And now a brief diversion from politics & public policy: Simply put, today is the best day on the American sports calendar. A lot of fans today are donning orange and blue to root the Florida Gators to success in an unprecedented feat: simultaneously winning back-to-back NCAA basketball titles while defeating the same school they beat to win the NCAA football title earlier in the year. Whoa! Yes, this game will be fun to watch for sure, and here's hoping that Ohio State can make it a close contest. But around this house today, sports fans don their blue and orange to celebrate Major League Baseball's Opening Day. My beloved Detroit Tigers begin their American League pennant defense at home against the Toronto Blue Jays, with emerging … [Read more...]

Baseball season is over. Time to move on to other things. … [Read more...]

Have I been disappointed thus far by my Detroit Tigers' performance in the World Series? Yes. Now that they're down 3-1 to St. Louis, have I given them up for dead? Certainly not. This team has been counted out before, and it makes my day to see ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski not only write off the Tigers' chances as dead and buried but also spit on the fresh grave. Of course, Cardinals' fans should be indignant, too, as his East Coast disdain for us flyover hicks shines through (nobody's watching, because who could care without any teams from New York or Boston in the Fall Classic?): To the tens of baseball fans who are watching the lowest-rated World Series in history, hang in there. It's almost over. Only nine innings and one more victory … [Read more...]

Not often do I write about my Detroit Tigers' ongoing special season, one that has far more than revived the franchise from a decade-plus of the doldrums. But last night's 10-4 victory over Tampa Bay hit so many milestones that it's impossible to ignore: Shortstop Carlos Guillen became the 10th Tiger in franchise history to hit for the cycle Rookie phenom Justin Verlander became the first Major League pitcher to reach 14 wins in 2006 In his first game in a Tigers uniform, new first baseman Sean Casey belted a home run and drove in two runs Temporary call-up outfielder Brent Clevlen hit his first two career home runs, pushing his two-game batting average to .625 With 56 games remaining in the season, Detroit tied last season's … [Read more...]

As a lifelong Detroit Tigers fan who has lived through many years of painful mediocrity and worse, I am really enjoying this season's developments. At about the midway point of the 2006 campaign, it seemed like another good time to pause and reflect on a few pertinent facts: 1. The Detroit Tigers not only lead the American League Central division, they have the best record in the American League and all of Major League Baseball - and have been in that position for many weeks now. 2. Detroit (56-26) is 2.5 games ahead of the world champion Chicago White Sox, 4.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox, 7.5 games ahead of the National League's best New York Mets, 8.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees, 10 games ahead of the very hot … [Read more...]

From an April 2006 online forum to publicize his new book Painting the Map Red: Cleveland, Ohio: Who has a better chance of winning in 2006, the Republicans or the Cleveland Indians? Hugh Hewitt: I am not even sure why we are playing the 2006 season given the Tribe's overwhelming talent. Perhaps it is just for the joy of embarrassing the Yankees and Red Sox. Mr. Hewitt's baseball braggadocio certainly has abated in the past two months, both on air and on the blog. While I have no love lost for the AL East powerhouses, perhaps it's time to compare how the Indians are faring thus far with their division rivals, the Detroit Tigers. Tiger fans like myself have long awaited a season such as the way this one has unfolded so far, coming … [Read more...]