The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 28, 1999 - 7
'Thousands flee Russian bombings in rogue province
GROZNY, Russia (AP) - Terrified civilians
:ried to flee Chechnya by the thousands yester-
day, driven out by a Russian bombing blitz
intended to crush Islamic militants in the break-
away republic.
"I wish I were dead," mourned Tamara
*yeva, whose house in Grozny was destroyed
by Russian bombs. "I don't know what to do or
where to go."
Aliyeva joined tens of thousands of Chechens
who headed for the neighboring Russian repub-
lic of Ingushetia in hopes of finding refuge -
only to find the border closed.
In Grozny, Russian airplanes were raining
bombs and missiles for the fifth straight day.
Witnesses said oil refineries in Grozny were
ablaze, blanketing the capital in black smoke.
Russian jets also struck other cities and vil-
lages throughout Chechnya, targeting suspected
militant bases along with oil derricks and other
industrial facilities.
Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov claimed
yesterday that 300 people had been killed in
Grozny alone. Many Chechen refugees trapped
on the Russian border were in a state of shock.
"Where is my Mama?" 8-year-old Liza
Temirsultanova kept asking between sobs.
Her grandfather, Ayup Temirsultanov, said
that Liza's mother, baby sister and two brother
had all been killed by Russian bombs in Grozny
yesterday.
The bombing is aimed at weakening Islamic
militants, who have twice invaded the neighboring
Russian republic of Dagestan in recent weeks
from their main bases in Chechnya. They also are
blamed for a series of terrorist bombings in
Moscow and other Russian cities that have
claimed 300 lives.
Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev said yes-
terday that the bombing of Chechnya would
continue "until the last bandit is destroyed,"
according to the Interfax news agency. The
strikes have rekindled fears about the possi-
ble introduction of ground troops into
Chechnya, despite a disastrous 1994-96 war
in which Russian troops were clobbered by a
much smaller guerrilla force. Chechnya has
run its own affairs since winning de facto
independence, but Moscow claims it is still
part of Russia.
Russia will rely on air raids to knock out
infrastructure and "patiently, methodically
destroy (the militants) from the air:" Putin said.
If any Russian troops were deployed they would
be highly trained and used only for "cleanup
operations.
Maskhadov, who says his government is not
connected to the militants, said in a televised
address Sunday that he would exert all his efforts
to avoid full-scale war and called for a political
dialogue with Moscow.
Putin said the Kremlin was planning on a
meeting between President Boris Yetsin and
Maskhadov, but it wouldn't take place until the
Chechen leader had denounced terrorism in his
republic and \loscow was sure the militants
couldn't use a meeting to their advantage.
"We're going to hack away from meetings for
the sake of meetines. from meetings tor the sake
of gix ing militants time to lick their wounds and
carry out strikes on us from another side.' Putin
said atier meeting with Xetsin in the Kremlin.
In a meeting Monday with Col. Gen.
Konstantin Totsky. head of the Russian border
serv ice, Yeltsin said Russia's borders must be
strengthened so that weapons or militants cannot
enter the North Caucuses. The Border Guards
are patrolling both Russia's external borders and
the internal border separating Chechnya from
other Russian regions.
Last game at The Corner goes by
without incident, Tigers win 8-2
I
TIGERS
Crtinued from Page 1.
forgotten,' Biondo said.
One by one, the members of the Tigers all-time team
trotted out onto the patch of grass and soil they will
forever call home. Nearly every fan stayed to stand and
cheer.
"Before you stands 70 years of history, from Willie
Rogell's 1930 squad, to Brad Ausmus from 1999,"
longtime Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell said,
moments before the players clasped hands to form a
iving timeline from the 440-foot mark in centerfield to
t'ome plate.
fter lowering a Tigers flag from the pole in center-
d, the players forming the timeline passed it along
hemselves until it reached current Tigers catcher Brad
usmus.
"It's a great honor to get to present this flag to you,
Brad," said Eldon Auker, who pitched for the Tigers
from 1933-38. "Each of us has touched this flag today,
as this ballpark has touched not only the players, but
the many millions of fans to ever watch a game at Tiger
Stadium."
During the game itself- a 8-2 Tigers victory - the
ers of the present wore numbers of the Tigers voted
to the all-time team.
At first base, Tony Clark wore Hank Greenberg's
retired No. 5, shortstop Deivi Cruz wore the No. 3 of
his hitting coach, former shortstop Alan Trammell.
In centerfield, Gabe Kapler patrolled the same turf
Ty Cobb once did, his back devoid of any number as
Cobb's was.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tigers designated hitter
Rob Fick - recently called up from triple-A Toledo -
launched a grand slam to the foot of the light tower on
Aright-field roof.. The blast, hit by a Tiger of the
ure, will stand as the final hit, home run and RBI
aver in Tiger Stadium.
"Do you believe in fate?" Trammell asked after the
postgame ceremony, "I do."
The Detroit Police Department had 150 officers
patrolling the stadium and surrounding area following
the game, although fans were relatively peaceful and
no rioting occurred.
