Breaking News

Sports columns

Peterson: The sound of a real fastball

The game of baseball has unique sounds of its own. There is the solid crack of a fastball hitting the bat right in the sweet spot. That sound is known to anyone who has ever played the game and it is usually an indication that a batter will soon be circling the bases. And there’s the sound of a fastball thunking into the catcher’s mitt. It is perhaps the most intimidating sound in the sport. Curt Lahti had that kind of fastball when he played for Houghton in the Twilight League. He was reportedly clocked at just under 90 miles per hour at Cincinnati Reds tryout camp in the ...

Peterson: Bad Boys really were that good

In the long-running and just concluded “The Last Dance,” the exploits of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s were well-documented by ESPN. Yes, Jordan is the finest basketball player ever produced by the National Basketball Association. His skills and game preparation were unparalleled. But the Bulls would not have had the success they enjoyed without a superb coach in Phil Jackson. As he did in Los Angeles with the Lakers, Jackson was able to work through a diverse collection of egos. That’s not an easy thing to do in today’s sports, which features a ...

Peterson: NFL rolls the dice on return

The National Football League is rolling the dice on its planned return to play. COVID-19 has changed the way we live in every respect. And how the sports world is going to proceed is very much in question. The NFL does have an advantage in that it can see how major league baseball, hockey and basketball is going to handle the predicament before it must do so. Baseball has tentatively (and tentative is the operative word) settled on an 80-game schedule to begin in July. Hockey and basketball are still trying to settle on a plan, not knowing what to do about the unfinished past ...

Peterson: Not a typical day 50 years ago

It was a typically nice spring day at the Neureut Kaserne fifty years ago. The weather in that southern Germany hamlet was pretty much like it is in southern Michigan, warm with flowers just blooming. But May 4, 1970 wasn’t just another day. Since it was my birthday, I had the day off and planned to visit the Canadian commissary in Baden Baden. But news from the states earlier in the day (there’s a six hour time difference) told of an event that shocked us all. Four Kent State students had been gunned down by Natonal Guard troops during a protest on the campus that very ...

Peterson: Pandemic sparks interest in past

One of the things the current pandemic has done is to ignite an interest in the past. With practically nothing going on in the sports world, we’ve all gotten used to watching feats of years gone past. There’s been plenty of hockey, basketball and baseball games of yesteryear shown on the major networks. It’s been nice to watch the final game of the 1968 World Series as the Detroit Tigers, behind Mickey Lolich, beat the St. Louis Cardinals. And it was equally enjoyable to see the “Miracle on Ice” upset by the United States over Russia in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Mike ...

Peterson: NFL draft not all that important

There was a time not long ago when the National Football League college draft commanded a lot of attention. But that was on a faraway planet ... and a long time ago. In the past couple of months, the NFL and just about every sport, has faded into the background. When the matter of live and death enters into the equation, the mundane things in life don’t seem relevant anymore. Sure, the NFL will hold its draft on this week. But there won’t be throngs of fans — acting like idiots as in years past — oh hand to hiss and boo. Still, the teams will make their selections in ...