Notes in the whirl of sports:
•The fresh tonic that is Little League baseball with the enthusiasm of 12-year-olds will draw to a conclusion in the up-coming weekend and the television coverage has provided several thoughts. The young boys play hard and are not bothered by the television cameras. Their accomplishments are ample and their joy is noticeable and refreshing.
The stands are filled in Williamsport, Pa. which may be close to 20,000 in attendance and following early-round games earlier this week will be International and United States championship games Saturday, Aug. 24 with the winners playing for the grand championship Sunday, Aug. 25. Communities across the country have opportunities to play in the early rounds and advance to Williamsport, Pa. for the finals. No doubt good memories for the youngsters to cherish. Aurora has been a leader in providing baseball competition at the Aurora youth-league- levels. Girls softball is not comparable on a National level, however in the Fox Valley area the boys and girls are pretty much on par for quality of play, numbers of participants, and excitement.
•A welcome site will be the National tennis tournament at Forrest Hills in New York City, one of four main international tennis tournaments. We miss the National Clay Courts Tournament once held in the Chicago area, notable in River Forest, and since moved to Cincinnati and then Houston, Texas. It was started in 1910 and has been held in two dozen U.S. metropolitan areas.
•The Chicago Bears continue the impressive start in the preseason with a 3-0 record and good quality play. Can they continue when the regular season opens with a noon home game Sunday, Sept. 8 against Tennessee? It is a long season and injuries too often interfere with plans and momentum. We can keep our fingers crossed to keep injuries at a minimum. The defense has been crisp and nearly always offers the best hope for the Bears. The game has three phases, offense, defense, special teams.
•Other football: The Canadian Football League start play early in the season, in part because of the cold north of the border. There are nine teams in two divisions. Early leaders include Montreal, 9-1 in East, and Saskatchewan, 5-4 in the West. College football will have limited schedule Saturday, Aug. 24, however there will be a robust schedule Thursday, Aug. 29 which will include Eastern Illinois at Illinois at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 31 will include Miami. O. at Northwestern at 2 p.m. and many Big Ten Conference teams in action, to include newcomers Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and Note Dame at Texas A&M.
•High School sports, including football will begin Thursday, Aug. 29 to include nine weeks of football games each weekend through Saturday, Oct. 26. East Aurora and West Aurora both will be in the Upstate Eight Conference this year and will play each other in week eight at East Aurora, Friday, Oct. 18. Illinois High School Association (IHSA) football playoffs in eight classes will be Thanksgiving weekend, November 29-30.
•First we must have World Series baseball, the start of college basketball, many college football games, and the experiment of 18 teams in the Big Ten Conference which will not be divided into two divisions. The two teams with the best records will meet in the championship game.