jerry, we had this extraordinary moment with muhammad ali. i had dinner with him in l.a.spent a large portion telling me this tale of how muhammad ali, you had met him and his wife about three months before and he was watching the springer show every single day. and i got to be honest with you, i didn't know you that well and i thought, this is complete nonsense, i don't believe a word of it. we walked back to the hotel and to the front area where the cars come in. a limo sweeps up and out steps muhammad ali. and i went, well, now, we're going to find out. and his wife sees you and says, muhammad, it's jerry. he's still watching the show. and in that moment, i died. what a moment. >> the timing -- the greatest is watching the show. even if nobody else is watching, i know muhammad is watching, so i'm doing the show. >> i want to leave with you doing your extraordinary party piece. you claim you can name every american president in order in one minute. we have one minute left. jerry springer, the floor is yours. >> george washington, adams, jefferson, madison, monroe, adams

we saw muhammad ali. you spent a large portion of this dinner about this tale about muhammad ali.about three months before, and he was watching the springer show every single day. i thought, this is complete nonsense. i don't believe a word. we walk back to the hotel. we walk to the front area. a limo speeds up. out stepped mohammuhammad ali. i thought now we're going to find out. his wife sees you and goes, oh, it's jerry springer, again! muhammad, he's still watching the show, jerry! i never questioned you again. >> the greatest is watching the show, sure. even if no one else watched, i know muhammad ali is watching, so i'm doing the show. >> the great one. and with you doing your extraordinary thing, which is you claim you can maname every american president in one minute, coincidently, we have one minute left. the floor is yours. >> george washington, john adams, madison, monroe, quincy adams, van buren, polk, franklin, pierce, buchanan, johnson,

. >>> when we tell that you precious reynolds is a fighter, we mean the 8-year-old is like the muhammad aliof fighters. the northern california girl is only the third person in the u.s. known to survive rabies without a vaccine. doctors expected her to die but precious just wasn't ready to go. >> precious reynolds of willow creek and humbolt county seems like your typical 8-year-old girl from the outside. she is active in sports. loves playing with her friends and hanging out with her dog copper. but just last month, it all came to a stop. >> she got up and went to go into the bathroom, and her legs just went out on her. >> after being scratched by a feral cat at her elementary school, precious became infected with rabies. >> at that time i told my husband, i said this is no flu. there is something wrong. i said we are going back to the emergency room. >> precious came to us in a very critical ill condition. she was not breathing on her own. she had a breathing tube in place. >> with only two to nine cases of rabies reported in the u.s. each year, the rare disease comes with a high mortalit

world and shocked roger federer, jo-wilfried tsonga, a guy more famous for physically resembling muhammad alimeasure sports years like dog years. we think these guys are aging faster than the eye can see. the bottom line is that roger federer had a bad day. the guy is 29 years old. he's not done yet. he'll have another grand slam under his belt pretty soon. let's give a hold on the legacy being over talk and wait for him to bounce back. he's one of the best ever. >> let's talk about a story you did on a 7-footer and retired basketball star, mark eaton. >> yes. as basketball fans, as sports fans we don't often think about these guys that are 7 feet tall. endocrinologists will tell you, extremely tall for the growth spectrum and how basketball seems to be this medieval sort of trait they're brought into. we sort of wonder what happens when the sport they've been trained to do for their entire life goes away? i spent time serving as a physical measuring stick for people to see how tall mark eaton was? >> how tall are you? because you look like his kid. >> exactly. i look like his child. i'm 5'10

. >> reporter: the changing times and the calendar have turned muhammad ali from a fiery unconventionalaction into a soft endearing figure. >> reporter: charles not only had a way with words. he had a way with the newsmakers in the world of sports. >> george, do you mind the portrayal that you're a demanding guy? >> you know me, i'm never going to be any different. >> you look happy, confident, like i haven't seen you in a long time. what's the secret? >> hey, you know, this is my job. this is where i'm most comfortable at. >> reporter: those closest to nick charles say the guy that you saw on television was not unlike the friend and colleague they knew away from the studio. >> nobody had a better laugh than nick. he just would light up a room with his laugh. >> one more. >> just shook the room. and you knew that nick was selling a story or listening to one and enjoying himself. he lived life to the fullest. he was -- it was something very, very special. >> he could, you know, meet you or i and or just some guy that was walking up on the street and he would make you feel as though he ha

