shake that cat

John Paul II, descending, pies Anne Rice, ascending

The sports trading card generating the most buzz among collectors right now doesn't feature a baseball, basketball or football player. This captivating athlete was a soccer goalie who also liked skiing, swimming, hiking and kayaking.

His name: Pope John Paul II.

A one-of-a-kind card featuring the pontiff's autograph was released earlier this year by Topps, the best known maker of baseball cards. When the pope died last month, collectors wondered whether anyone had found the card and what it might fetch in a marketplace suddenly sizzling for all things John Paul.

(SI.com, "Pope's baseball card hits eBay," May 9, 2005)

Vampires are usually her passion, but Anne Rice is getting biblical in her next book, due in November from publisher Random House. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt will tell the story of the early years of Jesus in his own words. "For over 10 years I've wanted to do this book," Rice writes. "For five years, I've been obsessed with how to do it, and for the last three years I've been consumed with nothing else."

(International Herald Tribune, "People: Prince Harry, Anne Rice, Jerry Lewis," May 9, 2005)