Of hockey, miracles and Olympic gold – at the Opera House!
And you’re invited!
Please consider joining authors Keith Gave and Tim Rappleye, along with Olympic gold medalist and Michigan’s own Lisa Brown-Miller as they celebrate the miracle that transpired 25 years ago in Nagano, Japan, when Team USA shocked the hockey world and beat the power Canadians for the first-ever Olympic gold medal awarded in women’s ice hockey. This incredible story is told on the pages of a new book, “A Miracle of Their Own,” which the authors and Lisa will be signing after their presentation, which kicks off a new season for the prestigious National Writers Series.
When: Thursday, January 19, 7 p.m.
Where: The Opera House, Traverse City
Tickets: $5 for students, $15 and $25 for adults (with nominal fees)
THE RUSSIAN FIVE
When the Detroit Red Wings were rebooting their franchise after more than two decades of relative futility, they knew the best place to find world-class players who could help turn things around more quickly were conscripted servants behind the Iron Curtain.
VLAD THE IMPALER
Picking up where the international best-selling book The Russian Five left off, Vlad the Impaler will have readers alternately laughing—and in tears—with dozens more memorable, untold stories and anecdotes from the Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup championship season in 1997, 25 years ago.
A MIRACLE OF THEIR OWN
Like the group of players who stunned the world by upsetting the mighty Soviet Union in the iconic “Miracle Game” at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid in 1980, few gave the Team USA women much of a chance to beat the Canadians in the inaugural women’s tournament in Nagano, Japan in 1998.
Make me an offer I can’t refuse
Along with dedicating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every copy of Vlad The Impaler, I am parting with three priceless items I have cherished since winning them in a silent auction 25 years ago. And when I sell them, every penny will be forwarded to the Vladimir Konstantinov Special Needs Trust established by his daughter, Anastasia, to help ensure that he gets the help he needs after changes in Michigan’s insurance laws threaten his care.
All items will come with a notarized certificate of authenticity.
While I have no idea about the fair market value of these items, I do have a number in mind that would make me part with them and I will entertain offers until I sell them or take them off the market to hold an auction – with a reserve dollar amount to make sure we hit the minimum number before I agree to sell them. I am conducting this sale myself, rather than through a pricey auction house that will take a hefty amount of the proceeds as commission on the sales. So go ahead, make me an offer I can’t refuse and one or all three of these items can be yours. For the record, this proposed sale represents 75 percent of all the items I’ve managed to “collect” over more than 40 years in sports writing. I’m keeping the Louisville Slugger signed by Al Kaline.
