Political Quotes

“Mr. President, 25 years ago, an article appeared in the Detroit Free Press sports section headlined, ``Give Me a Sporting Chance, And I'll Give It Right Back.'' It was the debut column from a young writer just arrived from Florida, and he admitted to some nerves about writing for his new audience. ``Starting tomorrow, I ask your attention, your reaction, your letters, your laughter and, once in a while, the benefit of the doubt,'' he wrote. I doubt many Free Press readers knew that morning that they held the beginning of a journalistic legend in their hands. And the writer himself surely didn't know what he was starting. But thousands of columns, millions of laughs, more than a few tears, 28 million books, and dozens of awards later, Free Press sports columnist Mitch Albom has become a Detroit institution right alongside the beloved athletes he has covered. Recently, it was announced that Mitch Albom will receive the ultimate award for a sportswriter, the Red Smith Award from the Associated Press Sports Editors. Smith, the legendary New York writer, once said his demanding craft was really simple: ``All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.'' And Mitch Albom is a worthy successor to that legacy of writing with heart and emotion as well as style and precision. In thrilling victories and painful losses, fans of Michigan's sports teams have seen 25 years of sports history through Albom's observant eyes.…”