Mark at The Ark
The Natural, Azalea, Stevie Wonder, Jason Collins, Stan Signed
Welcome to my 188th weekly newsletter. This issue includes eleven sets of twins who have played in the NBA, a baseball book that became a famous film, an Ann Arbor Asian restaurant that is out of sight, the youngest artist ever to top the charts, the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues, and a previous Pistons coach who shared my first name. I hope you like the picks and pics.
We saw Mark Erelli at The Ark in Ann Arbor last Wednesday. We have seen him many times, and he is always entertaining. It was a pleasure talking with him after the show.
I enjoyed this podcast interview with Bruce Hornsby.
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Fave Five 188: Mark at The Ark
Spectacular Story (The Natural), Subterranean Sushi (Azalea), Saginaw Songwriter (Stevie Wonder), Stanford Standout (Jason Collins), and Stan Signed.
Fave Five List: Twins Who Played in the NBA
From this list, Ausar Thompson (Detroit) and Julian Champagnie (San Antonio) are both still active in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. But sadly, Jason Collins died on Tuesday.
Amen & Ausar Thompson: Amen (Houston Rockets) and Ausar (Detroit Pistons) were both top-five picks in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Caleb & Cody Martin: The twins both played for the Charlotte Hornets before splitting to teams like the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns.
Brook & Robin Lopez: Known for their long careers and being drafted in 2008, they are staples of NBA twin trivia.
Marcus & Markieff Morris: Famous for having played together on the Phoenix Suns, where they became the first twin brothers to start on the same team.
Justin & Julian Champagnie: Both have played in the league, with experience across teams like the Raptors, Celtics, 76ers, and Spurs.
(the late) Dick & Tom Van Arsdale: Played in the 1960s and 70s, both having long, successful NBA careers.
Horace & Harvey Grant: Known for their time in the league during the 80s and 90s.
(the late) Jason & Jarron Collins: Played in the early 2000s, with both having solid careers in the frontcourt.
Carl & Charles Thomas: Playing briefly in the early 1990s, Carl played for four teams over three seasons, while Charles appeared in 36 games for the Detroit Pistons.
Stephen & Joey Graham: Drafted in the mid-2000s, Joey was a first-round pick who played six seasons primarily for the Raptors and Nuggets. Stephen was a journeyman who played for seven different teams.
Keegan & Kris Murray: Keegan (Kings) and Kris (Trail Blazers) were first-round picks in consecutive drafts (2022 and 2023).
Book Best Bet
The Natural by Bernard Malamud
I read this book (published in 1952) well before it was made into a movie in 1984 starring starring Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth, Joe Don Baker, and Darren McGavin. The book and the movie have very different endings. In a review of the film, John Simon contrasted Malamud's story about the "failure of American innocence" with Levinson's "fable of success ... [and] the ultimate triumph of semi-doltish purity," declaring "you have, not Malamud's novel, but a sorry illustration of its theme." Nonetheless, I liked both the book and the movie.
From Amazon: The Natural, Bernard Malamud's first novel, published in 1952, is also the first—and some would say still the best—novel ever written about baseball.
In it Malamud, usually appreciated for his unerring portrayals of postwar Jewish life, took on very different material—the story of a superbly gifted "natural" at play in the fields of the old daylight baseball era—and invested it with the hardscrabble poetry, at once grand and altogether believable, that runs through all his best work. Four decades later, Alfred Kazin's comment still holds true: "Malamud has done something which—now that he has done it!—looks as if we have been waiting for it all our lives. He has really raised the whole passion and craziness and fanaticism of baseball as a popular spectacle to its ordained place in mythology."
Restaurant Recommendation
Azalea 312 S. Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
The restaurant entrance is barely noticeable, wedged in between Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub on the left and Blue LLama Jazz Club and Restaurant on the right. It’s just two doors down from The Ark, where we were going to see Mark Erelli after dinner. Upon entering, we immediately descended 21 steps to the basement setting, where we were seated in a large room subdivided by curtains. We were one of only three parties, surprisingly few for a Saturday at 6:15 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
Also surprising was the 45-minute wait for our food to arrive. Barb’s order, shown below, was a winner. Mine, not so much, and it came out quite a bit later than hers. This location has changed names and owners several times over the years. The underground location does not allow passersby on Main Street to see what’s going on inside, and thus attracts almost no attention and perhaps limits its business.
Fire Cracker Roll: Crab, shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, eel sauce, ponzu sauce, and spicy mayo
This special roll looked and tasted great. It served as Barb’s entrée.
Marvelous Musician
Yesterday was Stevie’s 76th birthday. He was born 9 days after my sister Joan. I first heard his songs “A Place in the Sun” and “I Was Made to Love Her” in 1967. I remember him winning what seemed like all of the Grammys in the 1970s. Roger and I saw him perform in Nashville on December 1, 2007 at Bridgestone Arena.
From Wikipedia: Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music, he is one of the most successful songwriters and musicians in the history of music. Through his heavy use of electronic instruments and innovative sounds, he became a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including pop, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and rock.
Blind since shortly after his birth, Stevie was a child prodigy known as Little Stevie Wonder, leading him to sign with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of 11. In 1963, the single “Fingertips” was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when he was 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart.
Stevie has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. He was the first Motown artist and second African-American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red. Steve has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Rock Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, Wonder was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and in 2014, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I Was Made to Love Her
A Place in the Sun
Sir Duke
Master Blaster (Jammin’)
Happy Birthday
My Playlist
Sports Star
Jason passed way on Tuesday. He was a journeyman NBA player who had an outsized impact due to his willingness to come out as gay and to be an advocate and activist.
Jason Collins, first openly gay active player in NBA history, dead at 47 after cancer treatments
If the measure of a life is one’s impact on others, Collins succeeded in droves. He continued his advocacy long after 2013, becoming a public speaker and political activist. He was a balm in a world where homophobia and transphobia have risen. He was an example of the way that athletes can use their voice for the betterment of society. It didn’t matter how many career rebounds he had; he taught thousands of children that words are powerful. That one can find acceptance; belonging that he didn’t know was possible when he was growing up in Los Angeles.
He followed a strong moral compass, one that taught him to “be a good teammate,” he told The Athletic in 2023. “It all goes back to what my grandmother said: your reputation will go places you will never go. Try to have a positive effect on people so that when you leave their presence, they’re speaking kind words about you. Know that the world has enough negativity already. … Try to be as positive and to help somebody else as much as you can.”
From Wikipedia: Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California; died May 12, 2026 in Los Angeles) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, earning third-team All-American honors in 2001. Collins was selected by the Houston Rockets as the 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft. He went on to play for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets.
After the 2012–13 NBA season concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay. He became a free agent and did not play again until February 2014, when he signed with the Nets and became the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues. In 2014, Collins was featured on the cover of Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”. He died of glioblastoma on May 12, 2026, at the age of 47.
Picture Pun
I like the sound of this.
