by Mitch Albom | Jan 16, 2009 | Detroit Free Press
Beware the assistant coach.
He can be as seductive as ice cream, or as bitter as vinegar.
He can startle you with quick success, or break your heart with constant defeat.
He can sprout like a giant before your eyes, or shrink in stature and skulk off in the sunset.
But one thing you always can say about an assistant coach – when elevated to the position of head coach:
Nobody knows nothing.
So don’t tell me Jim Schwartz is a great bet for success to lead the Lions, or I will tell you the same was said of Rod Marinelli, who just finished an 0-16 year.
by Mitch Albom | Jan 12, 2009 | Sports Illustrated
This was Christmas night. In the basement of a church off an icy street in downtown Detroit, four dozen homeless men and women sat at tables. The smell of cooked ham wafted from the kitchen. The pastor, Henry Covington, a man the size of two middle linebackers, exhorted the people with a familiar chant.
“I am somebody,” he yelled.
“I am somebody!” they repeated.
“Because God loves me!”
by Mitch Albom | Jan 11, 2009 | Detroit Free Press
This was Christmas night. In the basement of a church off an icy street in downtown Detroit, four dozen homeless men and women sat at tables. The smell of cooked ham wafted from the kitchen. The pastor, Henry Covington, a man the size of two middle linebackers, exhorted the people with a familiar chant.
“I am somebody,” he yelled.
“I am somebody!”they repeated.
“Because God loves me!”
“Because God loves me!”
They clapped. They nodded.
by Mitch Albom | Dec 30, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
There is a time when firing the coach is enough.This is not that time.There is a case where promoting from within works.This is not that case.There is a team where modest changes can bring a winning season.This is not that team.This team, the Detroit Lions, needs a...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 30, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
There is a time when firing the coach is enough.This is not that time.There is a case where promoting from within works.This is not that case.There is a team where modest changes can bring a winning season.This is not that team.This team, the Detroit Lions, needs a...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 28, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
We stink.That’s what’s left to brag about, Mr. Ford.We’re the worst. We made history. We scraped bottom. Nobody does losing better than us. Those are boasts actually being hollered, Mr. Ford, because when your football team drops below bad, below...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 24, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
The man who lost his toes to frostbite lays down on a mattress, and the man who lost his teeth to street fights checks the final name off his clipboard. The room quiets and the lights dim and Henry Covington, the pastor, who turned this church gym into a floor of hope...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 24, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
The man who lost his toes to frostbite lays down on a mattress, and the man who lost his teeth to street fights checks the final name off his clipboard. The room quiets and the lights dim and Henry Covington, the pastor, who turned this church gym into a floor of hope...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 23, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
Second of three partsOliver!””Yo.”The man in the ski cap – who had his frostbitten toes amputated a few years ago – steps out and waves a hand, then walks to a vinyl mattress with a gray wool blanket. This will be his bed for the night, a...
by Mitch Albom | Dec 23, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
Second of three partsFor Part 1, go to freep.com/sportsOliver!””Yo.”The man in the ski cap – who had his frostbitten toes amputated a few years ago – steps out and waves a hand, then walks to a vinyl mattress with a gray wool blanket....
