Well here we are, the dog days of summer. Welcome to August! The temperatures are hot, the water is warm, and it’s hard to believe that the summer
will be basically over soon with school and college back in session before we know it. Some of us are very excited that football is near, but we can wait
a little bit longer and squeeze out some good beach time before Labor Day weekend and kick offs. But it’s coming people - and thank goodness!
Speaking of summer and more specifically, the boys of summer, baseball is in full swing (see what I did there!?). Our Atlanta Braves are having a
great season and are pretty much where we expected them to be, in the thick of a pennant race with sights set on October baseball. The starting lineup
put on the field every day can compete with anybody in the league and pitching seems to be coming around. Watching at least the first inning of every
game is must see TV, with Acuna in the lead off position. As I’ve heard Chip Caray say on television, he’s in scoring position in the batter’s box! Freddie
Freeman continues to do his thing with another trip to the All-Star game. Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley represent the powerful offense,
along with Acuna. And don’t forget how much better Josh Donaldson has played in the recent month or so. I was about ready to start calling him Adam
Duvall Jr! There’s pretty much someone to fear up and down the lineup that can change the game with one swing. They’re exciting and fun to watch
and won’t be going anywhere anytime soon with this youthful group. There’s nothing like meaningful games in September and it looks like we will be
treated to that once again.
The US Women’s soccer team pretty much rolled through the World Cup in France which was somewhat expected, as they indeed were the favorites.
The ratings were incredible, as they garnered 20% more than the men’s in their previous World Cup. Hopefully the men’s team will improve on the world
stage and become competitive … maybe even qualifying this time around would be a good start! And why can’t they run the clock down to zero like all
other sports? And stop the clock when there is a goal or a foul? What’s so exciting about not knowing how much time is left? Just sayin!
By the time you read this column all 4 major golf championships will have been completed and now it’s time for the playoffs. They will culminate with
the Tour Championship in Atlanta at the end of the month, just in time for football (did I mention football is close?). The most exciting thing this summer
in golf has been how quickly some of these young players have jumped from college to the pro tour and are competing and winning! You may not know
the names, but they can play and you will learn them soon. Exciting times in the sport... and add the fact that Tiger Woods is back and competitive again
makes it even better.
Finally, did I mention that football is close? Like really close? I will have a preview of the college and NFL seasons for the September issue and maybe
make a few bold (usually wrong) predictions as well. There are some rule changes that will make the games more interesting (and longer) and I’ll cover
some of those too.
In the meantime, it’s still summer and it’s still Tybee! Enjoy the sand, surf, frosty beverages and Tybee Time until then sports fans!
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | AUG 2019 39
SPORTS TEASER By George Hassell