The Latest in Detroit Free Press

BLUES MAN TRIBUTE: MUSIC TO MANY HEARTSDEMERS’ FRIEND PLAGER FORGED LASTING BONDS

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

Although they are as close as players and coaches can be, you won't see Jacques Demers, Bernie Federko and Brian Sutter socializing during this playoff series, won't see them at restaurants, or chatting before the bus pulls up to the hotel.

SUDDENLY, THE TIRED CELTS GET HIGHER THAN A KITE

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

BOSTON -- Minutes after the game was over, a mob of reporters was already around his locker. Cameras were steadied. Microphones were tested."When's he coming?" the voices cried."He's not coming," came the answer, "there's not enough room in here. He's doing his interviews out in the stands."

STRANGER IN THE NIGHT GETS A KICK OUT OF WINGS

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

I did not go to the Red Wings game Tuesday night because they were in first place. I went because . . . I love hockey. Yeah. That's it."How about that Greg Stefan?" I said to a familiar-looking face in the press box elevator. "He's looking awful sharp, don't you think?""Who are you?" came the answer.What a kidder. Yes, the Wings are something, aren't they? Bounding back from that embarrassment of a season last year, and now, under coach Jacques Demers, playing a different kind of hockey, the kind with effort, the kind with heart.

‘KING OF THE SKY’ STILL RULESBUT THE ENIGMA OF KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR ENDURES

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

"Kids around me 20 and 21 years old, were acting like infants. . . . I said to myself that I had come all the way to California at the age of 18 to find out I was a very old person." Lew Alcindor in 1969, on his UCLA years

THIS THOMAS PROVES ALL THE DOUBTERS WRONG

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

LAS VEGAS -- Bulls-eye.Right in the face. A glove in the kisser. A mash job. Less than two minutes and the guy is out cold and Thomas Hearns, who had more rain water on him than sweat, that's how easy this thing was, blew a kiss to the crowd and told the world in no uncertain terms that he is not done hitting.Not by a longshot.

‘CHOKING DOG’ FINALLY HAS HIS DAY WITH OPEN VICTORY

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

NEW YORK -- This place had always treated him like garbage, and there he was in the gutter again. A zero. A big fat zero. Thirteen stinking minutes into the U.S. Open final, in front of millions of people, and he hadn't even won a game from John McEnroe -- not a single game, and only one lousy point -- while McEnroe had cruised to three straight wins without breaking a sweat. People already were whispering "slaughter."He could feel it. The collar. Tightening."There he goes," said a reporter in the press box, "the choking dog."

AT LILY-WHITE WIMBLEDON, MCNEIL PROVES SHE BELONGS

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

WIMBLEDON, England -- It must be a hell of a feeling to be a black player in a stadium filled with white fans and a white Princess and a white Countess wearing white gloves, with white line judges and white officials standing all around you.

DELUSION DOWN UNDER: BE SURE TO KICK THE TIRES

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

FREMANTLE, Australia -- For a few minutes there, I had the story of this America's Cup. I was bringing it home. I was about to deal for history, I was . . . But wait. Let's start from the beginning. Friday afternoon. The day before the finals began. The coffee was gone. The note pad was empty.

THEY HAVE COLLEGE SPIRIT- ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUYT

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

By now, most people have formed some sort of opinion on Jim Wacker.Wacker is the coach at Texas Christian University who last week dismissed six of his football players -- including a Heisman Trophy candidate running back -- when he discovered they were accepting money from wealthy alumni.Accepting such money violates NCAA rules.Some call Wacker a hero. Some call him an idiot.Some say he showed courage and morality. Some say he simply beat the NCAA to the punch.And many are missing the point entirely.

A LITTLE TIGER, A LITTLE SNAKE

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The subject was fear, and Kirk Gibson was coming up empty."Heights?" I asked."Nah," he said."The dark?" I asked."Nah," he said."Fast cars?"He just laughed at that one."Snakes? Scorpions?"He paused for a second. "Well, I don't like snakes," he said, "but if I saw one, I'd just . . . kill it."

TD THAT WASN’T BURNS LIONS

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

FOXBORO, Mass. -- "That was the play that beat us, man. Right there. That play was the game."Thirty minutes after the Lions' devastating 23-6 loss to New England Sunday, free safety Demetrious Johnson still was fuming over his interception return for a touchdown that was called back by the officials. More than any other single play, it determined the fortunes of this game.It was late in the third quarter, Patriots ball second-and- eight from their 38. Quarterback Tony Eason dropped back to pass, and Johnson recognized the play as a tight-end option route.

THE GREAT ROSARY MYSTERY . . . OR HOW I CAME TO PASS

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press

I must say I feel pretty good this morning, considering I've been dead for six months.How I came to pass is an unlikely story. It began a few days ago, when I received a note from a reader named Theda Everett. She wrote:"What is going on here? I just saw the movie 'The Rosary Murders' and in one scene your name is listed in the obituary column. I was horrified and upset . . . Can you share a story about it please?"