CHICAGO -- Here's one good reason the Blackhawks do not deserve to win this playoff series. They build this gorgeous new arena, and they don't have any seats for the Red Wings.I'm not kidding. It was a few minutes before Game 3, and I happened to pass Mark Howe, Martin Lapointe and several other scratched Detroit players wandering up in the press box, dressed in suits and ties, their hands in their pockets, like kids waiting for their moms in church."What's doing?" I said."No place for us," Lapointe said, glumly.
Set 'em up. Pull the trigger. Knock 'em down. Start over.It sure feels like ducks in a penny arcade, this business of watching celebrities tumble. Marv Albert is the latest. Finished now. A good sportscaster, a pioneer in many ways, gone, history, see ya. And while I have no doubt, after a week's worth of kinky stories and gasping courtroom revelations, that Albert is, as they say in the sex biz, a freak, I'm still not exactly sure what he's guilty of.
* Detroit 27, Jacksonville 17: The players in Jacksonville are complaining about a dictatorship under head coach Tom Coughlin. I don't know. Just because you have to ask permission to sneeze doesn't mean it's a dictatorship. Pick vs. spread: Jacksonville. * Pittsburgh 21, New England 20: Terrific quarterback. Brilliant coach. I thought those two things alone were supposed to put you in the playoffs. What happened, Pats? Pick vs. spread: New England.
NAGANO, Japan -- The Games began, for many of us, the moment we took off our shoes. It is a Japanese custom politely -- but forcefully -- inflicted on visitors as soon as they step inside. And in retrospect, it serves as a fitting symbol of these mild and friendly Olympics, which often required stepping out of old-heeled ways and getting used to a new soul, or what Monty Python might call "something completely different."
LONDON -- Yes, once again, it's time for our annual report on our forefathers across the pond, the people who gave back Hong Kong but kept the Spice Girls, the people for whom the Fourth of July is simply another lousy day in the colony business, yes, I'm talking about the Brits.What's 'appening ovah 'ere?
To: President Bill ClintonThe White HouseWashington, D.C.Dear Mr. President:We, the citizens of Detroit, can't tell you how thrilled we are that our Red Wings are facing a Washington, D.C., hockey team for the Stanley Cup. The prospect of you attending a Wings game is truly exciting.I believe you know our team. They were guests at the White House. No sir, they didn't stay in the Lincoln Bedroom. We don't have that kind of money. We had to give it to Sergei Fedorov.
Everyone checks their mail this time of year. But the folks at Michigan weren't looking for Christmas cards. They were waiting for a letter to render judgment on their basketball program. And this week, just before the holidays, the NCAA dropped some news in the mailbox.Now, in the spirit of the holidays, I will not reprint the actual NCAA language here, since reprinting anything the NCAA says could result in instant sleep, and who needs that with all the Christmas shopping left to do?
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.
