Whoa, my Tigers unloaded for 15 in their home opener. Which, given how crappy Detroit’s pitching looks to be is the only way they’re going to get any Ws this year. 15-2 over the previously unbeaten Texas Rangers is a boffo way to start the year at home.

So, hey, I got that goin’ for me.

Which is not to mention that the Pistons — FYI, I was born in Detroit, so I gravitate toward play-for-pay Motown teams in this college burg of ours — clinched a spot in the NBA playoffs. Though any team that traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson doesn’t really deserve any fan’s loyalty.

And, I’ll be darned if that Kentucky homie Kenny Perry isn’t sitting atop the leader board down in Augusta. (Actually he’s tied with Chad Campbell at 9 under.) You go, dude. Of course, the halfway point is just that. The Masters still has 36 to play. But Perry seems to have come into his own in the last couple of seasons, proving that late developers still exist in this era of wunderkinds. If Perry does pull it off, he’ll become the oldest player to win a major, besting Julius Boros. Who, if you’ll recall, didn’t dawdle on the course. The guy had the fastest swing in golf.

Making today’s round all so much more enjoyable — which is hard given the absurd reverence announcers are forced to give Augusta National and the tournament and its tradition as if Robert Tyre Jones and Clifford Roberts themselves will come back from the grave to issue an official scolding — is this simple stat: He Who Has Been Heralded As The Greatest Athlete In The History Of Sport a/k/a The Most Significant Human Being In The History Of All Civilization Anywhere In The Universe is, ahem, 7 strokes behind. You’ve got to read 18 names before you find a group of nine which includes He Whose Name Is Revered Above All Others.

And I’m not talkin’ the Dalai Lama or Carl Spackler either.

Finally, taking a bit of the edge off, a moment of silence for Mike Casey. He was a certified Kentucky basketball legend at Shelby County and for the Cats. Never met him, but I’ve heard some great stories about him and the Barnstable twins. Which stories you shall not be reading here. Sorry.

– Seedy K