Dog Days of Summer

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The dog days are here.

You know, that time of year when the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the NBA Finals suddenly come to an end. We’re still six-to-seven weeks from NFL training camps opening up and even then, the real games are a long way off.

Oh yes, there’s baseball. Hours and hours of baseball. I like the games, but let’s face it – unless your team is a contender, meh.

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What’s that? The World Cup? OK, I’ll give you that. But, at best, that will buy us some time.

Even the movies coming out these days look like a bunch of fail (who wants to watch Tom Cruise die over and over again?). No, I’m afraid we’re stuck for a few weeks to catch up on your DVR or Netflix binge watching.

But with the beginning of the dog days comes good news – this is the beginning of the end. While we put basketball and hockey behind us, it merely means that we are that much closer to football, both college and pro.

So, what are some good ways to pass the time in-between? Well, we’ve already mentioned the fact that you can catch up on Mad Men, The Americans or Justified. Other possibilities include:

  • Get the neighborhood kids together with some empty potato sacks for a good old fashioned sack race. Wait, who am I kidding? We still have 23 hours and 45 minutes of a day to kill.
  • Go to the store and buy an expert 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Like driving cross-country, you’ll be fired up when you begin and then wonder about two hours in why you started this journey. Then the puzzle will sit there on the kitchen table until July 25 or when your mom finally snaps because she wants her space back.
  • Get your buddies together for a fast food hamburger taste test. In n Out vs. Whataburger should be your finalists. Those from the west coast will crown the double-double the winner while native Texans will defend the Whataburger at all costs. One day I’m going to figure out what is in that In n Out special sauce.
  • Hit Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. Leave the speedo at home (trust me).
  • Take up jogging. Make sure you do it in the early morning or evening or you’ll end up like the wicked witch of the west.
  • If you have a son under 10, one word – Legos.
  • Pop Titanic in the DVD player. By the time it’s over, football training camps will have begun. But you’ll be mad at Rose for not offering to at least share her headboard life raft with Jack.

Any of those should be a good start. Whatever you do, don’t ask your wife to help you fill the time. Go wander around the Home Depot for five or six hours instead.

It’s not so bad though. Just think – in 10 days, it will be July. You know, the month where football training camps start. And you’ll tune in to watch any and all practice reports and scrimmages you can get.

Yep, the dog days are here. They are unavoidable.

Just think, tomorrow is one more Saturday closer to college football. Only nine more to go. Where the heck is my Home Depot circular ad?

 

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Rob Scichili (shick-lee) has worked in professional sports for over 31 years in PR and communications, including time with the Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks, MLB.com, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. A journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he is co-owner and editor at ScoreboardTx and VP at Tony Fay Public Relations. Scichili is a consultant to New York Islanders ownership and was recently named to the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

1 COMMENT

  1. Well, at least we can all look forward to the on coming White Wing dove opening hunting season in some parts of Texas with strong reports of their numbers being up considerably compared to last years. And what good eating that bird can provide when properly prepared.
    Not only that, but we have a 1000 lb. Great White female shark swimming down this way coming from Florida some place.

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