public wins and then saying that kids should work as janitors. it's a nail biter 4-5. ♪ >> which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow. trayvon martin and the simmering push back. >> mr. zimmerman was acting in self defense. >> none of this would have happened if trayvon said i'm staying with my parents. >> this is a horrible, horrible happening where someone who thought he was doing the right thing has virtually lost his life now. >> virtually. >> they killed my son. and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> even in death they are still disrespecting my son. >> and the sad exploitation of this for politics. >> is the president suggesting that if it had been a white who

had been shot, that would be okay because he wouldn't look like him trying to turn it into a racial issue is wrong. >> the healthcare reform. >> look, we all know how this is going to turn out, justice alito. five republicans running the supreme court. just get it over with. >> today you're arguing that the penalty is not a tax. tomorrow you're going to be back and you'll be arguing that the penalty is a tax. >> breaking point, rick santorum snaps at mitt romney. >> he is the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> hold me back, hold me back. rick santorum fake snaps at "the new york times" for reporting that he said what he said. >> quit distorting our words. if i see it, it's bull [bleep].

come on, man. what are you doing. >> if you haven't cursed out a "new york times" reporter during the course of a campaign you're not a real republican is the way i look at it. >> open mic night. the president has to explain why he said that off the record, he thought, to the president of russia. someone can still have a laugh. >> hawai'i? you and me? >> yes. >> one of a kind, the death of butter randolph sugar, boxing expert advertising legend, and my first boss. all that and more now on "countdown." >> good evening this, is monday, march 26th. 226 days until the 2012 presidential election. a concerted and fans it was

technical effort to rehabilitate the reputation of the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin george zimmerman. zimmerman's friend insisting that the former neighborhood watch captain is not a racist and is very, very sorry for the shooting. his attorney insists that undisclosed evidence will clear mr. zimmerman of wrongdoing. thousands of protesters continue to march in sanford florida where the shooting took place and other cities around the country. the protesters demanding that zimmerman be arrested for shooting trayvon martin a month ago. the reverend jesse jackson providing clarity. >> mr. zimmerman should not have pursued him. he did. he should not have killed him and did he. the glad of blood of this martyr, we shall continue our vigilance and

action until justice is done. >> with more protests honoring martin and demanding justice for his killer. the 17-year-old who appeared to be carrying nothing more threatening than iced tea and skittles walking through a gated community. zimmerman seas spokesman saying that the public does not know what happened that night. >> there are other 911 tapes that have not been disclosed yet. we don't have the complete story and when it does come out it will show that george zimmerman acted in self defense and he did have a right to defend himself. >> a different sort of defense appearing in the orlando sentinel at an exclusive that the authorities claim that some witness versus backed up zimmerman's account of what happened that night. according to the shooter zimmerman followed martin in his suv, then on foot and was approached by martin. zimmerman claimed he asked martin if he had a trouble.

martin apparently knocked zimmerman to the ground on the ground by the nose. a play back of the one 911 tape available from that night has the sound of someone crying. [crying. >> help! >> do you think he's yelling help. >> mary cutcher saying it sounded like trayvon martin. >> it sounded young, not a grown man. the crying stopped when the gun went off. if it was zimmerman crying because he was hurt i think it would have continued. >> but zimmerman's friend saying the whole incident could have been avoided. >> if what joy claims is true, none of this would have had if trayvon said, i'm staying with my parents. >> this is a horrible, horrible happening where someone thought he was doing the right thing has virtually lost his life now.

>> again the word operative is virtually. zimmerman in hiding now after a group calling itself the new black panthers consisting as many guys as you see in the picture is offering a reward for the capture of the shooter. whatever the florida courts decide they're already losing in the polling. 73% say he should be arrested. one source telling "abc news" martin had been suspended from school after a bag with marijuana res due had been found in his book bag. martin's parents responded to that in anger. >> even in death they are still disrespecting my son. >> they killed my son, and now they're trying to kill his reputation. >> and newt gringrich trying to

besmirch president obama's reputation. >> my main message is to the parents of trayvon martin. you know, if i had a son, he would look like trayvon. >> and then after that gingrich spoke to sean hannity. >> what the president is suggesting is disgraceful. he's suggesting that if it had been a white that had been shot would be okay because he wouldn't look like him. this is fundamentally wrong. i really find it appalling. >> i'm joined by allison samuels. who has been covering the story. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> this alternative timeline that is favorable to george zimmerman, is that the sort of information that would only be accessible by or to the sanford police. they're going to investigate whether the leak came from them. >> yeah, that's something that the police would have to have given the paper. the police as well as george

