Ed Pope Collection

An entry in The Sportswriter's Eye series, this is by a columnist (Miami Herald) and author (Football's Greatest Coaches) who has few illusions about his field, which he considers ""the kindergarten of literature,'' but he adds that people do care about sports, so his work is worthwhile. Pope's specialty is stories designed to bring a lump to the throat, like the one about a boy with cerebral palsy running in a mini-marathon, and Jim Burt dashing into the stands after the Giants' Super Bowl victory. But he has other pitches in his repertory, as evinced in his witty column from 1967, ``Super Scrooge I,'' a delicious blast at the hype surrounding Super Bowl I. Michener's introduction is surprisingly bland. (May)