Detroit Free Press

A MAN’S CAREER CRASHES, BUT NO ONE’S THERE TO HEAR

A MAN’S CAREER CRASHES, BUT NO ONE’S THERE TO HEAR

Tiny flakes of dead skin fell into David Braxton's left eye. "Blink," said the doctor.Braxton blinked.The flesh around his brow was swollen, and stitches dotted his eyelid likeblack ants. The doctor guessed there were 14 sewn into the outer lid, more inside."OK, here we go," he said, and steadying the scissors, he began, one at a time, to snip the threads of the wound.Braxton is a boxer.He lost.
KLIMA’S GOALS MAY HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE NHL

KLIMA’S GOALS MAY HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE NHL

Already some people are licking their chops at the thought of Petr Klima coming to Detroit. Klima is a hell of a hockey player -- maybe the best in Europe. Fast. Strong. Gifted.He is also 20 years old, alone, and in the middle of defecting from his country, Czechoslovakia.Early last week, he disappeared from a hotel in West Germany, where his Czech team was training. The whispers began. He's doing it.
RUN? JUMP? LAIMBEER CAN’T, BUT HE’S STILL NO. 1

RUN? JUMP? LAIMBEER CAN’T, BUT HE’S STILL NO. 1

The top rebounder in the NBA cannot dunk a basketball two- handed. His leap is a laugh. In a team footrace, he might finish behind the trainer.The top rebounder in the NBA never struggled as a child. Never walked the streets. At age 17, he had a new car, a gift from Dad. His only summer job -- in a tire warehouse -- lasted a week."Manual labor," he groaned. "I hate that."
SERIES IS A CELEBRATION OF LIFEIN TIME FOR PLAY, ORDINARY HEROES THROWTHE FIRST PITCH

SERIES IS A CELEBRATION OF LIFEIN TIME FOR PLAY, ORDINARY HEROES THROWTHE FIRST PITCH

SAN FRANCISCO -- The last time I wrote a column from this seat, there was fire in my hands. An earthquake had struck, Candlestick Park was dark, most of the frightened crowd had already rushed the exits. Alone, with no lights and one working telephone, I took a cardboard lunch box, lit it with a match, and, holding its flame above me so I could see, I tapped out the keys to send a story to my newspaper.
NOBODY DIES ON THIS NIGHT

NOBODY DIES ON THIS NIGHT

The floor was thumping, the house was dancing, screaming, dying, waiting for a sign, an assurance, and here came Isiah Thomas, grabbing a pass and turning his back and bouncing it to Dennis Rodman on the baseline. And Rodman rose like destiny and slammed the thing through and hung on the rim with same sweat-soaked determination the Pistons have found to hang on to this crazy series. That was the sign. The Silverdome went insane.
SHRIVER’S CLOSEST FRIEND ALSO HER TENNIS NEMESIS

SHRIVER’S CLOSEST FRIEND ALSO HER TENNIS NEMESIS

NEW YORK -- She is the trusty sidekick, the co-star, the comic book character destined to be paired with someone bigger. Pam Shriver has won every Grand Slam tournament in tennis alongside Martina Navratilova. But she has not won any alone.She tries. She advances. Then sooner or later, her doubles partner, the best woman tennis player on the planet, comes around to beat her. Sooner or later, Navratilova gets the trophy, and Shriver gets a handshake. This is the way it seems to go. Partners. Rivals. Sooner or later.
WE’LL NEVER WASH THESE TIGERS OUT OF OUR HAIR

WE’LL NEVER WASH THESE TIGERS OUT OF OUR HAIR

When I awoke Monday morning, I pushed a hand through my hair, only to feel something sticky and hard, like straw dipped in molasses.How weird, I thought.Dried champagne.It was not meant for me, that champagne. I was merely caught in the crossfire at Tiger Stadium, a bubbly explosion between one player (Mike Heath) and another (Frank Tanana). Not my champagne, not my celebration, and yet part of it had stuck to me overnight; and, in a certain way, part of me had stuck back.
BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND ROSES ARE DEAD, AND WOLVERINES ARE BLUE

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND ROSES ARE DEAD, AND WOLVERINES ARE BLUE

PASADENA, Calif. -- Suddenly the magic was gone, dried up in the California wind and blown out to sea. Jim Harbaugh took his first snap of the third quarter -- and how many of those had signaled fireworks for Michigan this season? -- and, look out, he overthrew Greg McMurtry by a mile. Second snap. Harbaugh was sacked. Third snap. Harbaugh scrambled, dumped the simplest of lobs to Jamie Morris.Morris dropped it.Michigan punted away.

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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