zimmerman's defense. i think they're in total defense mode in every way. the last two weeks have been horrible for george zimmerman. at the end of the day you have to look at all the social media. reverend al champ sharpton, these people who have ways to put this story out. they're not going to stop. this poor kid who was killed with skittles and tea, we're going to hear about it and we have been hearing about it for the last two weeks. zimmerman's attorney has decided we need to tell our story. and the police who have been crushed for handling this so poorly, they're on the defensive and they have to explain what happened and why they didn't do a proper investigation. that's what we see happening now. >> and clearly you're right on both respects. in this sense, though, is there anything to those alternative timelines? because this zimmerman friend, joe oliver, said he didn't know who pulled the trigger and another story claiming reporting

zimmerman claiming that martin tried to take the gun. >> well, in talking to trayvon martin's family lawyer he said that trayvon was on the phone the entire time. i find it hard to believe that he could fight this georgia and stay on the phone with his girlfriend who reports that he was on the phone with her until about a minute--until right before he was shot. that in itself disputes the point that he would have attacked him. wouldn't anyone turn around and say what are you following me for, and wouldn't they try to defend themselves? i'm sure this little kid, he wasn't a little kid but a young man, he was afraid of his life thinking, why is this guy following him and then to hear two people say just tell him who he was. is this slavery days why you have to slow your papers and say

i'm free. that's ridiculous. you don't have to explain why you're here to someone who does not have a badge or an uniform. i'm sure this young man's attitude was why are you following me. why are they saying that is appropriate when he had every right to be there and didn't have to explain that to anyone. >> who does the stand your ground law apply to in this case. if you have a mortal fear that you have a lunatic who is following you and that's turned out to be a correct description of george zimmerman. he had a gun and he used it whether or not he had justification to do so. >> he was told by police not to follow this young man. people saying that it could have been resolveed by martin saying who he was, it could have been solved by zimmerman not following him. they have him on tape being told to stay in his vehicle. trayvon martin had no idea what was happening. he had no idea why this guy was

behind him. the girlfriend is going to be very important when she is able to testify to say he was saying this guy is following me. she's telling him to run. trayvon martin was very scared for his life. i think there's no way they can change the way that went down. no matter what they release. >> and here we have the one woman who has been bold and brave in speaking out against what might be the community sentiment or a small art of the sentiment in sanford, florida, certainly in that gated community. this mary cutcher who said everything she heard this was not a case of self defense. and if it was zimmerman crying on the tape, why did he stop when the gunshot was sound. joe oliver friend of george zimmerman, the attorney for george zimmerman. do we have witness who is actually said anything that we know of that corroborate any part of george zimmerman's

version of the story? >> no, and i was in sanford, florida, for a couple of days. i went around the community. i talked to a number of people. no one that i spoke to there could defend what george zimmerman had done. no one was in agreement with what he had done. the woman that you had seen, who admitted and came forth and talked to the media, they talked about what they saw. i talked to a little kid who had seen the end of it. but i talked to no one who witnessed the other part of this story that zimmerman is putting forward. it's very suspect and very convenient for it to come out now when zimmerman and the police department is taking such a beating. >> last point, it's really procedural, the grand jury is april 10th. any idea what sort of process there is going to be or how long that might take? >> it will take a while just talking to a lot of people in the area. they're still investigating all the different areas of sort of events. they're talking to more and more people. you have all these rallies going on. you have all the theme coming into town which i think is

putting pressure on. so i think they're nervous and they're going to take their time to make sure that they don't miss anything. we're going to see a long-drawn out process but unfortunately what they're worried about which is probably fair, they don't want there to be any unrest. i think the longer we go without there being any movement without there being any arrests you have to be concerned will people take it to the streets. people are furious about this, and i don't think it will die down any time soon. >> it's fair to say other than the four guys who decided that they're the new black panthers everybody has been i think extraordinaryily patient and respectful to the law and the process in this country so far. and as i echo your points, and obviously there are concerns in florida. allison samuels, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> for more on the ongoing effort to seek justice for trayvon martin we're joined by the reverend jesse jackson civil rights leader, activist, founder and president of the

rainbow-push coalition. thank you for your time tonight. >> i'm astonished that some how the police department refuse to move on him. everything about this is irrational. not to pursue mr. martin. he pursued him. he killed him. the police found him there over him with the gun. they drug tested mr. martin, the kid, and they did not drug test or alcohol test mr. zimmerman. so he's still free. to compound the injury with this attitude. yes. >> you said earlier the central issue in this case was racial profiling. >> no doubt about it. >> but zimmerman's defenders say he's latino. he has friends of all races. he's not a racist himself. is that relevant or just muddying-- >> it is irrelevant.

