CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The big lie began every morning, with the book bag he carried and the clothes he wore. He would eat breakfast, kiss his mother good-bye, make like he was going to school, then not go to school at all. He would go to a gym and play ball. All day. When one gym closed, he would go to another. In between, he'd sit in parks and stare at the sky.
Somebody's gotta pay. That was the last angry yell when they locked the doors at Joe Louis Arena, and that was the echo in the air Friday afternoon, on a quiet street in Birmingham, as Bryan Murray stood beyond the hedges of his front lawn, a few steps off the deck, talking about why he'd just had his head cut off."I haven't even told my daughter yet," he said, looking down the street toward a group of children riding bicycles. He turned at the sound of TV satellite trucks pulling up to his driveway, one, two, three. "I guess when she sees those, she'll know something's up."
News Item: Pistons coach Chuck Daly will meet this weekend with NBC Sports executive producer Terry O'Neill to discuss Daly joining the network as an NBA analyst next season.NEW YORK -- "Good morning, Chuck. Great to see you.""Thanks, Mr. O'Neill.""Terry. It's Terry. Have a bagel. Say hi to our lawyers.""Geez. There's a lot of them.""Thirty-seven. The others couldn't make it. Now then, Chuck, we're very excited about you joining our team. We see big things for you at NBC. Really big things."
"Holy Motormouth, Batman!"Jimmy Carson, when asked to describe Shawn BurrHe was 2 years old when he first heard the voices. They came from downstairs. Laughing. Talking. Beautiful noise. He had to find it. He pulled himself over his crib and wandered down the steps."Shawn, what are you doing down here?" his parents said. They laughed and apologized to their guests. They carried the baby upstairs. Into the crib. Kiss goodnight.Five minutes later, he was back."Shawn, what are you doing out again?"Up the stairs. Into the crib.
CHICAGO -- I am going to be optimistic and say that was as bad as the Pistons will play this season, because if they play any worse, their season will be history.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- One good thing Bo Schembechler is accomplishing with this Ernie Harwell fiasco: he is making Gary Moeller's job a lot easier.Face it. When Moeller took over at Michigan, his biggest hurdle was not teaching the boys how to block and tackle. It was escaping the Schembechler ghost. Schembechler was worshiped as a football coach. Had he merely retired, then hung around Ann Arbor, his shadow would have dwarfed Moeller for years.
I know, I know. The suspense is killing you. So I'll save you a few anxious hours as you await today's Game 7 between the Pistons and Bulls. After all, we know what's going to happen, don't we? . . .
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.
