LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The dream was out of breath, it was gasping for air, all the magic the Michigan Wolverines had once enjoyed in climbing to the national championship now seemed to be stacked against them in another color uniform. Who were these Loyola Marymount Lions, and how on earth did you stop them? One by one, the U-M seniors stepped forward to fight the sword, and one by one they fell. Here was Mike Griffin, fouling out meekly as a tank named Bo Kimble raced past him for a slam.
EAST LANSING -- The miracle came so fast, so crazy, that now, minutes after the victory, no one could recall how it happened. Was it Ken who knocked it from Tony, or Dwayne who knocked it from Steve? Did Mark dive for the ball? Wait. Was Mark even in there? Who knew? Who could keep it straight? It was the madcap final minute of a madcap Big Ten championship and the players were like pinballs bouncing off the rubber -- ping! -- the ball came loose -- ping! -- the ball came loose again . . .
THE LIVE ALBOM: * You want to know why I hate predictions? As I write this, Buster Douglas is heavyweight champ, Michigan State will play for a title, we might or might not have baseball, and Bob Probert is back on skates.
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.