Some food for thought...

ON EVERYTHING

I couldn't feel much further away from the sports universe. Here I am, sitting in the living room of the Red House in Center Sandwich, N.H. (basically the middle of nowhere).

Yes, there's decent Internet service. But no television, and no sports bars nearby. That's right — I'm on vacation from the 365/24 sports world, and I'm loving it.

But me being me (thanks, Manny, for the phrase), I haven't been able to completely shut myself out from what's been an eventful early August. My musings are below:

Tainted Olympics?: By the time I leave this self-proclaimed Utopia, the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be all but over. That means, of course, that I will probably miss all of NBC's 2,387,519 hours of coverage (ballpark estimate).

Oh, well, I'll survive. Here's how I know: When someone mentions the Olympics, the first thought that comes to my mind doesn't involve Michael Phelps going for a record eight gold medals; it doesn't center around the U.S. hoops team trying to regain control of the world; and, no, it has nothing to do with the men's 100-meter dash. Sadly, I think of how in the world Beijing got these Games.

An extremely polluted city; so bad, some athletes wore oxygen masks upon arriving. A government that has — against its long-ago promises — gone so far as to restrict what websites foreign journalists can use. A government that forced thousands of citizens out of their now-demolished homes so lavish Olympics facilities could be built. And the list goes on...

(And I haven't even mentioned all the doping that — I'm 118 percent positive — is going on.)

There are great athletes at these Games who deserve attention for their impressive accomplishments. And I'm sure they'll get that publicity, but not from me. I'll be doing my own Olympics here in the beautiful Northeast — climbing mountains and biking up long, twisting hills.

Manny trying now?: How frustrated must the Boston Red Sox be? A week and a half ago, Manny Ramirez could barely run out a groundball to first base. Now, he's batting better than .500 and jacking tape-measure home runs for the Dodgers.

Well, the truth is that Boston can't regret trading Ramirez no matter how well he plays for the Dodgers. He was miserable in Boston and there was no guarantee he would compete hard — or at all — for the rest of the season. He had to go.

But if Boston misses the playoffs and the Dodgers make it? Let's just say there'd be plenty of whispering in the current American City of Champions.

Favre stays with Green: Hey, Brett Favre remains in a green uniform. Of course, the New York Jets wear a different hue of my cousin's favorite color than the Green Bay Packers. And now, more important (obviously!), they're a team to be reckoned with in 2008.

Will Favre have the great season he had in '07? I doubt that. He's a year older and doesn't have quite as much offensive artillery in New York. Plus, even the AFC East (and the almost-winless-in-'07 Dolphins) is better than the anemic NFC North — at least on the defensive side of the ball.

But even a mediocre season from Favre would be an upgrade from what the Jets had. There's no doubt that he can sling it a bit farther downfield than rubber-armed Chad Pennington.

And finally, as if the NFL needs another publicity boost, having Favre back will be a shot in the arm to TV ratings. Which basically means that the NFL will go from being America's most popular sports league to, well, its even more most popular league. Make sense? And Favre playing in New York? Hmm ... if the Yankees and Mets somehow make the playoffs, the sports sections of the Post, Daily News and Times might need to be doubled come October.

Low expectations in Ann Arbor: Ann Arborites should know that preseason college football rankings mean about as much to the actual season as Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton mean to Barack's chance at the presidency. Just ask the members of last year's highly touted team.

Still, it must be relaxing for the Wolverines to be ranked just No. 24 in the opening coaches' poll.

There is no pressure on this team. None, really. Sports Illustrated went as far to choose Michigan to finish 5-7 and in the bottom half of the Big Ten behind interstate rival Michigan State. Wow.

And while I don't think the predictions are far off (although 5-7 is a bit ludicrous), don't be surprised if Rich Rodriguez quickly transforms the Wolverines into a very explosive, fast and dangerous team. I won't hide my disappointment in Rodriguez as a person, but I believe in his ability to coach and ruthlessly recruit.

It'll likely be a rough first season, but the most refreshing thing about watching the 2008 Wolverines will be all the novelties. Everything about the team will be new, including some of the players, the plays called and the strategies.

It should be fun — if frustrating — to watch.

And finally: Minnesota Twins fans are a lucky bunch. Think about this for 13 seconds: The team enters every season with low expectations. That, certainly, was the case before this year. The organization had dumped its centerpiece, pitching ace Johan Santana. Nobody expected the Twins to do more than show up at the ballpark every night.

