Here is Curtis Granderson's blog entry from yesterday...

Remembering a tragic event
posted: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Print Entry

One always hates to witness a national tragedy like the one that took place on Monday in Blacksburg, Va. A horrific event took place -- one of the worst in our nation's history. I can't begin to comprehend what the family members of the victims are going through.

I remember checking my e-mail early in the morning the day of the tragedy when I first heard about it, and the first thing that started popping in my head was when I was on campus at the University of Illinois-Chicago and I found out the events of 9/11 were happening. I remembered how scared people were on my campus and the reactions of all the faculty and students. Now try to imagine being on the campus of Virginia Tech as a student while this event was going on.

One of the victims of the tragedy was 25-year-old Brian Bluhm. I never had the pleasure of actually meeting Brian. In just a few short weeks, Brian was scheduled to earn his master's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. A bright future was in the works for this Detroit sports fan, who on his own Web site admitted that he either works on his thesis or reads about the Tigers. Now that's what I call a broad range.

There were 31 other innocent victims on Monday morning on Virginia Tech's campus. Some were teachers and administrators; some were students. They are all cherished.

Detroit sports message boards have been littered with thoughtful comments and messages for Brian. He had e-mailed me a couple of questions for my Q&A in the past, though his questions were not yet selected. Here is one of those questions that I will now answer:

Brian Bluhm (Blacksburg, Va.): What are your personal and team goals for the season?
Curtis: It's hard for us as a team to set a goal and say we want to win a certain amount of games or win the World Series, because it's too hard to focus on one specific thing for so many games. Our team goal is pretty simple, though -- basically prepare ourselves to play for nine innings every day, every series and against every opponent. For me individually, it's more of just trying to play my role the best I can every day. One day I may lead off and start in center field, where I'll need to set the tone and cover and control the outfield. Another day, I may bat eighth or ninth and I'll have to set the tone for the big guys at the top of the lineup.

I may not always start, but I'll still need to be ready to come off the bench to either run, hit or play defense to the best of my ability.

Finally, my thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this senseless tragedy.