Detroit Free Press

WHAT IN THE NAME OF GUARD: BILLUPS OUT-KOBES KOBE

WHAT IN THE NAME OF GUARD: BILLUPS OUT-KOBES KOBE

And his name is Chauncey.He was not the most famous guard on the floor Wednesday night. That distinction belonged to a guy named Kobe. You know Kobe? Best player in the NBA these days? Speaks Italian? Scores 40 points the way Sergei Fedorov skates a circle?Kobe was the famous one, the richer one, the Chosen One. He came out of high school and has been with one team ever since, the L.A. Lakers, winning three championship rings by his 24th birthday.
BRYANT CASE REALLY CHANGES NOTHING

BRYANT CASE REALLY CHANGES NOTHING

If you think this means the end of rape, forget it.If you think this means the end of gold digging, forget that, too.If you think the sudden vaporizing of the Kobe Bryant trial means young women will no longer wander starry-eyed into hotel rooms of athletes they just met, wake up.And if you think NBA stars will be more careful about the women they cheat with on the road, well, there's some swampland in New Jersey we'd like to sell you.
AUGUSTA FLAP COMES DOWN TO A GUY THING

AUGUSTA FLAP COMES DOWN TO A GUY THING

You can't just join Augusta National Golf Club. You must be asked. But you can't ask to be asked. Or you'll never be asked.There is no waiting list. There is no application process. You either get a letter in the mail or you don't.If you do, you can join for that year. If you don't, you're out, even if you were a member last year. No one knows how you get chosen. No one knows how you get dropped.And no one explains.This we know: Since Augusta opened 70 years ago, no woman has been asked to join. But Lou Holtz has.
THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!LEGACE, THIRD-PERIOD CHARGE EXORCISE THE GHOSTS OF LAST YEAR’S FLOP

THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!LEGACE, THIRD-PERIOD CHARGE EXORCISE THE GHOSTS OF LAST YEAR’S FLOP

There is alone, there is lonesome, and there is the loneliest man in sports. Manny Legace, the Red Wings' goaltender, went through all three phases Wednesday night -- and it took him only two minutes.First, he was alone. After all, he was making his first playoff start at age 31. He'd gone from "second backup" to "first backup" to "only healthy option." Eleven years in professional hockey, and finally, the net is yours? You face such moments by yourself, alone, and alone he was, to start the game.
NFL’S HIRING POLICY STILL NEEDS WORK

NFL’S HIRING POLICY STILL NEEDS WORK

Here's the thing about the human heart: You can't legislate it. You can't make laws requiring people to like broccoli. You can't force people into theaters to see "Gigli."And it's the reason the NFL's minority hiring policy is seriously flawed.The Detroit Lions know this now, after team president Matt Millen was fined $200,000 by the league. His crime? He failed to interview a minority candidate before hiring Steve Mariucci, a white man, as his head coach. Under the NFL policy, you must interview at least one minority or face punishment.
EVERYTHING IS A BILLBOARD, EVEN THE COPS

EVERYTHING IS A BILLBOARD, EVEN THE COPS

My ears are for sale. Left. Right. For the right price, you may have them both. Or, I should say, rent them. Your message here. On my ears. I am joining the 21st Century. I am becoming a billboard.Hey. Why should I -- JUST DO IT! -- miss out -- FLY THE FRIENDLY SKIES! -- on the trend? -- THINK FORD FIRST!After all, things you never thought of as advertising space are now becoming -- OBEY YOUR THIRST! -- advertising space. Like police cars.
CHAPPELL NO LONGER AN OUTSIDER WITH MSU

CHAPPELL NO LONGER AN OUTSIDER WITH MSU

THE SPARTANS left for the Final Four on Wednesday night, most of them thinking glory and championships. One of them was thinking about the bus ride. And the plane ride. And the locker room.And it makes him nearly as happy as hitting a winning jumper."I may run home and get my camcorder, just to film all the little stuff," he says.

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.

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