September's Flavor Of The Month? Tiger Orange

September in Detroit. Another great sports month, with choices.

U-M and MSU football. Supposedly key seasons for Lloyd Carr and John L. Smith, though neither university will admit to it. So there you are. Each plays a home-heavy schedule in September.

Lions football. Championship-less since 1957, but that doesn't stop the madding crowds.

Red Wings training camp in Traverse City. But first, a farewell bus-loading downtown, like seeing loved ones off to war.

Tigers baseball. No winning seasons since 1993.

Prefer any of the first three to Tigers baseball any year. Any year except this year.

Pennant fever will grip this town like you've never seen. It'll be enough to shove the Lions to the backburner, and when was the last time that happened in September? For this is the month of pro football hope, no matter how folly. It'll be enough to make us forget what's going on in Traverse City, especially with Stevie Y. and Shanny gone. The throngs in the Big House and in Spartan Stadium are sure to keep one ear plastered to a transistor radio, listening to the Tigers game. Or maybe even keeping away from the postgame campus parties, if the ballgame is on at night.

Folks who heretofor thought a Magic Number had something to do with the lottery will be educated on how to figure it out. Every pitch, every at-bat, every error, every managerial move, will be inflated in its importance.

"Can you believe what the Lions did on that 3rd-and-8 yesterday?" will be replaced by "Can you believe what Jim Leyland did in the eighth inning last night?" at the company water cooler.

Fans will pack their thermoses full of hot chocolate and other bellywarmers and gather their blankets and put on their face paint -- to go to Comerica Park.

Tiger Fever!

And don't look now, football and hockey: this craziness may extend well into October, too.

Heaven forbid.