Detroit Free Press

WHILE PISTONS WAIT, A RAP TO CONTEMPLATE

WHILE PISTONS WAIT, A RAP TO CONTEMPLATE

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 . . .
NO BLACKBOARD JUNGLE FOR BILL

NO BLACKBOARD JUNGLE FOR BILL

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?"
KNIGHT’S LEDGER WAY OUT OF BALANCE

KNIGHT’S LEDGER WAY OUT OF BALANCE

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--?"
SILVER MOMENTFOR THE AUSSIES, IT WAS ALL TOO BRIEF

SILVER MOMENTFOR THE AUSSIES, IT WAS ALL TOO BRIEF

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."
BELL BEGINS TO TOLL FOR TIGERSHORRID SLUMP IS THEIR EPITAPH

BELL BEGINS TO TOLL FOR TIGERSHORRID SLUMP IS THEIR EPITAPH

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.
QUEEN MARTINA DEFENDS HER COURTYOUNG, TALENTED GRAF STILL A LADY-IN-WAITING

QUEEN MARTINA DEFENDS HER COURTYOUNG, TALENTED GRAF STILL A LADY-IN-WAITING

WIMBLEDON, England -- Youth will be served.Youth will be volleyed.Youth will be backhanded and forehanded and slammed and cross-courted and finally, on this early summer day, youth, in the form of 18-year-old Steffi Graf, would be defeated. At Wimbledon. In the final. By Martina Navratilova, 30, who, following the winning point, leaped in the air not once, not twice, but three times, screaming, "YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!"Not bad for an old lady, huh?
BOSTON’S NICE FOR BRIEF VISIT THE BRIEFER, THE BETTER

BOSTON’S NICE FOR BRIEF VISIT THE BRIEFER, THE BETTER

BOSTON -- There were three minutes left in what used to be a playoff series when Chuck Daly, watching his Pistons streak and soar and rise to the occasion, leaned back in his chair, shook a fist at Celtic mystique, and screamed the magic words: "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"Right. No point in hanging around when there are bigger fish to fry. So Vinnie Johnson broke away and dished to Dennis Rodman, soaaaaarrrring dunk!And John Salley launched himself in the face of Robert Parish. Look, Chief. Now I got the ball, now I don't. Slam. Oooh, oooh.

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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