INDIANAPOLIS -- When you absolutely, positively have to win a game, it's nice to have your opponents shoot like trash-can drummers on the streets in New York. You know, clank, clank, thump, thump? The Pacers saw the bottom of the net Sunday about as often as Bill Gates sees a phone bill, and their futility was all over the scoreboard.
DALLAS - Robbery. That's all there is to it. Hockey goals are hard enough to come by in the playoffs, especially when you're inches away from the Stanley Cup Finals, but when you have them swiped, well, you have to cry foul.The truth of Game 4 of these Western Conference finals is that the Red Wings drew first blood but had their sword yanked away and the corpse cleaned and stuffed. Pavel Datsyuk clearly scored on a slap shot from the left side in the second period, but it was waved off by an official who claimed Tomas Holmstrom was in the crease.
DALLAS - Robbery. That's all there is to it. Hockey goals are hard enough to come by in the playoffs, especially when you're inches away from the Stanley Cup Finals, but when you have them swiped, well, you have to cry foul.The truth of Game 4 of these Western Conference finals is that the Red Wings drew first blood but had their sword yanked away and the corpse cleaned and stuffed. Pavel Datsyuk clearly scored on a slap shot from the left side in the second period, but it was waved off by an official who claimed Tomas Holmstrom was in the crease.
I've been feeling sorry for myself lately. I've had some dark clouds, and all I could see were my own problems. Then, about 10 days ago, I got an e-mail. It was from a couple I know in Grand Rapids, Brian and Kathy. Beautiful people. Energetic. Upbeat. They have two young daughters and were expecting a third any day.The e-mail, I figured, was the birth announcement.I was sort of right.
CHICAGO - Ben Wallace stood at the loneliest place in his world, the free-throw line. He dribbled. He shot. Swish. He dribbled. He shot. Swish again. The place exploded. Ben nodded. The fans had their cheer. The Bulls had their win, 102-87. And the Pistons had another game to play.They are on borrowed time now, these Pistons; they are borrowing it from themselves. Every quarter they extend this series is a quarter they should be saving for the next one. Every minute they play these Bulls is a minute they should be resting up for someone else.
It was another night in another town, but here in the final seconds was Tayshaun Prince out top again against Hedo Turkoglu, with the game hanging in the balance. Turkoglu this time drove right, and he rose to jam the ball and draw the foul to tie. Prince was having none of that. Enough with the Magic. Enough with Hedo. It had been hard. It had been ugly. It was time for it to be over.
It wasn't so long ago that a teenage girl who wished she were prettier would parade in front of a mirror in her older sister's clothes. And in time, she'd be called downstairs for supper.It wasn't so long ago that a teenage boy, wishing he were tougher, would do push-ups on his bedroom floor or mimic a movie poster on his wall. And in time, he'd be called downstairs for supper.You'll notice a similarity in those fantasies: They began and ended inside the teenager's imagination.Those days are gone.
FIRST OF TWO PARTSOn Friday, Joey Harrington woke up a Detroit Lion and went to bed a Miami Dolphin. After four tumultuous years, his first NFL home was behind him.Now we were on the phone. It was late. Harrington was in Idaho for his brother Michael's graduation. The reality of the trade, which he had wanted and waited for, was finally sinking in.
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.
