"My kicking-dirt episodes are over." So asserts Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella in this interview published in yesterday's issue of The New York Times Magazine.

In answer to the question "What do you find so satisfying about kicking dirt on another person, a practice you've been known to favor since you managed the Yankees in the '80s," Piniella answered, "My mentor, Billy Martin, did it. And Earl Weaver did it. I've kicked dirt more out of dissatisfaction than anything else. When I was informed that kicking dirt on somebody can be termed as degrading -- you know, I never thought of it that way."