The Dog Days Of Summer

A few weeks ago, the world of sports seemed bleak. The Dallas Mavericks lost their first home game and trailed the Miami Jackasses 1-2, and my Bruins lost not one but two heartbreakers to fall into an 0-2 hole in Vancouver. While I never lost faith in LeBron James' propensity to pull off Houdini-like disappearances or the Bruins' ability to get up off the mat, I did confide in whomever would listen that the idea of having to watch the Miami Heat win and the Boston Bruins lose in the same week would pretty much be my seventh circle of sports Hell.

So quickly, however, it all turned around. Not only did I get to see Chris Bosh cry AND hear LeBron James tell us all how terrible our lives are, but I also got to see the Bruins storm back against the obnoxious Canucks, Chara hoisting the cup and scream like a wildebeest, Timmy Thomas delivering the best goaltending performance in NHL history, and the entire Bruins roster - players and super backups - getting absolutely wasted in the locker room after game seven.

The joy from the moments will never go away. I will always remember where I was when the Bruins broke their 39 year Stanley Cup drought (in my brothers apartment, with three of my favorite people). I will tell my two kids, Nomar Welker and Barney Stinson stories about the celebrations in Boston and the hilarious-but-sad-but-hilarious riots in Vancouver. And we will never stop making jokes about why LeBron can't do his laundry. (Because he only has 3 quarters...though admittedly, this joke doesn't work for me because my washing machine at school costs 75 cents. But the intent is clear.)

The happiness may last, but the excitement sadly fades away with time. Which leaves me here with one sad question:

Where did all the sports go?


Sure, I pretended to watch that big golf tournament last weekend. (Tiger won, right?) And I'll definitely tune into Wimbledon every now and then. But there's no denying it: we've reached the dog days of summer, at least as far as sports go. The time when ESPN tries to hype up the WNBA like it's a real sport. The time when sports reporters everywhere are writing free agent reports and articles like "How Player X likes to spend his Sundays" because they'll get fired if they right the truth: nothing worth reading is going on.

Will I really have to watch more than 3 innings of a baseball game to get my sports fix? I'm not sure I can do that. Maybe I'll tailgate a few MLS games to get by. Or tune into the Women's World Cup at the end of June. Yikes.

Admittedly, the possibility of not having an NFL season makes things that much worse. I know I talk a big game, and I know it's still only a remote possibility, but truth be told I'm still terrified that there will be no football. And then what? Arena football? The UFL? How low will we sink to watch the game we love?

But I digress. We'll make it. We'll make it to the fall, when the NFL season will kickoff, the puck will drop in the NHL, and the NBA will tip off. And we'll find that wonderful time when all four major sports are in action. Until then, enjoy the summer. And when you need your sports, don't worry; Sports Casual will always be there for you.