It occurred to me that I did not think to extend felicitations to my fellow tenor Karl, in celebration of the Detroit Tigers' recent spate of awesomeness. He's not a huge sports fan, but in a city with so little to celebrate lately, having a team in the World Series has to be a major boost. I was telling Moose this morning that if the Cardinals get in, it will be a rematch of 1968, the first Series of which I was conscious back when I was a lad of five and didn't know Thing One about baseball. I just remember hearing the names Bob Gibson and Denny McLain bandied about. I do remember that same year Mickey Mantle announced his retirement, as did President Johnson.

So in case I forget to say it in person, allow me to say it here: Congrats, Karl, Tigers, and all Detroiters. And if the Tigers win it all, be sure to overturn only Hummers.

Me, I'm still sold on Major League Soccer.

HOUSTON DYNAMO is an anagram for YOU, SON? HOT DAMN! Just thought I'd point that out.

See you at the playoff games, I hope. The Orange plays Chivas USA the wilds of Los Angeles County next Sunday, then back here on the 29th, according to the official Dynamo website (houston.mlsnet.com). For those like me who are new to the intricacies of the MLS, here's the playoff schema:

Round 1: Top four teams in each division are paired up by seed and play two matches: first place against fourth, second against third. The team that advances does so on aggregate goals scored. If the teams finish with an equal number of goals, then there is a round of penalty kicks--y'know, the way the 2006 World Cup final was decided, preferably without star players ejected for unnecessary punkness.

Round 2: Winners of Round 1 within each division play one match, the winner of which advances to the MLS Cup. If regulation ends in a tie, you get overtime, then penalty kicks if necessary.

MLS Cup: Divisional winners meet to decide who wins the whole ball o' wax. Again, overtime and penalty kicks may happen.

It is possible for a fourth-place finisher to go all the way and win the league. In fact, it happened last year, in the person of the L.A. Galaxy, who will not appear in the postseason this year.

If Moose & I manage to make it to that game on the 29th, it will make for a very long day indeed. That morning Moose is scheduled to sing with his vocal ensemble at two church services--or maybe just one. It may be cruel to ask middle and high schoolers to perform at a 9:30 service. Anyway, we'll sing, we'll nosh, and we'll head to U of H for a 3 pm start, we'll probably have the penalty kicks at our end of the stadium where the Texian Army hangs out (www.texianarmy.org), we'll come home ecstatic because the Dynamo has never lost when we've gone to see them at Robertson Stadium, and we'll collapse in a heap.