Fsu's Kidney Donor `Goes Hollywood'

Daniel Huffman can show Florida State football players something about going Hollywood.

Three years ago he gave up high-school football to donate a kidney to his grandmother. That story is the subject of the movie "Give of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story," which will make its debut on Showtime on Nov. 21.

"It's almost surreal to think about it," said Huffman, fighting back tears. "Small-town boy growing up in a little one-horse town in Illinois (Rossville). . . . Then to actually come down here and be a part of this program. It's one of those unbelievable stories."

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden learned of Huffman's kidney donation at the 1996 ESPN college football awards show, where he was seated directly in front of Huffman. When Bowden found out Huffman was a lifelong Seminoles fan, he immediately awarded him a scholarship.

Huffman worked with Florida State's trainers the first two seasons. This year, he is working in the sports information office.

Huffman's grandmother, Shirlee Allison, celebrated her 64th birthday Tuesday.

"I would never have lived to see it without Daniel doing this for me," said Allison, who has diabetes. "I can never repay him."

Allison, who will be played in the movie by Debbie Reynolds, raised Huffman after his mother left the family when he was 4.

COMEBACKS OR NOT?

-- Michael Jordan was at a Chicago Bulls practice, trying to boost his former teammates' spirits. He went one-on-one against a player 15 years his junior, Corey Benjamin, the Bulls' first-round pick in 1998.

"Halfcourt and I'm wore out," Jordan said after beating Benjamin 11-9. "The good thing about it, he's wore out more than I am."

-- Magic Johnson plans to return to Stockholm, Sweden, in January to play at least five games for the Swedish club, Magic M7.

FAMILY GAME PLAN

The NBA is more expensive than ever - led by the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA's average ticket price for the 1999-2000 season jumped 13.8 percent to $48.37, according to a survey conducted by Team Market Report.

The publication calculates the Fan Cost Index - the price of four average-price tickets, parking, two programs, two small beers, four small soft drinks, four hot dogs and two caps. That averages $266.61, an 11 percent increase over last season.

WELCOME!

Kenny Brack was welcomed to Bobby Rahal's CART racing team by David Letterman, a chorus line, Don Rickles and a musical number by Paul Shafer's band - "We Love Kenny Brack." The videotaped interlude accompanied the announcement at a news conference in Hilliard, Ohio, that Brack was joining Bobby Rahal's team. Letterman is a co-owner of Team Rahal.

FAMILY NOTES

-- Michelle Smith de Bruin, Ireland's triple Olympic gold medalist whose swimming career was ended by a doping ban, gave birth Tuesday to a girl, Emma, at Kilkenny General Hospital in Ireland. Dutch husband Erik de Bruin was at her side.

-- Nick Faldo, former British Open and U.S. Masters champion, is getting married again. The father of three is engaged to Valerie Bercher, 26, a Swiss public relations consultant. Faldo, 42, said he proposed during a holiday in Paris last month. They plan to marry in the summer of 2001.

"This one's going to last," said Faldo, who has been married twice.