\ Running Reed

After Reed Johnson was thrown out stealing to end the eighth inning with Derrek Lee standing at the plate, Lee said: "I told Reed, 'If you're going to steal the next time I'm 4-for-4, you better make it.'"

-- Rick Morrissey

\ Gumming up works

"I think I ate too much gum, and the gum has a lot of sugar. I keep telling my daughter not to eat a lot of gum and I'm not a good example. I think my daughters will be all over me at the house. I accept it." Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano on losing a tooth and then spitting it out while warming up during a game Aug. 21.

-- Dave van Dyck

\ Looking up

In an interview at the Olympics, Lemont cyclist Christian VandeVelde let me know calmly but firmly he was upset by a story I had written suggesting that, given the climate of suspicion in the sport, his surprising fourth-place performance at the Tour de France would not go unquestioned. Having made his point, VandeVelde moved on and talked about the Olympics and his season. "This year I was looking around at people who I always put on a pedestal, and I was right with them," he said.

-- Philip Hersh

\ Right direction

On the day before the All-Star Game, Josh Hamilton (above) captivated a crowd of reporters by talking openly about his drug addiction for an hour. The Texas Rangers' slugger credits his survival to his commitment to Christianity. Here's hoping he has a long career and a good life with his wife -- once estranged -- and children. The 2008 season was a good start: 32 home runs, .304 average and an AL-high 130 RBIs.

-- Phil Rogers

\ National geographic

"Texas ain't Poland." Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey, comparing the Irish's second-round opponent in the Maui Invitational with their second-game opponent during an August tour of Ireland.

-- Dan McGrath

\ Buzz saw

Spending one day on Buzz Williams' schedule was exhausting. Marquette's new coach allowed me to spend a typical day with him, chronicling his every move from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m, going from film study to Bible study to practice to more film study. His meticulous style made me feel like a disorganized slob, but it was an eye-opening look into the work and sacrifices of a committed coach.

-- Shannon Ryan

\ Tell me how you really feel

For sheer candor, you can't beat Ozzie Guillen's May 4 rant in Toronto over the favoritism shown the Cubs: "We won it a couple of years ago, and we're horse(bleep). The Cubs haven't won in 120 years and they're the (bleeping) best. (Bleep) it, we're good. (Bleep) everybody."

-- Mark Gonzales

\ Fired up

Actor Will Ferrell told me soccer was his best sport when he was younger, so I asked him what would have happened if he had stuck with it. "I could have played for the Chicago Fire," responded Ferrell with a straight face. "Isn't that the team around here?"

-- Luis Arroyave

\ Wigged out

"My dad said he had no idea what to do. He said he threw the thing in the stands and skated right into the penalty box. He got death threats for months after that." Notre Dame hockey player Christian Hanson, recalling his favorite story about his father, Dave "Killer" Hanson, ripping off Bobby Hull's toupee before a fight in a World Hockey Association game.

-- Brian Hamilton

\ Curse not foiled again

Rev. James Greanias, the so-called "Greek priest" who was called upon to spread holy water in the Cubs dugout and remove the billy goat curse before Game 1 of the postseason: "Now I guess I'm just another Cubbie Occurrence."

-- Paul Sullivan

\ Bear down

49ers coach Mike Singletary: "When I'm teaching these guys, I have a vivid picture in my mind of how it's supposed to look, a vivid picture of what a great defense looks like, a vivid picture of what a team looks like in the face, in the eyes, when they are ready to play. I would have never known that had I not been with the Chicago Bears of '85."

-- Dan Pompei

\ Good acting

I had been assigned several subjects for "Out Loud" pieces to be used during the Cubs' playoff run, in the newspaper and as part of a book the Tribune was hustling to get out by the usual deadline of before Ryan Dempster walked anybody. The best quote I got came from Ted Lilly, the seemingly comatose starting pitcher. Early in our sit-down I asked him about his quiet image. "I'm going to be honest with you: When I'm out there, I feel like Carlos is acting." Yeah, Lilly was talking about the, um, animated Carlos Zambrano. Turns out, some people misinterpreted the part about "I feel like Carlos is acting" to mean that Lilly feels as if Zambrano is faking all the nut-job flailing and screaming. No, what he meant was that the seemingly comatose Lilly actually feels inside the way Zambrano is acting outside -- all pumped up and hyper and explosive.

-- Steve Rosenbloom

\ Taylor-made

It was February, and Benjy Taylor was getting through his first year as basketball coach at Chicago State. "We're doing it with smoke and mirrors here," he said. "The next administration really needs to commit to making us a viable situation." Since then, Chicago State has joined the Great West Conference, solidifying its spot in NCAA Division I.

-- Terry Bannon

\ Crystal ball cracked

Lou Holtz was the last coach to win a national title at Notre Dame, guiding the Fighting Irish to a 12-0 season in 1988. In light of Charlie Weis' struggles (9-15 over the last two years), Holtz did not hold back when assessing the current situation. "I don't think there is any reason Notre Dame cannot win the national championship," Holtz said. That was before the Irish lost 24-23 to Syracuse on Nov. 22, the first defeat to an eight-loss team in school history.

-- Fred Mitchell

\ Inspiring

I went into an interview with Geneva assistant football coach Mark Fagot with some trepidation and uncertainty. He's a cancer patient. But I was swept up in his passion for life, a remarkable sense of humor and the way he has overcome fear and self-pity by being truly grateful for every morning he is able to wake up. When I said goodbye, I felt better about the world around me.

-- Bob Sakamoto

\ Appreciation day

Blackhawks legends Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull were the first two former players brought back to the team as club ambassadors in the Rocky Wirtz-John McDonough era, and Mikita was frank when asked what it meant to him. "It means after all the sweat and blood and operations we've put in for the Indian head, you're welcomed back in the fold, no longer ostracized the way we have been for the last 28 years," Mikita said. "We weren't really wanted there, according to some people."

-- Melissa Isaacson

\ Mark against your name

"If you put being suspended on someone's [NFL] record, that's like having a felony on someone's record who is trying to get a job." -- Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris following his one-game suspension in October.

-- Vaughn McClure

\ Fleeting acquaintance

Northern Illinois football coach Jerry Kill is from a town of 250 in Kansas, he has stared cancer in the eye and beaten it, and when he got the job he remarked, "Jim Phillips hired me, but I must've worn him out because he was gone [to Northwestern] in a month."

-- John Mullin

\ Legends of Evanston

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, asked if former Wildcats nickel back Hudhaifa Ismaeli was the greatest athlete in NU football history, replied: "I'd say he's up there. But I don't want to diss Otto Graham."

-- Teddy Greenstein

A year to remember: For more of Tribune reporters' favorites of 2008, go to chicagotribune.com/my2008