DON'T BRAVE THE ELEMENTS. TAME THEM WITH VOLVO ALL-WHEEL DRIVE.

Slippery roads don't stand a chance when you're driving a Volvo with AR-Wheel Drive. With outstanding
road-holding capabilities, Whiplash Protection and Stability Traction Control; you'll feel secure even in the
worst conditions. So take a test-drive...and enjoy whatever the weather brings.

Hot Times In Motown

D

id I
read
some-
where
about a basket-
ball title or
something?
When all the
slap-happy TV
GEORGE
anchors don
CANTOR
Pistons' jerseys,
Reality
and the front
Check
pages of the
daily papers are
all Pistons all the time, you've
got to figure something's up.
It was a wonderful ride, but I
still have to shake my head.
- On other occasions in other
contexts, the print media will
go on and on about the inflat-
ed role of sports in our society
and the distorted message we
send to young people about the
inordinate value of playing a
_ game.
But that all goes out the win-
dow when there's money on
the line.
Market research has shown
that newsstand sales soar when
the papers feature front-page
articles on a winning team. To
the News, with a much smaller
home-delivered subscription
base than the Free Press, those
sales are vital. So break out the
big type and let's party.
It is a time to feel good
about Detroit. Because sports
is one of the few unifying fac-
tors in this area. Maybe the
only one.
When alleged comic Jimmy
Kimmel made his crack about
Detroit during the playoffs, all
the self-appointed guardians of
the city's reputation leaped
furiously to its defense.
Kimmel's show was benched
for one night and he was
forced to apologize. It was, in
fact, a witless thing to say. The
jokes about the arsonous ways
of Detroiters were old stuff 20
years•ago.
Still, in a news photograph,
there- is Gov. Jennifer
Granholm cheering for the

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor@thejevvishnews.com

4 I c

•

* 0
• •
•

U

4

♦ 1

•

f c a

e

•

•r
•

Pistons. And the guy sitting
behind her is wearing a T-shirt
with this message clearly visible
on its front: "Detroit, where
the weak are killed and eaten."
Yummy!
That T-shirt is also old stuff.
It's been around for years.
Maybe the governor, Ms.
Cool Cities herself, should have
turned around and said: "Here
now, we'll have none of that."
But the fellow was sitting in
some rather expensive seats,
right behind Pistons' owner Bill
Davidson. With that kind of
money, he probably knew some
remarkably ill-tempered lawyers
who would have delighted in
suing Granholm, Davidson and
everyone else in the vicinity.
Besides, I'm sure the wearer
sought only to annoy the
Lakers and their effete support-
ers by giving them a snarling
hello from Motown. It was
nothing personal.
.
But Kimmel wasn't sayin g
anything that hasn't been corn-
mon currency in countless pri-
vate conversations in this area.
We just don't like to hear it
from some West Coast smart
aleck.
I suppose I've got to raise my
hand when it comes to criticiz-
ing the city. But I like to think
my comments about Detroit are
based on disappointment. The
city is not what it could have
been with political leadership
that did not swat away or
squander every opportunity
that came along.
Its decline was not inevitable
or the result of sheer bad luck.
Its leaders had to work at it.
You can make all the fatuous
remarks you want about
Detroit being a lunch bucket
town with no patience for pret-
ty people frippery. You can talk
about its great sports and musi-
cal heritage and take solace in
what the Pistons did to an arro-
gant bunch from a city that is
no great bargain, either.
But we know the truth. We
just don't like hearing it from
outsiders. ❑

d Volvo XC70 Cross Count
2004
Country All Wheel Drive wagon
$2000 CASHBACK ON New
quippe d with Premium
p. a lasia . :Lott isji n g p;c1Vnes aanvdaii- xlre.
w
XC70 CROSS COUNTRY e Choose from
15 XC70's in stock

ALL NEW 2004 VOLVOS INCLUDE
36 MONTH/36,000 MILES OF FREE
SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE

$3000 CASHBACK ON
S60AWD ALL WHEEL DRIVE

Over 137
New 2004 Volvos
in Stock

for life

DWYER

AND SONS
VOLVO

248-624-0400

On Maple Rd., West of Haggerty

Volvosales@dwyerandsons.coni
www.dwyerandsons.com

OPEN
SATURDAYS

850270

Sale ends Wednesday

Ask for Kari Kovack
or- Michelle Ben-Ezra

BRING YOUR
CUSTOM DESIGNS To LIFE

We Specialize in all
custom doors

*Wood *Fiberglass
*Steel *Interior

248-737-3700

33084 Northwestern Hwy.

between 14 Mile & Orchard Lake Road

(between Home ,Applianee & In Style Furniture)

t om e

6/25

2004