CNN was born 25 years ago this month. It was a simple yet awesome invention, the brainchild of Ted Turner, who saw a world of satellites and cable and got the idea for a 24-hour news channel. Turner is a man who often asks "Why not?" rather than "Why?"Therein lies our difference.
SAN ANTONIO - I wannu be Manu.I wannu have his flopping, sweaty hair. I wannu have his mile-wide smile. I wannu enter a news conference after taking over an NBA Finals game and begin by answering a question in Spanish. I wannu be bilingual. I wannu be international. I wannu be large in two Americas, North and South.I wannu be Manu.
Before I share my "exclusive" interview with Brad and Angelina's baby, let's talk price. I want $4 million. Same as they reportedly got for the photos. Anybody can point and shoot a camera. It takes a special person to speak Goo Goo.So we're agreed? And cash, no checks. Meanwhile, here's a little sample from my Blockbuster Scoop of the Year:"So, little Shiloh, let me be the first to verbally welcome you to the world. How does it feel to be the most famous infant since Jesus?""Are you my dad?"
He wore a pale blue suit over his small, thin body, and the skin on his face seemed pulled so tight his eyes bulged. Those eyes rarely blink, and they lock on when you disagree with him. He may be 79. But after eight years in jail, Jack Kevorkian still is ready for a fight.And he is not sorry."If I were sorry, I'd be a hypocrite," he said.By his own estimate, Kevorkian, who was released recently, helped at least 130 people die, hooking them to machines that delivered lethal drugs or gases, then allowing them to, essentially, throw their own switch.
OK, we get it. It's Detroit against the world. It wasn't enough that in the Heat series, it was Detroit against South Beach. Or in the Lakers series last year, it was Detroit against Hollywood. No, now the stakes are higher. Now it's the 2005 NBA Finals. So the basketball gods sent the good people of Detroit the entire planet as an opponent, wrapped in the black-and-white uniforms of the San Antonio Spurs.
SAN ANTONIO - At one point Thursday night, Rasheed Wallace fired a shot over Tim Duncan and the ball just stopped. It literally stopped. It quit. It halted. It punched its own clock. OK, it was wedged between the rim and the backboard. Then again, it might have done that in protest. You could almost hear it say, "I'm stopping here and I'm staying here until you guys play some offense. I'm sick of getting poked around all night."
MITCH ALBOMMy favorite moment was watching Chris Osgood go down to stop the final shot in Game 6, then leap to his feet in celebration. The difference between those two postures - and the barely two seconds between them - say everything about the impossibly narrow margin needed for capturing the Cup. And Ozzie, more than most, really threw a weight off his shoulders with that final horn. A great sports snapshot.MICHAEL ROSENBERG
Monday afternoon in Miami, a few hours before Game 7, a story began circulating about several Pistons players and, of all things, their late-night partying. According to the Miami Herald, a TV reporter and a cameraman were tipped off that Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Antonio McDyess had arrived at a South Beach nightclub at 2 a.m. Two a.m.! Before Game 7! Can you imagine!
Mitch Albom writes about running an orphanage in impoverished Port-au-Prince, Haiti, his kids, their hardships, laughs and challenges, and the life lessons he’s learned there every day.