we're convinced if this had been a white person, a black person shooting a white person, you are clear this would not be the outcome. this department has a reputation. an african-american homeless man was beaten half to death. the beater walked away. he was the son of a police officer or official. and he's right now part of the investigation. to have the whole level of corruption here that is unbelievable. i think that particular to this case, and also the law itself, in this kind of hooliganism that we see. >> that was my last question. the importance of this case in racial terms is undeniable, and

i any it's acknowledged as such even by the people who are putting up a defense for george zimmerman, but there is a larger thing involved here. adults can shoot unarmed teenage boys with impunity without the identities of the shooter or the victim. is that a danger that that could get lost here? that obviously matters as well. >> well, it is. theit shows how rapid the increase of killings have occurred since the law was passed. i'm concerned that not only do we change the law but there are too mean people getting killed. it's time to revive the civil rights commission, which is all but dead now we need a stricter

legislation for purpose of healing to bring in a plan to remedy these bills. >> reverend jesse jackson. always a pleasure. >> thank you, sir. >> the supreme court and healthcare. day one, a surprising encouraging perhaps poll of former clerks. the analysis of jonathan turtling next. it's completely inappropriate for television.

. >> the surprising conclusion by many of their former clerks that the supreme court justices may up hold the insurance mandate and up hold healthcare reform. and he passed the bar. the only one he said he ever did

pass. it's boxing expert, friend and mentor. the late bert sugar coming up. governor is ... >> both sides have spent months around the president's legislative agenda. in our fourth story, lawyers for the obama administration challenging the affordable care act agreed that a 19th century tax law should not disqualify the high court of ruling on the law's constitutionality this year. the justices debated on the statute whether this applies to the healthcare law. congress has nowhere used the word tax.

what it says is penalty. while healthcare advocates and opponents stand outside to voice their views, roy blunt talks about bad political. >> whether it's constitutional or not, i'm adamantly opposed to moving forward with this view of healthcare, where the government makes too many decisions runs healthcare in too dramatic a way, and i think most of the american people as they look at this agree. >> or a "new york times" poll find the majority, 47% of americans do, indeed disapprove of the healthcare act, but the majority doubt the court will strike down the law. the odds of the court ruling that the individual mandate is constitutional is only 35%. joining me now jonathan turley, george washington professor and constitutional law expert.

>> cut to the chase. how will this turn out. >> on the issue of whether this is a tax or penalty the justices seem very skeptical, as you've noted, that there is this threshold barrier that would prevent them from ruling. the fascinating thing about this is that all of the parties in the case basically pleaded with the court not to apply the anti-injunction act and yet the court went out and got an independent lawyer saying we want you to argue this issue. we'll give you all this time. but when he finally got up there, they gave him a pretty hard time and said, what are you talking about? this doesn't look like a tax to us. >> is that what the lawyer representing the 26 states opposing this law were kind of a practical joke that the court is playing on the public? >> i was really surprised. it's not a good idea when you're going in front of the court to say that they gave the nation some wet willie as a joke. he's going to have to appear in

front of these people. that's not going to be a subject of amusement. i don't think it was a practical joke. i think the court is showing the gravity of this. they have three days here. you know n my supreme court class we set aside two weeks to deal with these briefs. they sucked the oxygen out of the room. these questions are really tough. some of them are very technical, including today. but i don't think this was a practical joke i would not have put it that way if i was going to hear "e" see these people in a matter of hours. >> they may see that quote. >> yeah. >> does it have any merit that the group of clerks will impact towards more the right wing members of the court think that they're actually going to rule in favor of keeping the status quo, in keeping healthcare the way it is. >> my class voted on the first issue of whether this was

constitutional. they ruled that it was overwhelmingly, and they predicted the court would as well. but i think that the case is due cases due generally support the legislation. but it is not crunched. there are arguments on both sides. the caseses a they exist they certainly favor the administration. i've always said that. but it's hard to tell. i think this is a court of two really. kennedy, who is a swing voter, but most conservatives don't really that scalia is very much in play. he handed down--he made at the same time asstatements that is very forgiving of federal jurisdiction. then there is roberts, who may also be in play. all of the unknowns tend to be on the right side of the court. >> jonathan turley george

washington university, constitutional law and "countdown" contributor thanks. >> thanks, keith. >> rick santorum swore while the microphones are all and then told fox news, if you don't curse during the course of a presidential campaign you're not a real republican. staged. next. image where romney is anti gas.

