The Beat

Matthew McConaughey and Barry Bonds have much in common. Both are now known for a Failure to Launch-- McConaughey stars in the film, while Bonds (page 54) has just five home runs--and they may be among the very few people rooting for the embattled slugger to break Hank Aaron 's home run record. On May 10 McConaughey put down his bongos long enough to pound out a 380-word e-mail to his hometown newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman , defending Bonds. (The paper published it the next day.) McConaughey said fans should cheer on the slugger as he chases Aaron : "[Steroids] or not, this man has more than the ability, but the talent, to be the greatest home run hitter in baseball history, and I think he is."

? And now, some news that the ultraprivate Yankee Clipper would surely disapprove of. At the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York City this weekend bidders can make offers on items from the Joe DiMaggio Collection, which includes more than 1,000 relics from the Hall of Fame outfielder's life and career. Among them: the marriage certificate from his 1954 union with Marilyn Monroe (above), photographs from the couple's honeymoon and receipts for roses DiMaggio purchased for his bride. There are also letters documenting the highs and lows of their stormy relationship (one from Monroe reads, "I love you 'til my heart could burst....") and a copy of the couple's divorce summons. The collection is expected to fetch more than $3 million.

? His team's play didn't turn Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops 's stomach last season (the Sooners went a disappointing 7-4), so it shouldn't be too surprising that he held his lunch even while corkscrewing at 700 mph in an F/A-18 Hornet jet. To promote an air show in Texas last week, Stoops joined former American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson for an hourlong joyride in one of the jets flown by the Blue Angels , the Navy's precision flight team. At one point Stoops challenged his pilot, Lieut. Kevin Davis, to make him black out with a tight turn. According to Davis, a turn that pulled 7.8 G's did the trick--Stoops momentarily lost consciousness. "I wanted to see what it would take," Stoops said.

? O.J. Simpson is trying to make a few bucks by channeling his inner Ashton Kutcher . Simpson , who has yet to pay off any of the $33.5 million in damages he owes the families of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman after losing a 1995 civil suit, has reportedly filmed a show called Juiced, a Punk'd-like hidden camera show he hopes to sell on pay-per-view and DVD. In the hourlong program O.J. dresses up like an Elvis impersonator and as an elderly bingo-game organizer. He also visits a used-car lot and tries to sell the white Ford Bronco that carried him on his slow-speed police chase through Los Angeles in 1994. "[The car] was good for me," he tells a prospective buyer. "It helped me get away."