Detroit Free Press

MAGIC OF SERIES TOUCHES SMALLEY IN VERY BIG WAY

MAGIC OF SERIES TOUCHES SMALLEY IN VERY BIG WAY

ST. LOUIS -- The moment came in the bottom of the eighth, and from now until he is an old man, the time, the circumstances, even the words -- "bottom of the eighth, World Series, 1987" -- will forever tickle a certain fancy. He was sitting on the bench. The manager came over. "Why don't you bat for. . . ."
BEARS OLD AS YESTERDAY’S BAD NEWS

BEARS OLD AS YESTERDAY’S BAD NEWS

CHICAGO -- It was like watching one of your favorite TV shows get canceled.Washington 27, Chicago 13.Bad news, Bears.Yes, America, the airwaves are safe once more. No more videos. No more Super Bowl shuffles. No more Taco Bell commercials, if we're lucky. McMahon, Payton, Ditka, the Fridge? All passe now. This is 1987. The Redskins advance, the Bears go back, where? Their caves, I guess.
PISTONS-DANTLEY UNION COULD BE GOOD OR BAD

PISTONS-DANTLEY UNION COULD BE GOOD OR BAD

HOUSTON -- The Pistons are now like men dancing in wet cement, never sure which pose will harden. It could be glory. For this is a team of talent, of scorers, of depth. But this is also a team that remade itself in the off-season, and for all the wins -- 44 already -- it is still difficult to figure who'll do what on any given night."That could be good," muses forward Adrian Dantley, stretching out across his hotel bed, "because the other team can't prepare too much."
PISTONS-DANTLEY UNION COULD BE GOOD OR BAD

PISTONS-DANTLEY UNION COULD BE GOOD OR BAD

HOUSTON -- The Pistons are now like men dancing in wet cement, never sure which pose will harden. It could be glory. For this is a team of talent, of scorers, of depth. But this is also a team that remade itself in the off-season, and for all the wins -- 44 already -- it is still difficult to figure who'll do what on any given night."That could be good," muses forward Adrian Dantley, stretching out across his hotel bed, "because the other team can't prepare too much."

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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