Detroit Free Press

BARCELONA, Spain -- So where does Kim Zmeskal go for a refund? Where does she go to get back the childhood she ...

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 -- Most Olympians earn their medals when they cross a finish line. Gustavo Borges got his over a ...

BARCELONA, Spain -- "Are you crying?" she was asked."No," said Janet Evans, her eyes moist. "No, I'm fine." She ...

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.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Hours before the Opening Ceremonies, a warm breeze blew across the beach, and a group of ...

"Do you not swelter? Are you not cramped and crowded?"Epictetus, on the Olympic Games, first century AD BARCELONA, ...