Columns

The Super Bowl is one of the great financial bonanzas of modern times. From the players to the networks to the hotels, everybody involved with it makes a killing.

The former congresswoman from New Orleans and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican died Saturday morning. She was 97. NPR's Linda Wertheimer traces her life and accomplishments, along with her personal legacy.

Commentator Frank Deford says our educational system should care more about encouraging good black students instead of using good black athletes.

Commentator Frank Deford has cooked up a plan that invokes Tinker Bell for baseball's annual All-Star Game.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon argues that it's time to retire the phrase "this wouldn't be a scandal in Europe" when referring to American politicians embroiled in sex scandals. From former President Bill Clinton to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, such scandals no longer seem to end careers.

After a rough loss at Wimbledon last week, many fans are wondering if this is the end for the Swiss tennis star.

Whether it's logs of phone calls or GPS data, commentator Geoff Nunberg says it still says a lot about who you are: "Tell me where you've been and who you've been talking to, and I'll tell you about your politics, your health, your sexual orientation, your finances," he says.

In baseball, golf and tennis in particular, we are being slowly lulled to sleep before every pitch, every shot. Hurry up already, says commentator Frank Deford.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will be on the sidelines of the Super Bowl this weekend, after suffering a concussion midway through the season. Now he's counseling teammate Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who replaced him. "The good ones stay ready," he says.

No matter who is playing, the art of basketball is a paradox for fans. "In basketball, as in life, we may dutifully celebrate the aggregate, but we're always spellbound by the exceptional," says Frank Deford.