Detroit Tigers

After the Ravens practiced yesterday, Brian Billick declared that in no way was he implying that the New York Jets and coach Eric Mangini were cheating in Sunday's game. Too bad. I had a bagful of asterisks with me, ready to sprinkle all over it. That's my side gig now. I've got asterisks for sale, first come, first served. The demand has risen so high so fast, someone had to step in, figure out who and what are deserving, and apply accordingly. And, of course, cash in on the trend. (Goodness knows, I can't retire on what I make writing for newspapers.

This time, though, we'll let those within the game do the talking. No hearing from current Orioles. Or from the club's legends and Hall of Famers. Or from anyone else you've heard babble on incessantly about him over the years. Collected throughout the first half of the season, here are comments from guys who managed or played with Ripken, against Ripken or simply watched from afar. People currently in other major league uniforms who have shared their thoughts about the Orioles' new Hall of Famer.

The question is posed with the understanding that there's no definite answer and the evidence can be bent in a variety of ways. But as interleague play begins tonight, it's worth at least asking: Who will find success first - the Orioles or the Nationals? When the Nats moved into the neighborhood more than two years ago, most of the initial hand-wringing centered on having to share the economic pie. Because both teams have floundered in the standings, discussion about which organization could consistently field the more competitive team has lacked punch.

Soldiers ordered to stay longer Gambling that tens of thousands of war-weary U.S. soldiers and their families will tolerate months more duty in combat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ordered tours of duty for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan be extended from 12 months to 15 months. pg 1a Kurt Vonnegut dead at 84 Kurt Vonnegut - an American novelist known for mixing satire, black comedy and science fiction in novels such as Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle and God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater and who caught the imagination of a generation - died last night in Manhattan.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- The Orioles signed Jamie Walker, a 35-year-old left-handed reliever, to a three-year, $12 million deal in the offseason. In response, his former Detroit Tigers teammate, Todd Jones, said of the Tennessee native: "$12 million is a lot of money, but $12 million in Tennessee? He might as well be Donald Trump. That's a lot of generic-brand beer, and a lot of NASCAR tickets. You know how many fishing lures you can buy at Wal-Mart with $12 million?" What do Orioles fans need to know about Jamie Walker?

St. Louis-- --When you're a team of destiny, the ground does not come apart under your feet, as it did under Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson at a pivotal moment of last night's pivotal Game 4 of the 102nd World Series. When you're a team of destiny, the guy throwing 100 mph strikes everybody out at the end. The little leadoff hitter on the other team doesn't turn your velocity against you and drive the ball over the center fielder's head to bring home the winning run in the eighth inning.

DETROIT -- It has not exactly been a warm homecoming for St. Louis Cardinals starter Jeff Weaver in his return to the city where he began his big league career. At least there are no good vibes for Weaver emanating from Detroit closer Todd Jones, Weaver's former Tigers teammate from 1999 to 2001. Jones told The Detroit News for yesterday's editions that Weaver "was a good pitcher who never really panned out here. Maybe he found a home in St. Louis, but there's no love lost here that he's gone."

DETROIT -- When the Detroit Tigers' Placido Polanco separated his shoulder in mid-August, the sporting world barely took notice. He was a role player, after all, a smooth-hitting, good-fielding second baseman who rarely made headlines. He also was Detroit's glue, and the Tigers struggled through their worst month of the season without him. Polanco returned at the end of September and then excelled in the American League Championship Series, hitting .529 with two RBIs in four games to win the ALCS Most Valuable Player Award.

DETROIT -- If this American League Championship Series signifies the redemptive powers of baseball, demonstrating how a club that lost 119 games three years ago is now the darling of the sport, then its poster boy is the mercurial veteran pitcher who took the mound for the Detroit Tigers yesterday. To some, Tigers left-hander Kenny Rogers will always be the example of spoiled athletes gone wrong because he hit a cameraman in Texas last year. To others, he's the guy who flunked out both in past postseasons and in New York City, proving he wasn't a big-stage pitcher.

This is the exact opposite of what you've been hearing since the middle of yesterday afternoon. But you, sports fans - most of you - already have things pretty much in perspective. You know that these really are games, that this is a diversion, that even something that seems as petty as an argument about who the New York Yankees should get rid of next season, serves an important function. It keeps us from thinking constantly about how life is, as the old saying goes, nasty, brutish and short.