The Yankees have already received their invitation to the playoffs. The Angels’ magic number is down to five. But it is the Tigers, still fighting for their postseason lives, who are featured on the cover of this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, which hits the newsstands today. And rightfully so.
        “What has unfolded this summer, one year removed from a last-place finish, has lifted a city,” writes SI.
        You can say that again.
        It’s about time the national media started paying attention to the Tigers who, outside of Detroit and Michigan, have been an under-appreciated, often-ignored story all season.
        The headline on the magazine shouts, “The Righteous Franchise: Detroit.” The subhead reads, “The Tigers’ bold stand with their fans.”
        In a press release detailing the magazine’s overdue six-page look at the Tigers,  SI says, “This week SI kicks off Assignment Detroit -- in which journalists, photographers, videographers and bloggers from all the Time Inc. news publications flood the area to report on the struggles plaguing the cradle of America’s middle class -- with a cover story by senior writer Lee Jenkins, who reports how Tigers owner Mike Ilitch responded to the economic crisis not by cutting costs but by reinvesting dramatically in his franchise and what that has meant to the people of Detroit.”
        Personally, I am tired of all the pity-poor-Detroit stories, every time one of our sports teams does well amidst the ravages of the current recession.
        But right now, the Tigers will take any positive publicity -- and, more importantly, any victories -- they can get.