We as fans sometimes forget just how incredible the world of sports is today. Sometimes, we get so caught up in trying to follow what the latest breaking news story is, or what player did something horrible, or who has been caught cheating that we forget just how blessed we are as fans to have all of this unfolding in front of us...
The NL Central is experiencing its most fun, exciting divison race in years. The Brewers, Cardinals, and Pirates are all within three games of each other and are playing fantastic baseball at the same time. Once we get to September, it seems all they'll be doing is playing each other.
The AL West has the two best teams in the AL dueling with each other as the A's hold a three game lead over the Angels, who also happen to have the best player in baseball.
Speaking of the Angels... Mike Trout is only 23, but he plays like a cross between DiMaggio and Mays with a little bit of Griffey thrown in and every night makes a defensive play that takes our collective breath away. Next thing you know, he's sitting a tape measure that goes so far it defies the laws of physics.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher the Dodgers and Major League Baseball have seen since Sandy Koufax, and his statistics this season are matching anything that Koufax ever did.
Next we turn our eyes to golf, where the brightest shooting star since Tiger Woods has just won his fourth major. Rory McIlroy, the charismatic Northen Irishman, is now the most exciting reason for fans to tune into the weekend's PGA Tour coverage, because you never know what trick Rory will pull out of his bag next. It could be a three wood to twelve feet on a par-5 or a sand save that begs you to go to the range nearest you and try to replicate it. McIlroy just refuses to stop wowing us.
Yet he is not the only reason to tune in. There is a plethora of exciting young talent out there. Rickie Fowler, the Puma man who dresses in the loudest clothing this side of Russell Westbrook, finished in the top-five in all four majors this season and seems just one tournament away from igniting an epic rivalry with McIlroy. We can only hope to see them paired against each other at this fall's Ryder Cup.
Speaking of the 2014 Ryder Cup, that epic rivalry will be renewed in September at Gleneagles, in Scotland. Who could forget the truly titanic comeback that the European team produced on the final day two years ago that was christened the "Miracle at Medinah". The last time the United States won the fabled trophy was back in 2008. Will legendary captain Tom Watson be able to inspire a victory out of his troops?
In basketball, we are blessed at both the college and professional levels. Remember last year, when Syracuse beat Duke at the Carrier Dome, and over 35,000 people were there? One of the most attended games in college basketball history in the regular season.
There are raucous student sections at nearly every game that is played. Anyone who has gone to a game and hasn't felt their blood pumping as the students lead you in cheers is certainly doing something wrong. There's nothing quite like that awkward half-hug with a complete stranger after you've just gone on a 14-0 run against your biggest rival and are suddenly leading by 10.
In the pros, we have arguably the greatest player ever. Lebron James is like a different species; he's that much better than everybody else. He makes plays the rest of us don't even dream of. Remember that full-court alley-oop from Dwyane Wade? Yeah, that isn't even supposed to happen.
And yet, Lebron doesn't win the MVP award every year. No, that honor was bestowed upon Kevin Durant. He played at a level no one previously thought possible, and he did it all while never forgetting who he is and who made it all possible. His acceptance speech where he thanked his mother for everything she did for him so he could do what he loved will never be forgotten.
Football, the game that has gripped this nation like no other for the last forty years, is now trying to reinvent itself as the once-great game has been shown to cause irreparable brain damage. And yet, we still look. Whether it is out of fear, loyalty, horror or hope that we do it, we continue to look. And this game still provides us with remarkable heroes.
We have not just one certain Hall of Fame quarterback amongst our midst, we have maybe four. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers continue to push the boundaries of how great a quarterback can be.
Meanwhile, there's a gaggle of young guns who are revolutionizing quarterback play and how it should be done. The names Luck, Wilson, and Griffin III fill NFL fans with excitement for what they can be.
And then there's Johnny Football. We have never seen a rookie quarterback yet to play in a regular season game who is so divisive. As his father said about his time in college, "He ate skittles, drank beer, and won the Heisman." He plays football like a seven year old on the playground, and it looks like he will be a LOT of fun to look this season.
Then there's the collegiate game, which is undergoing change of epic proportions. The NCAA now may to pay players, someting they have for so long said there was no chance they would do.
They've also gone and gotten rid of the BCS. The only thing that anyone could agree on about the BCS was that the BCS sucked. Well, that and that ESPN's weekly show to release and analyze the rankings was a waste of time.
We've got super-conferences on the horizon! It won't be too long before we see a 16 team conference solely because of football, and the best bett is on it being the SEC. Did you know college football didn't exist before the SEC? ESPN is launching the SEC Network this fall, and with even more money coming in the big schools will all want a piece of the pie.
Then we've got soccer (what everyone else who plays it calls football). There is a select group of Americans, this writer included, who for a long time have been talking about how great the game is, but the majority of Americans are now realizing the brilliance of this great game.
In June, millions of Americans realized that the greatest mantra of them all is "I believe that we will win", and our boys on the United States Men's National Team made us believe.
Now, our domestic game is stronger than it has ever been before and the supporters culture continues to grow. There is excitement for this game that has never been here before, and it will continue to get even better.
Some of the best USMNT players, names such as Dempsey, Bradley, Zusi, Besler, and Gonzalez have decided to stay in MLS. We are so close to being the best domestic league not just on our continent, but in all of the Americas and we're getting closer to being one of the best in the world.
Quite possibly the best player this side of Gretzky plys his trade for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL, and he is fantastic to look. When on the ice, his hands are jsut incredible to look. The way the man handles a puck is a sight to behold.
A town where it is rare to see temperatures in the 60s has embraced this sport which started on frozen Canadian ponds. In fact, they went absolutely mental for the game this summer and they carried on to win the Stanley Cup.
In tennis, the greatest player of all time is experiencing an incredible renaissance. Roger Federer is 33, which is older than God in tennis years, and he nearly won Wimbledon this year while playing like a man ten years younger.
Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray continue on of the greatest rivalries that tennis has ever known as they pass the world number one ranking amongst themselves.
Serena Williams continues to be the best player in the women's game while terrific young guns attempt to unseat her, and seem on the verge of doing so. She is so close to the record for most major titles by a woman, but is in danger of seeing her career end just short of this ultimate achievement.
We can all get quite cynical about sports and athletes in general sometimes, but when we sit back and think about it they truly are remarkable. We're living in a remarkable time, and we'd do well to remember it.