In Boston, Fee & Raposa report that MICHAEL JORDAN paid
the "bargain rate" of $30,000 for a one-week rental in
Brookline, MA, for the Ryder Cup. Sources said that
Jordan's house had "oodles of bedrooms for his posse of
celebrity athlete pals" like MARIO LEMIEUX, JOHN ELWAY and
JOE MORGAN. Fee & Raposa: "Word is, the boys were rather
well-behaved during their stay, playing golf most days and
dining at home on meals prepared by a chef Jordan flew in
and expensive wines provided by Lemieux" (B. HERALD, 9/29).
BARKLEY UNPLUGGED: Rockets F CHARLES BARKLEY, on the
NBA's rules changes: "They're always messing with the game.
The game is fine. There's just a lot of bad teams in the
NBA." More Barkley: "Nothing is happening in the NBA. They
don't need that show ["NBA Today"] during the summer.
That's like the coach from the Nuggets got fired in the
middle of the summer. How can you screw up in the middle of
the summer?" Barkley is one of four hosts for VH-1's
upcoming talk show, "The List," which debuts October 4.
Barkley, on his college days at Auburn: "I enjoyed college.
I really did. I was there for three years and I'm almost a
sophomore. I've got a couple of more credits to go and then
I'll be a sophomore" ("Up Close," ESPN, 9/28).
BRINGING BACK THE STAR: MAGIC JOHNSON and Starbucks
Coffee CEO HOWARD SCHULTZ will "host a grand opening" of a
Johnson Starbucks franchise in East Lansing (MI) across from
MI State Univ. today (DETROIT NEWS, 9/29).
