Adios to 2006.

Well, ladies and gents, 2006 is at a close. And what a year it's been. I've made some new friends, started a new career-I'm looking forward to more moving forward in 2007. Some things I'm looking forward to for '07:

1)More time with friends and family. It sounds sappy, but those are two of the most important things anyone can have.
2)Learning more. Trying to take a little something from every day.
3)The advance of time towards having a president not named Bush.
4)The Nashville Predators making another run at the Stanley Cup. This team is looking great right now.
5)The Chicago Cubs winning the World Series (ok, so this is one from every year, but you never know...).

So as the last few hours of 2006 tick away, I encourage you to take a moment and consider the things that are important to you. Now think about what you can do to improve them, and act on it. And for crying out loud, be careful out there. And be good to each other. See you in '07.

I stand corrected.

So the Tigers didn't quite live up to my expectations. I don't quite know what happened. They went from red-hot to downright terrible in a record time. Kenny Rogers had an amazing performance. That was the highlight. The Tigers' previously hot bats cooled off, and their infield apparently forgot the basics of minor things like catching and throwing. I (reluctantly) tip my hat to the Cardinals for coming in as the underdogs and making a statement. Too bad the Cubs are going to win it next year. And by "next year," I mean "hopefully sometime before I die." But who knows? Stranger things have happened...

TIGERS!

Yes, dear readers, it's time once again for the World Series. And this one has the makings of being a classic. The Tigers look to win their first series since '84, while the Cardinals look for their first under Tony LaRussa. My prediction: all Tigers. They have a great combination of lights-out pitching and big bats. Although the Cards have a good rotation, I'm much less impressed offensively. When you factor Albert Pujols out of the equation, there's not a lot left. Not to mention that the Tigers swept the A's in the ALCS, while the Cards squeaked one past the Mets in 7 games. I know some people might not like the analogy, but the Tigers are coming into this series looking a lot like the Red Sox in '04. I pick Detroit in six.

Things are looking up all over.

Well, once again, the New York Chokees (I'm sorry, I guess it's pronounced Yankees) have failed to get past the first round of the playoffs. And once again, I'm giddy like a schoolgirl. K-Rod proved again that he's entirely overpaid. It's nice that he can put up some good numbers in the regular season, but that doesn't matter at all if he can't hit in the postseason. Perhaps someone should give him a dictionary with the word "clutch" highlighted so he can see what it actually means. Here's my definition....Clutch. 1)The ability to achieve in high-pressure situations. 2)Big Papi (see also: David Ortiz). 3)Anyone but the Yankees.