SHORT SPRINT? Valley bookstores Friday reported a...

SHORT SPRINT? Valley bookstores Friday reported a strong running start for O.J. Simpson’s new book, “I Want To Tell You.” . . . Crown Books in Granada Hills sold 30 copies in four hours. But the O.J. book boom is nothing new to Crown employee Kay Kami. Faye Resnick’s book about Nicole Brown Simpson sold “like hot cakes for like the first couple of days,” Kami said, but “everybody lost interest after about a week or so.” Related story, A20

WEDDING WOES: Wedding-like ceremonies for gay couples never posed a problem for Rev. Paul Egertson . . . until now (B1). Egertson has blessed such unions at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in North Hollywood. But he will become the bishop Sunday for a less liberal Lutheran denomination. Said St. Matthew’s Michael Nelson: “For our congregation, it’s not a hot button issue, but it is for the rest of the denomination.”

POETIC ENDING: Mourners paying their respects Friday to Kobe earthquake victim Voni Lynn Wong, included her parents Myrtle and Henry K. Wong, above (B1). . . . Family members bid her farewell with poetry. Said Henry: ‘You shall be in my heart and soul for all my earthly being until we meet in heaven.”

RIGHT TURNS: It’s a long way from the Valley to the Super Bowl in Miami, but Toi Cook finally made it (C11) . . . thanks to the right career turn. After playing sports at Montclair Prep and Stanford, both baseball and football careers beckoned. Cook chose football, and now he’s a reserve back for the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s game.

BOWL BLUES: The Super Bowl is only a day away, but Valley brokers still have tickets available . . . Thanks to California’s recession, several local agents say Valley customers aren’t buying as many tickets as last year, even though Sunday’s game features two California teams. Despite the low demand, tickets are more expensive, said Reseda ticket broker Joe Miller. End zone seats start at $900, above the normal price of $650. “It’s weird,” Miller said.