>> the passing of better randolph sugar. time marchs on. >> we'll begin with politics because we don't normally cover it. president obama campaigning in oklahoma. a woman mention she was born in the same hospital where she was born. >> you're hawaiian? you have your birth certificate? [laughing] >> the sad heart donald trump has opened an investigation into his place of birth.

continuing with "o canada." opera singer, performing a long version before the match of the ottawa senators and the pittsburgh penguins. [singing] >> let me hear you. i guess that was "o canada." at least we can understand the words which is better than the last contestant. [singing]

>> you know what, they need to drop this, the ottawa senators and just do a recording. who was the guy in montreal who did it all the time? let's see, it's being sung by carl lewis, oh, boy. finally also in sports in are flops, big flops and then this. hit with a crumb held by will mcdonald, and down go panisi. a few seconds later, o i got hit by air. the wind is really strong there. experts say they have not seen anyone flop like this since john carter or jeff who lives at home. time marchs on. speaking of flopping, rick santorum pulls a hold me back on

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entirely different. the voice of a i am petulant child. he overshadowed his victory when the made the argument that mitt romney is not really a republican. >> why would we put someone up who is uniquely, pick any other republican in the country he is the worst republican in the country to put up against barack obama. >> santorum of course was talking about--what was he talking about? >> you said that mitt romney is the worst republican in the country. is that true? >> what speech did you listen to? >> right here. he's the worst. >> stop lying. i said he was the worst republican to run on the issue of obama care. that's what i was talking about. quit distorting our words. if i see it, it's bull [bleep]. come on, man. what are you doing. >> using exact quotes.

if you had suspicions was a hold me back stunt moment, what santorum did and said next might have confirmed your opinion. >> yeah, you know, if you haven't cursed out a "new york times" reporter during its coursethecourse of a campaign you're not a real republican is the way i look at it. >> mitt romney saw it differently. >> i'm not going to worry about what rick is saying. i know when you fall further and further behind you get more animated. >> luckily for santorum the classic open mic gaffe by the president deflected some attention when after he thought the mics were asked he asked the current president to delay missile until after the election here.

for more let's turn to david corn author of the book "showdown." well, hello, stranger. >> good to see you keith. >> good to see you. we'll get to the republicans in a moment. the open mic event with the president getting relationshipped by the chicken hawks on the right. is there any way he can adjust this or does he have to sit back and agree this is the sort of stuff whereas it may not be appropriate it's not appropriate for it to be broadcast. >> you're going to find this hard to believe but my advice to the president is read my book. because there is a true point here. the book is a behind-the-scenes. narrative after the midterm elections and there is a section on the ratification of the new start treaty with russia. remember, all the fuss

republicans put up john mccain and others, trying to block this treaty, which was basically continuing a process that began with ronald reagan. and so when the president says to the russian president i'll have more flexibility to deal with these armed control issues after the election, he's really just talking about what happened during the start ratification business, and it's actually a pretty true and accurate remark. go read that book, david corn's book, and people will give him a pass. >> and dovetailing on that was reagan's second eternal and gosh chef and all of that. >> yes. >> the outburst, was this a flop. claiming a reporter attacks him and. i've had a back and forth with fox.

what do you think of their role in this one? >> fox is like, you know, the safe space for santorum. if he needs a time out, he can get it at fox. i actually think that when he first started answering the question, which was asked after several reporters had asked a similar question, i--i like jeff, he's a good reporter, he put it, do you think he's the worst republican. rick santorum had a reason to give that sort of reply but i could almost see the gears in his brain worrying, yeah, "new york times," yeah, bashing the media work for newt, he goes on and on, and he tries to take the moment and change it toward his advantage and assumes he does it with a victory laugh on fox news this morning. i don't think it was calculated at the beginning but the calculation came in pretty early, but again let's be fair about this. let's be honest, let's be balanced.

