September Sports

It’s the time of year which can drive a sports phan crazy, give ‘em thumb cramps, bleary eyes and more emotional peaks and valleys than a young Hollywood starlet trying to maintain herself on a night out.

Even if you are not a sports fan, the first few weeks in September likely will touch you in some way. Wives especially are vulnerable to stress during that period, with the weekends the most dangerous times.

This past weekend certainly is a prime (time?) example as I can attest. I consider myself a sports phan even though I’m not as avid as some others I know. Still, this last weekend was overflowing with lots of ups and downs and bruised and strained nerves.

Baseball is my prime sport, but football, both college and professional, golf, auto racing, basketball, boxing and even a little tennis grab my attention.

The Dodgers are my team and they are hanging in there battling for a playoff spot. This last week, they played head-to-head with the two division teams they’re trying to catch. Not only did those games grab my attention but I had to track the progress of at least two other teams scrambling for a “wild card” playoff stop.

And there were other baseball races I watched. The Boston Red Sox played the Yankees in a crucial American League showdown. I hate the Yanks.

Football season is off and running with important college and pro games on tap. Fresno State, my alma mater, was up against Oregon, a nationally ranked team. The Bulldogs got bombed but after last’s weekend’s heart-stopping loss to ranked Texas A&M in triple overtime, it was a must see game. Notre Dame, another of my favorite teams, and Michigan squared off in a battle of 0-2 squads. The Irish are now 0-3. USC and Nebraska was supposed to be a tight game. The Trojans rolled. A half-dozen other good match-ups were on various sports and network channels all weekend. I saw parts of most of them.

In the NFL’s second weekend, there was lots of good action. My 49ers beat the Rams by one point in a nail-biter and are 2-0 for the first time in years. Go Niners, this could be the year, as I’d predicted when hope blossomed late last season. Brett Favre and the Packers won and also are 2-0 with the great Favre setting the record for the most wins ever by a starting quarterback. He and good Joe Montana and Jerry Rice are among my all-time NFL heroes. And Brett is still going strong.

Then there was golf with the first-ever championship playoff finals with a $10 million payoff to the winner. Tiger, of course won, but he and others turned in some unbelievable low scores. It was exciting.

NASCAR’s Chase is on and although I don’t follow racing real, real close, I clicked into this weekend’s race a few times.

It’s still a little difficult for me to grasp the racing and golf playoff thing but that’s the way things are going. It’s still better than this Presidential election thing and maybe some kind of playoff rather than all this campaign and debate non-sense could be worked out and I’m working on a plan for that.

But back to the sports weekend.

Not everything worked out like I wanted but I did survive and kept up with most of the action even with a few unscheduled naps, snacks and getting through four chapters in the murder mystery I’m reading.

I can offer a couple of tips to those of you who are either big phans, married to or living with one or about ready to go off the deep end.

Guys should get up early on the weekend and get all the chores out of the way. Be extra nice and helpful and maybe do a couple of extra things without being asked. Offer to cook breakfast or go out for breakfast. Early.

Make sure the batteries in the remote are good. Check the sports listing in the paper and make sure the radio is handy in case your game isn’t televised. Learn how to work the pause button, if you have one, on the remote. Arrange the computer so it is near the TV and radio just to make sure all the bases are covered.

Tell your loved one how important they are. And most of all, don’t go too wild. Remember pholks, these are only games. Right!!!!

WOODLAKE AREA RESIDENTS WERE SCRAMBLING to find a place to have their eggs and other breakfast foods last week in the wake of the closing of two mainstays in the city’s dining landscape.

The closing last weekend of the Outpost at the Woodlake Airport and the shutdown of Country Chicken in the downtown Woodlake Plaza complex a couple weeks earlier has put a crimp in the dining habits for a number of pholks.

The City of Woodlake terminated the month-to-month lease with Dora Orosco for the city-owned airport restaurant, effective the end of this month. The city plans some repairs to the aged building and has issued requests for proposals for a new lease agreement. Bids are due October 10 and the council is scheduled to award the bid at the Oct. 22 meeting.

The city’s action sparked a lively City Council session in which Dora, her employees and a number of patrons and others questioned the city’s actions, questioning the timing and manner in which the lease was terminated.

The airport restaurant has been a meeting place for breakfast and lunch for a number of years especially on weekends when out-of-towners who drive to or fly into Woodlake for a meal.

A temporary fix came when Dora, who also operates Dora’s Mexican style restaurant in downtown, normally open for lunch and dinner, opened early last week at least for the short term. Those arriving at the airport last weekend were directed to Dora’s downtown spot where action was pretty fast paced.

But things should be looking sunny side up in a couple weeks when Dora opens the Country Chicken. She is in the process of moving her equipment from the airport eatery to the Country Chicken, which some pholks refer to as the Chicken Shack.

WOOLAKE SUFFERED ANOTHER LOSS last week with the passing of Leo Fry, 82, who was an avid Woodlake sports fan and supporter.

Leo, who had been in ill health for the last couple of years, was a familiar face at Woodlake area sports events and always a team booster. He also was known for his skills in barbecuing and deep frying catfish. His deep pit beef barbecuing, and his special sauces, were well-known in the area. Leo was a long-time and active member of the Woodlake Lions Club which is famed for its annual Woodlake Lions Rodeo on Mothers Day weekend.

A memorial service was held this week at the Rodeo Grounds east of Woodlake.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com