Sports covers all seasons all the time:
• Women’s professional basketball with the first-place Chicago Sky is in the middle of its season, led by Candace Parker a Naperville Central High School graduate and polished profession in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
• Another Winter sports in July: Although it is not competition, the focus of National Hockey League (NHL) leaders this week moved to amateur hockey players in the annual draft to enable improvement. The National Basketball Association (NBA) made dramatic television presentations in the draft days (and evenings).
• Draft thoughts and talk among the NBA promotes short-term camps and planning for September practices.
• Football? The National Football League will begin camps late this month in a slower pace than when the regular season shifts into gear, however, young players, especially, will aim to make early favorable impressions with preseason games in August. The Chicago Bears’ first preseason game will be at home against Kansas City Saturday, Aug. 13. Two road games will be August 18 and August 27. The regular season, with 17 games instead of 16 games of earlier seasons, will begin September 11 and end January 8. Will the Bears and NHL Chicago Blackhawks move in the direction of better competitiveness this year?
• More football? The Canadian Football League just recently started and ends well prior to the NFL’s completion because of the expected frigid Winters north of the U.S.-Canadian border. There are nine teams and two divisions. Through Monday this week each team had played three or four games. Toronto led in the East Division and Winnipeg was in first place in the West Division. A few games are on television in the U.S..
• High school play in the State is close to year-round if it includes regular season games and club games in the off-season. June has plenty of high school tournament and club games. Football will begin authorized practice in early August with interscholastic competition in late August.
• Tennis and golf in the professional ranks? It is year around in each case. The professional want to stat=y sharp, at least in the up-and-coming ranks, and except for a few weeks off, there is competition nearly every weekend. It is good for the fans who checks results around the globe and around the full year.
• Wimbledon tennis is a television treat for many fans because it brings out the best in the world’s top players. Tennis is highlighted in the four Grand Slam events, the Australian Open, French Open, the British Open (Wimbledon), and United States Open in late August and early September. Upsets at Wimbleon make distinctive marks in the history of the sport, even though equity at the top of the men’s game revolves around a quartet of stars. Doubles are good tennis, even though not as glamorous, or, offering sterling play.
• Dolan and Murphy men’s fastpitch team continue to uphold the honor and history of fastpitch in Aurora. The team recently completed a 4-0 record to capture the championship of the Iowa area International Softball Congress (ISC) tournament. Dolan and Murphy defeated Davenport, 4-1, Springfield (Ill.), 7-0, Walcott. Iowa, 7-0, and Davenport, 3-0, in the championship game. Dolan improved to 8-8 overall. Veteran Mick Baker collected many hits and other players with timely hitting included Robert Reder, Martin Magula, Dave Perkins, Michael Drees, Chris Gonzales, and Clayton Wallace. Pitching stalwarts included Kuba Osicka and Oscar Sanchez. Osicka hurled a no-hit game and struck out 13 batters against Walcott.