Detroit Free Press

HOW CAN ONE BEAT FIVE?JUST WATCH MR. JORDAN

HOW CAN ONE BEAT FIVE?JUST WATCH MR. JORDAN

CHICAGO -- By the end, he was leading them all, his teammates, the fans, even the referees, marching them like a crazed army toward the end of his personal rainbow. Michael Jordan was taking over the game. Bank shot, good! Lay-up, good! Jump shot, good! "Here I am," he seemed to say to the Pistons' defenders, "try and stop me."
AZINGER LIVES A LIFETIME IN ONE ENDLESS MINUTE

AZINGER LIVES A LIFETIME IN ONE ENDLESS MINUTE

MUIRFIELD, Scotland -- He was huddled against the wind with his wife and his baby daughter. They were alone, in front of the clubhouse, a few hundred feet from the 18th green, where, at the moment, the fans chanted wildly for the British Open champion: "ON THE GREEN! ON THE GREEN!" they demanded.He should have been the hero. But he was not the hero. Paul Azinger kissed his wife's forehead and looked off beyond the noise, beyond this coastal golf course, beyond the North Sea. He looked off to someplace far away.
JUST CALL HIM ‘COOL HAND WALT’ROGER CLEMENS ISN’T EVEN ON WAITING LISTFOR TERRELL’S TOP THREE ID

JUST CALL HIM ‘COOL HAND WALT’ROGER CLEMENS ISN’T EVEN ON WAITING LISTFOR TERRELL’S TOP THREE ID

The first time I ever saw Walt Terrell, he was sitting against his locker, sucking on a beer. He looked very content, and I did not disturb him.The next time I saw Walt Terrell, he was in the same position. I did not disturb him.The next 92 times I saw Walt Terrell he was in the same position -- except sometimes the beer was a cigaret or a chicken wing -- until finally, I came to believe that if the clubhouse suddenly exploded into a huge ball of fire, Walt Terrell would lean over and go, "Hey. Did you hear something?"
JOY AND A TEARAMID THE CELEBRATION, TEAM LOSES RICK MAHORN

JOY AND A TEARAMID THE CELEBRATION, TEAM LOSES RICK MAHORN

Just a moment ago, he was dancing. Just a moment ago, he was spritzing champagne on his teammates, laughing with those gap-teeth, shaking his big nasty body and singing "BAAAD BOYS! BAAAD BOYS!" Just a moment ago, Rick Mahorn was the muscle around the heart of the Pistons' brand-new NBA championship team.And now he is gone.
FEAR AND LOATHING IN A $23 MILLION PARTY STORE

FEAR AND LOATHING IN A $23 MILLION PARTY STORE

NEW ORLEANS -- Listen, boss. The kid was a professional hustler, I don't care how high his voice was. He had a shoe- shine brush and a jar of polish and he was about nine years old, but he didn't fool me; he was on the make just like everybody else in this city during Super Bowl Week, the biggest, liquor-crazed, money-soaked Pep Rally of the American calendar year. And the little newt had his eye on my shoes, which made me nervous."I betcha I can tell you where you got those shoes," he said."How much?" I said."Five bucks," he said.
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.

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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