Funny you should mention that someone else mentioned Huck and McGwire in the same breath. The sportscaster who made that comparison probably never read AHF beyond what he had to in school and was instead making a complex iconographic reference (Lewis Lapham calls them "decals") without realizing it: The National Pastime innocence+lost youth Huck as the New Sultan of Swat never mind that Huck has a pitcher's, not a batter's, temperament if you think about it. Now Tom Sawyer, he could probably hit. He would probably charge $1,000 to sign a baseball, too All in all, Sammy Sosa is probably closer to Huck in spirit than anyone else out there. Kathy O'Connell Hartford Advocate