by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
CHICAGO — The temptation is to say “Gimme mine.” Others do. Businessmen. Politicians. Oh, they put up a good front about “what’s best for everyone.” But in the end it’s their own skin they worry about.
And then there’s Steve Yzerman. He has been skating near the top of his profession for years and has watched his peer group of superstars get their dance with the Stanley Cup — Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux. So when will it be his turn? When does that big wheel stop on No. 19?
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
ST. LOUIS — Steve Yzerman sat on the bed in his hotel room and looked at his watch. The bus would not leave for 20 minutes, but he already was dressed in his blue sport coat and tie. His shirt collar was tight and stuck out. His hair was mussed. He folded his hands uncomfortably across his lap. With his boyish face, he looked like a school kid waiting for the car pool.
“Last year at this time, we weren’t even in the playoffs,” he said, staring at the TV. “I was skating down at Joe Louis Arena when the playoffs began for everybody else.”
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
“Holy Motormouths, Batman!”
Jimmy Carson, when asked to describe Shawn Burr
He was 2 years old when he first heard the voices. They came from downstairs. Laughing. Talking. All these wonderful sounds. He had to join them. He pulled himself over his crib and wandered down the steps.
“Shawn, what are you doing down here?” his parents said. They laughed and apologized to their guests. They carried their baby upstairs. In the crib. Kiss goodnight.
Five minutes later, he was back.
“Shawn, what are you doing out again?”
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
Steve Yzerman wanted to break something. He paced the locker room, while his sweat-drenched teammates slumped on their chairs, reeling from the evening’s defeat. Yzerman grabbed a glass and moved to a private area behind the showers. Now he was alone. He cocked the glass like a baseball pitcher —
“Throw it! Vent your anger!” the voices sang in his head — and he was about to smash it into a thousand pieces, when, suddenly, another voice inside whispered, “What good will that do? It won’t change things.”
And he froze.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
I’ve seen heavyweight fights go like this: One guy comes out on fire and gets the crowd all worked up. Pow! Pow! His fists are flying, and his opponent takes every shot, the blood spitting from his face, until he looks like he’ll go down any moment — which only excites the aggressor more. Only the opponent doesn’t go down. He stays standing. Blow after blow. And finally, the first guy, exhausted from all this punching with no reward, takes a breath, says,
“Hey, what’s with this lug?”
And pow! The other guy knocks him out.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
MINNEAPOLIS — A goal! A goal! Their kingdom for a goal! The Red Wings were down to the last gasping seconds of their 1992 season, their best season in years, all those victories, all of the weary days from October to April, the first-place finish, the rave reviews, all that excellence and effort now dripping away, dying before their bleary eyes, unless . . . unless they could put that puck in, just once. That would be enough. The score was 0-0. And they were in overtime. One goal! They live or they die.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
“Holy Motormouth, Batman!”
Jimmy Carson, when asked to describe Shawn Burr
He was 2 years old when he first heard the voices. They came from downstairs. Laughing. Talking. Beautiful noise. He had to find it. He pulled himself over his crib and wandered down the steps.
“Shawn, what are you doing down here?” his parents said. They laughed and apologized to their guests. They carried the baby upstairs. Into the crib. Kiss goodnight.
Five minutes later, he was back.
“Shawn, what are you doing out again?”
Up the stairs. Into the crib.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
Their engine, Jerry Stackhouse, was sputtering badly, so the Pistons tried everything under the hood. They jumped the battery, they tweaked the carburetor, they threw the fuses. Finally, they got out and pushed. There is more than one way to win a playoff series, and when pretty doesn’t work, go ugly if you have to, but get there.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
MITCH ALBOMBrett Hull loped a shot into the crease, like a Little League coach throwing a grounder to his shortstop — and here came the shortstop, Sergei Fedorov, flying in and tapping the puck so deftly and quickly that by the time the red light flashed he was already circling away, hands in the air, rocking back on one skate like a man without a care in the world.
by Mitch Albom | Nov 21, 2008 | Detroit Free Press
That thump you just heard was the sound of a city falling to its knees and begging Curtis Joseph to forgive and forget.
Or maybe it was Mike Ilitch fainting.
Truth is, there were many things going bump in Hockeytown on Tuesday after Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek announced that the Grand Experiment was over, that his groin was not improving, that he was done playing hockey this year.
