Detroit Free Press

AN UNSETTLING VISIT WITH JOHNNIE COCHRAN

AN UNSETTLING VISIT WITH JOHNNIE COCHRAN

He entered the room in a three-piece suit, sat down and began scanning an information sheet about me. I was interviewing him, but in many ways, like a good lawyer, Johnnie Cochran was preparing for me."I know you're on a tight schedule," I said, "so I'll get right down to it.""OK, great," he replied, his gaze never coming off the page. I watched his eyes dart back and forth beneath his glasses. I kept picturing a judge hanging over us, saying, "Are you ready to begin, Mr. Cochran?"
IN PHILLY, THERE’S PLENTY OF SHOUTING

IN PHILLY, THERE’S PLENTY OF SHOUTING

PHILADELPHIA -- Thank heaven there's a hockey game tonight. If people here had to wait any longer, they might implode.I'm not talking about the normal Philadelphians. Normal Philadelphians might have a few other things in their lives, like jobs. The Philadelphians I'm talking about are the rabid fans who have nothing better to do but call into Philly sports talk radio -- or as it's known in the industry, Lawsuit Central.Now, it's true, most towns have some kind of sports talk radio station. Many sound like this:
FLAP AT HARVARD IGNORES ONE PERSON

FLAP AT HARVARD IGNORES ONE PERSON

Dead men tell no tales. And dead parents make no complaints. So it's impossible to know what Dorothy Mayfield would have thought about her daughter's acceptance to Harvard University.Or what she might have thought when Harvard changed its mind.It seems that her daughter's application -- which featured straight A's and glowing recommendations -- left out one alarming fact: The girl had murdered her mother four years earlier.Not exactly a small detail.
I WANT A REFUND FOR WASTED TIME

I WANT A REFUND FOR WASTED TIME

The year is almost up. I want a refund.I don't want money. I want time. I want back every minute wasted on subjects that were trivial, gossipy or just plain idiotic.Subjects on which I can't believe we wasted any breath at all. Things that dominated our newspapers and our TVs and, therefore, our conversations, like whether the Spice Girls have any talent.The answer is no. There. That took half-a-second. I want back anything over that.
TGI FOOTBALL

TGI FOOTBALL

HUT ONE: Finally, it's upon us, the annual Michigan- Michigan State game, where Spartans fans accuse Wolverines fans of being rich, spoiled, candy-panted dweebs, and Wolverines fans retort, "Run along, Sparty, time to chew your cud."* HUT TWO: In games like these, of course, the trash talk at the line of scrimmage can be very entertaining:
MEMO TO WINGS FANS: GET OFF OSGOOD’S BACK

MEMO TO WINGS FANS: GET OFF OSGOOD’S BACK

Chris Osgood was standing by his locker when I approached. He was sucking on a candy that smelled like a LifeSaver. Interesting choice of sweets, a LifeSaver, since that's what half this city seems to want to throw him after Wednesday night's loss.But here's a piece of news. He doesn't need it. Doesn't want it. And doesn't deserve it."How do you feel about what happened?" I asked."Ticked off," he said. "I was 85 seconds away from my best playoff series ever.""Does it make you want to play right now?"

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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