As a sports writer, you hear stories. Some are incredible. Some they ought to make into a movie. And, once in a while, you hear one even the movies wouldn't believe.Which brings us to Gilad Landau, placekicker, Grambling State University. You'll probably notice him if you watch Grambling play Southern this weekend at the Silverdome. He is one of only two white players on the team. And when he goes to kick a field goal, he stands over the ball, wiggles his fingers near his ears -- like a schoolkid making a face -- then boots the thing a mile.
Today we answer the most talked-about question in sports: Is it possible that Wilt Chamberlain slept with 20,000 women?Wait. Let me check my watch.Make that 20,001.Chances are you have heard about Wilt's claim. He wrote it in his new book, "A View From Above," which I always thought referred to his height. Maybe it refers to the mirror over his bed.
CHICAGO -- His fingers were raw and he blew cold smoke with every command, but Erik Kramer fought the wind and frantically waved his teammates into position because he still believed something could happen, even as the clock ticked down its final seconds. Unfortunately, he was so involved with this idea that he lined up under the wrong man, the guard instead of the center, and almost goosed the poor guy offsides.
* CHICAGO 17, LIONS 9: I tried. I really tried. Every way I could, I looked for a reason to pick the Lions to win this thing. But it's not just Rodney Peete being injured. The Bears went to New Orleans and beat an undefeated Saints team last week. That was impressive. I will say this: If Chuck Long gets into the game, all bets are off.* MINNESOTA 21, TAMPA BAY 12: I don't see why the Bucs didn't give Long a shot. They've tried just about everyone else at quarterback.
Good morning, and please put on your sneakers. It's that time of year again. Time for slam dunking and three-point shooting. Time for 47 Nike commercials in a row. That's right. The NBA season is upon us. It begins tonight, with the Pistons kicking off their revenge year at the Palace.
MINNEAPOLIS -- You can't smoke at your seat inside the Metrodome, only in the concrete corridors, and I swear halfway through the last game of maybe the best World Series every played, those corridors were stuffed with people too nervous to go without a drag, hundreds and hundreds of fans puffing away like expectant fathers, straining to see the TV sets, puffing some more, dying with every swing, puffing some more, waiting, waiting for the one crack in this choking drama that would give us a king of baseball for this wonderful crazy season.
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.
