People

PATRICK EWING HANGS IT UP

For decades Patrick Ewing has been one of the most successful stars of the NBA. Now, according to the Houston Chronicle and Ewing's publicist, he's ending his career. He played pro basketball for 17 seasons. His legacy is that of one of the greatest centers to have ever played the game. Ewing is now 40. He ends his career with some amazing achievements. He scored nearly 25,000 points and made nearly 12,000 rebounds. Ewing commented that his only real disappointment is having "never won a championship (in the pros)." Ewing will stay on in the game as an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. He will be working with legendary Michael Jordan, a player who often thwarted Ewing's plans to go to the final game. Several of Ewing's long-time friends and fellow players were on hand for his retirement announcement, including former Knicks forward Charles Oakley, Charlie Ward, Allan Houston, Alonzo Mourning and his old high school basketball coach.

CHRISTIAN AWARDS ANNOUNCE CO-HOST

Popular singer Collin Raye has been tapped to co-host this year's Christian Country Music Awards. The program, to be held on Nov. 5, will again be staged at the Ryman Auditorium. Assisting in the hosting duties will be Lisa Ryan. She is one of the anchors on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club." In addition to the Christian-themed awards, some mainstream artists will also be honored. The CCMA, on its Web site, lists many familiar names who are nominated in a variety of categories this time around: Alan Jackson, Martina McBride, Tommy Shane Steiner, Jeff Carson, Darryl Worley, Randy Travis, Larry Gatlin, Marty Raybon, Charlie Daniels and Merle Haggard.

PARKER AND BOYLE ARE TREND SETTERS

Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Lara Flynn Boyle share more than the fact that it takes three words to spell their names. Both are at the top of the list just released by Women's Wear Daily of women who most influence style in this country. The publication praises Parker for following her own drummer when it comes to fashion, not being slavish to any certain trend or designer. The star of "Sex and the City" is becoming known for her ability to move between high fashion and not-so-opulent apparel with ease. Boyle, according to the publication, is always a fashion plate. Whether on the set of "The Practice" or at a trendy restaurant, she seems to be one step ahead of the fashion curve. Her forte in fashion would seem to be pushing the envelope, but doing it tastefully.

BILLY BOB CONTINUES CHARITY WORK

Actor-turned-singer Billy Bob Thornton says that he is continuing his work for charity by scheduling a concert in Nashville in the coming weeks. He has been in Music City in recent weeks working on his latest album. Thornton has enlisted the help of Steve Wariner, K.T. Oslin and newcomer Brad Martin, in the event. The show, slated for Oct. 11, will raise money for Walden's Puddle Rehabilitation Center. That's a non-profit animal-care center just outside the Tennessee capital. The Nashville Sounds baseball team is also participating in the fundraising event. The soiree will be held at the team's ballpark, Greer Stadium. A silent auction will also be conducted prior to the concert.

SOPRANOS GET THEIR OWN COOKBOOK

An enterprising group of cooking experts has put out a special how-to book based on the kinds of foods that might be prepared on the TV show "The Sopranos." It's called, not surprisingly, "The Sopranos Family Cookbook." Written by Allen Ricker, Artie Bucco and Michele Sciolone, it's themed after the immensely popular HBO series that was created by David Chase. Most of the recipes are taken from Sciolone's collection of traditional Italian fare. There are 100 Avellinese-style recipes in the book. In keeping with the "family" theme, the cookbook also contains numerous photos of household items from Italy and a copy of AJ's essay on "Why I Like Food."

STARS COME OUT TO HONOR UNION

The musician's union in Nashville is about to celebrate its 100th birthday. To mark the occasion some of the real icons of country music will be gathering in an all-star benefit on Oct. 7 at the Grand Ole Opry House. According to CMT, among those tapped to participate: George Jones, Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Bobby Bare, Mandy Barnett, Vestal Goodman and the Happy Goodman Family, Ray Stevens, Boots Randolph and Brenda Lee. Trust me. I could have gone on for ten more lines. The cadre of stars who say they will be there reads like a "who's who" in country music. The Nashville Symphony Orchestra will also perform.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 417

In putting together today's column I suddenly realized how dependent I am on several "crutches" as reminders, including four different corkboards on the walls of the office. So, today's question: "How dependent are you on reminders, calendars, notes? Do you have a photographic mind for appointments or do you need some extra help in remembering things?" Put REMINDER in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 412 (SOAP)

Last week we wondered what was your favorite soap. Which single type or brand of soap would you take with you were it the only one you would be permitted to use for all your cleaning needs? We got a ton of mail. So, from a random sampling, here is how it turned out: Dove liquid was the hands-down winner. AlecC says that he likes some of the new antibiotic versions of products such as Dove and finds that they are also great hand soaps. He suggests -- as did the overwhelming number of respondents -- that taking along a container of a product of that type would serve all purposes. (The only shortfall here is that you can't use dishwashing liquid in an automatic dishwasher or you end up being part of an "I Love Lucy" skit). Also getting votes were old-fashioned Ivory soap. MaryMD says that she is old enough to remember a time when people used the same soap for everything, even to the point of "flaking" bar soap to use in laundry. TOMORROW: Plans for Ground Zero.