Agassi And Streisand: `An Instant Connection'

Andre Agassi says don't describe him and Barbra Streisand as an item; what he "loves about her" is her determination.

"We are simply people who enjoy being around each other and we've been around each other in all circumstances," said the Wimbledon champion.

Streisand and Agassi first were linked last September when she showed up at the U.S. Open and described him as the "Zen master of tennis."

"With some people, there's an instant connection," Agassi told the Daily Express. "You know, they know where you are coming from and everything seems easy. It was like that with Barbra the first time we were in each other's company."

Agassi said it took him "two weeks of constant tears" to recover from his split with girlfriend Wendy Stewart last December. He said Streisand stepped in to fill a supporting role.

"She gives, along with the friendship, the kind of support which pushes you to higher level," he said. "What I love is her determination. She has taught me many things."

SUSHI WITH SIR CHARLES

Beverly Pogue of SeaTac was having lunch in a small, crowded Japanese restaurant in downtown Seattle when a waitress approached her with a request: Since Pogue was alone at a table for four, would she mind if that tall man joined her?

Soon, another tall man was seated at their table. Suddenly, people began approaching to request autographs.

"Finally, my curiosity got the best of me," Pogue said, "and I leaned over to them and said, `I know you must be somebody very special, but would you mind telling me who you are?'

"The young lady said, `This is Charles Barkley.' . . . That didn't mean a thing to me," Pogue related. The other man said he was Frank Johnson, "No. 3 on the Phoenix Suns basketball team."

"I got into the action," said Pogue, "and got their autographs on my napkin, to save for my 2-year-old grandson, Cody."

Pogue, who describes herself as a "50-year-old, short, full-sized grandma" might not know how well those tall men executed the pick and roll against the Sonics that night, but she was impressed with their table manners.

"They spent an hour entertaining me . . . looked at my family pictures," she said, and "treated me with the greatest of respect.

"And Charles even paid for my lunch."