Detroit Free Press

NO CLOWNING! THE PATS WERE A VERY BAD JOKE

NO CLOWNING! THE PATS WERE A VERY BAD JOKE

NEW ORLEANS -- Send in the clowns. And the dancing bears. Super Bowl XX was a joke, a bad joke if your seat was in New England -- because the Patriots were merely the cookies to keep the kids quiet, and the Bears were the show. The whole show.It was merciful when they brought down the curtain on this, the Super Bowl which may have set new records for false expectations. An even match, some had called it? Even?
FUN WITH TED — THE GOODWILL GURU

FUN WITH TED — THE GOODWILL GURU

MOSCOW -- See Ted run. See Ted run to Russia. See Ted shell out $35 million, put his arm around a Soviet official, and raise a vodka glass to their new sports festival."To Mr. Turner!" toasts the Russian."To my Commie buddy!" says Ted.See Ted tour. See Ted tour Moscow. See Ted stop at Lenin's tomb, go inside, view the embalmed body, and come back out."What do you think?" someone asks."He looks good," Ted says. "A little pale, maybe. . . . "
PISTONS’ 12TH MAN GETTING AN EDUCATION

PISTONS’ 12TH MAN GETTING AN EDUCATION

As a kid, the only athlete I knew personally was a gawky, 6- foot-11 basketball player named Craig Raymond. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers, and my mother, who decorated houses, found him as a client. I was thrilled. Never mind that he was the last man on the Philadelphia bench, or that he played only when the team was winning by 25 points or losing by 30. He was a pro. One time he came to our house, and I asked him, meekly, if he would dunk a basketball on my small backyard hoop. I remember to this day how the rim shook with his strength -- my rim, he had dunked it!
MICHIGAN STATE GETS UP OFF ITS KNEES IN BIG TEN

MICHIGAN STATE GETS UP OFF ITS KNEES IN BIG TEN

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Bobby McAllister took the final snap, dropped to one knee, and when the gun sounded, he rose with a smile. You couldn't have painted a more fitting scene: Off your knees, Michigan State. This morning, you are on top."What were you thinking as the game came to a finish?" someone asked McAllister, after the Spartans upset Ohio State, 13-7, Saturday to take sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
MAD DOG REALLY IS JUST A TIGER ABOUT WINNING

MAD DOG REALLY IS JUST A TIGER ABOUT WINNING

BOSTON -- We interrupt these NBA championships to take a walk with the Dog. Mad Dog. Bill Madlock. The baseball player. To be honest, I am not sure how you address a man who, among other things, has pushed a glove in an umpire's face, been tossed out of every National League ballpark at least once, and has children nicknamed the Mad Puppies. I mean, do you just say hello here, or do you need a bone?
COLEMAN AND CARDINALS FINALLY GET THE STEPS RIGHT

COLEMAN AND CARDINALS FINALLY GET THE STEPS RIGHT

ST. LOUIS -- The feeling, up to a point, was like trying to run with your shoelaces tied together. Step. Flop. Here were the St. Louis Cardinals, the quick, the fleet, the fastest team in baseball, tripping all over themselves in their World Series tango with the Minnesota Twins. Step. Flop. And nobody felt more confined than Vince Coleman. Born to run? Was there ever a better description for this guy -- the Cardinals' left fielder, three straight years with 100 or more bases stolen? And yet he'd been going nowhere all Series, and his team had followed. One measly stolen base.
SUDDENLY, THE TIRED CELTS GET HIGHER THAN A KITE

SUDDENLY, THE TIRED CELTS GET HIGHER THAN A KITE

BOSTON -- Minutes after the game was over, a mob of reporters was already around his locker. Cameras were steadied. Microphones were tested."When's he coming?" the voices cried."He's not coming," came the answer, "there's not enough room in here. He's doing his interviews out in the stands."

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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