Detroit Free Press

AND IT WAS ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING — BY ROSS

AND IT WAS ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING — BY ROSS

PHILADELPHIA -- And then, the coach went ballistic."I'm ticked off!" croaked Bobby Ross after his football team's latest exercise in humiliation. "I get all the damn criticism -- people hammering me! I'm a good coach! I know what the heck's supposed to be done! And I'm not going to second-guess myself one damn time!"(Let's pause here to wipe the spittle from the microphone. Also to remove all children from the room. OK ...back to the tirade....)
IT’S ALL TOO COMMON: A CHILD FORSAKEN BY MOM AND DAD, FACING THE WORLD … ON HER OWN

IT’S ALL TOO COMMON: A CHILD FORSAKEN BY MOM AND DAD, FACING THE WORLD … ON HER OWN

Second in a series on heartbreaks and hopes from the sports world.She came into this world with a mother and father, and for a short while, they were all together. She remembers a baseball game when she was small, sitting on her daddy's shoulders, hearing the crack of bats and the roar of a crowd. She remembers feeling happy and secure, the way a child needs to feel. That was a long time ago.
IS GLENN’S TRIP THE RIGHT STUFF?

IS GLENN’S TRIP THE RIGHT STUFF?

They didn't have things like Space Camp when I was a kid, but if they had, I would have gone. I was a space nut. I kept scrapbooks of every mission. I glued together plastic model rockets, always making sure the flag decal was nice and straight on the side.At summer camp in 1969, I was already awake when they woke us to watch Neil Armstrong on the moon. I saw him descend the ladder of the lunar excursion module -- or LEM as we insiders called it -- and he said, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," I was thrilled.I never asked why he was doing it.
THE IBM BROWNS? GLIMPSE INTONFL’S FUTURE ISN’T PRETTY

THE IBM BROWNS? GLIMPSE INTONFL’S FUTURE ISN’T PRETTY

THE YEAR 2025 -- The IBM Browns made headlines this week when they announced they were moving from Mexico City back to Cleveland.Once upon a time, longer than most football fans can remember, the Browns played in Cleveland, under the odd name "Cleveland Browns." This, of course, was back when teams were named after the cities they played in -- before corporations insisted that the teams be named after them.
CORPORATE AMERICA IS STALKING COOLNESS

CORPORATE AMERICA IS STALKING COOLNESS

Iremember when I first used the word "cool." I was maybe 8 or 9, and my older sister was playing one of her records."This is really cool," she said."Yeah, cool!" I repeated.I had no idea what we were talking about. I think it was the Partridge Family. But it felt good to say "cool." I knew, deep down, that I needed to be cool. I knew that cool would let me be with other cool people doing other cool things, which -- given the era -- meant antiestablishment.
IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTHNOTHING COULD KEEP CHRIS SPIELMAN OFF THE FOOTBALL FIELD. UNTIL HIS WIF

IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTHNOTHING COULD KEEP CHRIS SPIELMAN OFF THE FOOTBALL FIELD. UNTIL HIS WIF

As he lifted the razor, he thought about her. And as he pulled it across his scalp, he thought about her. He shaved down to stubble, making himself bald, the hair falling in globs on the floor. And all the while he thought about her.He thought about the happier times, like the night they met, at a high school dance in Canton, Ohio. They held each other close during a slow song. It was nice. But then that fast Prince tune came on, "Little Red Corvette," and he backed away because he was this macho football player, and macho doesn't do fast dances.
OREL SURGERY: CRAFTY VETERANSAVES THE DAY FOR CLEVELAND

OREL SURGERY: CRAFTY VETERANSAVES THE DAY FOR CLEVELAND

CLEVELAND -- He was pitching for everyone who ever got a little old, a little paunchy, anyone whose boss ever came to him and said, "We're going in another direction." For 12 seasons Orel Hershiser, gave his heart, soul and body parts to the LA Dodgers, he won them a world championship, he won them endless awards, he won them fans and filled their coffers with gold. He was loved by the media and loved by the community -- and it made no difference. None whatsoever. When he turned 36, and only pitched one complete game all season, the front office suits came down and said, "Thanks, Orel.

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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