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."
First, I fire the organ player.Hey. It's my team. My rules.I fire the organ player, because organs are for church, carnivals and '60s groups such as Paul Revere and The Raiders. Which might be a good name for my team. The Raiders. Or maybe The Rough Riders. I'll tell you this much: my team will not be named after a bird. The Orioles? The Cardinals? What were those owners smoking?Also, no peanuts. Go throw shells on someone else's carpet.My team. My rules.Oh, the possibilities! If I owned a baseball team? It's like Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof":
The last time Jud Heathcote switched jobs, he made sure the guy behind him got to take over. This was his thinking: You're loyal, you work hard, you get rewarded in the end. He even delayed his exit a few days when he heard the big shots might pull a fast one on his assistant. They didn't. The guy got the job: head coach, Montana. And Heathcote left happy. That was in the early '70s, when a lot of people had different ideas about life.
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.
