Goldman Seeking to Squeeze O.J.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

It's been 11 years since O.J. Simpson was acquitted of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, and nine years since a civil jury found him liable for their deaths. The Goldman family still hasn't seen any money, though. They think now they have come up with a creative way to change that.

Goldman's father, Fred, filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court last week seeking Simpson's publicity rights. Every time O.J.'s image, signature or name earns money, it would transfer to the Goldman family. That includes residuals from such O.J. projects as the short-lived reality show "Juiced."

Simpson lives in Florida, where his home and NFL pension are untouchable. His lawyers have maintained there is no money. But Fred Goldman said the amount his family might receive is less important than the opportunity to hurt the man he believes killed his son -- a man whose name he wants to profit from but still refuses to say.

"It's about trying to get some semblance of justice, some punishment," he said. "If this renders him some pain, that's great. That's just great."

-- Sonya Geis

The Latest Texas Delight? Fried Cola

From the state fair that brought you such delicacies as fried Twinkies comes the latest culinary innovation: fried Coca-Cola.

The State Fair of Texas, held each October in Dallas, announced last week its annual awards for the tastiest and most creative new fried concoctions. Judges chose Shirley London's Fried Praline Perfection as the tastiest of six finalists. Fried Coke, the brainchild of Abel Gonzalez Jr., took home the most-creative award. "This is like winning the Oscars, only better," said London, a Dallasite who has always wanted to win a cooking contest.

The winners will be featured in advertisements for the fair, which also boasts a butter sculpture, this year of Marilyn Monroe, said Sue Gooding, a state fair spokeswoman.

Gonzalez, whose fried sandwiches won the tastiest-dish award last year, said that fried Coke is generating even more buzz. The delicacy was harder to develop than people imagine. "You can't just take Coke and stick it in a fryer and hope for magic," said Gonzalez, also of Dallas. The dessert is made from a Coke-flavored dough, which is lightly fried and then topped with a Coke-based syrup, whipped cream and a cherry. Gonzalez said the recipe took two years to perfect, which goes to show, if at first you don't succeed, fry, fry again.

-- Matthew C. Wright

The Correct Tip on $26 Is $10,000

All in all, it was a good night tending bar in Hutchinson, Kan., for Cindy Kienow.

Her best customer was there, and it wasn't unusual for him to leave a 50 percent tip on a $30 tab. But he floored her with the figure he wrote on his latest credit card receipt -- for a $26 bill -- at Applebee's: $10,000.

"I asked him if he was serious and he said, yes, that it wasn't a mistake, that he wanted me to have it," Kienow, whose story quickly ricocheted around the world, told CNN. "And I kind of went into shock."

Kienow, 35, has told all questioners that she talked about ordinary events with the man, whom she has declined to describe or identify. She told one interviewer, "I think he just appreciated the fact that I took the time to talk with him."

Last week, the restaurant owner gave her a check for $6,300, after making sure the credit card payment cleared and deducting taxes. The customer, she said, suggested she get something nice for herself.

Kienow's list includes helping her father pay for knee surgery, having fun in Las Vegas and buying a Jeep.

-- Peter Slevin

Walking Horse Contest Kicked Aside

Cheating scandals have in recent years cast a cloud of suspicion over track stars, baseball sluggers and bicycle racers.

Now they've reached into the small world of Tennessee Walking Horses.

For the first time in 68 years, there will be no World Grand Champion.

The competition of the high-stepping horses had to be canceled last weekend after all but three horses in the event, which draws thousands annually to Shelbyville, Tenn., were disqualified over suspicions that the animals may have been harmed to exaggerate their signature high gait, or "The Big Lick," as it is called. The unlawful method is known as soring and consists of damaging or irritating the animal's legs in order to have them step that way.

Rick Abee, a trainer from North Carolina, had planned on showing a horse -- one of the three not disqualified. "You work a lifetime to get the opportunity to get in a show like that," he said. "It's just a misfortune for everybody."

-- Catharine Skipp