fair and balanced. it's not going to make a difference. >> yeah, but it was a good opportunism given the reflexes begin to go slide at the end of a primary campaign. >> sort of a boxing match flailing and wailing away. >> this is the second time that santorum has at least approached don't vote for romney even in the general election. last week the exact one was we might as well stick with what we have rather than the etch etch-a-sketch candidate in the future. is it possible those could have legs in the election after rick santorum doesn't have any? >> it's a bank shot. it's not that people will care or remember that he attacked mitt romney for being too conservative months before the election. what is happening here because of the whole contours of the republican race, rick santorum and newt gringrich attacking romney from the right, he has moved to the right to pander to

the conservative part of the g.o.p. base, and that's leaving an impression with those independent voters who are watching and paying attention. many are not and won't pay attention close to nevada. but look at mitt romney a among independent voters it has plunged. it won't hurt romney as much as his own flip flops and statements. >> can we enjoy the presidential campaign while reading your book "showdown." >> i'm glad you asked. it's a pre-campaign book. it talks about how obama created a vision and a values contract contrast with republicans ready made for the 2010 election.

i think if you want to know how obama is looking here, my book gives you pretty good insight into that. >> thank you, a pleasure to talk to you, my old friend. >> it's great to see you again keith. >> take care, dave. a santorum ad that uses some of the same video as a commercial for the novel of apocalyptic horror. [ dennis ] switch to allstate. their claim service is so good now it's guaranteed. [ foreman ] so i can trust 'em. unlike randy. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. attack on women that perhaps the majority of the population woke up? >> idaho is

not known as approaching act i.v. you had hundreds of women show up, thousands signed petitions. they made their voices heard. what happens is that now, the legislators are running scared. very similar laws have passed quietly in other states for the past 10 years, really in the past two years have intensified. pennsylvania a similar law was shelved, idaho this proved to be political poison. women are paying attention and having their voices heard. >> thanks for coming in. >> the aclu considers a demand that to get a job you have to let an employer open your private mail, the senate wants to make it illegal to hand over a account.

>> a tonight farewell to one of the largest of lives individuals individuals, t still the scary music sound track industry will be alive and well. the future is grim. be afraid, very afraid. that's the message that

republicans are going for in two recently released advertised videos. welcome to obamaville. >> small businesses are struggling, and families are worried about their jobs and their future. the wait to see a doctor is ever increasing. gas prices through the roof. >> birds calling reminiscent of a hitchcock classic. >> that's the end of the world. a fuzzy connection is illustrated between the president and ahmadinejad. showing the constant back and forth between america and iran if obama is re-elected. former presidential candidate herman cain released his video. >> this is small business. this is small business under the current tax code?

>> any questions? any questions? >> oh, a bunny. cain said no rabbits were harmed in the video. in another film the same girl suffocated a gold fish. peta is not happening saying, it's no better than strapping a car to the roof of your car. ooh, snap. let's bring in craig. >> when i heard the peta statement, i thought, keith will catch that. that's the dog on the car. >> yes, it's peta versus non-peta in the presidential election. there are no facts in santorum's video per se. these visual tricks and horror movie tactics, and it looks like

"saw," saw 2". but some of this is from a 2007 novel called "thethe infection." is there a point that these videos begin to hurt the candidate. >> nobody is really going to see this ad except on youtube because even santorum's campaign doesn't have the money to run it anywhere serious. it's just a trailer for a slasher movie and i would want to see the whole film. >> what about the obama-alaska obama-ahmadinejad connection. >> that's the flash cuts in political ads that often get campaigns in trouble. i think of george bush in 2000 iraq, when they were going to put bureaucrats on the scene they quickly cut in huge letters "rats." they actually did a poll in that ad but always denied that it was on purpose. then going back even further

nixon against mcgovern. even further back one with wilke wilkey when they cut in to adolf hitler. it's a time-honored tradition but a lousy one. >> still a better plot line than jeff who lives at home. you can see what i saw over the weekend. santorum strategists admit that this would bring presidential hopefuls website. is there a great market for slasher presidential videos. >> this ad is not targeting who are called persuadables. this is for people who already believe he's some sort of socialist dictator who is going to destroy the world in capitalism and life as we know it, armageddon and everything else. they're pitching to people who believe these things, getting them stirred up. i suppose they might get contributions but he's so far in the hole on money i can't

believe the youtube ad bringing in more money but to make more youtube. >> what the hell is herman cain doing, and is there not child abuse involved in with this little girl with rabbits, and i can't tell. >> every time they use those ads saying any questions? i want to say lots of questions. what the heck was that? but what he also is doing i think is again pitching to people who want to hear what they want to hear, and believe that the stimulus program is destroying the country rabbits and gold fish and everything else, again, to get money for thinks website. a lot of these candidates, once they go away, their campaigns don't go away, but more importantly their debt doesn't go away. they keep raising money long after they gotten out of the races. that's what cain is up to.

