BARCELONA, Spain -- They come to stare at Ben Johnson now, as if he were a baby in a stroller, only they look at how much smaller he has grown, instead of how much bigger."His torso's half the size!" someone whispers."Look at the arms. Much less definition.""Thighs are shrunken, too."
BARCELONA, Spain -- Now, wait a minute. I think we've taken this "all sports are equal" thing a little too far here. Badminton? Badminton is an Olympic event? You win a medal for slapping a birdie over a net? What's next? Olympic hot dog grilling?"Badminton's cool," someone says. "Go see it."Listen, pal. I know badminton. I know the roots of badminton. The roots of badminton are in your basement, in a box that sits untouched until the Fourth of July barbecue, when you take it out and pray the moths haven't completely eaten the rackets. Here is what happens next:
BARCELONA, Spain -- The class was Humiliation 101. The teachers were Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The student was a baby-faced Croatian named Toni Kukoc.By the time they were done with him, Kukoc was small enough to fit through a keyhole -- and when he started the game, he was 6-feet-10. Poor Toni. I guess it's not enough that his country has been reduced to rubble. Michael and Scottie wanted to get in a few shots, too.
BARCELONA -- In the old, bloody days, when his was the only sport worth talking about in this country, the young man's courage would make him a hero. Kings would applaud. Senoritas would throw roses into the ring.
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.
