Hall of Fame QB Unitas Dies at the Age of 69 (washingtonpost.com)

"Sam Huff, the Hall of Fame linebacker for the Giants, and later the Redskins, who played in that game, said yesterday that neither Unitas's body nor his physical presence suggested greatness on the gridiron.

 "He couldn't throw a screen pass like Y.A. Tittle. He couldn't run like Fran Tarkenton. He couldn't throw like Sonny Jurgensen. He was a sickly-looking guy," Huff said. "But John, he was the general. He was absolutely awesome under pressure.""

There is something magic about the athlete who triumphs not because he has superior physical gifts, but because he is able to exploit fully the gifts he has.

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Christopher Reeve Regains Some Movement, Doctor Says

""He did what everybody thought was not possible," said the doctor, John W. McDonald, an assistant professor of neurology and director of the spinal cord injury program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, who designed the therapy for Mr. Reeve and described it in an article in the current issue of The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. "He had the highest level of injury and no recovery for five years. Now he's improving every day.""

A triumph of character and determination; let us hope his recovery continues to progress and to inspire others.

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"The Partly Cloudy Patriot" by Sarah Vowell. A "This American Life" commentator celebrates nerds and explains how to love your country without turning into a boorish, jingoistic, kitsch-crazed lout. [Salon.com]

This sounds like my kind of book.