Detroit Free Press

In the movies, directors use a trick called "timepieces." A dog, for example, will enter the film as a puppy. Next ...

He was walking through the field to get to his father and suddenly, there it was. A big black snake."Were you scared?" the boy is asked. "No," he says now.The snake had a yellow belly. It was poisonous. The boy did what he was taught to do in his Guatemalan mountain village: he did not run. He watched the snake, saw it move towards him."Then what happened?" "Bit me," he says.

THE LIVE ALBOM* My shock of the week: carob raisins, vegetarian burritos and hazelnut coffee at Tiger Stadium. Next thing you know, the dugout will have a hardwood floor and a Miro poster.* And Pachabel on the loudspeakers. * By the way, you think that Home Run Bar in Tiger Plaza is large enough? Take that, and the giant daiquiri stand, and on a hot day, you might as well roll the paddy wagon right up to the gates. * Eric Montross, I know Dolph Lundgren. I worked with him. You, sir, are no Dolph Lundgren.Eric's reality Eric's dream

Here was my first clue that things had changed down at Tiger Stadium: I heard a vendor recite poetry."Don't be shy, don't walk bytill you try our roast beef on rye. . . . "His name was Rasean Reeves, a 19-year-old from Detroit, he was smiling while he worked -- maybe that was my first clue, come to think of it -- and he was working in something called the Ball Park Deli, which was in something called Tiger Plaza, which is a giant food court on what used to be the players' parking lot. Now Rasean had a new poem."Fill your belly,

NEW ORLEANS -- They walked slowly into the breakfast room, their feet making no sound on the carpet. James Voskuil pulled at a dry biscuit. Juwan Howard poked at a plate of bacon. They joked softly about the night before, their first trip to Bourbon Street on their final night in New Orleans. For a few minutes, it was as if nothing had happened. Then someone mentioned a North Carolina player who was also there on Bourbon Street, surrounded by a cheering mob.

NEW ORLEANS -- It ended with Chris Webber looking desperately for something he didn't have -- time, hope, help. ...

NEW ORLEANS -- It ended with Chris Webber looking desperately for something he didn't have -- time, hope and a ...

NEW ORLEANS -- When tonight's game is over, and the Michigan kids look anxiously for their parents in the tunnel, the way most college players do, Juwan Howard will be alone for one hurtful moment. He was raised by his grandmother. She died the day he committed to Michigan. So when his teammates share their joy, or seek parental comfort, when they hug their mothers and fathers, Howard will close his eyes and pretend he's hugging his Grandma. "Just because I'm here, and she's there in heaven, doesn't mean we can't do the same thing as these guys."