Michigan’S Mite Too Much For Mightest Midshipman
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bombs away. How else do you beat the armed forces? Stop, pop — drop, drop, drop. The line that really separated Michigan from Navy Thursday night was not the Vegas spread, but the white curve on the court where two points become three. In military terms, U-M held the high ground.
Bombs away.
FRIEDER DID HIS SNAPPY JOB WITHOUT GETTING ANY BREAKS
It was 20 past midnight. My phone rang.”It’s Frieder,” said the voice in the receiver.”Where are you?” I asked.”In a hotel room in Ann Arbor. This is the first chance I’ve had to return your call.”Now, I don’t do...
Herndon Hopes To Turn The Page On His Career
LAKELAND, Fla. — If this were Rolling Stone magazine, the following might be titled “HERNDON — THE INTERVIEW!” Not that you’d likely find Larry Herndon in Rolling Stone’s colorful pages. He is not quite the earring and leopard-skin type.
Actually, if magazines were people you might find him in Gentlemen’s Quarterly. Maybe Family Weekly. Certainly not Commentary. Talking has never been Herndon’s favorite activity, at least with reporters. Setting up an interview with him is not merely like pulling teeth, it’s like waiting for them to grow in.
In Herndon’S Few Words, You Find A Quiet Strength
LAKELAND, Fla. — If this were Rolling Stone magazine, the following might be titled “HERNDON — THE INTERVIEW!” Not that you’d likely find Larry Herndon in Rolling Stone’s colorful pages. He is not really the earring and leopard-skin type. Actually, if magazines were people you might find Larry Herndon in Gentlemen’s Quarterly. Maybe Family Weekly. Certainly not Commentary. For talking has never been his favorite activity, at least not with reporters. Setting up a Herndon interview is not like pulling teeth. It’s more like waiting for them to grow in.
It’S Been Nice Working With You
LAKELAND, Fla. — When will they write the last Alan Trammell/Lou Whitaker story? Four years from now? Five? Ten? And what will it say? Probably some syrupy prose about the longest- running keystone combo in baseball, Trammell, the boyish California shortstop, Whitaker, the brooding-but-gifted second baseman, and what great partners they were on the field and off the field and how sad it is to see them breaking up and walking into the sunset arm in arm and . . .
FANTASY BECOMES REALITY AS SEARCY GETS HIS CHANCE
LAKELAND, Fla. — His locker is isolated, off in the corner, next to a fire extinguisher. It is the kind of spot a rookie gets. He does not complain. This morning he’ll come by to grab his gear. Then he’ll board the team bus, and try not to let them...
BALL PLAYERS TRIM THE FAT IN DAYS OF HIGH CELERIES
LAKELAND, Fla. — I walk past, player after player, shaking my head. I am in search of something that was never hard to find. I cannot find it.Nobody is fat anymore.”Doesn’t anyone have a pot belly to show me?” I ask. “Some flab in the...
Confident Coles Hangs ‘Em
LAKELAND, Fla. — Darnell Coles was missing a pair of undershorts. And he said so. And several teammates helped him search.
“They were here a minute ago,” he announced. “Now, where did they go?”
This may not seem especially significant, even for spring training. But last year at this time, Darnell Coles would not have gambled aloud with a statement so innocent.
His underwear, gone? Are you kidding? He would have slid over to the clubhouse man, whispered the loss, and offered to pay for a new pair if they could just keep it their little secret.
I’Ll Go To Great Lengths To Set The Record Straight
LAKELAND, Fla. — Hold it. I can explain.
Some of you may have noticed me missing from this space for the last few weeks. Some of you may have been led to believe I was vacationing in South Pacific sunshine while you suffered at home in the snow and cold. Ha! You fell for that? What will they think up next?
The truth is much more complex. The truth is I was . . . on a mission. Yes. In the interest of new and more interesting sports stories I was attempting to set the record for longest single journey to an exhibition baseball game.
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