The last time baseball was played at Comerica Park, the crowd was on its feet for the final out. Six months later, Thursday afternoon, as shadows fell on a misty Opening Day, the scene repeated itself, with fans once more on their feet as the Tigers left the field.There is only one difference between the ovations, but it is all the difference in the world.The last time was pity. This time was praise.
There is alone, there is lonesome, and there is the loneliest man in sports. Manny Legace, the Red Wings' goaltender, went through all three phases Wednesday night -- and it took him only two minutes.First, he was alone. After all, he was making his first playoff start at age 31. He'd gone from "second backup" to "first backup" to "only healthy option." Eleven years in professional hockey, and finally, the net is yours? You face such moments by yourself, alone, and alone he was, to start the game.
This is a college story. A young man named Bobby Madison arrived in Kalamazoo a few years ago. He came to play basketball. He came from Alabama, a small town with an elastic plant and a barbecue joint. He knew nothing of Michigan, except that it was cold. Snow? He'd seen snow. A few times. Near Birmingham. Down there, he says, if it snows three inches "we miss school for five days."He unpacked his bags and waited in the dorm room."Then this tall skinny kid comes in," Madison recalls, "and I said, 'Well, I guess this is my roommate.' "
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.
