Detroit Free Press

AGELESS WONDER

AGELESS WONDER

The year he was born, a guy named Johnny Carson started working on "The Tonight Show," John Glenn went around the Earth in a spacecraft, and the United States discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba.Chris Chelios is still skating.The year he started grade school, a doctor named Christiaan Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant and an actor named Dustin Hoffman mumbled, "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."Chris Chelios is still skating.
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR PISTONS’ ROBO-PRINCE

ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR PISTONS’ ROBO-PRINCE

I sometimes have this vision of Tayshaun Prince as a long, lean robot, a super cyborg sent from the future. He is already cut at sharp angles, neck to shoulder, shoulder to elbow, as if metal were welded just beneath the flesh. He rarely shows emotion. He doesn't sweat easily. And if you could crawl behind his eyes during crucial moments, I swear you'd see those flashing screens that give you digital info about everything in front of you.Listen to Tayshaun explain the shot he hooked in to win Game 4 in Orlando.
WHAT BENEFITS SOLDIERS WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

WHAT BENEFITS SOLDIERS WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

It was my uncle, your grandfather, his best friend. It was your dad or his neighbor or his brother-in-law. They were soldiers in World War II, and when they finished serving their country, they came home to a grateful embrace - not just words, but action.There was something called the GI Bill, passed in 1944, and it quite literally changed the face of America. It paid for returning soldiers to study at trade schools, colleges, universities - even medical and law schools. Paid in full.
IF YOU CAN’T ATTACK, YOU CAN ALWAYS HACK

IF YOU CAN’T ATTACK, YOU CAN ALWAYS HACK

Look, if you don't want to play, you don't have to. But don't start hacking Ben Wallace. In the second quarter? If that's the best the Cleveland Cavaliers can come up with, maybe they should rethink this whole second-round thing.True, they were already trailing by 20. And yes, they were clearly out of ideas. They had already used the 24-second violation, the five-second violation and the three-second violation. There's not much left. Maybe pass interference.
PISTONS TAKE IT QUICKLY, QUIETLY

PISTONS TAKE IT QUICKLY, QUIETLY

The nice thing about a Pistons-Pacers game is you go in with such low entertainment expectations a fast break seems like Paul McCartney doing "Yesterday." You want to scream.Well, let 'er rip. When Ben Wallace is playing like a mad scoring machine, when the Pistons have 52 points at halftime, when you can actually hear their thundering feet moving downcourt with (gulp) speed -- then holler away.Because you know the night will at least be fun -- and most likely victorious.
ETIQUETTE RULES FOR PISTONS FANS

ETIQUETTE RULES FOR PISTONS FANS

Like it or not, the Pistons are playing the Pacers again, starting tonight at the Palace. So listen up, because these are the rules:1. If you can drink it, you can't throw it.2. Popcorn goes in your mouth.3. It's a buzzer, not a boxing bell.4. Chill.5. If a player lies on the scorer's table, give him a break: Maybe he's tired.6. Ron Artest is not playing. There's no reason to scream at him.7. It's a ticket, not a hunting license.8. It's a hot dog, not a missile.9. Be nice with your ice.10. Be like Yoda with your soda.
HALFWAY TO STANLEY HARDER THAN IT SEEMS

HALFWAY TO STANLEY HARDER THAN IT SEEMS

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Mike Babcock sat alone in a windowless space in the bowels of the Sharks' arena. Because reporters were rushing to file stories, there were mostly empty chairs before him. He spoke about victory, the sense of pride and relief.But it felt too small, like a presidential candidate talking at a bus stop. So we should take a moment here to appreciate how damn hard it is to do what the Red Wings have just done: reach the conference finals as a favored team.

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.

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