Detroit Free Press

VOICE DOESN’T LIE, EXCEPT WHEN LYING

VOICE DOESN’T LIE, EXCEPT WHEN LYING

I study the line sheet. I move my pencil toward my pick. I am picking against the Raiders."Not so fast," says a voice.Who said that?"Never pick against a team that's lost three in a row. They're bound to come back."Well . . . all right, I say.I move the pencil to the Seattle- Washington game. I start to circle Seattle."Not so fast," says the voice.Who is that?"Never pick a team that's won three in a row. They're bound to lose."But you said--"Trust me."
UNTIL THE 40-GAME MARK, COME IN FROM THAT LEDGE

UNTIL THE 40-GAME MARK, COME IN FROM THAT LEDGE

I am not worrying about the Tigers. I am not losing sleep, or chewing my fingernails. I am not placing a Detroit cap next to a string of garlic to ward off evil spirits. I am calm and cool. "But they're in sixth place," my fellow workers say. "How can you not be worried?""Worrying never skinned the cat, boys," I say, leaning back in my chair."Huh?" they say."Forty games," I say. "That's what Sparky Anderson said. Forty games before you can tell anything. And I believe the man."
A WHOLE WORLD OF AWARDS WAITING TO BE BESTOWED

A WHOLE WORLD OF AWARDS WAITING TO BE BESTOWED

KANSAS CITY -- They can talk MVP. They can talk Cy Young. But there are a few other awards to come out of this 1985 World Series that should not be overlooked. A little less well known, maybe, but just as cherished by the recipients. Sort of.May we have the envelopes, please?THE MISTER ROGERS "WOULD YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?" AWARD: To Cardinals pitcher John Tudor, who, when asked by a reporter why he didn't seem to be enjoying his Game 5 victory, replied, "Do you want me to punch you in the mouth? Would that make you happy?"
END OF INNOCENCE FRIENDS HAUNTED BY DEATHS OF IONIA TEENS

END OF INNOCENCE FRIENDS HAUNTED BY DEATHS OF IONIA TEENS

IONIA -- He didn't see the bodies. Not when he arrived. Just the car, a 1972 Chevy Malibu, parked right where the phone call said it was, on a tractor path just off Frank Road. State Trooper Jim Rogers got out of his squad car and sighed. "Probably some guy fell asleep," he figured. Happens all the time. It was, after all, Saturday morning, and most people don't leave their vehicles overnight in a deserted field with the motor running.
‘NO FAIR!’ OIL CAN CRIES — BUT WHO’S LISTENING?

‘NO FAIR!’ OIL CAN CRIES — BUT WHO’S LISTENING?

NEW YORK -- No fair! The words screamed inside Oil Can Boyd's head, pounding off the sides of his skull, even as he pulled his cap over his eyes and tried to disappear. No fair! Forget the team, forget the Big Picture. Man is an animal that, when cornered, thinks first of his own survival. When John McNamara stood at the top of the hotel escalator Sunday night and told Boyd, "I'm going with Bruce Hurst" -- the Can would not start the last game of the World Series -- Boyd did only what comes naturally. He began to cry.

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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