Andre Agassi's honest attempt at "atonement," in book form

Will he talk or won’t he? It’s a question St. Louis sports fans have been talking about for weeks now. The “he” in question is the new hitting coach for the baseball Cardinals. Will Mark McGwire “come clean” about what he did or did not do during baseball’s steroids era? Time will tell.

Will he talk or won’t he? It’s a question the whole world is talking about. The “he” in question is embroiled in the controversy of what is currently the world’s most famous one-car crash. Will Tiger Woods talk about what happened at 2:30 in the morning and why? Time will tell.

Spin doctors unanimously agree that you have to get ahead of the story, which neither have done or are doing. Call it “Case Study #1: David Letterman.” Nobody’s talking about that fall blockbuster anymore, at least not until the first sexual…

Jesus meets Santa: A mind-bending clash of mythologies.

As I picked up my Post-Dispatch this morning, my skeptic’s heart was gladdened by the inclusion of the Catholic Supply of St. Louis’ eight-page flier packed with a jaw-dropping assortment of religious artifacts, Christmas ornaments, nativity scenes, home decorations and more. The flier represents the tip of the Catholic knick-knack iceberg, the bulk of which can be seen online or at either of the two stores (one at Chippewa and Jamieson, the other at 2953 Highway K in O’Fallon), and includes at least a few products that strain the doctrinal envelope.

My favorite, offered in a variety of iterations, depicts Santa kneeling before the infant Jesus, “a subtle reminder to children,” the website tells us, “that Santa is not the main focus of the season.” Or, as one wag put it, that “the mythology of Jesus who saves us from our sins has not…

A story in the New York Times sports section Sunday about the women’s golf phenom, Lorena Ochoa delved into the rarely-coincidental worlds of sports wagering and religion.

Despite it’s headline, “Keeping Faith, Ochoa Takes Magical Tour,” and a mention in the fifth paragraph that the 26-year-old Mexican golfer is Roman Catholic, the story was a sports piece - about a golf pro whom everyone seems to like.

However, reporter Karen Crouse hooks onto an interesting anecdote toward the end of the story.

After telling us that Ochoa gives herself incentives, which “always involves candy,” we learn that during a round in Mexico City last March:

…Ochoa told Brooker, who does not belong to any organized religion, that she was worried his daughters would be shut out of heaven. How many tournaments would she have to win, she asked, for him to have his children, Hadley, 3, and Madelaine, 2, baptized?

Brooker, taken aback by the question,…