Detroit Free Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It was too early for heartbreak. The sun was just creeping through the huge glass windows. The plane wasn't ready yet, and the airport was filled with the lonely echo that comes in those ungodly hours before the coffee shop opens.

MINNEAPOLIS -- And the winner is: Gary Gaetti. No matter what happens. Three weeks ago he was a name heard only in Minnesota and a few select baseball circles. And now you've got Whitey Herzog wishing he had him and Sparky Anderson wishing he had him and a nation's worth of media fantasizing how great it would be if Gaetti graced their clubhouses during the regular season -- and not just during this wacky World Series.

I am concerned. I am worried. I think the Pistons have too much time on their hands. They swept Boston. They sat. They swept Milwaukee. They sit.What to do? May I suggest . . . music. A new Pistons theme. I don't know if Isiah can sing, or if Bill Laimbeer can dance (actually it's a pretty safe bet that Laimbeer can't dance), but a music video might be just the thing to pass the time. And it's good for team spirit. For example: Ah-one, ah- two . . .

PALOS VERDES, Calif. -- I am walking past the cliffs that drop into the Pacific Ocean. I am walking past the Corvettes, and the BMWs and the dark blueMercedeses. I am walking past the tennis courts and the long turquoise pool.I am walking into Bill Laimbeer's old high school.His high school?"Do people really go to class here?" I ask Laimbeer's former coach, John Mihaljevich, 52, who greets me dressed in a red windbreaker, sunglasses, shorts and a deep tan. "Do they actually study, you know, math and science and all that?"

NEW ORLEANS -- Did you know Bobby Knight is writing a newspaper column? One of those quickie syndication deals. So now he gets to sit up there in front of a ballroom full of reporters and say with a sneer, "Well, as a fellow sports writer, I think. . . . "This, I suppose, is better than him punching you in the face. Or screaming until your hair turns white. Or brutally insulting your intelligence while your peers laugh along because if they don't, they're afraid he'll turn on them next. Not that it ever stopped him before."Bobby," a reporter began, "do you--?"

FREMANTLE, Australia -- The afternoon was hot and quiet, and Cyril Kenair, the security guard, swiped at a fly that was buzzing his head. A woman and two children came to the door of the Royal Perth Yacht Club and Cyril stood up quickly. "We called this morning," said the woman, her voice polite and hopeful. "Do you suppose we could see the Cup?""'All right, mum," he said. "But the kiddies -- will you watch that they don't put their hands on the glass?""Certainly.""Very good, then. Go on up."

NEW YORK -- That music you hear from the Big Apple isn't "New York, New York" anymore.It's taps.Pennant races may not be over until they're over, but if Saturday's 9-4 Tigers loss didn't decide the fate of the American League East, it surely summed it up: The Red Sox won again in Boston, the Yankees exploded their napalm offense, and the Tigers, defeated, went gently into that very bad night."Do you find yourself talking more or less to the team as this goes along?" someone asked manager Sparky Anderson after Detroit's 16th loss in its last 19 games.