As the deadline for Kirk Gibson and the Tigers came down to its final minutes, it became clear we were witnessing the end of one story -- and the beginning of another. One that could shake major league baseball down to its very stitches.Why didn't Gibson get a contract offer? Why didn't clubs like the Yankees or the Braves -- who always unloaded the money truck for free agents in the past -- even sniff at him? Or Donnie Moore or Carlton Fisk?The owners claim they got religion, in the fiscal sense. Say they've wised up to the evil temptations of free agency.
I crawl into the attic. I lift the old blanket. There, beneath a dusty program from Super Bowl II, is the oblong-shaped crystal. I put it on the table. It begins to glow. Headlines. I see headlines. Stories. I see stories. Football, 1988.Here we go . . . PONTIAC, Sept. 4 -- The Detroit Lions beat the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, prompting a celebration rarely seen in a season opener. "WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" screamed the Lions players to the crowd of 766 fans at the Silverdome, many of whom stayed for the whole game.Atlanta players seemed confused.
THE LIVE ALBOM* So Howard Cosell has been bumped from the World Series. Breaks my heart.* Actually, I have Howard's new book, the one that's getting him into all this trouble. I'll get around to reading it as soon as I finish two other sports classics: "Mr. Ed Was a Stud," by Secretariat, and "Shhhh!: The George Hendrick Story." * THREE REASONS WHY I PICKED KANSAS CITY TO WIN THE AL PENNANT:1. George Brett2. Experience3. Left-handed pitching * THREE REASONS WHY I PICKED ST. LOUIS TO WIN THE NL PENNANT:1. Speed2. Whitey Herzog
Poor Kirk Gibson.A baseball star without a contract.Nobody wants him. Except the Tigers. And he doesn't want them. Not at their latest offer. "Hard Times For Free Agents" read the cover of Sports Illustrated last week, above a photo of Gibson. He was looking angry.Who'd have thought being talented, rich, and handsome could bring so many problems?Well. I have a suggestion. It is time for action. It is time for Kirk to do as any businessman would. When supply exceeds demand, there is only one answer.
You can come out now. Take the paper bag off your head. Put the phone back on the hook. All is well. Detroit has a first-place team.Say what?"I think we can go all the way," says the star player.All the way? Did you hear that? Forget those Pistons programs you shredded in the blender. And the Red Wings hockey stick you smashed across your forehead when they lost, what was it, 86-0? Relax. Rejoice. All is well.Detroit has a first-place team.Say what?"It took a lot of hard work, but we are rolling," says the coach. "It's in our hands now."
THE LIVE ALBOM: * It's the season of the Bowl. There are many. There are more to come. We have a Peach Bowl, but no Canned Peach Bowl. A Fiesta, but no Siesta. A Cherry, but no Pit.I could go on and on. And I will.
PHILADELPHIA -- He was the rusty model, the spare part you keep in the garage, just in case. Joe Ferguson may not even be around the Lions next year, but on Sunday afternoon, just before game time, his coach came up and said the words he figured were forever behind him at age 36.You're starting."When did you find out?" someone asked Ferguson, after he played the entire game as Lions quarterback in their awkward 13-11 win over the Eagles Sunday."Warm-ups," he said. "Late in the warm-ups."
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.
