Email Author Tom Fitzpatrick

1992 Stories by Tom Fitzpatrick

• THANKS,JOE, FOR THAT GREAT LOSING SEASON

  published December 23, 1992

  For all you television-football fans, let's get this straight first. Joe Bugel's the one hunched over on the sidelines with the greased black hair... More >>

• LIVES THAT SPEAK VOLUMES

  published December 16, 1992

  Paul Rubin's book about jazz musicians is clearly a labor of love. Constructed in the form of interviews with 22 outstanding musicians, it takes... More >>

• DO THE SUNS NEED KJ ANYMORE?

  published December 16, 1992

  You're Kevin Johnson, once a spectacular performer. But now you must hear the whispers that the Phoenix Suns are a better basketball team without... More >>

• A DIFFERENT SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

  published December 16, 1992

  Sitting in a defensive-driving class the other day, I was reminded of those Raymond Carver short stories. You know the ones I mean. Everything is... More >>

• The Government Knows What a Good Indian Is

  published December 9, 1992

  This scene I am not likely to forget. Peter MacDonald, at one time the most honored and powerful Indian in North America, was being sentenced... More >>

• CHARLES BARKLEY'S BASKETBALL SEMINARS

  published December 2, 1992

  And--and--what comes next? --Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann Sir Charles Barkley smiled. His eyes twinkled. That fierce warrior look vanished.... More >>

• SUNSHINE AND SADNESS

  published November 25, 1992

  Traffic is light as I drive north on I-17 from downtown. I spot the Woodstone Apartments on the right side of the highway. I know I've arrived... More >>

• JORDAN ROLLS THROUGH PHOENIX

  published November 25, 1992

  Shortly before four o'clock last Sunday afternoon, Michael Jordan strode onto the floor of America West Arena for the first time. The... More >>

• DOIN' THE RACIST HUSTLE

  published November 18, 1992

  The temperature was below freezing. It was one of those Chicago winter days when the sky comes up slate gray and the sun never appears. I was... More >>

• BASKETBALL, THE NEXT BIG THING

  published November 11, 1992

  I got to America West Arena almost two hours early last Saturday night. It was the opening of the Charles Barkley era in Phoenix Suns'... More >>

• NEXT TIME, TEST BETWEEN HIS EARS

  published November 4, 1992

  "Where's Johnny Johnson?" a man asked. "Don't bother," a friendly photographer said. "He won't talk." "You're kidding," the man said. "He... More >>

• Columns

  published November 4, 1992

  I don't have the opportunity to listen to local radio broadcasting teams all over the National Football League. But I'd guess that the current... More >>

• GOODBYE, RED

  published October 28, 1992

  I was startled the other day to see Red Barber's photograph in the New York Times. He had been the voice of the Brooklyn Dodgers when I was a kid... More >>

• For Sale: One War Hero

  published October 28, 1992

  You're John McCain, who put yourself up for sale from the first moment you were elected to Congress. You were sent there to represent Arizona, but... More >>

• Yeah, and Baseball Used to Be Played on Grass

  published October 21, 1992

  Steve the Bartender put up still another round. The group at the end of the bar, standing under the television set, were regulars in the joint.... More >>

• Those $1,000 Checks Do Add Up

  published October 21, 1992

  John McCain is trying to buy his way into another six-year term in the U.S. Senate. He has raised $1.9 million, most of it from political action... More >>

• Call My Travel Agent; There's an Election Coming Up

  published October 21, 1992

  Tell the real John McCain story and you indict the entire political system. It is not a pretty story. No one really wants to know. I truly believe... More >>

• The Dark Horse Is Closing

  published October 14, 1992

  One of the great Arizona political upsets is in the making. I'm talking about Claire Sargent's steady march to become the first Arizona woman to... More >>

• PEROT'S TEXAS TWO-STEP

  published October 14, 1992

  Minutes before last Sunday's debate, Ross Perot picked precisely at a loose thread from the left sleeve of his midnight-blue suit. He stood... More >>

• REDFORD FISHES FOR SUCCESS

  published October 7, 1992

  Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It isn't just a fine short novel. It is a magical piece of writing. It is one of two books I've read that I... More >>

• DOWN TO THE WIRE

  published September 30, 1992

  The function of law enforcement is the prevention of crime and the apprehension of criminals . . . not the manufactur[e] of crime. ... More >>

• This Guy Makes You Miss Mecham

  published September 23, 1992

  Some of your constituents think you sold them out. --Alabama Senator Howell Heflin to John McCain That terrible judgment,... More >>

• THE MCLAUGHLIN GOOFS

  published September 23, 1992

  John McLaughlin, former Jesuit priest turned television pundit, was asked one day why so many people treated him with such respect. According... More >>

• EXCUSE ME, IS THIS A UNIVERSITY OR A PRISON FARM?

  published September 16, 1992

  The national media went crazy over the rape, especially since it came so quickly after the shooting. --Barry Switzer, former University... More >>

• STUDENTS OF CRIME

  published September 2, 1992

  @body:Look at the money we make off predominantly poor, black kids. We're the whoremasters. --Dale Brown, Louisiana... More >>