Detroit Free Press

The letters began coming eight years ago, in the tidy blue penmanship of a nurse or a schoolteacher. Sometimes the ...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Finally, something easy was coming Larry Brown's way: the football. It spun in a nice tight spiral, as if tossed in a practice drill. Brown opened his arms, made the catch, and ran. Past the 30. Past the 20. Past the 10. Never mind that the ball had been thrown by the opposing quarterback, Pittsburgh's Neil O'Donnell. Never mind that there was no Steeler in sight. Never mind that this seemed to be a deja-vu bonehead play by the Pittsburgh offense, Brown's second interception in this Super Bowl and the second one he'd made by just standing there like a spectator.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- As you know, Curtis, you silver-haired warbler, anyone who predicts Pittsburgh will win this Super Bowl is a fool. So when readers learn that someone in this fine newspaper is actually picking the Steelers, their reaction will no doubt be: "Hey, it's Curt Sylvester!"After all, you are the man who once said, "Trust me, Denver will win the Super Bowl," a sentence that ranks up there with "Columbus, you will sail off the edge of the Earth and die."

A few years ago, in writing the book "Fab Five," I discovered that Steve Fisher had paid a friend of Juwan Howard's a tidy sum to coach at Fisher's summer camp. This stunned me. Hiring this friend -- who then brought young Juwan to Ann Arbor as a camper -- and even interviewing this friend for a coaching position at the University of Michigan, was, to me, unseemly, and perhaps an NCAA violation.So one night, at Fisher's house, I confronted him about this incident. He was uncomfortable, admitted what he'd done, but said, "It happens all the time in college basketball."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Jerry Jones is talking to me, something about revenue sharing or marketing ideas, but it isn't the conversation that holds me, it's his look. His eyes are wide, bigger than they need to be, his mouth is curled up in the corners as he speaks. His neck is tight above his expensive white shirt collar, his complexion is ruddy, and, to me, he seems slightly crazed, his words appear to fly from his own mouth straight into his ears, fueling him with energy. He enjoys listening to himself.

"He's gonna have to lose that Fabio thing. It just ain't working."Deion Sanders on Kevin Greene TEMPE, Ariz. -- ...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- What is it with all these little men? First Barry Sanders, who makes gigantic moves on the field ...

Would it surprise you that Dennis Rodman acted relatively normal on Sunday? That he didn't throw a tantrum? That his hair was neither strawberry nor pistachio? That he had no new tattoos engraved in his skin? That he played the whole game without an ejection?Would you be shocked -- or disappointed?Here is how the media works around Rodman. He was surrounded after Chicago's victory Sunday, and was peppered with questions about his return to the Palace.Was it a special game?"Nah. I just tried to win."Did it feel weird being back?