Labor Day: Why you’re lucky you can enjoy pro sports this week, the hurricane and perspective unprompted

It’s the end of the non-actual last weekend of summer.

It’s hot.

And there’s a worrisome hurricane that is preoccupying much of the East Coast.

Among all this varied happenstance is the distraction that is the best time of the year for televised professional sports viewing

We have baseball.

And we have the NFL beginning Thursday night.

Did I say the NFL begins Thursday night?

Oh yeah.

It’s tough to get away from talking about the NFL.

But it’s better than worrying whether or not the Yankees have enough starting pitching to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Speaking of baseball, how about Justin Verlander’s no-no?

Take that analytics fans.

Nothing like a pitching staff ace with a low E.R.A.

It’s like having a good kicker if you’re an NFL team.

The Bears never really worried about anything kicking-related when they had Robbie Gould except for paying him; they let him walk at the end of his last contract.

And they’ve been worrying every since.

We’ll see if kicking at all plays a part in the game against the Packers this Thursday night.

It’s the 100th season of the NFL, too.

Betty White is even promoting it as someone who remembers the birth of the league and also as the only thing more badass than this year’s NFL kickoff.

I’d have to agree with her on the latter.

Distractions rule

Real football fans are ready for cool weather and understand now is not as cool as it’s going to be in October.

Same thing with baseball.

I like autumn.

And they don’t call it the Fall Classic for nothing.

If you’ve been asleep all year or have been living off the grid, now is the time to wake up and smell the baseball and football.

Regular season baseball peaks for me during September. Football gives me a brief taste of those teams destined not to make the playoffs at September’s end–the ones who are 0-4 or thereabouts.

Baseball is a marathon.

Football is a sprint–every play counts.

Baseball has evolved for worse into 3 points of action: the home run, the strikeout, and the walk.

Mickey Mantle used to bunt as a way to find his way on base and out of the throes of a miserable slump.

Now we’re lucky if anyone is able to successfully sacrifice bunt a runner from first to second.

The emphasis is on the long ball but every so often someone like Verlander goes the distance and throws a no-hitter.

This reminds us of how important good starting pitching is.

Analytics are fine but when they completely usurp the benefit of experience, I’m out.

It’s common sense to have a healthy mix of each.

Gratitude

It’s easy to lose perspective if you don’t have the occasional negative surprise something like Mother Nature brings in the form of helping you recognize what’s important.

If you’re lucky enough to live in an area not projected to experience consequences as a result of Hurricane Dorian be thankful.

If you largely are in good health be thankful.

If you can enjoy professional baseball and football on TV this week be thankful.

Not everyone is as well off as you are.

Shout out to Alan Carper who is recovering from back surgery.

Feel great as soon as you can.