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And This Is Before It Got Ugly
It's hard to imagine a sum of money high enough to make you admit that Liza Minnelli can beat you up. But for Minnelli's ex, producer David Gest, it took $10 million. That's what Gest says he wants in a complaint filed last week alleging that the 5-ft. 4-in. diva flew into violent, vodka-fortified rages during their 16-month marriage. Minnelli denied the charges in a statement, saying she had "hoped very much that the end of my marriage would be handled with mutual respect and dignity." No such luck. In the complaint, which leaves one with an unexpected feeling — it could be sympathy — for Minnelli, Gest alleges:

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THAT at the time of the marriage, Minnelli's career was "eclipsed, she was an alcoholic, overweight, unable to be effectively merchandised."

THAT Minnelli beat him, bit her security manager in the chest and slipped on a bathroom tile, sustaining an eye injury later explained to the press as a cancerous growth that was removed.

THAT during one bout, Gest shouted, "Liza, stop it, stop it!" When an aide intervened, Minnelli said, "My husband is using me to be a star. I am the star."

THAT the pummelings left him reliant on 11 prescription medicines for vertigo, mood disorders and "scalp tenderness." (The complaint does not note how many drugs both of them may have been on when he decided to enter the marriage.)

Atkins? South Beach? No — Glass Box
Triumphing over extreme hunger, cramped quarters and churlish Londoners who whacked golf balls at him and tried to cut his water supply, magician DAVID BLAINE finally emerged last week from the Plexiglas box in which he had dangled above the banks of the Thames River for 44 days. Blaine said he staged the public endurance test to display "the ultimate work of art ... human suffering." Upon exiting his box, the frail showman burst into tears. Blaine, who had lost nearly 60 lbs., was rushed to a hospital and given nutritional drinks before being allowed his first solid food, a handful of potato chips. Doctors say it may take months before the illusionist fully recovers from his weeks of deprivation. His starvation for attention, however, appears to be chronic.

A Fish Tale for the Ages
The long-suffering Cubs and Red Sox were the sentimental postseason favorites. The A's, Braves and Giants were respected veterans. Then there were the inevitable Yankees — haughty and dominant, with a pitching rotation that could walk into the Hall of Fame. But it was the young, underrated FLORIDA MARLINS — a franchise just 11 years old, with a 72-year-old manager and a laughable attendance record — who survived. After eliminating the Giants and the Cubs, Florida fell behind two games to one against the Yanks, only to roar back with three straight wins, ending with 23-year-old Josh Beckett's 2-0 shutout. It was the Marlins' second World Series in their short life, enough to bring a Cubs fan to tears.

• Rebecca Winters