WIMBLEDON, England — The guy from Australia wore a checkered headband. The guy from West Germany wore just his hair, lots of it, thick blond locks that bounced with every leaping backhand.
And the girls screamed.
“BORIS! BORIS!”
“PAT! PAT!”
WIMBLEDON, England — Picture a man dangling on a rope, sharks in the water, snapping at his flesh. The man is Jimmy Connors, the sharks are the tireless young tennis players who keep coming and coming. And one of them just rose up and bit him in the butt.
Jimbo exits Wimbledon. Who knows whether this is last time? He is 35 now, the wins come harder and harder, and the opponents are nameless, faceless.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — They lost? They lost. Those are all the words needed. There was only one team in the world Tuesday night for Detroit, and all night long — in this breathtaking Game 7 of the NBA final — that team, the Detroit Pistons, fought off defeat like some Atlas in basketball sneakers, the weight of the world on their shoulders. Until finally, with just moments left in the longest season in the history of the game, their shoulders buckled and the world caved in.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — So this is what it comes down to for the Detroit Pistons: 48 minutes to live or die. They are skin and bone now, a cornered animal, a team without its captain that is relying on prayers, guts and the power within.
One game. The world championship.
“Are you hoping for a miracle?” someone asked Isiah Thomas, their star, as he sat beside his crutches during a press conference Monday.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Yes, I am.”
All right, basketball fans. I am back for my annual visit. You know me. I am your Halston. Your Gucci. I am the man who, each year, looks at the NBA final and says, “This is what the kids will be doing on the courts this summer.”
Call me the trend-setter. Call me Mr. Style. Remember Magic Johnson’s baby-hook last year? I called that. Made a fortune. Remember Larry Bird rubbing the bottom of his shoes two years ago? My call. Made a fortune.
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