The recipe

The third installment of random thoughts and observations, long overdue...

Here's a question for all of you sports fans: What is the most grossly overcovered topic in sports, the "news" that when it comes on ESPN, you immediately change the channel? Here are three of my many:

- Michelle Wie. What has she ever done? Yes, she's talented. Yes, she can hit the ball 300 yards. But so can a million other golfers in America. Until she wins a tournament on the LPGA Tour, she shouldn't compete with the men, and she most definitely should not command headlines on SportsCenter and elsewhere.

- Barry Bonds. Is there one person on Earth who honestly believes this man has not taken steroids? It's obvious. So why do possible indictments and "new discoveries" become you've-gotta-hear-this news? I'll never understand. The legacy of this man is forever "asterisked," and it's sad. But whether it's proven in court that he took steroids ... that really doesn't matter.

- Barbaro. He's a fricking horse. Millions of his brethren are slaughtered daily so people around the world can eat. Just because he won one big race doesn't mean people care how he's feeling at every hour of the day. Seriously, one day, it's "Barbaro feeling under the weather, death not far off." The next, it's "Barbaro's condition improves, horse in good spirits." Give me a break. It was unfortunate that he couldn't compete for the Triple Crown, but come on. Once he went down, that was it. Tip your cap, admit it was a shame, and move on. That horse sure doesn't give a hoof about you.

So what do you think? Care to defend my picks? Care to chime in with some other topics (like Kobe/Shaq subplots, Roger Clemens retire/unretirements, Terrell Owens antics), feel free...

... So how about the Detroit Tigers? It's hard for me to contain my excitement after weathering the storm of futility for so many years. Now, they're the best team in baseball. The big question every loyal Tigers fan should be asking themselves: What will it take for this to continue?

I think Jim Leyland has them in a mindset where they never get too high, never too low after wins or losses. And that's a hard attitude to harness. I also think he has them focused on winning every day when they arrive at the ballpark -- regardless of what happened a day earlier or who their opponent is in the dugout next to them. If that sustains through the end of the summer, they'll be in good shape.

The big question mark will be if they can avoid injury. In baseball, it's hard. They still have 70 or so games to play, then potentially a long playoff run. Their current lineup is so well-balanced -- you never know who will be a hero one day, go 0-for-4 the next -- that one injury wouldn't throw them off too much. Plus, their bench can be counted on. If a guy like Carlos Guillen pulls a hammy and has to sit out for two weeks, Ramon Santiago and Omar Infante can fill in, and hardly anyone would notice.

General Manager Dave Dombrowski may make some personnel moves before the trade deadline at the end of July. Many people say he'll try to get a big left-handed bat in the lineup. To me, that's not their biggest area of concern. They rarely have trouble putting runs on the board. I'd still like to see them dump Todd Jones. He's not the kind of closing pitcher that wins World Series. Intimidation and his name are not synonymous.

But if they can stay humble, hungry and healthy, October is in their future. Let's root our stripes off to help them get there...

... Rob Parker of the Detroit News reported that Rip Hamilton has cut his braids and will sport a fade cut next season. I never really liked Rip's braids. He seems like more of a tight-fade type guy to me -- like he was at UConn. I just hope the lighter weight will help him hit his jump shot more effectively than he did in the postseason...

... I'm glad the World Cup is over, and only because of one thing. The flopping started to get to me. I'm no huge soccer fan, but when I lived in Spain, I began to like the sport a bit more. And because the World Cup comes on just once every four years, it's usually something I can stand. But to watch those Italians flop as they did, and to watch them win it all, I couldn't respect that. What was even sadder, though, was to see French star Zinedine Zidane go out like he did. Yes, the Italian who provoked him was probably over the line with family and race-oriented comments. But in any game -- especially on that stage -- you cannot do what Zidane did. Instead of being remembered as one of the greatest players of all time, he'll be remembered as the head-butting goat who blew the World Cup for this team and his country. It was one hell of a head-butt, though.