I am laughing out loud right now. (LOL). Tigers, our boys of the summer down 4-1, bottom of the ninth, two outs, after a Toronto double play and they come back! Tigers win 5-4. Unbelievable! Is this the game that will take them to the playoffs? Maybe, hopefully! I apologize for not typing more as often as I did. I am kind of a guest writer now but I have to say this night, THIS NIGHT, I am so proud to be a COD.

A once in a life time event is coming on August 19th. The Woodward Avenue Action Association is holding their “Hands Along Woodward” program. They need 45,000 volunteers to form a human chain from The Detroit River to Pontiac in celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the street named after Augustus Woodward. Church bells will ring along the way and the chain will symbolize a city and region of strength and pride. All you need to do is show up. Dont’ forget to bring those cameras!

Talk about sacralidge. Brian O’Conner’s article, in the News yesterday, on non-car guys running the auto industry was pretty brutal. What I found ironic though was after reading that the Woodward Dream Cruise is “a nightmarish orgy of denial that’s nothing short of High Mass for the rearview mind of the “car guy.” And that “. . .Detroit is not a good-ol’ boy network, it’s a good-ol’ days network.” I went to the next section and low and behold. . .

. . . on page 1B, there it was, a huge spread on the ‘57 Chevy. Maybe he is right after all. Under Alan Mulally’s guidance, (he was the wagon master at Boeing) Ford had a $750 million second-quarter profit. Who knows what Bob Nardelli, (returned Home Depot to record profits) will accomplish at Chrysler. In thinking along those lines, how about a totally non-political type runs for govenor?? “No Politicians Need Apply!”

As you know I spend a lot of time on my bike, especially during the weekend. Took a nice ride today along the riverfront. As I was returning home and pedaling down Cadillac Square I came upon some men playing what appeared to be bocce’ ball. I parked the bike and began ot observe. One of the guys came over and asked me if I wanted to play. I said sure, but what game is it? He answered Petanque. Petanque? I like to think of myself as a pretty cosmopolitan guy but I have to admit, sorry, I never heard of it.

After playing for a couple of hours I was hooked. What a great sport. It is very similar to bocce’ ball but there is more stratagy and techniques involved and the balls, or “boules” are made of steel instead of ivory. A game invented in France but, evidently, popular around the world much less here in the D’. I googled it and came up with 3, 550,000 hits. The guy that intro-ed me was Jeff Widen. Guess who showed up a little later and is called a “ringer” by the guys? Mellisa who was the head ramrod here at detroit metblogs before Jaime succeeded her. Anyway, what a nice group of people. The Detroit Petanque Club games are open to the public. Weekdays 12pm-1pm in Caddilac Square, Saturdays 12pm-5pm at Campus Martius and Sundays from 1pm to 6pm at the VFW Park in Royal Oak. Now I have to find out where I can purchase my very own “boules” and get in the game.

‘3 Days in the D’ sounds like something out of Hollywood. Instead it is the name of a marketing tool Metro Detroit community leaders are using to promote three different events over Labor Day. They are the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Chrysler Arts, Beats and Eats in downtown Pontiac and the return of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. It is estimated that crowds of 50,000 or more will attend these events. My favorite is the Jazz Fest but I won’t be there this year as I have signed up to be a volunteer at the Grand Prix. Vrooomm, vroommmmm!

Great day for a bike ride yesterday. One of my favorites is to cruise Brush Park. Bordered by John R. and Brush and running north to Mack, this nieghborhood once was the home of rich industrialists dating back to the late 1800’s. A lot of homes have been rehabed including Edmond Place on, where else, Edmond St

One home that has always fascinating me is the William Livingston House at 294 Elliot. In its day it was a gorgeous example of French Renaissanse architechture. Built by Albert Kahn in 1893, it was one of his first commisions at the age of 22 or 23. Nicknamed “old slumpy” because of the way the building is decaying, the property is fenced off to prevent injury. Several years ago the Red Cross wanted to expand and it was move it or lose it so preservationists moved to it’s present location. Problem was, the movers failed miserably and without a proper foundation it just began to droop and slowly collapse.

Actually, I believe the structure has a spirit of its own. Someone was filming a video of the site and while filming, the home began to fall apart. It is amazing when you think about the incredible odds of that happening at that very moment after standing for over one hundred years. Spooky, very spooky.

Haven’t been to Bob-Lo Island in Amersburg in a while. Dirve or float there today for the first annual live jazz fest from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Our own Jesse Palter starts it off at 2 with Alexander Zonjic later and Chuck Mangione closing it out in the evening. Lawn chairs and coolers are allowed. $30 lawn. $40 VIP. Ticket price includes the ferry ride across the Livingston Channel.