Voice Isn’t the Same, but the Eyes Still Have It

At the opening of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville this week, Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon felt gratitude for the presence of the boxing legend, but wistful for the champion he once knew.

“I gave thanks for Muhammad Ali on Thursday,” Wilbon wrote. “Despite the shaking brought on by Parkinson’s syndrome, he was capable ... of walking the 24,000 square feet of exhibits and displays.

“What I wouldn’t have given to hear one more riff from Ali, just one good, long paragraph on any topic he pleased. Angelo Dundee, who was in Ali’s corner as his trainer the entire run, reminded me to stop fretting because, ‘[Ali] gets more out of a blink than others from a whole recitation.’ ”

A few self-inflicted jabs: “Only Ali, in all his supreme confidence,” Wilbon wrote, “would have a museum with exhibits critical of him. Don’t get me wrong, the overall tone of the center is pretty fawning, as one would expect. But in the ‘Respect’ exhibit, a film takes Ali to task for his womanizing, for behavior most folks agree was sexist and bigoted. (You think Barry Bonds, for example, would sign off on a detailed criticism of his alleged steroid use?)”

Favorite son: In balloting for the Heisman Trophy, USC running back Reggie Bush is getting heavy support from the San Diego area, where he attended Helix High in La Mesa. “Reggie Bush is the best football player I’ve ever seen,” said Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, who has covered football for nearly half a century.

Trivia time: Helix High was also the breeding ground for another finalist for the Heisman. Can you name him?

Add favorite son: “Never mind the circumstances, the where or when or what the game meant,” wrote Nick Canepa, also of the Union-Tribune, after seeing Bush pile up a Pacific 10 Conference-record 513 all-purpose yards last week against Fresno State. “It was stunning. I don’t know if we can expect to see its likes again. Any Heisman voter who saw that game -- and many didn’t and often don’t watch when they can -- and doesn’t vote for Bush, more than likely is a parochial idiot.”

Trivia answer: Quarterback Alex Smith, a teammate of Bush’s at Helix. Smith didn’t win the Heisman last year, but he was the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL draft, taken by the San Francisco 49ers.

And finally: Phil Simms and Steve Young won Super Bowl most-valuable-player awards, but their bond on the field appears to have been shattered by a feud in the broadcast booth.

On ESPN on Sunday, Young questioned the mental toughness of Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Chris Simms, Phil’s son, saying Chris grew up in “a laissez-faire atmosphere.”

Phil, a CBS broadcaster, fired back, according to USA Today’s Michael McCarthy, by saying, “When you follow football one day a week, it’s hard to know much what is going on. ... [Chris] didn’t grow up in a laissez-faire atmosphere. Far from it. Come to my house and live with me and we’ll see how laissez-faire it is.”

Not likely Young will be ringing Simms’ doorbell any time soon.