And now they're in first place? Unbelievable. They've won the A.L. Central four of the past six years and suffered just one losing record (79-83 last year). They're the polar opposite of this season's Tigers.

Low payroll. Low expectations. Overachievers.

Kudos to the Twins organization for their continued success.

All right, it's 1:09 a.m. Getting late for a vacation blog.

I'm out. Time to climb up the rickety old stairs.

Thursday, 7/19/07's main point: For two days, Tigers look like last year's version

ON BASEBALL

I'm going to try to finish this column quickly, because in a matter of hours, it could be B.S.

So let me get straight to the point: The Detroit Tigers looked like last year's version — the World Series edition — the past two games. In 1-0 and 3-2 wins over the Twins in the tricky Metrodome, the high-scoring, you-never-know-with-the-'pen Tigers did what they accomplished in '06.

Two phrases...

Timely hitting.

AND

Great pitching.

And by "great pitching" I'm not just referring to the Tigers' starting rotation, which we've known is arguably the best in the majors since the return of Kenny Rogers. No, I'm including that patched up bullpen, which finally seems to be coming into form, despite the continued absence of Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.

Last season the Tigers weren't nearly as explosive offensively as they are this time around. They didn't have a hitter leading the majors in batting average and doubles and tied for second in RBIs (Magglio Ordonez), a hitter leading the majors in triples by a ginormous margin (Curtis Granderson) and a player second in runs (Gary Sheffield).

They were a good hitting team, but not a great one. They got the big hits when they needed them.

Well, the Tigers went back in time Tuesday and Wednesday night. They managed just 11 hits between the two games, but just about every one of them counted. Ordonez had the big RBI single in Tuesday's shutout. Wednesday night, Ryan Raburn doubled, Placido Polanco singled, and Ordonez brought them home with a double in the fourth inning.

Two innings later, Ordonez homered off Twins' ace Johan Santana, giving the Tigers the eventual winning run. So, basically, Maggs owned the night, but it should be mentioned that four of Detroit's six hits accounted for their runs. It is extremely important to take advantage of every opportunity you get against a pitcher like Santana, and that's exactly what the Tigers did on Wednesday.

At least with their bats.

I was more impressed with their pitching. That's what is going to keep them playing deep into October again. Especially the 'pen.

A year ago, the formula was pretty simple. The starter would go six or seven innings. If he went six, maybe Jamie Walker (now an Oriole) would step in for an inning. Then Zumaya or Rodney would take the eighth, and Todd Jones (I just call him Jonesy) would finish pitch the ninth. On Jones' off nights, Rodney would fill in. It was pretty darn simple. And, with the exception of Jonesy's scary outings (put two guys on with nobody out before retiring three straight), it was pretty automatic and quick.

This season has been the antithesis of '06's well-oiled routine. From night to night, we've been left to guess who will pitch prior to Jonesy. Guys have been called up. Then sent back down. To the DL and back. OK, no more dizziness.

But then came Tuesday... and Wednesday. It wasn't pretty. It certainly wasn't quick. But they got it done.

On Tuesday Macay McBride and Jonesy didn't allow a hit in two innings of work. On Wednesday, there was a bit more sweating, as four relievers were needed to survive the three innings leading up to Jonesy's one-hit ninth inning, which began with a Twins' base hit but then really lost its luster.

The previous three innings must have had Jim Leyland smoking inexorably. After allowing a run in the sixth, Jason Grilli stranded a runner at third to preserve a 3-2 lead. In the seventh, Chad Durbin survived a one-out, bases-loaded jam. In the eighth, Durbin and McBride stranded speedster Luis Castillo.

Whew!!

Again, the 'pen's work was as pretty and clean as a grafittied telephone pole, but it got the job done — giving it something in common with last year's 'pen. It's pretty clear that once Zumaya and Rodney return, at least one of the current 'pen's members — most like Grilli — will be sent down. There will simply be too much congestion, not enough relaxing space for the big guys like Zumaya and Jonesy.

But maybe until then — emphasis on maybe — Leyland has nothing to worry about.

The Tigers are hitting when they need to.

They're getting stellar starting pitching.

And their bullpen is getting its collective act together.

Which isn't too bad for a team with the best record in baseball.