Gloves

After watching the great O.J. Simpson glove-fitting event in the courtroom, I went home and viewed the videotape. God bless technology. Transfixed by the little drama, I was able to watch the tape over and over both in normal speed and in slow motion, repeatedly punching reverse for more replays. I stopped the picture at crucial moments, giving me a chance to use my VCR's freeze-frame capability.

Snow is a beautiful thing, especially when you have the right toys for playing in it. Some of these items are simple and others are high-tech, but all are innovative and are sure to make any winter wonderland even better. Ride a rocket Zipfy Freestyle Mini-Luge: Tiny plastic snow sled with an oversized handle in the middle that's reminiscent of a mechanical bull. Likes: Pure fun and exhilaration. With your rear end nestled in slight depressions and legs stretched out front, you sit upright on this 20-inch-long sled and hold on to an 11-inch central handle, which allows for great speed and surprisingly good stability and control.

Tired of being disappointed because there isn't a Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight? Miguel Cotto is here to try to slug out your frustrations. "I didn't care about hearing one more thing about that," Cotto said Thursday, appearing in Hollywood to promote his May 5 bout against the unbeaten Mayweather. "My next step is Mayweather. If people want to see that [Mayweather-Pacquiao] fight, they have to wait until I beat Mayweather. " Cotto (37-2, 30 knockouts), the World Boxing Assn.

Mike Tyson is a swollen black eye on the face of boxing. He is the problem, and nobody or anything else is to blame. Calling Lennox Lewis a coward is an act of cowardice coming from a man who has to resort to using his teeth instead of gloves. Stop mollycoddling this animal. Boxing as a whole would be a lot better without Tyson, and Tyson would be served better without boxing. Peter Isaacson Hacienda Heights A Nevada State Athletic Commission headed by an attorney and a politician "will not walk away from helping Mike Tyson," alluding to the "integrity" in boxing.

Chelsea checked the mailman, the ice cream man, and her friend Sally, but she didn't even find one. What was she looking for? A green thumb! Her Aunt Mary had one. But Chelsea had never gotten a chance to see it because her aunt pulled on her gardening gloves so fast. "Would you like to help me today?" Chelsea nodded, and Auntie Mary handed her a bucket, watering can, a shovel and gloves. In the backyard, Auntie Mary pulled a not-quite-round, squashy, brown blob from the bucket.

Troy Polamalu never planned on leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Still, the defending AFC champions didn't want to take any chances, signing the star safety to a contract extension through the 2014 season. Polamalu, the 2010 NFL defensive player of the year, signed the contract at Pittsburgh International Airport on Saturday just before the team boarded a plane to Baltimore. Terms were not immediately disclosed. Polamalu was scheduled to make $6.4 million this season.

Many of my holiday gifts came from two high and hidden shelves where I stash trinkets from travels. Because of their far-flung origins, they are usually a surprise to the recipient; when I pull down the sacks in December, they are often a surprise to me. This season I found chunky Greek bead necklaces in vivid blues and greens and ambers. I bought them on a last-day-at-sea sale in the Royal Princess boutique as we sailed into Acapulco after transiting the Panama Canal.

Everyone comes to the Olympics looking for that moment, that one special instant that restores our faith in everything great and important and enduring about the greatest sport spectacle in the world. On the second night of the 19th Winter Games, I was blessed with that moment. It was around midnight in downtown Salt Lake City, the streets teeming with celebrating fans, strutting athletes, many languages, one voice. I was in the middle of a crosswalk, headlights illuminating me from all directions, bathing my body like thousands of shiny medals.

The art of matchmaking has been going on for centuries. Putting together couples who would make love, not war, used to be pretty steady work. But there isn't much call for it anymore. The matchmaker of today spends his time in dirty gyms and smoky arenas, looking for matches that will produce anything but love. This is the boxing matchmaker. Although he deals with a sport known as the sweet science, his job is not an exact science.