Detroit Free Press

NFL SHOW GOES ON, DESPITE THE RISKS

NFL SHOW GOES ON, DESPITE THE RISKS

Maybe you see God. Maybe that's the sensation football players whisper about, after a crunching hit coughs the life from their bodies and they collapse like puppets into the turf. Maybe it's a religious thing, the gates of heaven swinging open, your maker taking a fleeting look, ready to call you home.
BIG MIKE’S BEST EFFORT NOT ENOUGH

BIG MIKE’S BEST EFFORT NOT ENOUGH

Mike Peplowski deserved better than this. He had the scars, and he put in the years. No way a Spartan like him should have to exit the greatest rivalry of his college career on the short end, while two young Wolverine players, Ray Jackson and Chris Webber, danced on the scorer's table, shaking their hips and leading the crowd in a wave. Peplowski looked down. He kept walking.
STADIUM COMBATANTS PUT ON QUITE A SHOW

STADIUM COMBATANTS PUT ON QUITE A SHOW

When Bill Bonds arrives with three cameras -- one of them always pointed at himself -- and asks a million questions so he can look good on the local news, that's not journalism. It's theater.When Bo Schembechler bangs his fist on the podium and says "NO!" to this, "NO!" to that, and insists he is doing it "for the fans," that's not negotiating. It's theater.When Ed McNamara drops his jowls and looks deadly serious and says, "This is all part of a plot for the Tigers to move out of Michigan," that's not informed knowledge. It's theater.
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES? TRY THE WILD THING

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES? TRY THE WILD THING

NEWS ITEM: Pitcher Mitch Williams, distraught over the World Series and death threats from Phillies fans, did not join the team when it returned from Toronto. Some say we never will see him in a Phillies uniform again. His whereabouts are unknown.The year: 2018. Date: Oct. 26. Ship's log, somewhere in the South Pacific.A bad storm hit last night. The ship crashed against the rocks. I washed up on this uncharted desert island.
ONCE AGAIN, AFC PROVIDES A SACRIFICIAL SUPER LAMB

ONCE AGAIN, AFC PROVIDES A SACRIFICIAL SUPER LAMB

MINNEAPOLIS -- At the risk of being rude, I think it's time the AFC took its marbles and went home. This is not its game, this Super Bowl thing. The AFC has about as much fun here as the guy in the sponge toss who gets dropped in the water. Splash! Down goes this year's AFC sacrifice, the Buffalo Bills, in embarrassing fashion, 37-24, to the Washington Redskins. Don't let Sunday's final score fool you. Here was another Super Bowl so lopsided that Washington was ready to dump Gatorade on coach Joe Gibbs -- at halftime.
PISTONS CAN’T BE TOUCHEDISIAH, VINNIE AND JOE PUSH TEAM TO GREATNESS

PISTONS CAN’T BE TOUCHEDISIAH, VINNIE AND JOE PUSH TEAM TO GREATNESS

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Vinnie Johnson had the microphone. Isiah Thomas was next to him on stage, with his own microphone. Now and then he would sing a couple of words and Vinnie would sing, too. The band, watching, hooted its approval. Now Vinnie wanted Joe. "WHERE'S BROADWAY?" he bellowed to the raucous crowd. "WHERE'S BROADWAY JOE?"Joe Dumars sat at a back table and dipped his head. Shy by nature, he didn't relish stepping onto the stage in front of all these people. His wife, Debbie, nudged him. He shook her off. But Vinnie would not give up.
AFTER STRANGE AND TRAGIC SEASON, IT’S TIME TO SMILE

AFTER STRANGE AND TRAGIC SEASON, IT’S TIME TO SMILE

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- For those of you who went out Christmas shopping Sunday afternoon, let me sum up what happened here in the tundra:The Lions fumbled the ball with less than three minutes left; missed a field goal with less than one minute left; missed another field goal with 12 seconds left; lost Bennie Blades to injury, Dennis Gibson to injury, George Jamison to injury; converted one third down all day; and spent most of the afternoon dodging snowballs thrown by the fans.And they won.And they set a franchise record for victories.
RANGERS 3, CANUCKS 2FINALLY!NEW YORK (AND NHL) NEEDED THIS

RANGERS 3, CANUCKS 2FINALLY!NEW YORK (AND NHL) NEEDED THIS

NEW YORK -- A bead of sweat was dripping down Jon's forehead, from his thick, sprayed hair toward his makeup- covered cheekbone. He tried to ignore it and hold his microphone straight, but man, it was hot, damn hot. The heat seemed to burst from the subway grates and the exhaust pipes of buses that rolled past Madison Square Garden, past rows of blue-uniformed riot police, hundreds of them, just waiting, leaning on their blue barricades, wiping sweat from their foreheads. It was June 14, almost summer, the latest day in hockey history, and the fever was all over 33rd Street.

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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