TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | MAY 2019 39
Well, here we are in May and spring has sprung. We are just a few weeks
away from the Beach Bum Parade (Water Fight) and Memorial Day
weekend kicking off summertime on Tybee. What a glorious time to be
hitting the beach, the ocean, the restaurants, the night life and, of course,
being a sports fan.
Two of my favorite words resonated across the country early last month:
“Play Ball!” Several of the heavy weights from the last couple of seasons
have started out of the gate a bit slow and time will tell if they will rebound
and show their competitive form. The Braves were swept in Philly in the
opening series but have turned it around since. As of this writing they are
right near the top of the NL East in what should be a very tight division
race with some pretty good teams. If Acuna and Dansby keep hitting the
way they are, and Freddie and Markakis do their steady thing, the Braves
should be right in the thick of things all season. Pitching was the concern
coming out of spring training and continues to be, so we’ll see how that
plays out. There’s a long way to go for the boys of summer.
The playoffs are well underway in hockey and basketball and will be for
another 6+ weeks. Tampa Bay is going to be hard to beat as they are
coming off the 2nd best season in NHL history, so let me take field. Golden
State is also going to be hard to beat in the NBA but I will give you the field
and take the Warriors. We just crowned the Virginia Cavaliers as the NCAA
men’s basketball champion. UVA won with their slow down, defense first
strategy and avenged their embarrassing first round loss last year to a 16
seed as a number 1. They were, in fact, the only number 1 seed to make
it to the Final Four in Minneapolis. Auburn made it in after being the only
team in history to beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky (3 of the most
winning programs ever) in the same tournament. Many games in the final
rounds were close and several went into overtime. You really can’t ask for
much more. Wahoowa!
In golf we have the second major of the year coming up, the PGA
championship. It has moved from August up to May with the new PGA
schedule, where all four majors will be played within 101 days of each
other. It will be interesting to see how the weather turns out on Long
Island in May versus August when they tee it up at Bethpage Black. I love
golf but I’m glad they will get it all out of the way before football starts in
September, starting this season
Speaking of football, it’s getting closer and closer. Georgia had their spring
game on April 20 and we just had the NFL Draft. I’ll touch on these subjects
next month as we gear up for what looks to be a great fall season with
Bama, Clemson and UGA all being right there in the thick of things. UGA
did announce some pretty big games down the road with home games
with Clemson, Florida State, Texas and UCLA, but those are pretty much
7-12 years down the road. Exciting matchups for sure.
That’s a wrap for the May Sports Teaser... Happy Sporting and enjoy the
great spring weather!
SPORTS TEASER By George Hassell
Dedicated to the memory of Dee Tsoulous, one of the TAA's greatest supporters