WHEN HART STOOD UP, THE IRISH TUMBLED OVER
When the chips are down, it’s good to take heart. But it’s better to take Hart. Or give it to Hart. You gotta have Hart. It’s all about H-
You get the point.
On an afternoon when hiking the ball was a challenge and both starting quarterbacks still remember their high school locker combinations, the most valuable everything was Michigan senior running back Mike Hart, who last week guaranteed a victory to lift his school out of the funkiest of funks.
A NIGHT OF WONDER WHEN STEVIE SINGS
Why would a blind man stand on a piano bench? It’s dangerous. It’s risky. What is to be gained? Steveland Judkins was born 57 years ago, prematurely, and was blind from infancy. As a child, he formed a singing group with a friend from his Detroit...
Finding His Footing
He had never had surgery before. Never spent a night in a hospital. Never went under anesthesia. Heck, he’d never even broken a bone. Pretty much anything having to do with being sick or injured, Kevin Jones wanted no part of – and for the first 24 years of his life, he blissfully got his way.
But in one day, one play, the bliss was over.
And now he was experiencing it all.
WOO-HOO! | TAKE A BOW, LIONS! YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO
OAKLAND, Calif. – Calvin Johnson took his place on the line, broke free on the snap and was open over the middle. Jon Kitna found him with a pass, Johnson cradled it in, took a few long strides with those two long legs and dove into paydirt. It was his first touchdown in his first game on the first week of the season, and he got up and ran excitedly through the end zone. In his exuberance, the youngest player on the Lions forgot about the ball. But Roy Williams, his fellow receiver, handed it to him as a souvenir.
Maize & Boo
The sky was a gentle blue, but it was raining all afternoon on the Wolverines, a kind of rain they rarely experience in the Big House. They were getting embarrassed, shown up, outplayed on national television in every way you can get outplayed in football.
And it was raining boos.
Those were Michigan fans making that ugly noise, fans wearing maize-and-blue T-shirts, fans who came out believing last week’s shocking loss to Appalachian State was a fluke. And perhaps it was. Last week was an upset. This was just a butt-kicking.
Pointing Fingers In The Subprime Mess
Ever see those Three Card Monte schemes? Guy shifts around three cards; all you have to do is follow one. You point to it, you double your money.
Looks so easy. So does the subprime mortgage world. Get a loan. Pay below-market rates. Don’t worry if you haven’t got money. By the time the rates go up, you’ll find some.
Both are essentially con games. But nothing forces you to play.
You choose to.
Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow – Maybe
TO THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES:
Tomorrow marks the last day of your national embarrassment. And the first day of the rest of your football lives.
Already, you have learned a valuable lesson. How one minute you’re on top of the world and the next you’re on the bottom of someone’s shoe. Remember it well. Remember how certain people thought you were championship material and now, after one loss, think you should stay out of the Top 25 all year. Remember how certain analysts celebrated Lloyd Carr last season and now want him broomed out of town.
Remember it all.
Night Of The Gambler – Retro Or For Real?
Spit, glue, tape, bubble gum. The Tigers are on a leaky boat, grabbing what they can to plug their spurting holes, hoping to survive until the tide washes them to postseason shores. Wednesday night, the grizzled pirate Kenny Rogers, who had a blood clot removed from his shoulder in the spring, was taken out of the rusty trunk and pushed against the gushing water, asked – after six weeks away from the major league mound – to right the ship for a night.
Staff Picks: Will The Lions Contend?
MITCH ALBOM: YES
The word contend means to challenge for something, and unlike years past, I don’t think the Lions will be out of the running by Halloween. If they win the division, they make the playoffs, and with the way Chicago traditionally flip-flops, who knows whether they’ll behave like defending Super Bowl participants? So the Lions can contend for their division, which is more than we have said in recent years. Hey. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Will Kitna be Lions’ first Pro Bowl QB since 1971? No
Lions record
8-8
Lions
MVP
Jon Kitna
Stay Connected
The only newsletter dedicated to updates, exclusive content, and giveaways of Mitch's books!