Mandela’s Mercedes: Nelson Mandela has a new...

Mandela’s Mercedes: Nelson Mandela has a new bright red $83,000 Mercedes-Benz, courtesy of black South African auto workers and Mercedes-Benz. The car was presented Sunday at a packed rally in Mdantsane township. Mandela, released last February after more than 27 years in prison, thanked the Mercedes labor force and said the red color will “forever remind us of the blood the workers and people of our country have shed in the liberation struggle.”

Last Will: Political writer George Will said his current best-seller, “Men at Work,” is his first and last book on baseball. “I’ve said what I had to say and that’s where I’ll leave it,” Will said in Pittsburgh. “Like Ted Williams, I know when it’s time to get out of the game.” Williams retired in 1960 after a home run in a late-season game.

Fire Sale: Nelson Bunker Hunt, who with brother William Herbert Hunt lost a fortune in the crash of the silver market, watched an auction Saturday in Roanoke, Tex., of his furniture, collectibles and other items that brought an estimated $450,000 to help pay off his creditors. “A $20 dime-store teapot sold for $150 and the crowd just went crazy,” said one observer. An oak rocking chair fetched $3,000. But Nelson’s son, Houston, was unhappy with it all. “This is really unpleasant,” he said.

Knockout Tie: His work clothes are shorts, shoes and gloves, so heavyweight contender Evander Holyfield gets to spend his money on his play clothes. How much last year? “Eight thousand dollars,” Holyfield said in the August issue of Gentlemen’s Quarterly. “The important thing in a man’s wardrobe is a tie . . . . It’s got to be exotic.” Holyfield meets James (Buster) Douglas for the heavyweight championship this fall.

--Compiled by YEMI TOURE