As the American Airlines jet descended into the greater Miami area, I marveled at just how vast South Florida has become.
Nearly seven million souls live there and I was looking for a proverbial needle in a haystack. Virginian-Pilot sports editor Tom White approved what seemed like a crazy idea to fly me to the Sunshine State to find former Old Dominion University basketball star Ronnie Valentine, who had been homeless for decades.
It was the longest of long shots, but Tom always trusted my instincts.
Some of Valentine's former classmates had found him in the 1990s.