by Mitch Albom | Sep 14, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
Not to be a wet blanket, but Red Wings fans, party at your own risk. Hockey may be back, but when your best offensive player isn’t even on the continent, only a fool pops champagne.
Here are two sobering words: “Pavel” and “Datsyuk.” Any hockey expert will tell you he’s the future of the Wings. And he’s not here! He’s in Russia, possibly under contract to not one but two teams. Ken Holland, charged with tightening Detroit’s belt, has muffed the first lesson of Salary Cap 101: Sign your biggest star.
by Mitch Albom | Sep 12, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
A half-hour before kickoff, a heavyset man in a T-shirt walked down the Ford Field steps, holding hands with his 8-year-old son. They were wide-eyed at the sight of the gathering crowd, so many clad in blue and silver.
The Lions were not their football team, but they were today. Sterling Adams and his son, Eric, had escaped the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, had driven up in a stuffed vehicle from New Orleans, and now, thanks to the kindness of the Lions’ public relations staff, father and son had tickets for the opener. The long wait for a day of fun was over.
by Mitch Albom | Sep 11, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
You are a man in a storm. The storm is rising, blowing your way. Your neighbor, Earl, is saying, “Come on, man, we can go to Detroit. We’ll be safe there.”Detroit, you think? You live in New Orleans. You’re not going to Detroit. Besides, you’ve seen hurricanes before. Water comes up. Water goes down.
But your wife, this time, she’s worried. Earl is going crazy on Detroit. He says, “I’m gonna empty the washers and dryers” and next thing you know he has a big bag of quarters and guess what? That’s your gas money.
by Mitch Albom | Sep 9, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
So after all that, it falls back on Joey Harrington anyhow. All the Sturm und Drang about Jeff Garcia, riding into town, eyeing Joey’s job, with his Pro Bowl history and his proud declaration that he was not coming to be a backup and here we are, two days from the season opener, and Garcia was right, he is not a backup, he’s a scratch. The backup is now an untested kid barely out of college. And the offense, the season – and, let’s face it, the national face of the Detroit Lions – is once again perched on the shoulders of Your Pal Joey, old No. 3.
This is your quarterback, folks.
by Mitch Albom | Aug 28, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
Look, I was a kid once, and I still think like a kid, so the kid in me – and the adult in me – needs to say this right now:
School starts in September.
Not August. Not July.
Certainly not July 22, which is when certain school districts in Georgia began “fall” classes this year. July 22? You’re still getting your lemonade stand set up by July 22! You’re not in SCHOOL on July 22!
This is insane. I’ve been following this trend of pushing the school year back earlier and earlier, and it’s time for the kid in all of us to say, and you can quote me here, “Yuck.”
by Mitch Albom | Aug 21, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
Like a lot of people, I admire Brian Wilson, the soul of the Beach Boys. Over the years, I’ve had chances to speak with him. When he releases a new CD or comes through town, we’ll do an interview. We did one just recently, for radio.
Now, I know Wilson’s music backward. I have memorized the lush harmonies of “In My Room,” the ahead-of-its-time variations of “Good Vibrations,” the seemingly million things that are going on in the background of “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” Armed with such loving research, I figured I could draw something new and special out of Wilson.
I was wrong.
by Mitch Albom | Aug 14, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
Walk away. Refuse to listen. That’s what I wanted to yell at the reporters who followed Philadelphia wide receiver Terrell Owens after he stormed out of Eagles training camp. Instead they pursued Owens over the river to the front yard of his New Jersey home....
by Mitch Albom | Aug 7, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
I sat on a concrete wall by the riverbank, drinking a Diet Coke I had purchased from a nearby vendor. Behind me was a boat launch for tourists. Disco music played over the loudspeakers. Women in halter tops and tight white pants paraded by me, holding hands with...
by Mitch Albom | Jul 19, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
Larry Brown is leaving town. Fired. Splitting. Cut loose. Let go. Bought out. Paid off. Came to an agreement. Pick your phrase. Who cares? Coaching in the NBA is about doors opening and closing. Words don’t matter. Hinges do.Larry Brown is leaving town. It was...
by Mitch Albom | Jul 17, 2005 | Detroit Free Press
NEWS ITEM: Traditional summer camp programs are being replaced by “specialty” camps, focusing on things such as technology, chess and college preparation.Dear Mom and Dad,Hi! How are you! I am writing from camp! I’m sorry it’s been so long...
