LOS ANGELES -- Sinbad, the comedian, took the envelope, broke the seal, and read aloud:"And the winner, for best original song, is . . . "My hands were sweating. My heart raced. How embarrassing! A few months back, when someone called to say a song I had written had been nominated for a Cable Ace Award, my reaction was more noble: I laughed. Cable? Awards? I kept thinking of this "Saturday Night Live" skit, in which a man bursts on stage to accept "Best Weather Map.""I want to thank my mother!" he gushes. "People said this couldn't be done. . . . "
James Voskuil pulled a crewneck sweater over his head and ran a fist through his wet hair. He had thought about a quick exit after that last shot, while the fans and reporters were still inside and stunned. He had thought about "just running up the tunnel and going straight out the door, into the 20- degree weather, going home." He laughed now at the thought. He didn't run out the door, because kids do that, and he is no longer a kid.
And now -- after two straight days of TV football -- random thoughts from my brain:"Like a rock . . . Mike Ditka, thanks for joining us . . . It's one tough motor oil! . . . They'll start from their 20 . . . Mike Ditka, thanks for joining us" . . . "four-wide, three front, two-deep, one back" . . . I was 18, didn't have a care . . . Mike Ditka, thanks for joining us . . . they have to respect the run . . . they have to respect the pass . . . Like a rock . . . they have to respect the special teams . . . Have you driven a Fooorrd . . . "TOUCHDOWN!" . . . lately?"
Dizzy is dead. He blew notes around the melody. He blew notes around the world. He was blowing them almost up till his death by cancer in a New Jersey hospital last week. And when he died, the music he made with his trumpet was replaced by another sound: applause. First from his friends, then his co- workers, then his country, then the world. It would turn, quickly, into a standing ovation, headlines, TV news stories, old footage, verbal tributes. It was the loudest the world had ever cheered him.All he had to do was die.
From those dirty summers in downtown Los Angeles, when he unloaded watermelons from a supermarket truck, now to this: Gray pinstripe suit. Wife in a fur coat. A contract worth $36 million to play a game many would play for free. And you know the thing that made the biggest impression on Cecil Fielder as he sat before the lights and microphones in the Detroit Tigers' conference room? This is what made the biggest impression:Somebody wants me.
From those dirty summers in downtown Los Angeles, when he unloaded watermelons from a supermarket truck, now to this: Gray pinstripe suit. Wife in a fur coat. A contract worth $36 million to play a game many would play for free. And you know the thing that made the biggest impression on Cecil Fielder as he sat before the lights and microphones in the Detroit Tigers' conference room? This is what made the biggest impression:They want me. They really want me.
Could Bo be a Bear?Sources confirm that Bo Schembechler was in contact with the Chicago Bears on Tuesday evening, just hours after coach Mike Ditka was fired.The Bears reportedly expressed interest in the possibility of replacing the near-legendary Ditka with Schembechler, who totes his own legendary baggage."At the present time, I am not a candidate for the job," Schembechler saidwhen reached at his home in Ann Arbor. "But if the Bears are seriously interested in someone like me coaching their team, then I would certainly be interested in talking to them."
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.
