Millions of years from now, when all that is left of mankind are some dusty ruins and a tape of the Red Wings' 2004 playoffs, aliens will assume that the closing ritual of every NHL game was to have an opposing player skate toward the goalie, and casually -- some might even say matter-of-factly -- ram an elbow into his head.Which pretty much sums up Ville Nieminen's last few seconds Thursday night.
The Red Wings fan bites his fingernails. The Red Wings fan taps his feet. The Red Wings fan approaches a stranger in a Tampa Bay Lightning cap."How scared should we be?" he says."Well, if you're asking me," the Tampa Bay fan says, leaning back on his rocking chair, sliding a weed between his teeth, "pretty darn scared."
Things we learned from the NFL draft:1) Sunshine is overrated.2) Joey Harrington can now look to his right and his left.3) It's OK to draft 20-year-olds, but not the ones who go to the Supreme Court.Let's begin with the sunshine.Silly me.Here I thought all anyone could want in life was beach, breeze and beautiful blondes.Obviously, a subway that smells like urine is more attractive.
MILWAUKEE 92, DEROIT 88The whistle blew -- offensive foul! -- and Richard Hamilton, in disgust, tore away his plastic mask. This is not why they call him "Rip." He threw the mask across the floor. Shreek! Another whistle. Technical foul to go with his sixth foul. And then, for good measure, the refs threw him out altogether. He left muttering angry warnings to the Bucks on the floor, who nodded as if to say, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're gone. We're still here. And we're gonna win the game."Adding insult to larceny.
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.
