The mid-summer doldrums are here
The mid-summer doldrums are here – and this gloomy weather and forecast does me no good. Either mentally or physically – damp and humid weather conditions are not fun for aged bones, and I will admit – I am one for the sunshine. Now, mind you – not too hot. Nor too humid. More like eighty-degree days with relatively low humidity, blue skies and white puffy clouds in the shape of puppies, bunnies and maybe even some animals from the African continent tossed in for good measure. You know, a giraffe or two, maybe an elephant and certainly a lion with a great big mane. But I’m not picky. I’ll even take a rhinoceros for gosh sakes.
As I write this column on Monday, the NBA finals have the Suns up two games to the Bucks one – and that one game was a 20-point blowout win by Milwaukee. Neither of these teams were the number one seed in their respective conference. But injuries have a way of evening things out, especially at playoff time.
An interesting tidbit about the upcoming summer Olympics in Tokyo – they are still officially called the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – and will be held from July 23 to Aug. 8 in Tokyo. NBC is the official broadcaster of these summer games, and their primetime coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. each evening and runs until midnight. Tokyo time is 13 hours less than Eastern Standard Time, just to throw that into the mix. There are a total of 339 events. While most of the events are familiar – there are some like Judo, Tae kwon do and the trampoline that could be interesting.
Our community continues to gain more businesses, more opportunities and the hanging baskets are simply glorious! And yes, just seeing them can brighten your day even when it’s gloomy.
In an interesting twist, the Reds are now fewer games behind than the Indians – the Tribe only won three of their last 10 while the boys from Cincinnati clipped off 8 of their last 10. But the Indians are still in the wildcard game hunt. I think the Pirates are too far back to make a run, but you never know.
It won’t be long before high school fall athletics and bands start gearing up for the fall season. The Buckeyes season kicks off at Minnesota with a night game on Sept. 2, followed the next week with the home opener against Oregon on the 11th. At least the game against TTUN is back – on Nov. 27.
For those that don’t know already, the ESPN models have – no surprise here – Alabama and Clemson at the top of the class for 2021 with Oklahoma slightly edging out the Buckeyes, who are at number four, followed by Georgia. It’s the usual cast of characters although there are a few surprises in the top 10. Regardless, it will be a positive to see a “regular” season this year.
Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion
