More books on the way from Rodman
Oct. 14, 1996

Delacorte Press signed a two-book deal with NBA superstar Dennis Rodman. You may recall Delacorte's first book on Rodman, the No. 1 national bestseller "Bad As I Wanna Be" which held the No. 1 spot on The New York Times bestseller list for 8 weeks.

In his second book, "Rodman Rules," Rodman will share his wisdom on everything from dating to one-night stands to cross-dressing and (oh, yes) playing in the NBA.

The book will go on sale May 1, just in time for the playoffs. "Rodman Rules" will also contain personal anecdotes and never-before-published autobiographical information (can't imagine what's left).

The second title in the two-book deal will be a unique Christmas gift book with never-before-seen full-color photos of Dennis. It will be available in bookstores across the country in time for the 1997 holiday season.

Packers' players act in 'Reggie's prayer'

Green Bay Packers defensive end Reggie White has produced a film called "Reggie's Prayer" about a football player who gives up playing to teach underprivileged children.

Besides producing the film, Reggie is also acting in the film. He plays the football player (a real acting stretch). The movie has had two screenings -- one in Green Bay and another in Milwaukee.

Reggie is looking for a company to distribute the movie around the country so everyone can see it at their local theater.

Reggie got coach Mike Holmgren to play a janitor and Brett Favre to play his assistant. Some of the folks that I talked to who saw the film say that Mike does a good acting job playing a janitor (he even dyed his hair black for the film).

Did you know that Reggie does some pretty good imitations of Elvis, Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali, Rodney Dangerfield,Clint Eastwood and something he calls a "guard dog."

Cowboys' coach turned country singer

Dallas Cowboys' special teams coach Joe Avezzano has recorded a country and rock version of "Boys Are Back In Town" for a CD titled "NFL Country" to be released in November. His love for country music started when he served as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee from 1977-79.

Avezzano has spent time with a lot of people involved with country and western music. His band, aptly named the "Joe Avezzano Band," performs at various charity functions around Dallas. Avezzano says that he takes what he is doing very seriously, but he doesn't take himself too seriously and says he tries to have fun and entertain the folks who come to watch him perform.

He also said that being part of the Cowboys gives him a lot of opportunities like singing with players Troy Aikman and Jay Novacek on a CD titled "Everyone Wants to be a Cowboy."

In addition, Avezzano hosted a music and interview show called "Cowboy Country Countdown" this past summer, which aired on a local station in Dallas. Asked how he has time to do everything, he said, "As far as I know I am only going this way one time so I try to take advantage of all the opportunities given to me."

Some of Joe's favorite country singers are Merle Haggard and Collin Raye.