And you thought Solomon had it tough. Dividing a baby might seem simple compared to the task attempted by a Florida jury last week.The jury tried to determine blame in the death of a teacher gunned down by a 13-year-old student. You remember this case. Nathaniel Brazill, the student, was sent home on the last day of school for tossing water balloons. He came back with a gun from a neighbor's house. He asked his teacher, Barry Grunow, if he could speak to a girl in the class. Grunow said no, not in the hallway, but he invited Brazill into the classroom.
I hadn't watched a baseball game on a small, handheld TV set since 1986, when I was stuck in a cab in New York City. That game -- complete with snowy fuzz -- was an American League championship affair, featuring an unlikely comeback by the star-crossed Boston Red Sox against the California Angels in which the Bosox were one strike away from elimination yet ultimately reached the World Series.
THE BALL was snapped, a starter's pistol for Randy Moss. He bolted downfield and, for several seconds, was shadowed by cornerback Terry Fair. Then Moss, like an Olympic sprinter in overdrive, pulled away, leaving Fair a quarter-step, half-step, then a full step behind....Nearly three years ago, Fair and Moss were side by side on another stage. A stage of hopefuls. It was draft day in April 1998. Like other college stars, Fair, out of Tennessee, and Moss, out of Marshall, waited by telephones to hear about their future.
Here's one big reason the Tigers made a smart move in hiring Alan Trammell: We like him. All of us media types, print, TV, radio. And if we like him, he'll get the benefit of the doubt, and the team will get better press, and the hammer might come down on this hapless franchise in August instead of April. Hey. When you're flailing as badly as the Tigers, that's smart business.
PHILADELPHIA -- The floor at the First Union Center was so stuffed with people that, from above, it appeared that someone had dumped a massive jar of human jelly beans all over the court. Where would they put all these bodies? Fans with signs. Celebrities from Jesse Jackson to Chris Rock. Photographers, dancers, women in halter tops, men in silk suits. Then the lights dropped and drummers emerged and fireworks exploded and an inspirational film clip announced the 76ers to their first home championship crowd in 18 years. By the time they bellowed,
My parents were in Australia last week when the world went crazy. They called my home upon hearing the awful news that four planes had been hijacked by terrorists, and two had been crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and one in a field in Pennsylvania.When I returned their call, the Australian hotel receptionist said they were out. He asked whether there was a message."Yes," I said, "tell them Mitch, their son, is fine, and all the people we know in New York are OK."
Listen, nobody admires Joe Dumars more than I do, but he still works for someone. That someone is Bill Davidson. Bill Davidson owns the Pistons. And Bill Davidson was never -- repeat, never -- going to give Jerry Stackhouse $100 million or anything close to it.So trading Stackhouse was a done deal a long time ago, really as soon as Davidson's wallet was zipped, long before Wednesday, when Stack was actually dealt to the Washington Wizards. It wasn't Dumars' being creative or risky. It was Dumars following orders.
In the days after Jayson Blair resigned in shame from the New York Times, everyone tried to reach him. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, old friends, colleagues. He spoke to almost no one.But he did call one person -- an agent named David Vigliano about a book and movie deal. Those deals are now in motion. And that's all you need to know about Jayson Blair.
Hat's off. If you thought he was the devil, then give the devil his due. The Angels may have popped the champagne, but the biggest winner of this all-California World Series was, it turns out, on the losing team. A month ago, Barry Bonds was a giant with a question mark. Now he is a giant exclamation point.
LAS VEGAS -- I have found the future. I am walking through it, carrying a plastic shopping bag.I am at the Consumers Electronics Show, the first major trade show of the millennium. It is "cutting edge." It is "hot, hot, hot." It is every cell phone, computer chip, video, stereo and Internet device you can imagine.I am lost."What is that?" I ask the person with a name tag that reads "Personal Relations/Consultant."
MITCH ALBOMLife, as you get older, is less about what you learn than what you remember. Same goes for hockey. Especially playoff hockey. This is not training camp or some summer skate, where you work on your new moves. Playoffs are when you rely on instinct. Success depends on what kicks in.
One of the nice things to come out of Sept. 11 was a breakup in America's love affair with celebrities.For a few reasonable weeks, in the aftermath of the World Trade Center rubble, the idea of who some movie star was dating seemed beyond silly.It seemed insulting.
