COLUMN: Some chances and ends for the dog days of summertime – Leader Publications

In the dog days of summertime, which for me suggests that time in between the dead duration for high school sports summertime exercises and the main start to practices for the 2023 season, there is not a lot to discuss.

So, I like to take some time like this to simply do a column filled with random ideas about regional, state and nationwide sports.

We will start with some regional sports due to the fact that I can now reveal the main name of the all-sports award that will go to the high school that has one of the most success throughout the 2023-24 year.

We have actually chosen to call it the Champions Cup. I seem like that finest explains what we are attempting to achieve with the award, which will exist in late May. Coaches and athletic directors will be getting quickly a complete breakdown of how we will award points. I am likewise sending out demands to the commissioners of each sport in the Lakeland and Wolverine Conference to help in assisting keep me overtaken the standings, which play an essential part in choosing the Champions Cup winner.

World Cup

While I would not wager my house on the United States not winning another title, it is not looking good today.

Although the females’s group advanced to the next round, they did it with a 1-1-1 record to complete 2nd in the grouping. It is the very first time they have actually had simply one win beforehand to the next round.

This group looks irregular, particularly offensively. They appear out of sync, which might be partially due to the fact that there are lots of brand-new faces on the pitch. I am hoping that they will enhance with each video game, however there is no room for mistake in the World Cup, and they are another bad efficiency from having their 3 successive wins pertain to an end.

Preseason Practice

The National Football League groups are all in fall camps getting ready for the upcoming season.

I cannot remember being this delighted for the NFL season to get under method. That is because, as a Detroit Lions fan, I have actually ended up being utilized to seeing the very first video game or more of the routine season and after that turning my attention to other fall sports. After all, they are generally out of the running already.

But combined with in 2015’s surface and the acquisitions they have actually made through trades, totally free representative finalizings, and the draft, the future has actually never ever looked more vibrant for the Lions. Many preseason experts have Detroit winning the NFC North Division. The Lions are likewise among the wagering favorites to win the Super Bowl.

I do not believe I will go that far, however I can absolutely see them winning the department and making the playoffs. If they do that and maybe win a video game or more in the postseason, I believe they might be among the favorites in 2024 to win the Super Bowl.

Another factor I am delighted about the upcoming NFL season is due to the fact that Dowagiac’s Caleb Murphy remains in training school attempting to make an area with the Tennessee Titans.

Murphy has actually already been through the Titans’ novice camp and OTAs, and now is the time for him to actually shine. I check out some great remarks about him through the very first 2 camps, consisting of being called Tennessee’s “Most Exciting Undrafted Free Agent.”

I saw a good remark about him today on Twitter.

Hopefully, Murphy will make the team, most likely as an unique groups gamer to start, and after that begin to work his method up the chart on defense to a point where he gets some snaps throughout routine season video games through the effort and commitment he revealed at Ferris State University that got him into this position.

College Football

Teams are likewise in camp getting ready for their seasons.

It has actually been an unusual offseason for college football. There continues to be talk of conference shifts, with the latest being that Washington, Oregon, Cal and Stanford might sign up with the Big Ten.

It would make good sense, sort of, considering that USC and UCLA will sign up with the league in 2024. The Big Ten might have a Western Division with those 4 groups, plus Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, and an Eastern Division with Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers.

Eventually there will just be a handful of conferences that have anywhere from 10 to 20-plus groups. There will be the haves and the have nots. Whether or not that benefits college football is yet to be figured out.

In the meantime, it produces some fantastic watercooler talk.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at [email protected]