Ernie Harwell died last night. He was 92. He had been fighting cancer of the bile duct and an inoperable tumor. He had, in his own words, “a grand life.” Recently, when folks about town asked him how he was doing, he would not say disingenuously “Oh, fine,” or wallow in pity. He would say, appropriately enough and so like him “I am at peace” and discuss his enthusiasm for his “next great adventure.” But the sense of loss in Detroit and Michigan this day is palpable and will be for a long time. Ernie Harwell broadcast 42 seasons of Detroit Tiger baseball on radio and television. Most of those seasons were behind the microphone for WJR, the 50,000-watt powerhouse whose signal reaches all over the Midwest. On a clear night, a boy visiting his grandparents in mid-north Indiana could pick up WJR to check in on his favorite baseball team and, more importantly, check in on home. For a good many Michigan kids, Ernie was home. God only...(Read Full Post)