by Mitch Albom | Jul 19, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
It’s true, as a cop, I have plenty of weird days. But this was the weirdest. The chief calls. Wants me to interrogate a ball and a bat. I’m not kidding. A ball, a bat, and me. Down at the station. Under the hot lights.
“All right,” I says, opening my notebook, “Mr. Bat, we’ll start with you. The report claims you were kidnapped.”
“That’s right,” the bat says. He talks like he’s ready to hit something.
“In the middle of the game, some guy pops out of the ceiling, grabs me, and hides me in the venting system.”
“You must have been scared.”
by Mitch Albom | Jul 17, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
Maybe he wasn’t “a giant in the industry” but he was big, physically big, a furry guy with a mop of hair, thick beard, cotton shirts, old shoes. When he waddled down the hall you had no choice but to say hello, and to say hello to Dorian Paster was to start a conversation that could go for hours. “He never stops talking!” some people moaned.
What did they expect? He was a disc jockey.
I would call him sometimes late at night at WLLZ, to leave a message for the morning shift producer.
“Where are you?” he would ask.
“Houston,” I’d say.
by Mitch Albom | Jul 11, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
O: Mr. Baseball Commissioner
FROM: Field Correspondent RE: All-Star Break Report
Dear Sir,
As per your request, I am filing my report on the state of baseball at the midway point and, to sum up, let me say, Brazil 3, Netherlands 2.
No, you’re right, that is not baseball. But that is my point. More people are now familiar with World Cup soccer than they are with many parts of our national pastime, such as when does the strike start, who makes the playoffs, what division does Milwaukee play in, and is the strike over yet?
by Mitch Albom | Jul 8, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
THE LIVE ALBOM:* Now that soccer has gotten rid of Leonardo, I have only one question: When does it boot Michelangelo, Donatello and the other Ninja Turtles?* I have watched most of the World Cup, and have reached this conclusion: We will never win as long we have...
by Mitch Albom | Jul 2, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
WIMBLEDON, England — I saw it. I swear. It was gone in an instant, but I saw it. Men’s semifinals, third set, a hotly contested point, and I spotted — are you ready for this? — a bead of sweat on Pete Sampras’ forehead!
Well. I thought I saw it.
Maybe someone’s air conditioner was leaking.
The Iceman Serveth. Everybody duck. The latest racket in the world of racquets is this skinny, dark-haired, unflappable tennis machine that makes the cop who chased Schwarzenegger in “Terminator 2” seem like Fred MacMurray.
by Mitch Albom | Jul 1, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
WIMBLEDON, England — If she weren’t gay, this would be such a big story. Cameras would be following her all week, and TV and radio would be updating her progress. But here is the dirty little secret about Martina Navratilova. Not that she’s a lesbian. We’ve known that for years. She admits it. Talks about it. Doesn’t try to hide it. The dirty little secret is that she keeps paying for it.
by Mitch Albom | Jun 30, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
WIMBLEDON, England — Did you hear?Hear what?Boris Becker cheats.He cheats?That’s what they say. Three matches in a row.Three in a row? What did he do?Well, the first match, against Javier Frana–Who?Javier Frana.You sure you’re not talking World...
by Mitch Albom | Jun 29, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
LONDON — Now that America has caught soccer fever — or, as medical experts call it, baseball boredom — I thought I’d examine how the World Cup is doing here in England.
England is a perfect country to study for two reasons: 1) I happen to be here; 2) The English, who love soccer almost as much as they love tea, ARE NOT IN THE WORLD CUP.
And America is.
by Mitch Albom | Jun 28, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
WIMBLEDON, England — How about this? A couple of normal American kids won at Wimbledon. By “normal” I mean no drug busts, no police records, no terrorizing fathers, no private jets, no exposed belly buttons, no Barbra Streisand infatuations, no earrings. Well. I take that back. The girl wore earrings. But in her ears, not her nose.
by Mitch Albom | Jun 22, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
Isiah Thomas’ quick departure from Detroit — a city he once ruled in popularity — remains the most mysterious local sports story of the year.Which only fits the character.Although Thomas was highly celebrated, he was rarely understood, and, in his...
