It’s a funny time in sports right now. It’s a really cool time. It’s September. When we flipped the calendar over yesterday, we turned the page to the most exciting month in the sports year. We’re down to the final 30 games of the baseball season, conference play takes hold in high school football, college football starts tomorrow for Michigan and Manchester and this weekend for everyone else, and the NFL season is eight days away. Let’s see how much we can cram into one article! Winning 21 of 25 games will make even the most pessimistic Cubs fan start to dream the dream again. But the truth is the Cubs are still a flawed baseball team. The problems with the back end of the starting rotation are spreading to the point that the only games they’ve won in the last week were the two pitched by Jake Arrieta and last night’s late rally. Arrieta was very good against the Giants in the first game of the six-game road trip, and then pitched the 14th no-hitter in franchise history Sunday night at Dodger Stadium to wrap up the road trip. Arrieta would have a pretty good lock on the NL Cy Young Award except for Zack Greinke. Arrieta has won 17 games this season, and in the month of June he went 6-0 with an ERA of 0.43. The Warsaw-Plymouth rivalry is renewed Friday night at Fisher Field, but this year will be a little different. Recently the headlines in previewing this game have included the storyline of the coaching matchup between two old friends, Phil Jensen and John Barron. Jensen (Penn) and Barron (Mishawaka Marian) have known each other since high school and were teammates at Butler University. Barron’s son Jack has been the quarterback each of the last two times the Rockies have met the Tigers, but now Jensen’s son Michael is calling signals for the Tigers. And by the way, if you are coming to Fisher Field Friday, we will be collecting cash and checks for Feed My Starving Children. If you haven’t heard, we are moving our FMSC packing center to the Gordon Rec Center on the campus of Grace College October 14th through the 17th. We need to pay for the food we pack in advance, so please come and help us. The unthinkable became a possibility this week when it was revealed that five teams have contacted the Blackhawks about possible trades for star forward Patrick Kane. Kane became the center of an investigation one month ago today when a woman told police that Kane had raped her in his home in suburban Buffalo. There are no charges and we have heard very little from investigators about what they have found. What the Blackhawks front office is upset about is that Kane was pretty liquored-up when he took the stage for the Stanley Cup celebration in June and then made comments that made sailors blush. He got a pretty stern scolding from ‘Hawks brass with a warning to knock it off. He didn’t listen. If, in fact, the champs want to rid themselves of the problems Kane brings away from the rink, they could never get back the value in a trade that would include Kane. If Kane isn’t in the state of New York’s ‘penalty box’ when all of this is over, he’s not likely to get a warm reception in that lockeroom. Notre Dame and Indiana start their football seasons Saturday. The Irish, if they get a break or two and Malik Zaire can manage the offense efficiently, have real chance to be in the football playoffs come Dec. 31. The Hoosiers should be good on offense, but will they be able to stop anyone? Purdue chose Austin Appleby to be their opening day starter Sunday … because someone had to. Manchester starts tomorrow night. The Washington Redskins announced that former MSU Spartan Kirk Cousins will start at quarterback for their season opener, replacing Robert Griffin III. Griffin may finally be on the way out of D.C., because someone would surely take him in a trade and not likely have to give up much to get him. RG III is a prime example of someone who lost track of what his primary objective is: play football. After his very successful first season, he came out with a logo and he hasn’t been very effective on the field since. Always remember that the most important things in your life must remain the most important things in your life or you lose your way. Sports can’t really offer you more than it will over the next month, so soak it in.
