KENNY!

There are few moments in sports that I have experienced that match what happened during Game 3 of the ALDS last year.

Kenny Rogers held 43,000 Tiger fans' hearts in his hands with every pitch, and he delivered. He was as desperate as we were to shake the image of "losers"- ready to taste glory for the first time in his career. And because of Kenny Rogers, we did.

Steve Yzerman with the Red Wings in 1997. Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammel, and Jack Morris in 1984. Al Kaline and Mickey Lolich in 1968. Gordie Howe roughly forever. Isaiah Thomas in 1989. Kenny Rogers' performance that night and throughout the 2006 post-season ranks right up there with those as far as an athlete making a special connection with the city of Detroit. It doesn't matter that the Tigers are the umpteenth team that Rogers has pitched for: he's one of us now. The emotion he showed on the mound, the appreciation he showed for the ovation, the strikes he threw, the batters he struck out, all of it bridged that gap between athlete and fan. He let us know he wanted it as bad as we did. It was beyond special.

That chilly Friday in October, followed by the next Friday and the next Sunday are the three biggest reasons why my first male child is going to be named Kenny. 23 scoreless innings in the post-season for the team that I have loved since birth. The man deserves a ring on his finger and it's for him, for Kenny Rogers, that I want the Tigers to take the Series this year over any other.

Starting tonight, this might be his final run. The guy is 41 and there's a lot of miles on that arm. It might be one of the shortest love affairs a city will have had with an athlete, but nothing will ever take away from those three starts. So when FSN Detroit starts showing highlights of last year's playoffs when 43,000 Tiger fans screamed "KEN-NY KEN-NY!" at the top of their lungs, just let the goosebumps come and then take a deep breath.

Welcome back Kenny, you were missed.