years, he suffered one losing campaign. After guiding the Lancaster JetHawks to an 86-54 record in 2004, managing future major leaguers including Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin and Dan Uggla, he was named The Sporting News' minor league manager of the year.
Christopher Hampton: The award for least prepared speech goes to...
I didn't think I was going to win last time either, but this is a very good year for films. There's the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson and Ronnie Harwood and ... what's the other one?" Sarah Polley for Away From Her, the film starring Christie, actually. It's about Alzheimer's. Hang on, was that a screenwriter's joke he just made? The others are up for No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly respectively. "There is a feeling that the Coen Brothers have waited a long time," he says, "but this is their year. It's their turn." We meet the day before he leaves for LA, on the top floor of a gorgeous townhouse near Notting Hill Gate. The view is spectacular, over the rooftops or down through the frosted bones of trees to Ladbroke Square Gardens.
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