Gettin' the itch

It's feast or famine in this business. For 10 months, Caine and I do nothing but run. Fall blurs into winter and into spring. It's three seasons with no time to catch our breath.

And then there's summer. All of a sudden, baseball and boys' golf get over and we have absolutely nothing to do with our time.

Let me tell you, that is refreshing. We both love the ability to spend some time with our families for a few months. I just got married in November and Caine has a wife and two kids. The chance to slow down, spend the weekends with them or maybe even take a long dinner break is delightful.

But, yes, I'll admit -- I do feel a bit worthless at times in the summer. This is about the time when, although I love my wife and wish I could spend this kind of time with her all year, I begin to miss the grind of it all. While I won't deny that it is exhausting at times and you sometimes can't tell if you're coming or going, there is a certain order to it that I enjoy.

I also love the interaction with the players, coaches and (most) fans. I love this community and I don't feel nearly as much of a part of it in the summer.

But for now, it's limping along, trying to keep my contacts up as much as I can and getting the rare feature or two when parents, coaches and athletic directors send me information about story ideas.

(And as a side note, please do not worry about the baseball and softball All-County teams. As soon as we have stats from our last couple of coaches, they will be selected and published.)

I'll see everyone in August. (And probably some of you at the fair.)