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"Right now, I'm in awe of myself." -- Mark McGwire, after Sunday's gameThat was no home run, that was an exclamation point.Mark McGwire's final rocket shot of the season -- which launched on the last Sunday in September, traveled more than 370 feet, and landed in a leftfield box at Busch Stadium, plopping into a group of partying lab researchers -- was more than McGwire's 70th of the year. It was more than the all-time record. It was more than nine better than Roger Maris, whose mark they said might never be broken.
It is not my place -- as a man who needs a month to grow a five-o'clock shadow -- to ask why Red Wings players are suddenly sporting the same facial hair. But I'll do it anyhow. Someone has to. I mean, if everyone in your office suddenly came to work looking like Magic Johnson, you'd ask, "What's going on?" Wouldn't you?So what's going on?"I don't know," says Aaron Ward, rubbing his mustache. "I just grew mine because you're supposed to.""Don't ask me," says Darren McCarty, scratching his beard. "I don't know who started it."
NEWS ITEM: Kobe Bryant, a 17-year-old high school basketball player, announced last week that he would skip college and immediately enter the NBA draft. He follows 19-year-old Kevin Garnett, who did the same thing last year. Many worry that the pattern will continue, and that college may one day be seen as a meaningless step in a pro sports career. "How much younger can it get?" one coach wondered . . . LOS ANGELES, May 5, 2014 -- Six-year-old Joey (Slamma) Jamma called a press conference to announce that he was skipping elementary school and jumping straight to the NBA draft.
We lost a good man last weekend. His death was sudden. It shocked those who loved him. When he finally was laid to rest, it was hard to believe how many people paid tribute.I am not talking about John F. Kennedy Jr., although you probably thought I was. Such is the state of American culture that even death can be usurped by the rich and famous.No, the man I am talking about was not a Kennedy. He was never dubbed "America's Prince." He was neither famous nor Adonis-like. He never Rollerbladed through Central Park.
WIMBLEDON, England -- In tennis, there are always two big stories: the reigning champions, and the young turks on the horizon. In case you missed it, the horizon these days is dwarfed by a pair of tall, gangly, American teenaged sisters named Venus and Serena Williams. They hover like twin tornadoes. Both are unorthodox, fast, wickedly powerful with their ground strokes, and as promising as a tooth that bursts through the skin.
And now for the Lions' newest weapon:Prayer."The good Lord did it," said Luther Ellis."I know I found religion," said Brett Perriman."Somebody wanted us to have a break," said Van Malone.What they were talking about, of course, was the last play of Sunday's game, a play that had "fade to black" written all over it. The Seattle Seahawks were lined up for a very makable 42-yard field goal that would have sent the Lions to their fifth straight loss, swallowed their meager playoff hopes, and assured them a spot in the Waste Of Talent Hall of Fame.
EAST LANSING -- In the closing seconds of Tuesday's hissing defeat, several Michigan State fans began to razz Purdue's bald-headed senior forward, Cuonzo Martin."Hey, Cuonzo, how's it feel to be ranked 25th in the country?""Hey, Cuonzo. Nice haircut.""CBA! CBA!"Martin, hands on hips, breathing hard from the 12 points he scored in the last six minutes, rolled his eyes and pushed his lips together. He blew them a kiss. Mmmwah! A winner's revenge.
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.
