Glorious June, Sporting July, Olympian August

The Euro 2008 football competition has come and gone and what an event! Even if I missed predicting the championship finalists (Turkey vs. the Netherlands) most of the matches were either tantalizingly close or stunning upsets. In the end, the worthy Spaniards took the honors ~ relishing their first national title since 1964.

Like good wine ~ major league baseball ~ is fermenting into a vintage season. As we enter July, two Chicago teams are in first place in their respective leagues. The Cubbies last won the World Series 100 years ago in 1908. Is 2008 their year? Two unlikely Florida teams are at or near the top. Two Los Angeles teams are at or near the top. The perennial New York powers (Mets and Yankees) are languishing. What a mix.

Baseball’s All-Star Game will be played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium ~ specifically chosen as this will be the final season for the storied stadium before the Yanks move into new premises next year.

YIKES! That’s the same week as the British Open ~ or simply The Open as the British like to say. The tournament this summer is at Royal Birkdale

Speaking of golf ~ for the lesser mortals ~ but no less enthusiastic in their sporting fervor ~ word circulated the other day that my old mentor Dr. Gail Schoppert (“the pouch”) won the 14th Foreign Administrators and Retirees Tournament of Sport ~ famously known as FARTS in the world of international education. This year’s event was held at the Country Club of New Hampshire. Gail, a young 73 ~ is obviously still on top of his game.

What a month! And August is the Olympics. What a summer!