Written by It happens every year around this time, but typically a little later and a tad bit less intense. The sun aligns with the star system Sirius and brings heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. The dog days of summer have begun.
It was 108 degrees in Portland, Oregon, last Saturday and 97 degrees in Portland, Maine, on Monday. Here in Texas, where we are used to the heat this time of year, we are experiencing thunderstorms. Lots of them. It seems like it has been raining for two months, which pretty much is what has happened.
Luckily, we have sports to get us through it this year. This time last year, you may remember, we were still without them. As a result, we have an abundance of sporting events to watch this year to get us through.
Baseball is back this year, and we are well into the season. We usually associate baseball with the dog days of summer, and that is no different this year. And we get the added benefit of watching pitchers get their hats and glove inspected by the umpire at the end of each inning. Max Scherzer is doing an excellent job of entertaining the fans with this new tradition. Maybe the best thing about the season so far is that since their early May series in the Bronx, the Astros, and Jose Altuve in particular, have taken off while the Yankees have been terrible.
Speaking of baseball, the College World Series is underway. Vanderbilt and Mississippi State are playing in the finals, and it will be over by the time this is published. I grew up in Omaha and know first-hand how this is one of the great traditions in sports. Unfortunately, COVID-19 reared its ugly head and forced the disqualification of North Carolina State due to an outbreak of positive tests, ending an impressive run that included beating #1-rated Arkansas in the Super Regionals. It’s a shame for the players, but they only have themselves to blame.
The NBA is treating us to an exciting playoff season. New faces are dominating, as LeBron James and the Lakers went out early, and the new superteam, the Brooklyn Nets, went out in a thrilling game seven of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. In addition, Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns are emerging as superstars. Even though injuries have kept us from seeing teams play at full strength, It has been fun to watch.
Wimbledon is starting but without Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal. Now, Serena Williams is out with an injury. So it is beginning to look like a warmup for the Olympics.
Soccer’s Euro 2020 is underway as well. Knockouts started last weekend, and England has a good shot at winning its first title after beating Germany on Tuesday. I’ll be rooting for that. They have had a tough year over there with the whole Harry and Meghan thing and could use a break.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic games are less than a month off. The trials for Team USA have been fun to watch. The biggest surprise was seeing Simone Biles struggle on the second night of the competition. Don’t worry. She won the event and made the team but showed us that even the GOAT could have a rough night. I hope she has gotten it out of the way.
Golf has been exciting this summer. The U.S. Open was two weekends ago and was a fantastic event at Torrey Pines in California. However, a regular tour event in Cromwell, Connecticut, the following week managed to upstage it.
Last Sunday was the perfect dog day afternoon to stay inside and hide. Saturday’s rain brought on a hot and muggy day, with more rain predicted to come. After watching an uninspiring performance by the Astros against a bad Tigers team, I turned on the golf tournament. I hoped that Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau had made a charge, and we would have an exciting finish while resolving their feud. Instead, I found a less glamorous leaderboard. Harris English had shot a 65 and had a one-shot lead. Bubba Watson, who was the leader after Saturday’s round, had faded. Then, out of the blue, little-known Kramer Hickock birdied the 18th hole to tie English.
What followed was amazing. English and Hickock trotted back and forth around a pond playing the 17th and 18th holes eight times for two hours. English managed to finally make a birdie to win it just before it became too dark to play. They had never played together before but became good friends. Only once had a PGA tournament gone longer. The 1949 Motor City Open went eleven holes in its playoff before declaring a tie due to darkness.
I was sad to see it end and was disappointed that Hickock didn’t win it. He was the perfect underdog, and the drunken gallery cheered him on. Hickock’s main claim to fame, as the announcers had plenty of time to tell us about, was his connection to Jordan Speith. Spieth and Hickock played junior golf together and were teammates on the University of Texas golf team. Hickock caddied for Spieth once.
Now, Hickock was fighting to remain on the PGA Tour. He doesn’t have flashy sponsors, and each of his drives was at least twenty yards behind English’s. English moved up to second in the FedEx Cup Championship standings with his second win of the season. Maybe the attention from this event will make him more notoriety as the guy who beat Kramer.
I was grateful to be able to watch it. I don’t remember what I did to get through the dog days last year. I’m thankful for all of the events to watch this year. I’m grateful for all of the athletes and for the opportunity to write about them.
I’ll put up with the heat, storms, and bad luck. I’m glad I didn’t get the fever and have the opportunity to experience the mad dogs’ bark this year. Aren’t you?