Detroit Free Press

THE PLAYER quits, the theories begin.So should the laughter.Honestly, some of the reasons being offered for Barry ...

HE WAS known for his running, but will be remembered for his final walk. Barry Sanders, arguably the greatest running back in football, spent 10 years dodging contact in the NFL, only to depart with his own rocking elbow to the face. The recipients were his team, his coaches, his fans and his city. And the black eye is just beginning to swell.See Barry walk.

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.

If I told my bosses at this newspaper that I planned to spend the next year taking my same paycheck but doing work ...

LONDON -- I can still see the old train station in that northern Italian village. Can still feel sun on the back of my neck and the weight of a huge canvas pack on my shoulders.I was just out of college, traveling across Europe, as kids did back then. I had little money -- too little to spare for phone calls or a newspaper -- and the next train wasn't for hours. I took a place against the white stone wall of the station, dropped on my rear end and exhaled."This," I said to myself, gazing at the hot empty streets, "must be what they mean by 'the middle of nowhere.' "

WIMBLEDON, England -- Don't bury the male species yet.Oh, I know, these days men's tennis is as exciting as a traffic cone. They serve, they mumble, they cash the check.But out of the rain, the clouds and the lengthy delays of this long and winding Wimbledon, we have emerged with a terrific semifinal cast of men, all of whom are scheduled to play today. (True, "scheduled to play" at Wimbledon means, "Bring a raincoat and a deck of cards." But what can you do?)

WIMBLEDON, England -- For hours and hours, through sunshine, through clouds, through three rain delays that ...

WIMBLEDON, England -- With applause, a grown man said good-bye. And with controversy, a young girl said hello. It ...