Mission accomplished; 50 years late

April 24, 2019

It was one of those things I intended to do …. but never got around to. The year was 1968, one of the most turmoil-filled in the history of this country. There was unrest in city streets, assassinations of our leaders and riots wherever you looked. But it was also the Year of the Tiger, the Detroit Tigers to be precise. Those Tigers led the American League most of the season behind the brilliant pitching of Denny McLain and a number of clutch hitters. The exploits of Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, Bill Freehan, Mickey Stanley and Dick McAuliffe were in the ...

Multiple Game Sevens

April 23, 2019

With two exciting games on Sunday afternoon and early evening, NHL hockey fans were treated to events leading to two of the best words in the English language: Game Seven. The Boston Bruins overcame a 1-0 deficit to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the afternoon game with power play goals from Brad Marchand and Torey Krug to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. Jake DeBrusk, the villain of sorts to Maple Leafs’ fans who were angry with the team’s loss of Nazim Kadri for the remainder of the first round, then gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead shortly before the midpoint of the second ...

Lions, Packers face big draft

April 17, 2019

As far as I’m concerned, it’s never too early — or too late — to talk football. And the next big day for fans of the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions is coming up later this month with the annual college draft. The Packers showed definite signs of breaking down last season. Not only did their record, 6-9-1, take a fall, they ended up making quarterback Aaron Rodgers most unhappy. Rodgers, conceded as a Top 5 quarterback in the league and an almost certain Hall of Fame pick, openly criticized teammates for sometimes lackluster play. And he has continued to be critical ...

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger

April 16, 2019

own the chute to the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club Sunday, a familiar cheer followed him, “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” How appropriate. I have never been a Tiger Woods fan. I respected what he did on the course, and hated him for his actions away from it. However, as Sunday morning rolled into Sunday afternoon, Tiger became compelling to watch. After joining my mother, my son and his girlfriend for breakfast, I fully expected to spend the afternoon watching the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins play in Game Three of their best-of-seven opening round NHL playoff ...

Arnie made Masters special

April 10, 2019

It was of those things I could never could figure out. Why did the annual Masters Golf Tournament hold such a fascination for me? It wasn’t because I had any particular interest in the sport. While I did my share of hacking around local courses, I never developed any golf skills to speak of — other than exploring every square inch of the layout. Oh, there were occasional good shots. Maybe a 300-yard drive at Wyandotte GC. Or the time I nearly made a hole-in-one at Portage Lake GC. But those efforts were immediately followed by a slice into the woods. Or a completely ugly ...

One word keeps coming to mind

April 9, 2019

Full disclosure from the outset: I did not sit and watch the NHL’s reveal of “Hockeyville USA.” I fully admit that I was enjoying a quiet Sunday of trying to find a goaltender for my hockey rental in the evening and playing a computer game about taming dinosaurs. When my phone buzzed, I looked down and saw that I had a call coming in from our managing editor. Upon answering, I discovered why he was calling me on a Sunday afternoon, but the reality of it had not set in. After I got off the phone with him, I immediately put a call in to the guy who had been texting me on Saturday ...