There is a God

As a Red Sox fan watching a Boston-less playoffs, fewer things could be more satisfying than to Detroit's victory over the Yankees last night. Kenny Rogers dismantled the Bronx Bombers & their $200 million lineup over 7.2 innings last night, and the Tigers knocked around the Big Unit, giving the Detoit Tigers a 2-1 Series lead in this short 5-game series.

Yankee fans would be stunned. Steinbrenner would be furious. A-Rod would be traded. Go Tigers!

The first week of playoff baseball has been pretty good so far. I have to admit that, for me, the highlight is the Tigers giving the Yankees all they want. I was glad to see the A's finally break through & win a series. Hooray for Moneyball. And hooray for the only other legitimate possibility of beating the Yankees if the Tigers can't finish them off.

The NL, or Quadruple-A, playoffs have been more disappointing. I was hoping to see Nomar & the Dodgers capture a little playoff magic. Not happening. And the Padres make it to October and once again can't hit. It's sickening. I'm TIRED of the Cardinals. I suppose we're destined for an NLCS with matchups like Jeff Weaver vs. Steve Trachsel & Jeff Suppan vs. John Maine. BORRRR-EEEENG.

From ESPN.com. A nice read:

If there are indeed football gods -- and the next time Duke scores a touchdown, I'll be a true believer -- then perhaps justice is being served at Michigan State and Texas A&M.

Remember when Louisville's players learned coach John L. Smith was bolting for Michigan State during halftime of the Cardinals' 38-15 loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl at the end of the 2002 season?

Likewise, remember when Dennis Franchione implored his players at Alabama, which was under harsh NCAA sanctions, not to leave ("Hold the Rope") and stick with Coach Fran and the Crimson Tide? And then many of those same players watched Franchione bolt for a $2 million salary at Texas A&M in December 2002, before Alabama faced the worst of its probation.

At Michigan State, Smith's program is in meltdown. The Spartans blew a 17-point lead in the second half of their 40-37 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 23, and then slept through a 23-20 loss to Illinois on Saturday.

It was the Illini's first victory in a Big Ten road game since 2002. Illinois had lost 24 of its last 25 conference games before spoiling the Spartans' homecoming.

"All week. That's the way we practiced, what you saw," Smith told reporters after the Illinois loss. "We can't get them to go. And apparently I don't have the answer. We can't get them to go hard in practice, so we've got to continue to look for the answer."

The stunning loss was followed by an ugly scene at midfield, when the teams exchanged punches and shoves when Illinois players tried to plant an Illini flag at midfield.

It might get much uglier in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans play at No. 6 Michigan on Saturday, then host No. 1 Ohio State on Oct. 14. They'll probably play the Wolverines without quarterback Drew Stanton (bruised ribs) and tailback Javon Ringer (sprained knee). Left guard Daniel Zynn broke his ankle and is probably out for the rest of the season.

Texas A&M fans might not ever get over the Aggies' 31-27 loss to Texas Tech, in which the Red Raiders scored the game-winning touchdown on Graham Harrell's 37-yard touchdown pass to Robert Johnson with only 26 seconds to go. The Aggies had kicked the go-ahead field goal less than two minutes earlier.

The loss dropped Franchione's overall record at Texas A&M to 20-20 in three-plus seasons. The Aggies might need to win three of their next four games -- at Kansas, at home against surging Missouri and road games at Oklahoma State and Baylor -- to save Coach Fran's job.

Texas A&M finishes the season with home games against No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 22 Nebraska and a road finale at No. 7 Texas.