Let's not forget about baseball

I was as excited as anybody to see that kickoff at noon on Sunday. Having football on Sundays just makes everything seem normal again, and I'll have the pizza and beverages ready when John Madden makes his debut on "Monday Night Football."\nBut as the sports scene changes with the leaves over the next couple of months, let's not stray too far from what has been fascinating us throughout the entire summer.\nWith a collective bargaining agreement reached, Major League Baseball fans can concentrate whole-heartedly on what could be a better post-season than last year.\nYou do remember last year, right? A Divisional Series appetizer of the Yankees overcoming a 2-0 deficit to Oakland, capped by Derek Jeter's unbelievable defense, and the main course -- a World Series that saw three games decided in the last at bat, including game seven when the Diamondbacks dethroned the Yankees.\nWell, this year has the storyline to top that drama. First, as the case seems to be in every sport these days, look to the west. An unprecedented two team race (unfortunately, I think it's time to say sayonara to Ichiro and the Mariners) has brought out the best played baseball in years. Oakland wins twenty games in a row, only to see Anaheim breathing down their throats with a ten game streak of their own. Only time will tell which team will take the division, and if one can take out the Yankees, which is where Seattle failed last year.\nAnd how about those Twins? First avoiding contraction, and now with a double-digit lead in the American League Central. They are the small guys this year that everybody wants to see make it through. Before this season, nobody had heard of Torii Hunter or Jaque Jones, but the Twins now will head into the postseason with the backing of most of America.\nAnd as hard as fans will root for Minnesota you can bet that they will be rooting even harder against the giant -- the team who again carries the bad guy reputation into October -- those dreaded Yankees. Last season they drove past that 2-0 series deficit to Oakland, and slammed through Seattle's 116 win regular season en route to the World Series. This year their competition will bring more grit and determination than they have seen in a while, and that is what it will take to beat them because nobody in the AL has the talent the Yankees have.\nThe National League? While the drama is long gone, the talent is abundant. The Braves are the most solid team all around in baseball -- even better than the Yankees. But to return to the promised land where they roamed throughout the '90s, they will have to get by the two best pitchers in baseball, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling of Arizona. The sentimental favorite should be St. Louis; with the deaths of Darryl Kile and Jack Buck, it is remarkable that they have been able to focus so well on baseball.\nThe end of baseball's season has all the aspects a fan in search of entertainment could ask for. Every team brings a different angle to the picture, and through it all the level of play this season is higher than ever.\nI'm not saying to put the pigskin aside until November, just do yourself a favor and stay tuned to the baseball scene just a little longer. You won't be disappointed.