If today were 100 years ago, we would have duels wherever you looked, people turning their backs, walking 10 paces and shooting each other. One would wear maize 'n' blue, the other blue and gold. Of course, the maize and blue would be better shots . . . OK. I say that because I live here. And here is Michigan. No doubt, at this very moment, some columnist in South Bend is writing a crack aboutU-M, assuming he has learned how to write.
* DETROIT 20, CHICAGO 10: Everything the Bears did to the Lions a few weeks ago, the Lions do back today. You wanted something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving? You got it.* DALLAS 28, PITTSBURGH 17: Cheer up, Troy. One of these years you'll actually finish the season.
Riiiiing!"Hello?""Hello, Chuck Daly? Terry O'Neill from NBC.""Hi, Terry.""Just calling to see where we stand. You know we want you as our TV analyst. You and Pat Riley? Together? Awesome, babe. Big money. And we can make sure you guys never wear the same suit, don't worry about that.""Thanks, Terry, I haven't decided yet.""I'll call back. Think peacock, Chuck."Click. Riiiiing!"Hello?""Hello. Chuck? Harold from Philadelphia. Let's get down to brass tacks. We want you. You want us. The GM job is open. What's it gonna take?"
So when does hockey season start?If that was the last best playoff chance for our football team -- and some people think it was -- we might as well get real, grab our coats, shut the photo album. Not that Sunday afternoon's finish was much to remember: Rodney Peete, chased like a criminal, sacked like potatoes. Willie Green, diving in the turf for a ball that was 10 feet away. The crowd leaving, booing, as Scott Conover, an offensive lineman, is called for yet another Detroit false start . . .False start?
James Voskuil pulled a crewneck sweater over his head and ran a fist through his wet hair. He had thought about a quick exit after that last shot, while the fans and reporters were still inside and stunned. He had thought about "just running up the tunnel and going straight out the door, into the 20- degree weather, going home." He laughed now at the thought. He didn't run out the door, because kids do that, and he is no longer a kid.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Bulls win. I think. At least I'm pretty sure that was Michael Jordan dancing off the court with his first NBA title, and Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant and John Paxson hugging in a tight circle on the Forum floor. It sure looked like them, anyhow. As for the final game of this championship series, I would like to tell you what happened, but I must confess an embarrassing mistake: I obviously drove to the wrong arena. That couldn't have been Bulls-Lakers. It looked more like Kings-Clippers.
* Lions 23, Tampa Bay 9: After Alvin Robertson jumped on Billy McKinney and started strangling him, Andre Ware thought, "Hmm. What if I tried that with Wayne Fontes? . . ."* LA Raiders 14, Chicago 13: Pity Chicago sports fans. The two Mikes they want most in life -- Jordan and Ditka -- are the two they can't have.
A strange thing happened to me this week. I was nearly mowed down by a car racing toward a bookstore.Normally, I wouldn't mind this, since at least the person was in a hurry to read, instead of getting home in time to watch "The Simpsons." Then I noticed other cars also speeding toward the parking lot, and people -- mostly women -- slamming their doors and racing into the store."What's going on?" I asked."Gone With The Wind," I was told.
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.
