-As I sit here and watch Kenny Rogers continue his magical postseason without allowing a run in three starts and erasing all past playoff failures, it is utterly amazing to see the 41 year-old southpaw who was best known for his awful treatment of a cameraman last year while with Texas morph into suddenly the most dominant starter in this wild October. Is this the same pitcher who imploded while with both the Yanks and Mets when the pressure was on? The most stunning aspect is the difference in Rogers’ on-mound persona. Before, he never was known for showing any emotion win or lose. Now, The Gambler is animated and seems almost like a different pitcher. It’s almost as if he has something to prove. Whatever it is, all you can do is tip your cap. He’s given the Tigers a big time performance when they needed it after dropping Game 1 of this World Series to the cardiac Cards 7-2. I wondered how he’d respond. Well, we’ve certainly gotten an overwhelming answer as he’s outpitched another ex-Yankee postseason failure Jeff Weaver in this 3-0 game that Detroit must have as the Series shifts to St. Louis.

-So who had the Eric Mangini Jets with four wins already in the equally unpredictable NFL? You got to give them credit. Chad Pennington has played well after returning from a second reconstructive shoulder surgery. Laveranues Coles has been brilliant as Chad’s primary target and now it looks like they’ve even discovered a brand new number one running back in rookie Leon Washington, who rushed for 129 yards and his first two career touchdowns in their 31-24 win over the Lions. Washington was Gang Green’s fourth round pick out of Florida State this past April. Sure, you could say they haven’t really beaten anyone great with the four wins coming against Detroit, Miami, Buffalo and Tennessee. But also, they nearly pulled off a huge upset against the undefeated Colts a few weeks ago and cameback before falling to the Patriots 24-17 in Week 2. If you really look closely, Mangini’s Jets have been in every game outside that awful 41-0 blowout loss suffered at Jacksonville three weeks ago which was their second straight loss and made them 2-3. Look at how they responded. By taking care of business to get to 4-3 and actually have a shot at the postseason. Unbelievable. What we like most about these new Jets is they’re not satisfied. Just ask Coles after Sunday’s win before heading to Cleveland next week:

“We weren’t expected to win but four games this year if you let the so-called experts tell it. Again, we’ve got four wins, but we can’t rest our hats upon that.“

If you’re a Gang Green supporter, there’s plenty to like about that statement. Here’s something else which will make fans smile:

Jets under Mangini: 4-3

Chiefs under Herm Edwards: 3-3

Ah. Somebody’s having the last laugh.

-So the predictable took place today in the NHL with the Flyers canning head coach Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke resigning as GM with assistant coach John Stevens taking over behind the bench and assistant GM Paul Holmgren calling the shots. All this was a direct result to the Flyers getting off to an atrocious 1-6-1 start in which they’ve been outscored 33-15. Yes, they were in fact the league’s worst team. A far cry from the team that’s finished 1 or 2 in the Atlantic since getting back to the postseason in 1994-95. The truth is Clarke never adjusted after watching the more talented Sabres skate circles around his team and embarrass the Flyers out of the playoffs in the first round last Spring. The same team also fittingly enough destroyed them last week 9-1 in a game seen on Versus which basically signaled the end for Hitchcock and Clarke even though it didn’t come till two losses later. Clarke not only didn’t find a replacement for mobile D-man Kim Johnsson but also swapped imposing center Michal Handzus to Chicago for the softer Kyle Calder and let team enforcer Donald Brashear sign with Washington. This made the Flyers a much softer team for opponents and easier to play. With teams taking runs at new captain Peter Forsberg, something was bound to happen. So will the changes work? Hard to say. The Flyers’ blueline still lacks enough speed and is the weakest link which makes life even more difficult for either goalie Antero Niittymaki or Robert Esche. If they are to turn it around, second-year forwards Jeff Carter (1-1-2, -3), R.J. Umberger (1 goal, -5) and Mike Richards (0 points, -3) must come through. They’ve been dreadful thus far and must support 2/3 of the top line of Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble without an injured Forsberg. It will be interesting to see how they respond over the next couple of weeks.

-So Detroit closer Todd Jones made it a little too close for comfort in that ninth for Rogers (23 scoreless innings encounting to go with 3 wins) but not one ball the Cards hit in that inning was scorched. And if Jones doesn’t stumble and boot Juan Encarnacion’s comebacker, he never runs into trouble and Detroit shuts out St. Louis. Nevertheless, even though he loaded the bases, no harm was done when he induced Mets’ killer Yadier Molina into a game-ending 6-4 forceout to level the series. Now it will get interesting as Cards’ ace and former 2005 NL Cy Young Chris Carpenter opposes Detroit lefty Nate Robertson in a pivotal Game 3 at St. Louis Tuesday night. Fasten your seatbelts.

-Is there a more overlooked young slugger than Detroit’s Craig Monroe? I said it to my brother and best friend when the Yanks were facing them in the ALDS. Monroe was the one guy I feared. A couple of weeks later, he’s got five postseason home runs and has the Tigers three wins away from their first World Series championship since 1984.

-Still can’t believe ex-Giant kicker Matt Bryant helped his former team out by kicking a 62 -yard field goal with no time to shock the Eagles 23-21 and give Tampa its second straight win. His unreal kick was the second longest in NFL history to the Colts’ Tom Dempsey and Denver’s Jason Elam, who each share the record connecting from 63. This sets up a huge first place Monday Night showdown in Big D between the Giants and Cowboys with the winner vaulting to 4-2 in the NFC East. The key is simple: If Big Blue’s D gets pressure on the statuesque Drew Bledsoe, they’ll win.

-So what happened to that NFL genius Nick Saban and his Dolphins who some were even picking to make the Super Bowl? Just asking.

-Most unusual game in Week 7 had to be the Falcons edging the Steelers 41-38 in OT. Yes, you read right. 41-38 between two teams with supposed good defenses. In this unforeseen shootout, Atlanta QB Michael Vick never looked so good by tossing for four TDs and finishing with 272 total yards (40 rush). Meanwhile, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger was 16-of-22 for 238 yards with three TDs before being knocked out. His replacement Charlie Batch tossed two TDs of his own to rally the Steelers and force sudden death before Vick broke their back with a key conversion of a 3rd and 9 by scrambling away from Pitt’s Troy Polamalu and completing a 26-yard pass to tight end Alge Crumpler which helped setup the ageless Morten Andersen’s 32-yard winning kick to improve the Falcons to 4-2. While it solidified them as an early NFC contender, this defeat was damaging to the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers. They’re now 2-4 and trail both the Bengals and Ravens by two games. They really need to take care of business next week at doormat Oakland before facing two tough teams at home in Denver and New Orleans in the weeks to follow.

-Message to Ravens’ coach Brian Billick: It’s not the offensive coordinator that’s to blame!

-Final thought of the day: Is there a bigger phony than Daily News columnist and Mets shill Mike Lupica? Nah. Not even WFAN’s Mike Francesa compares.