My Little Red Book

Shelby Coffey: Newseum trustee and senior fellow at the Freedom Forum; also boxing historian, boxer and weightlifter.

Jack Kent Cooke: The late owner of the Washington Redskins, who bought the team from the estate of George Preston Marshall. Cooke ran the franchise with Edward Bennett Williams for more than a decade until 1980 when Williams left to operate the Baltimore Orioles. From 1980 until his death in 1997, Cooke guided and dominated the Redskins, giving GM Bobby Beathard the green light to hire Joe Gibbs in 1981 and winning three Super Bowls. Colorful and irascible, he was a careful reader of newspapers -- his phone calls to this office usually one-sided and punctuated with the most pointed language, ending with his bellowing into the phone: "atta boy."

Lefty Driesell: Basketball coach who took Maryland (1969-86) into the big time, increasing the visibility and popularity of college basketball in the area. When critics claimed he won by recruiting alone, Lefty would tower over you and exclaim: "I can coach." Lefty was right, too. Left College Park in the aftermath of the death of Len Bias.

Donald Dell: Tennis impresario who has run the men's professional tournament in Washington for 40 years. Has also represented many of the top tennis players in the world, was a Davis Cup captain and started sports agency ProServ in 1970, which begot SFX. Dell once partnered with David Falk, another ultra-successful Washington sports agent, the two splitting years ago with some acrimony but remaining friends with me. Is something wrong with me? Did I break them up?

Leonard Downie: Executive editor of The Post from 1991 to September 2008. I should have listened more closely to "Seinfeld" lawyer Jackie Chiles, who advised me often "do not take Len Downie's calls" after 10 p.m.

John Feinstein: Can you believe this guy is the best-selling sports author of all time? But he blew a huge chunk of money in an ill-fated attempt at opening a restaurant in Potomac. However, I do not believe he's involved with Bernie Madoff, despite Madoff wearing a baseball hat on his daily walk through the media with the name ("Doc's") of Feinstein's restaurant that never was.

Joe Goldstein: New York publicist who has handled most of the major independent sports events in the United States over the past six decades, including Evel Knievel's unsuccessful motorcycle leap across the Snake River Canyon in 1974. Goldstein reads six print newspapers a day -- the last American reading more than one.

Donald E. Graham: Known in my circles for his one year (1974) as sports editor of The Post and being the only CEO of a major U.S. company (Washington Post Co.) to own a Michael Ruffin (Wizards reserve, 2004-07) jersey.

Joe Gibbs: Winner of three Super Bowls as coach of the Redskins in Tour I (1981-1992) and two playoff appearances (2005 and 2007) in Tour II. Owns Joe Gibbs Racing, a successful NASCAR racing conglomerate. I liked the story he told of releasing a very large defensive lineman one year and watching that player tear up his office. "If I'd have known he was going to do that, I wouldn't have cut him," Gibbs said.

Ernie Grunfeld: Wizards president who helped the team to four straight playoff appearances. He's in the midst of a "challenging" season.

Harry R. Huang: Red Auerbach's ophthalmologist.

Tracee Hamilton: Deputy sports editor of The Post who, with colleague Bonnie Berkowitz, were office Jayhawks not to be disturbed before, during and after Kansas games.