If someone told me back in May that on this day in September the Tigers would own a one game lead in the AL Central I probably would have had them institutionalized. But now here it is-September 18, and all my excitement has shifted elsewhere.

It's no that I'm not a Tigers fan- really I am - and I've been one before 2006. I can't even count how many classes I skipped or lectures I diregarded in the spring to focus on Tigers baseball-but since football season came around baseball doesn't seem as important.

I've always thought football was the greatest sport to follow-especially college, but now- even with the first Tigers pennant race of my era- I can't get excited over baseball.

If I someone could have harnessed the excitement I had back in April, maybe I'd actually care that  I have tickets for next Friday's game agains the Royals, one's I had hoped would enable me to see the Tig's capture their first playoff birth in 18 years. I should be excited that Tigers tickets go on sale tomorrow for the playoffs. We're talking ALDS, ALCS and World Series. But instead of dropping down $90 for a skybox seat in a potentail October matchup versus some pushover from the NL, I'm thinking I'd rather spend that money on a Michigan-Ohio State ticket- which is running anywhere from $500-$2,000 on Ebay right now. And it's only three games into the season!

This coming from a guy who has already spent $500 on two sets of season tickets. One for Michigan, one for Michigan State and a couple scattered games for Central Michigan, Boston College, Western and hopefully the Tennessee-LSU game later this season.

After all that, I don't know why I don't feel inclined to at least try for a World Series ticket. Especically since I paid for 16 seperate tickets to 16 games in 2004 at Comerica Park where the Tigers went 0-16, including two more losses against the White Sox during a July road trip.

Then again- I don't know anyone in their right mind who would go see the Tigers play to an 0-18 record if football season was going on which makes me think that even though the Tigers are sweet, and I'll be excited over them in April, Michigan football is where it's at in the fall.

Of course I haven't been able to say that in a while considering Michigan dropped it's previous six road openers leaving them out of the national title race befrore the thick of the Big Ten race. But now things are different. The win against Notre Dame proves that new defensive coordinator Ron English is on to something. His "Old English D" has me seeing shades of a 1997 team that led the nation in defense and subsequently defeated Washington State for a Rose Bowl win and share of the national title.

Michigan still has a few key matchups to go undefeated  into their rivalry match with Ohio State-Wisconsin being one of them. I will preview that later on this week-but now its time to watch the Tigers