"It was like a family atmosphere," said Chuck
It doesn't
better. And
Continued from Page 1 home som
Places like Tiger Stadium don't just when you a
come along every 88 years. These are that. Every
places meant for memory-making. No a new feeli
one's upset that an 88-year old struc- never existe
ture is closing. No one's upset that the thick the pai
Tigers are trying to make more money ings.
to field a better team. Either wa
Last night was sad because people experience
who came here for the first time 40 shared with
rs ago and people whose first visit An intersec
s last year let this place get into even Michig
their hearts for another reason. We saw a
For some, it was Kirk Gibson's profession o
homer in Game 5 of the 1984 World ticed for 10
Series. For some, it was just the people We saw ti
they came with. Or one person. And left with the
for everyone, part of that was the pos- secutive-ga
sibility that they could come back. centerfield
More memories could be made, but quips with f
on the same canvas as the others. And then
l le can take home the warning- man who hu
track dirt, a seat, a paint chip and look overhang ab
at it and know that it bore mute wit- Hours after t
ness to the memories of millions of sat on the e
others - including theirs. absorbing th
As materialistic as we are, we think field. His arm
we need a piece of the place to affirm his head was
our memories. We don't trust our out at a wide
minds to keep them. tory. What he
But if you never took home that lions of othe
seat, that armrest, or that urinal, don't the memory
w rry. There's more than enough mind and the
r t in this world. Having a piece of be uniquely h
the place you loved doesn't mean you - Rick Fre
like it more. e-mai
Darany, a Birmingham resident. "People were cele-
brating but people were respectful. It was like a funer-
al for the stadium."
Despite warnings that Detroit Police officers would
arrest anyone removing items from the stadium, many
fans couldn't resist chipping paint from the walls.
John Gruse and Andy Ryba used an adjustable
wrench to take a piece of stadium history home with
them.
"We worked for two innings to get the seat out," said
Gruse, a Henry Ford Community College student. The
pair snuck the seat out of the stadium by placing it
beneath their shirts.
"I've been a Tigers fan my whole life, now I've got
a piece of history," Gruse said.
Following the game, many fans removed dirt from
the field, filling plastic cups and any other containers
they could find.
"I'll probably save it and give it to my kids," said
Livonia resident Dan Plinka who, along with Dearborn
resident Matt Pimp, carried two cups of dirt from the
stadium.
Michael and Cara Curry didn't just want to bring
their son home a piece of history, they wanted him to
experience it too.
At seven weeks old, Joseph Curry attended his first
and last game at the Corner last night.
"We had been planning this since before Joseph was
born," said Joseph's father, Michael Curry who pur-
chased the tickets eight months ago. "I think he's the
youngest fan here today at Tiger Stadium."
When he found out that Tiger Stadium would be
closing its gates, New York resident William
McPharlin said he wanted to be sure he could attend
the final game.
"It was very emotional," McPharlin said, while car-
rying two brimming cups of dirt yesterday. "We bought
season tickets just to have tickets to this game."
Two Tigers fans hefted a condiment sign from the
stadium, and said they picked up the sign after it had
been knocked loose from the wall.
"We have stadium seats from the '50s we got from a
garage sale," said the Wayne State University student
who did not want to be identified. "We'll probably put
(the sign) with the seats."
Some of the stadium's youngest vendors worked the
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I
AP PHOTO
Royals Hall of Famer George Brett hugs Tiger great Al
Kaline as they exchange line-up cards before last
night's final game at Tiger Stadium.
crowded streets outside the stadium after the game,
selling their SportsService shirts and hats.
"It was fun and the last game was the funnest," said
Troy Hardges, who was offering his hat to fans for $2.
Home plate was immediately unearthed after the
game, and whisked across town to a private ceremony
at the Tigers' new home, Comerica Park. The installa-
tion at the new park, televised on the Tiger Stadium
scoreboard, drew boos from the fans whenever the
park's corporate nickname was invoked.
Trammell sympathized with fans upset that they
would never again be able to return to Tiger Stadium.
But as Ausmus pointed out, still clutching the flag that
had crossed the hands of 70 years of Tigers history,
"the people, players and memories of Tiger Stadium
will never be forgotten.
"See you next year."
- Daily Sports Writers Stephanie Ofen and Jennifer
Yachnin contributed to this report.
Division of Student Affairs
ithletic Department W
www.amich.edu/ homecom
mean you'll remember it
it doesn't mean you took
ething you didn't bring
came, because we all did
time we came, we left with
ng. We saw a game that
d before. Or we saw how
nt really was on those rail-
ay, we left changed by an
uniquely our own and
history at the same time.
tion more profound than
ran and Trumbull.
chunk of land where the
if baseball has been prac-
4 years.
he dugout that Lou Gehrig
lineup card to end his con-
mes streak. We saw the
where Ty Cobb traded
ans.
very few of us saw the
ng on the railing in the
ove the visitors bullpen.
he finl game ended, he
edge of an orange seat,
e emptied stadium and
ms rested atop the railing,
beneath them. He looked
expanse of green and his-
saw, millions upon mil-
rs had already seen, but
he was creating in his
feeling in his heart would
is own.
ernan can be reached via
i at rickfree@unich.edu.
1________________________________I
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