Detroit Free Press

MINNEAPOLIS -- When they build the monument to Barry Sanders, this is what it should look like: a trail of ...

It was late at night and snow was falling. I was driving home over the bridge. Suddenly, I spotted an old man standing on a girder, staring down into the icy water. He was wearing a T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his hair greased back in a James Dean style. There was a tattoo on his arm and a cigarette dangling from his lips. I recognized him as a character I hadn't seen in a while, Mr. Macho.He squatted as if to jump."DON'T DO IT!" I screamed. He glared at me. "Why the hell not?'"Because you have plenty to live for."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- I placed the football on the grass and held it upright with one finger. The goalpost was 34 yards away. I asked Gerry Thomas whether he could make it now, and he said, "Oh, yeah."He measured off the steps. He looked at his toes and exhaled. Then he rushed into the ball and thudded his foot against the leather.

The man behind the desk marked "Patient Information" looked up at the next customer, his eyes widening slightly, ...

The crazy thing about football is that it can take you to places you never dreamed of. One minute you're dancing in the end zone; the next, you're surrounded by doctors asking whether you have any feeling in your legs.There were two touchdowns scored within two minutes of Sunday's game at the Silverdome. Both were pass plays. Both were worth six points to the Lions. Both involved guys named Mike.The similarity ends there. For Mike Farr, it was a play he'd been waiting for his whole life, the beginning, he hopes, of great things to come.