Detroit Free Press

OTHER CITIES PROVE ONLY CASINOS WIN

OTHER CITIES PROVE ONLY CASINOS WIN

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
It was an ocean town, where people strolled barefoot on the boardwalk, ate saltwater taffy, and rode the Ferris wheel on a grimy promenade called the Steel Pier. Those who lived there worked in food joints, small hotels, or as jitney drivers. They made seaside wages, which were low, and many older residents did not work at all. It was hardly a boomtown, but it had its charm. Poor charm, perhaps. It became a poor place. A poor place that wanted to be rich.It turned to casino gambling.The town was Atlantic City.
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MASKED MAN PLAYS HARD-NOSEDWOLVERINES’ MASKED MAN LEADS WITH HIS HARD NOSE

MASKED MAN PLAYS HARD-NOSEDWOLVERINES’ MASKED MAN LEADS WITH HIS HARD NOSE

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
MINNEAPOLIS -- The elbow flew, it made contact, and suddenly, Chris Webber was Rocky, taking the whack and hitting the deck, as the crowd noise swirled like a jet engine on dope. He was halfway to la-la land, head on the floor, eyes wet with ooze. You could almost hear Burgess Meredith yelling "Stay down! Stay down!" Jalen Rose leaned over him. Steve Fisher leaned over him. The trainer, Dave Ralston, leaned over him.What do doctors tell you when your nose is broken? 1) Take it easy. 2) Avoid stress. 3) Avoid contact. Above all, avoid contact.To which Chris Webber says:
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RED WINGS GO AWAY MAD – BUT NOT EVEN

RED WINGS GO AWAY MAD – BUT NOT EVEN

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
I've seen heavyweight fights go like this: One guy comes out on fire and gets the crowd all worked up. Pow! Pow! His fists are flying, and his opponent takes every shot, the blood spitting from his face, until he looks like he'll go down any moment -- which only excites the aggressor more. Only the opponent doesn't go down. He stays standing. Blow after blow. And finally, the first guy, exhausted from all this punching with no reward, takes a breath, says, "Hey, what's with this lug?"And pow! The other guy knocks him out.
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MONEY’S FINE; FIELDER SAVORS THE EMBRACE

MONEY’S FINE; FIELDER SAVORS THE EMBRACE

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
From those dirty summers in downtown Los Angeles, when he unloaded watermelons from a supermarket truck, now to this: Gray pinstripe suit. Wife in a fur coat. A contract worth $36 million to play a game many would play for free. And you know the thing that made the biggest impression on Cecil Fielder as he sat before the lights and microphones in the Detroit Tigers' conference room? This is what made the biggest impression:Somebody wants me.
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ELVIS KEPT HIS HEAD, WILL KEEP HIS HELMET

ELVIS KEPT HIS HEAD, WILL KEEP HIS HELMET

November 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- The helmet will not go easily. He has had it since arriving at Michigan, five years, five autumns, same helmet, same face mask. Every spring he would hand it to the equipment man for safe-keeping, and every fall he would make sure to get it back. Once, after a practice in his junior year, an excited fan tried to grab his chin strap, yank it off as he ran past. Elvis Grbac made the save."It was down to its last snap," he says, clearly relieved. "I got it just in time."
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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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