Web posted on: Thursday, December 17, 1998 2:11:42 PM EST

• Which celebrities have the best manners?
• Garth Brooks is a million records closer to his goal
• Rick James: Stroke was message from God
• 'Mighty Ducks' screenwriter sues Disney for $25 million
• John Travolta is a busy, and rich, actor

Whitney Houston was selected as one of the top ten best-mannered people

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Baseball star Mark McGwire hit more home runs than anyone else in major league history this past season, and he was nice about it too. For that, the St. Louis Cardinal came in first on the National League of Junior Cotillions' list of the "Ten Best-Mannered People of 1998." The Charlotte-based group said Wednesday that it chose McGwire for "accepting great acclaim with great humility." Also on the list of polite people were Kenneth Starr, John Glenn, Katie Couric, Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Graham, Garth Brooks, Peter Jennings and Whitney Houston. Jerry Springer earned censure from the cotillion group, which named him the "Most Ill-Mannered Person of 1998" for "presenting a television program which lowers the standards of civility in America."

Brooks

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Garth Brooks' new album sold more than one million copies during its first week in release, but the country star does not plan to rest on his laurels now. "I wish I could enjoy it, but you know me. Probably for about five minutes, we'll sit here and celebrate," he said Wednesday at a news conference at the offices of Capitol Nashville, his record label. Brooks' goal is to sell 100 million albums by the turn of the century. The first-week sales of the new "Garth Brooks Double Live" album put his career total at 83 million. He plans to release three albums in 1999.

James

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Rick James believes his recent stroke may have been a message from God. "It's fate. It's got to mean something. Maybe it's God giving me a message: 'Get your life in order,'" the funk singer said Tuesday. After a blood vessel in his neck ruptured during a Denver concert, the 50-year-old James was hospitalized with a stroke on November 9. He returned home this week, and although his speech was strong and clear, he has trouble walking and with double-vision. "Whenever I try to stand up I'm like a kid, I fall over to the right side. I want to get up out of this wheelchair and walk and play and make another album," he said. James' best-known hit is 1981's "Super Freak."

"The Mighty Ducks"

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A screenwriter is suing Walt Disney Co., claiming that he was promised a share of merchandising profits from the three "Mighty Ducks" movies and hasn't gotten a cent. Steven Brill said his contract entitles him to five percent of gross merchandising revenues from the "Mighty Ducks" movies, which starred Emilio Estevez as a reluctant coach for an underdog youth hockey team. Brill wrote the movies. His lawsuit was filed Tuesday and seeks $25 million for revenue earned since 1993 as well as any future merchandising earnings, according to his lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell. Brill's lawyer estimated that Disney has earned about $1 billion in "Mighty Ducks" box office sales, merchandise rights and television rights. A spokesman for Disney would not comment on he lawsuit.

Travolta

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- John Travolta, who is already starring in two much-hyped movies set for release on Christmas Day ("The Thin Red Line" and "A Civil Action") doesn't plan to slow down in 1999. Travolta plans to act in three movies and earn at least $60 million next year, Variety reports. He is considering a number of projects, including "Family Man," a comedy about an investment banker who has the chance to live his life over as a doting father. At one time, Curtis Hanson, of "L.A. Confidential," was to direct "Family Man" and Nicolas Cage was to star. Another possibility for Travolta is "Common Ground," about an elite crime-fighting force tracking a killer at the Los Angeles airport. Travolta could begin "Battlefield Earth" in early summer. It's a pet project based on a book by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Another possibility: A movie based on the novel "Shipping News," in which Travolta would star with his wife Kelly Preston.