Wolverines Keep Having This Bad Basketball Dream
SEATTLE — The older guys had seen this before, a Michigan dream snuffed out by the sky-blue of North Carolina. Gary Grant, sitting on the bench for the final ticks of his college career, had seen it before. Glen Rice, tossing up a desperation three- pointer that clanked away, had seen it before. Bill Frieder, the coach who had taken this Wolverine team further than any other in his career, now pulling on the yellow towel around his neck, helpless to do anything but watch, had seen it before.
Wolverines Kill 2D-Round Jinx
SALT LAKE CITY — The smiles said it all. Weary smiles, puffed by heavy breathing, hands on hips, sweat pouring down their cheeks. Glen Rice smiling, and Terry Mills, a little grin, and Gary Grant almost laughing, his tongue hanging out. This was fun. This was a blast. And this was with 15 minutes left in the game.
Death of a jinx. All Michigan did Saturday was ram a roadblock head-on, barreling through the whispers that a Wolverine team can’t make it past the second round of an NCAA tournament and coming out, well, shall we say, smiling?
Take that.
ROBINSON’S STORY: LOVE OVER EVERYTHING
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The boy had been sleeping in an apartment building hallway. His mother didn’t want him anymore.”When was the last time you ate a meal?” Helen Ford asked him.”Three weeks ago,” he said.She took a breath. As a...
Struggles Continue For U-M
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The one question that worried everybody, that made Bill Frieder pace the court and made the Michigan alumni hold their breath and made the basketball media cluck their tongues, was whether or not these guys from Boise State could play basketball.
Now, that shouldn’t be a mystery in something as orange and round as the NCAA tournament. But that’s what the first round is all about. Boise State? Quick. Tell us all you know about the place. Thank you.
Sorry, Olympics – I Meant To Say . . .
LAKELAND, Fla. — Forget the dateline. This has nothing to do with baseball or Florida. It has to do with the Winter Olympics, which ended nearly two weeks ago. It’s something I would like to get off my chest.
DEAR MR. UEBERROTH, SPARKY NEEDS A FAVOR
LAKELAND — MEMO TO: Peter Ueberroth, Commissioner of BaseballFROM: Sparky Anderson, dean of managersRE: A little favor Peter:I know you’re busy. I know you ain’t got no patience for little things. That’s why I ain’t gonna tell you my joke...
Tigers’ Wetteland Is Truly Different
LAKELAND, Fla. — You hang around enough spring training camps, you start to hear the same old sentences:
“Man, it’s hot.”
“You play golf yesterday?”
“Man, it’s hot.”
“You playing golf today?”
There are certain sentences, however, you do not hear often. One of them is: “I’m buying.” Another is: “Bach has always been my favorite.”
New Spring Theme Has It All, But Baseball
BASEBALL CITY, Fla. — On the one hand, we have Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, where the paint is peeling. On the other hand, we have Baseball City, where the roller coaster can be seen between pitches.
“We’ve got artificial turf, network lighting and six fields, all of major league configuration,” says the guide walking me through this new baseball wonderland. “Plus we have the log flume.”
“The log flume?” I say.
Knight, Lopez: Family Ties They Balance Domestic Life And Their Major League Careers
LAKELAND, Fla. — This is a story about a baseball player and the best woman golfer in the world, who happens to be his wife. When they were dating, she would be interrupted during dinner for autographs. Embarrassed, she would sign quickly and hope he wouldn’t mind. “Then Ray won the MVP of the World Series,” says Nancy Lopez, laughing, “and they were asking for his autograph more than mine.”
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