Detroit Free Press

SEEMS LIKE FOREVER SINCE THE LIONS ROARED

SEEMS LIKE FOREVER SINCE THE LIONS ROARED

I have found the answer to the Lions' problems. He is a pass receiver. And he doubles as a defensive end. That's right. He goes both ways. Just like the old days. Which, unfortunately, was the last time he played. The old days."We didn't wear any darn face masks back then, either," Ed Klewicki says with a snort. "You wanted to shoot your mouth off, you had to back it up."Today, the Lions are a sore spot, an irritation to some, an embarrassment to others. Fans are depressed. Players are disheartened. It has been this way for so long, people figure it was always so.
PAIN, LOYALTY TUG AT RODMAN

PAIN, LOYALTY TUG AT RODMAN

Free Press columnist Mitch Albom spoke with Dennis Rodman on Thursday morning before Rodman departed for Texas. Here are excerpts from that conversation.Q -- Is it true you don't want to play for the Pistons anymore? A -- It's not like that. I don't want to do anything against Ron Rothstein, but what he and Jack (McCloskey) did to Chuck Daly was wrong. Chuck did so much for this team, and they basically pushed him aside and said, "OK, we got a man to take your place."
LENDL AT WIMBLEDON: IT WILL NEVER COMPUTE

LENDL AT WIMBLEDON: IT WILL NEVER COMPUTE

WIMBLEDON, England -- Ivan Lendl will keep coming back here until they cut his arms and legs off. And he'll never win this tournament. He can practice at his mansion until the servants go home. He can fly to Australia for special training on grass. Heck, he can start sleeping with a Toro lawn mower for all it matters. It won't matter. He is not taking this title.
SHANAHAN DESERVES SECOND OLYMPIC SHOT

SHANAHAN DESERVES SECOND OLYMPIC SHOT

He had taken so many hockey shots before. None hurt like this one. It was the Olympics, it was overtime, a shoot-out, two teams, five men each, one goalie to beat.He had the last shot, his country's last hope in the sport it worshiped. Brendan Shanahan skated in on the goalie, a guy named Dominik Hasek, and faked, but it didn't take. Hasek went with him, stopped the shot, the crowd roared, the Czechs had their upset, and that was the end of Canada's 1998 gold medal dream.
BUSH SHOULD OPEN UP ABOUT HIS DAUGHTERS

BUSH SHOULD OPEN UP ABOUT HIS DAUGHTERS

Let me get this straight. Jenna Bush, the 19-year-old daughter of President George W. Bush, a woman who has been all over TV, all over the newspapers, who appeared on the campaign trail, who danced with her father before a million flashbulbs, and who, outside the Dallas Cowboys, might be one of the most recognizable faces in Texas, tries to buy booze in Austin using a fake ID?It isn't her liver we should be worrying about. It's her brain.But college freshmen will be college freshmen. I'm more intrigued by President Bush's stance, which is silence. Indignant silence.
PLASTIC SURGERY IS OUR CULTURAL SCAR

PLASTIC SURGERY IS OUR CULTURAL SCAR

Jenna Franklin wanted a birthday present. She asked her parents. They said OK.Jenna was about to turn 16.She wanted new breasts."You've got to have breasts to be successful," she told a British tabloid.Her mother, who already had breast enlargement, liposuction, a nose job and a cheek job, agreed."There are so many young girls who are depressed about the way they look," she said, "if you can do something about it, that's great."
FOR BETTER OR WORSE, DUMARS TAKES PISTONS

FOR BETTER OR WORSE, DUMARS TAKES PISTONS

LATER TODAY, the Pistons will name Joe Dumars their president of basketball operations and George Irvine their coach. This is interesting news, maybe even good news. But it is pretty much like saying, "We've got the tanks and the maps; all we need now are the soldiers."In the NBA, as in war, the soldiers are the story.

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.

Subscribe for bonus content and giveaways!