Detroit Free Press

AFTER KILLING BUNNY, PISTONS GO FOR BULLS

AFTER KILLING BUNNY, PISTONS GO FOR BULLS

They came off the court like bounty hunters who had just killed a bunny rabbit. The Pistons shot the Bullets -- dead, finally, the fifth game of this best-of-five opening round playoff series. There was no champagne. No loud cheering in the locker room. There was . . . relief."What did this series teach you?" someone asked center Bill Laimbeer, after Detroit beat Washington, 99-78, to advance to the NBA's second round."That every game is a bitch," he said.
MORRIS TAKES ON BASEBALL AND HIS POINT IS LIKE A THORN IN THE OWNERS’ SIDES

MORRIS TAKES ON BASEBALL AND HIS POINT IS LIKE A THORN IN THE OWNERS’ SIDES

He is making a point. You have to be blind to miss that. Here is Jack Morris, maybe the top pitcher of the '80s, telling the baseball world smack in the middle of its winter meetings that he is through with the Detroit Tigers,that there are four teams now -- and only four teams -- he wants to deal with, and knock, knock, he'll visit the first one, the Minnesota Twins, on Tuesday morning, and they better have their pens ready."Go ahead," he seems to say, as subtle as a brick through a window, "just try to ignore me."
MSU RISES TO ROSESTHEY HAD THE BALL; THEY HAD IT ALL

MSU RISES TO ROSESTHEY HAD THE BALL; THEY HAD IT ALL

PASADENA, Calif. -- They had the ball! They had the ball! Todd Krumm was cradling it, dancing with it, raising it above his head and leaping into the arms of teammate Kurt Larson, and only gravity kept them from flying off into space. All the waiting, all the lean years, all the talk of Rose Bowl jinx -- it was all crushed down and squeezed inside this little brown football, and now, Michigan State had it. God. At last.
FOR PROBERT, NO MORE HIDINGHE’S ARRESTED, YET NO ONE LOOKS CLEAN

FOR PROBERT, NO MORE HIDINGHE’S ARRESTED, YET NO ONE LOOKS CLEAN

He finally hit bottom in the cold dawn of Thursday morning, when a U.S. customs agent made him drop his pants and watched a packet of cocaine fall out of his underwear. Standing there, in a windowless room at the American border, alone, about to be charged with drug smuggling, Bob Probert was no longer a hockey player. He was no longer a Detroit Red Wing. He was no longer some tragic hero to the boozy faithful at Joe Louis Arena, who all along have continued to chant, "Hey, leave Probert alone!"He was a criminal suspect.Arrested. Cuffed. And led away.
NFL TIEBREAKERS: NEW IDEAS THAT FLY IN THE FACE OF PARITY

NFL TIEBREAKERS: NEW IDEAS THAT FLY IN THE FACE OF PARITY

Well, here we are, just one week from the end of the NFL season, and this is what we can say about the playoffs: Nobody's going.Or everybody's going. Who can tell? With the sudden parity in the NFL, a .500 record can be your ticket in, or your ticket home. We can anticipate a very long day next week, in which the NFL pundits try to sort through the numerous tie-breaking procedures.But somebody will inevitably be unhappy. And what happens if, after all the analysis -- division wins, points against, and toughness of schedule -- there is still a tie?

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.

Subscribe for bonus content and giveaways!