Detroit Free Press

I could have written this column Tuesday, the day the ax fell. But it seemed to fit on Thanksgiving, a day the Pilgrims sat down with the Indians. A more proper time, perhaps, for you, me and the rest of the football-watching world to smoke the peace pipe with Gerry Faust.Faust resigned as Notre Dame football coach on Tuesday. His crime was losing. Nothing more. He had been plucked from the high school ranks five years ago -- where he was a big-time winner -- and handed the reins to the nation's most popular college football program.

WIMBLEDON, England -- Picture a man dangling on a rope, sharks in the water, snapping at his flesh. The man is Jimmy Connors, the sharks are the tireless young tennis players who keep coming and coming. And one of them just rose up and bit him in the butt.Jimbo exits Wimbledon. Who knows whether this is last time? He is 35 now, the wins come harder and harder, and the opponents are nameless, faceless.

"Chuck?""NOW COACH? NOW? YOU WANT ME IN NOW? I'M READY! I'M--""Uh, Chuck, could you please hand me the clipboard?""Oh, sure, coach.""Thank you. Oh -- and Chuck?""NOW COACH? NOW? PASS PLAY? YOU WANT A PASS PLAY FIRST? YOU WANT A--""Chuck. I, uh, need the pencil that was with the clipboard.""Oh . . . here.""Thank you.""You're welcome.""By the way, Chuck--""NOW? NOW? YOU WANT ME IN NOW?""Chuck, I--"

TORONTO -- The ball went flying high into center field and Chet Lemon waved, he got it, the final out, and that was that. Alan Trammell stood at shortstop, watched the catch, then trotted in with the rest of his teammates.The game was won. The streak was over.

PASADENA, Calif. -- They will see each other again some day, maybe 20 or 30 years from now, at a picnic or a party or an alumni function. Bobby McAllister, the quarterback. Lorenzo White, the tailback. They will laugh and slap backs, remember this story and that story.

There's no talking to Doyle Alexander. There's no disrupting Doyle Alexander. There may be no stopping Doyle Alexander. At least, no one has done it since he donned a Detroit uniform last month. He is the least likely of heroes, a craggy-faced, 37-year-old veteran with a personality -- at least to reporters -- that would compare nicely to a pit bull's. And who cares? If he keeps pitching the way he has been pitching, the Tigers will give him a door for his locker and his own "DO NOT DISTURB" sign.

CALGARY, Alberta -- It was over before the second guy even skated. You knew that watching Brian Boitano Saturday night, knew it when, in the middle of the final cyclone twist of a brilliant routine, he jerked his head skyward with a smile that said it was all worth it, all the wait, all the work, everything, because the gold medal was coming, it was just a matter of time.Nailed it."I had such a feeling of accomplishment," Boitano said Sunday, recalling the pinnacle moment of his skating career. "I looked at the ceiling and just sort of said, 'Thank you.' "

So, in other words, he could still be a Detroit Tiger. That's what we get from Jack Morris' one-week tour of America. He went to the Minnesota Twins and they turned him down. He went to the New York Yankees, and they were lukewarm. So he offered that which has never been offered before: A one-year deal, subject to arbitration.Which means this: Morris gives a figure, George Steinbrenner gives a figure, and a bozo with a degree on his wall decides which is fair. This has never been tried with a team that did not previously employ the player.