* HUT ONE: I'm gonna miss the little fella. There. I said it and I'm not ashamed.I'm talking about Lou Holtz, who announced his retirement this week -- actually, he announced the sentence "I think this is the right thing to do" this week, approximately 2,538 times during his news conference, which, by the way, is still going on down in South Bend, Ind., and is being carried live by ESPN6 -- and yes, I have to admit, I got a little misty.
And now for the Lions' newest weapon:Prayer."The good Lord did it," said Luther Ellis."I know I found religion," said Brett Perriman."Somebody wanted us to have a break," said Van Malone.What they were talking about, of course, was the last play of Sunday's game, a play that had "fade to black" written all over it. The Seattle Seahawks were lined up for a very makable 42-yard field goal that would have sent the Lions to their fifth straight loss, swallowed their meager playoff hopes, and assured them a spot in the Waste Of Talent Hall of Fame.
You do not write the script. All athletes learn this eventually. You can affect the script. You can star in the script. You may die at the end of the script. But you cannot write it. Too many things happen.
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- This was all you needed to see, safety Ron Rice, pointing at the sky. "The sun! It was the sun!" he screamed, as if the refs should throw a flag on Mother Nature.
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.