>> except the dead rabbits society in new york has been out of business for 150 years. craig crawford, always a plush. thank you. >> good to be here. >> in memory of the man who gave me my first break at the age of 15, bert sugar next.

>> finally tonight. this is the number one story as bert sugar might have told it to you. it goes like this. there is this young advertising executive climbing his way up the ladder in the 1960s. he works longer, he's at every social event. 's lawyer. it's the only bar he ever did pass. is this the kind of palooka who can talk the buttons off your fly. he's selling the customers and remember the necessarily's makes the very best jingle? that's one of his. this nestles.

they did a lot of business. let me confide in you, my friend, what you see on "mad men" is like a sunday church ice cream social. the motto in the real world then was i'd rather have a good liver than have one, if you catch my drift. maybe it's a steinfelt if you've already forgotten our young hero has a boss who doesn't like him. rides him every time he can. sings nelste, every time he can. unfortunately for the boss in this equation, he's jeffries, and our kid is johnson and the wrong word is said, the kid takes the cigar out of his mouth. shoves his boss up against the office window.

there are two versions of what happened. the boss is bounced off the window, the glass is cracked and career is stop. the second version, boy wonder as career is over, they don't call the police only because the boss is more embarrassed than hurt. boy wonder takes his money says screw advertising, screw the law degree. i'm going to buy a boxing magazine. before it's all over, he's the best known media guy in boxing and even gets into the boxing hall of fame. not once did he ever sign a contract with the big networks for newspapers. he not only knocks the boss in the window but searched the spends the rest of his life doing what he loved. he was his own boss. do you have time for another story. the real punch line is that the ad exec who pushed his boss in

the window is him. it made bert sugar my hero. when he died at the age the 7 5, and left advertising, he had to do outside projects. and one of them stem from his perception in the early 1970s that the next big thing was the collecting of old baseball cards. in retrospect it's obvious but then the multi-million dollar card cost $11,000. and the family of the guide who spent the $11,000 tried to have him committed. but bert saw something that the rest of us did not. he decided to create a book to identify what the cards were and how much they were worth. it turned out to be the single biggest things that launched a billion dollar industry, but to compile it he needed help, cheap help. mike aaronstein said, bert, i got just the kid for you. which is how i met bert randolph sugar in 1974.

when i was 15 years old. how sizing me up in my parent's living room, smoking his ever-present cigar talking to me like i was not just another adult but another character, he decide i could do it. the sports collector's bible. did i the grunt work. i did the checklists and through in notes here and there. he gave me a title as editor. he gave me $250--i think. he gave me credibility. i worked on a book in high school. and a hit. one so popular he put out three volumes of this. he moved on. trivia books harry houdini book, he moved up. he had the far more famous ring magazine. then he took over boxing illustrated again. just last year he bought "ring" again. bert sugar devoted himself to

the business of creating bert sugar. to the ever present cigar he added the ever present hat and wardrobe which he described as the salvation army threw up on me. and mostly he added the being there. every big boxing match every sports news conference, every sports confirmation, children's party, everybody knew him. everybody. he became the boxing expert, and that was almost a shame because boxing represented only a fifth of his interests and a tenth of his stories. remind me to tell you about the day he ordered one case of 3-d baseball cards and the cases started arriving at his house like enchanted mops in fantasia filling up his garage and basement. then when they ended up being

worth $250 a set he howled in laughter saying, of course they did. if i held on to them, they wouldn't have been worth $.10. i think i saw bert at least once often dozens of times in the last 38 years and it was always the same. he would accept none of my gratitude but if there was anybody nearby he would express all of his pride. 37 years ago i was unemployed. zoom zooms is my office, you'll get a nice lunch and worry less. when asked what he was doing as a german fast-food restaurant as his office. i'm plotting there, he said. you'll be fine. just remember me when you make it big. i always have, bert. and i always will. because i've never met anybody else like bert randolph sugar, and frankly, i don't need to. i was fortunate enough and privileged enough to get to know