Branch down! And other signs of the endless weather inferno

The last few days of September are going out like a blazing inferno.

Temperatures in the mid 90’s.

Perspiration and being physically uncomfortable are common quandaries.

But you have the St. Louis Cardinals playing for the National League Central title against the Chicago Cubs.

The game has just started and the news of this being Joe Maddon’s last game as manager of the Cubs preceded the first pitch by Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty.

You also have the NFL weekly slate of Sunday games competing for the attention of your remote control device.

While summer sizzles into early fall there’s nothing like beating the heat with television and the best time for viewing sports of the year.

The Cleveland Browns doing a number on the Baltimore Ravens.

Detroit giving Kansas City a surprisingly tough time. Can it last the whole game?

The New York Giants and their new quarterback Daniel Jones running roughshod over the hapless Washington Redskins.

And the Chicago Bears facing the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC Central tilt that will determine who has the early edge in the old black and blue division.

I’m just a little excited in case you aren’t and/or you can’t tell how much I am.

Having chicken wings for dinner is part of this glorious celebration of televised sport.

The world outside continues to heat up, dry up and otherwise act as if there is no chance for mature trees to thrive without performing some sort of self-pruning where their branches and limbs break off as during the weight of wet, spring snowstorms–except it’s a 95-degree autumn day.

You know there is something wrong with the planet.

It doesn’t add up. Yet you are able to distract yourself from all that because the Lions just went ahead of the Chiefs 23-20.

I’m not saying ideas to save the planet should not be thought up on Sundays.

It’s just that I think it’s a lonely and ill-advised endeavor for anyone that does.

The only thing that bugs me about football or baseball being on the tube is when I’m watching it being played in stadiums featuring artificial turf.

Football and baseball should be played on grass.

I get that domes provide comfort to either very cold or very hot fans–depending on where in the country the games are being played.

Artificial turf is responsible for injuries to players and should be the primary consideration for abandoning it entirely.

But grass fields require sunlight to grow.

Grass fields also require maintenance and grounds keeping.

It is not cost-effective relative to artificial turf.

There is no consideration for players’ well-being when games are played in domes to accommodate the comfort of fans.

Back in the day, NFL teams that played in cold weather cities used their home field games to their advantage; warm weather city teams did not typically fare well playing in December in the likes of Chicago, Green Bay or Minnesota.

But the Vikings play in a dome now.

Again, I get it from the savings standpoint for the owners.

But sports have always been about survival of the fittest.

And it’s not always possible to determine who the toughest or fittest players are when the games are played at a constant 68-degree temperature on artificial turf, with no wind to consider when players position themselves defensively in the outfield or when a placekicker prepares to line up a kick.

If your preference is to watch baseball or football from a domed environment, that option is available via staying home.