SEPTEMBER REIGN!

BY JOHN McALEAVEY | The year was 1978 and Earth, Wind & Fire had just released the album (remember them?), The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol 1. One of the top tracks on the record was a song called September. Fast forward to the late 80’s and I remember hearing the song incessantly at parties while at Providence College. It contained the eminently singable refrain:Ba de ya, say do you rememberBa de ya, dancing in SeptemberBa de ya, never was a cloudy dayWell, truer words could never be spoken for the sports fan. Although September brings the end of summer (bummer), and the return of school, (I’m 47 years-old and still get a bellyache when I see back to school commercials on television), September for the sports junkie is manna from Heaven. It is a month where the sports worlds collide, and this September in particular is shaping up to be a great one! 

Here is why:

• Baseball in New York City could not be hotter! The Yankees always seem to be playing meaningful games this time of year, but the Mets are on fire now too. Joe Girardi’s team is currently a game and a half behind Toronto in the AL East, and safely four games in front for a wildcard berth. Barring a collapse, the Yankees will be in the playoffs. Speaking of collapses, it would have to take a rather substantial one of those right now for the Metropolitans to miss the postseason. They have not qualified for it since 2006, but with a six game lead on Washington in the NL East, and the pitching staff they employ, Mets fans should breathe easy. I said SHOULD breathe easy. Now all Terry Collins and the club need to figure out is just how to best utilize Matt Harvey down the stretch. So, dream if you wish NY fans, a Subway Series is not entirely out of the equation.
• NFL football is back! Yes, they tee it up for real Thursday night in the league where they play, for pay. The Patriots host the Steelers in the first game with Tom Brady now safely under center for the reigning world champs. Gone is deflategate, and the long off-season wait, football is back. How well the locals will fair remains to be seen, but if preseason games are a barometer, the Giants look like Lilliputians, and the Jets have already taken one on the chin, literally and figuratively. Honestly, I have no idea how each team will be, but as of this writing, I’m not leaning towards very good for either.
• Tennis is must see TV again! Yes, you do remember tennis right? It is the sport where participants wield racquets and hit a small ball at high rates of speed. Serena Williams happens to be doing this better than anyone right now and after dispatching of her sister Venus on Tuesday night, is two victories shy of recording the first Calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. Williams, from straight out of Compton, is headed straight to the top of the best women’s tennis players of all-time list. What she is doing/has done is remarkable. You go girl!
• College Football is back on campus too. Beginning last week, the hills are alive with the sound of college marching bands. It seems like there are a thousand college pigskin games to watch each weekend. Starting Saturday morning with ESPN’s GameDay, then with kickoffs at noon, one game begins the minute another one ends all the way up to late night match-ups (on the east coast) involving west coast conference teams. Oh happy day!

I’m reminded that another song on that great Earth, Wind & Fire album is called Reasons. For me, an avid sports fan, the examples listed above are some of the “reasons” why I reluctantly look forward to the month of September.And that is My 2 Sense for this week, thanks for stopping by.