Friends of Andrew Martin, a professional wrestler known in the ring as "Test," are in shock today, trying to come to terms with how a bigger-than-life man who loved to ride his Harley to the beach and body slam opponents ended up dead in his Harbour Island home. A cause of death won't be known for weeks, said Dick Bailey, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office, which performed Martin's autopsy over the weekend. The report is awaiting the results of toxicology tests that take that long to complete. Tampa police do not suspect foul play. ...more

March 16, 2009

On this, my Day of Days, I ask myself, What is the importance of a birthday? ...more

January 5, 2009

I was 25 feet from Evil Knievel. I almost couldn't believe it. However, due to years of battering, his body had deteriorated and he couldn't come out of his room. His wife, Krystal, signed for a massage chair, and we maneuvered it up an elevator and down narrow hallways in a condominium off Old Tampa Bay. I had been following this American icon for years since his disastrous crash landing at Caesars Palace. I'd seen the movie with George Hamilton portraying Evil and heard him admonish the Easy Rider types who smoked dope and disdained America. His white jump suit with red and blue trim said it all. ...more

January 18, 2008