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**spongyfungy** · 11-01-2005, 11:09 AM

The laughter was everywhere, echoing through the halls at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

The Pistons acted like goofy kids Monday afternoon, and the pint-size patients responded in kind.

It's not fun to be sick on Halloween, and it's even more of a bummer to be in a hospital.

The Pistons wanted to bring some fun to the children and ended up the recipients of hugs and laughs.

"This is the best," Chauncey Billups said. "I really feel lucky that we can bring some smiles and laughs to these kids -- because you can tell they've been through a lot.

"I've got two small girls, and this really touches me. You look in the eyes and see their faces, they just love this. They draw energy from this.

"And we do the same. We love being around these kids."

The entire Pistons team, from the players to the coaches, interacted with patients, siblings, parents and the medical staff at Children's Hospital. Some of the staffers and parents had dressed up as Pistons for Halloween and were stunned to meet the genuine Pistons.

Wayne E. Smith / The Detroit News
Ben Wallace and his wife, Chanda, visited Julia Ruggirello, 13, whose cystic fibrosis kept her from trick-or-treating.

Halloween appearance at Children's Hospital is also showtime, and team trots out its best actors.

Carlos Arroyo, left, shows the kids at Children's Hospital what a real space alien looks like while participating in a skit.

P33r~ · 11-01-2005, 03:50 PM

I was going to post this.

Quote:

Arroyo, who volunteered to be in the show, showed his flair for the dramatic. He dressed as a scary, low-voiced alien with an orange frizzed-out Afro wig, an orange shirt and lime-green wrap-around sunglasses.

The kids and Pistons -- especially Rasheed Wallace -- laughed hard with delight over Arroyo's alien antics.

Ben also helped with a story. His acting effort had him playing selfish basketball, and he had to be converted into sharing the ball. "Coach Flip," played by an actor with a flair for channeling Chris Farley, reprimanded Ben for not sharing the ball.

The kids dispersed to activity stations after the performance, making crafts or reading books with Pistons players, coaches and other helpers. The real coach Flip (Saunders) delighted the kids with a few magic tricks.

It's great because you can all picture them doing it. Especially Sheed laughing harder than the kids at Arroyo's alien costume.