Magic Johnson

In case you missed it -- and what with the comeback of Magic Johnson, not to mention the ESPYs, we're sure you did -- U.S. equestrian team officials announced last week that two Olympic trials have been moved from this summer's Olympic site near Atlanta to Florida. Seems there's a problem with footing.And in case you missed this -- and what with Don Shula's plans to remain in South Florida, not to mention the ESPYs, we're sure you did -- horses at an equestrian event in Indio, Calif., were landing quite softly after their jumps.

MAGIC JOHNSON is smiling down at me from the cover of Time.He's happy. I'm happy. Everyone's happy. Magic Johnson is playing basketball again and it's clearly the feel-good story of the year.I take the magazine to the counter, and the clerk, looking at Magic's beaming countenance, smiles at me. I smile back at her. If we weren't complete strangers, we might hug. It's a Kodak moment."Isn't that great?" she says.I allow that it is.She smiles again. What could I do? I smile right back.On the Newsweek cover, Magic is also showing a mouthful of teeth (he does, after all, have the most famous smile in sports history)

Boxers or briefs?Pistachio or Rocky Road?Mantle or Mays?Magic or Michael?The debate over which player, Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan, is the greatest to lace up a pair of basketball sneakers has been refueled by the return of Johnson to the Los Angeles Lakers, and Turner commentators have taken lukewarm positions.Jordan's supporters, who are legion, point to his acrobatic brilliance, three championships won with a group of players perceived to be inferior and seven straight scoring titles as proof that he is the best player of all time.

LOS ANGELES -- Daddy has a job after all.Earvin Johnson III had told teachers his father was a has-been, but then he stayed up past bedtime Tuesday to see for himself and yesterday recanted it all at show and tell.He is 3 years old, impressionable and yesterday for the first time called his father "Magic."So, a new generation knows now what an old generation was talking about. Magic Johnson can still pass where he is not looking, can still shoot an archaic shot called the hook and can still dribble out a clock.

EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON wanted to return to the National Basketball Association as a player three years ago. He couldn't.It wasn't that his having the virus that causes AIDS had made him physically unable to play. But it was obvious that if he played, many of his opponents would not. They would be in constant fear that any accidental scratch that caused Mr. Johnson to bleed would put their own lives in danger. It didn't matter that medical experts said the possibility was remote. That's what they thought and they let Magic know it. Five weeks after announcing he was ending his retirement from the game, he announced he would stay retired.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- He still can play. Man, he still can play. Doesn't matter if he's HIV-positive. Doesn't matter if he's a power forward or point guard. Magic Johnson is still Magic Johnson.It was just like old times last night, when Johnson played in his first NBA game in more than four years. He ran the fast break. He threw no-look passes. He lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to another level.Johnson played 27 minutes, finishing with 19 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in the Lakers' 128-118 victory over Golden State.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- He wasn't introduced, because he didn't start. Magic Johnson was gone more than four years. The crowd could wait just a bit longer to welcome him back.Then, with 2:21 gone, he rose from the bench, peeled off his warm-ups and reported to the scorer's table. The fans at the Great Western Forum stood and roared.No longer was he Magic Johnson, retired victim of the AIDS virus. He was Magic Johnson, running to his position under the basket for a foul shot, lining up next to the Golden State Warriors' Joe Smith.

In a game often highlighted by play above the rim, Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton -- 6 feet 1, 175 pounds -- has spent an 11-year career playing below it. And that's not a problem for Stockton, who this week should become the NBA's all-time assist leader.Stockton, who yesterday was named NBA Player of the Week after averaging 16.5 points and 13.5 assists in Utah's four wins, has 9,911 career assists and needs 11 to claim the mark. He most likely will get the record tomorrow night when the Jazz plays host to the Denver Nuggets.

Simon Says:Q: How do you get a Baltimore driver to speed up?A: Try to pass him.*In the first six months of 1994, the homicide rate in Baltimore fell 18 percent, due in part, police say, to one of the coldest winters in history. Obvious crime solution: Dome the city and refrigerate the heck out of it.*People who dress up their pets in little "outfits" are despicable.*"Connections" on The Learning Channel (no relation to "The Love Connection") should be required viewing.*The Clintons do not need a privately solicited defense fund.

In a surprising move, the Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Randy Pfund last night and replaced him with former superstar Magic Johnson. He will assume his duties Sunday. Johnson, 34, who led the Lakers to five NBA championships in his 12 seasons with the team, retired in November 1991 after learning he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS. After his retirement, he made a brief comeback, including playing for the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, before retiring again shortly before the 1992-93 season.