Detroit Free Press

For years, the most insensitive people I know have been screaming that we need to get rid of the street people. I ...

Still, there are the Russians. Not as many as there used to be. Not as young as they used to be. But there, pumping the Red Wings like a heartbeat.

MITCH ALBOMAL East -- NY YankeesAL Central -- ClevelandAL West -- AnaheimAL wild card -- BaltimoreNL East -- AtlantaNL Central -- HoustonNL West -- Los AngelesNL wild card -- San FranciscoWorld Series -- Atlanta over New York YankeesAL Central:1. Cleveland2. Chicago3. Detroit4. Minnesota5. Kansas City

Last week, the bosses of baseball said they were thinking about selling ad space on the players' sleeves. This sent baseball lovers into a twitching, neurotic frenzy."Not the uniforms!" they protested. "Those uniforms are sacred!"Personally, I don't understand how the uniform is sacred when the player is paid by a corporation, the stadium is named after a bank and the scoreboard keeps flashing commercials.Besides, why should a baseball player's arm be different? Every other inch of the country is sponsored by somebody.Take a typical American day.

TO: MATEEN CLEEVES, JUNIOR GUARDMICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITYDear Mateen,Don't even think about it.I know the NBA is ...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- I am standing over a cauldron of hate. I am watching it bubble and boil. I am getting in the mood for tonight's showdown between Michigan State and No. 1-ranked Duke."Igor, give me the photo of the coach!" I scream. "We will burn him in hatred! Ahahahahahaha!""Yessss, maaaaster," Igor says.Igor hands me the photo of Mike Krzyzewski, Duke's coach for the past 19 years."Look at how evil he is!" I exclaim, ready to drop his photo into the smoldering pot. "Look at how, uh ...uh . . ."

The sisters were doing it for themselves. There were two of them, Tonda and Trina, older and younger, 2 1/2 years apart. They would compete at every little thing, racing, eating, jumping. Tonda vs. Trina.And then along came baby brother."We figured we could double-team him," Tonda says now, laughing. "It would be the girls against the boy."

EASTLANSING -- Even in paradise, the dark clouds managed to find A. J. Granger. He already had endured a long bout with mononucleosis that left him weak and depleted on the basketball court, haunted him his entire sophomore year.Then, after getting over that, his mother was in a car accident, breaking five ribs and her wrist.