Time of the season

This is the time of the season when sports cross paths especially when it comes to the professional ranks. The Fall Classic (World Series for all of you baseball haters) may be over by the time you read this column. Or it might be getting really exciting for the fifth, sixth or seventh game. The Dodgers-Yankees matchup is one I grew up with in the 1950s and sixties. I guess the two richest franchises should be playing for the World Championship. I’m glad it isn’t every year like it seemed to be years ago.

There was a time when the top team from the American League would play the top team from the National League. There were no playoffs or Wild Card teams back then just the top two teams and it didn’t matter if the second place team had over 100 wins and just missed out by one game they were eliminated because they weren’t in first place.

So spring training started in late February and the last game will be played eight months later. There have been a lot of great games, blowouts, no hitters, injuries, retirements and the deaths of heroes from the past that were influential to the game of baseball. All left their mark on the game and will be missed by their fans.

Football is close to reaching its midpoint of the season for the pros and many of the colleges are a month away from finishing up their regular seasons and hopeful to either be invited to a bowl game or the playoffs in several different divisions. The high schools will finish up their football season this weekend and start crossover play the following week or for some classifications it might be a first round game for them. Whatever the case may be here’s hoping the season has been fun and many memories have been collected. Volleyball is also winding down and the all-important playoffs will also be starting very soon.

So we crossed over from baseball to football and now the NBA started their season on October 22nd, two days after the WNBA finished their last championship game. The WNBA season ran long because of the summer Olympics when some WNBA players competed during the regular season. Those that didn’t play for the USA received a vacation or a rest period which I’m sure was welcomed.

So the NBA season is underway as well as NHL hockey. The transition is smooth but there are a few people that have TVs where they can watch 4-6 games on split screens. I’m not one of those people because I know my wife would look at me and say, “Really?” I would have a tough time watching a fast break in one corner of the screen, a slap shot in another corner, a QB sack on yet another screen corner, and a Shohei Ohtani home run or stolen base in yet another corner of the screen. How in the heck would you be able to cheer for each one separately? I love sports but I too have my limits.

College basketball will also be getting underway in the next week. High profile games are on the agenda so you won’t have to worry about blowout games against exhibition opponents. College coaches have figured out that they need to play great teams so that their team can be ready for March Madness and playing tough opponents will allow the coaches to understand where their team’s weaknesses lie and which rotations will bring victories and excitement to the team and its fans. I love college basketball and I’m excited about what will be coming our way from our favorite teams. The crossover of the season is fun and we can see the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat taking a line from ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

Whoever the winners are during these seasons will not change our lives even if our team is victorious in the end. The good news is that even if our team isn’t victorious it won’t affect our lives unless we want it to. So enjoy the changes of sports during this time of year and respect their hard work and talent. These games are for entertainment purposes only but enjoy them just the same.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].