Tony Johnstone, the longtime player and venerable broadcaster, has seen his fair share of good breaks over the years. And he summed up rather well the feelings that typically arise after one pops up.

CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The ...