. >> muhammad ali. >> and now it

. >> muhammad ali. >> and now it comes time to speak about yourself and now your epithet, he was just enough to understand is it a up for his convictions no matter what problems his actions may have caused him, he was just enough to perform a miracle to wake up to escape the universal prison of sleep to regain his humanity in living hell. he was just enough. just enough. >> just enough. >> so when people hear this, just enough, i'm sure they're going to be thinking to themselves, well, just enough to get off or just enough to escape or survive? why not to make something bolder? >> universally, we are all just enough. that's what that means. we are all universally just enough. we are born with everything that we need to wake up and to become conscious. that is just enough. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org. .. we are back live now with more from the 2011 "chicago tribune" printers row literary festival. up next carrie pitzulo who insist that over the years, "playboy" magazine has advanced the cause of women's rights more than many people realize. >> welcome

books as varied as $40 volumes on record covers and t-shirts to a $15,000 photographic history of muhammad aliks for all kinds of people. with a lot of money and with no money. >> reporter: some of taschen's most noticeable books are for collectors who like something racy. whatever the netish, it seems taschen has a title for it. >> there's been that portion of your work that's, well, i guess some people would say is bordering on pornography. >> first of all i never did know what the difference is between pornography and erotic. sex is just a vital, important, driving force for all mankind. it was even in the simpsons' episode at the time. >> reporter: at a passionate collector himself, taschen's ultimate collectible may be his home in los angeles. once described as the most modern house in the world. >> i was so surprised that this iconic thing here was available. i could not believe my eyes and my ears. >> reporter: taschen bought the flying saucer-shaped house known as the chemisphere in 1977. designed by architect john lockner it has been an l.a. landmark since the 1960s. >> this house cap

think of muhammad ali, and artest isn't the first basketball player to do it. you remember lou alsidore is kareem abdul-jabbar. >>> michelle obama and the girls landed in botswana today. she visited and helped spruce up an aids clinic. she spoke with cnn about her unexpected meeting a couple of days ago with nelson mandela. >> the one thing i told him, you know, i wanted to make sure he understood how important his leadership and sacrifice has been to who i've become, to who my husband has become, and in short i just said thank you. it's really hard to know what to say to such an icon. >> not letting the first lady off the political hook, we also did ask her about how much time she spends thinking or talking about her husband's run for re-election next year. here was her answer. >> we really don't talk about the election. we're really doing the work, and that's an important and useful distraction in the midst of it. there's a lot on the president of united states' plates that keeps him focused on what needs to be done. so you just keep doing what you believe is

there is not an abundance of tall n various weight classes like there used to be, joe frazer, muhammad aliampion, fight the best, pound for pound. because these guys today, they don't necessarily fight the best fighters, pound for pound. >> got ask, because we sought clip at the beginning from "the fighter". dickey he can lund, did he he knock you out or you slip? >> i slippeded. i slipped. >> depends how ask. >> i slipped. >> never laid a glove own, right? >> dick was to you. dickey was tough. >> did you enjoy making that movie, was it fun? >> so surreal, deja vu. i loved it and christian bale, a amazing, amazing. >> champ, it's great to have you. >>> it is so nice to might. >> congratulations on the book. sugar ray leonard. the book is "the big fight, my life in and out of the ring." thank you so much for being here. >> thanks. >>> up next, former rnc chairman michael steele and later, the great larry king joins us on this set. we will be right back. too much on your plate? no matter when you get around to booking, hotels.com will have a great last minute deal waiting for you. like at th