by Mitch Albom | May 22, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
He almost always has a cigarette in his mouth, if not that, a sucking candy, and he walks around the room blowing smoke or making tongue-clucking sounds and listening, always listening, because that is what a good teacher does. Listens. Now and then, he’ll interrupt with a correction, or write something down, maybe show you how to play it. He makes it seem simple, and when you get frustrated, he’ll blow a cloud of smoke, grin and say, “Relax. It takes two or three weeks to become a jazz musician.”
by Mitch Albom | May 20, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
In general, tennis stars are a miserable, pampered lot, and you can have ’em all, every one. It’s hard to work up sympathy for people whose idea of a “problem” is no ice in the limo.So let’s be frank. Jennifer Capriati is not the first...
by Mitch Albom | May 18, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
That’s me. Mr. Lucky.Excuse me while I kiss my fingers.Yes, folks, step right up as I reveal my hidden secrets of gambling, everything from “doubling down” (translation: lose more money) to “baccarat” (translation: lose more money) and...
by Mitch Albom | May 15, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
I came home the other day to find my garage strangely empty. The bicycles were gone, the golf clubs and tennis rackets were missing. It took a few hazy moments before it hit me: I’d been robbed.This has happened before. And the initial reaction is always the...
by Mitch Albom | May 12, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
He made nice. Went out like a diplomat. He smiled, laughed loudly, and anyone he could possibly thank, he thanked. He thanked family, friends, children, teammates, his owner, his coaches, the ball boys, the water boys, reporters, trainers, the guys who cooked the...
by Mitch Albom | May 12, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
He made nice. Went out like a diplomat. He smiled, laughed deeply, and anyone he could possibly thank, he thanked. He thanked family, friends, children, teammates, his owner, his coaches, the ball boys, the reporters, the guys who made the food, the guys who laid out...
by Mitch Albom | May 2, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
Paul Coffey sat by his locker for a long time Saturday night, refusing even to take off his skates. He pushed a fist through his sweaty hair, and when his hair dried he pushed a fist through that, too. He sat. He sat. The coaches left. The other players left.Now and...
by Mitch Albom | May 1, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
Wait a minute, teenagers. Not so fast. Come back here with that fashion article printed in this very newspaper just two days ago, the one with the headline “PROM-ising Alternatives” that dealt with new ways to dress for your high school prom without looking traditional, which is to say, a dweeb.
Gimme that paper!
riiip . . . swiiip . . . shrshhh . . .
There now.
by Mitch Albom | Apr 30, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
Steve Yzerman looks like hell. Or as much as a heartthrob can look like hell. The left side of his face has a red mark from forehead to chin — “a glove cut,” he says — and his pouty upper lip still has the vertical scar from 30 stitches, turning it purple and slightly swollen.
by Mitch Albom | Apr 29, 1994 | Detroit Free Press
First the shot, which made a thudding sound as it hit Chris Osgood’s pads. Then the swish, as several Red Wings skated the other way. Then the swelling roar, as Dino Ciccarelli surged ahead of a defender, puck on his stick. Then the explosion, as Ciccarelli flicked a shot past the sprawling San Jose goalie, Arturs Irbe, for a Detroit goal, its sixth of the night.
Blowout.
Blow out.
