I'm Back

You may kiss the bride!

It's been a crazy and fun summer filled with lots of great times with friends and family!  There have been Stanley Cup celebrations, a new job, a wedding of my own, a honeymoon, a wedding of a best friend, and much more to come as it's only the middle of August.  I could not be more grateful for all of the time I have gotten to spend with people I love.  The best part is of course sealing the deal on being with my BEST friend and new wife, Tara!  Our wedding was a perfect day in Tahoe made more amazing by sharing it with those closest to us.  We are so happy after one month of marriage and look forward to many years ahead.

All of this fun put the blog on the back burner for a little while, but I am back and looking forward to a great time of the sports year approaching.  There is the return of the NFL and college football.  No need for people to ask why, but go Packers and USC.  It appears we are front running again, but no big deal for some of the strongest football programs the sport has ever known.  The US Open (tennis) is on tap next week and really is an exciting event with the raucous NYC crowd and primetime matches.  The NBA and NHL (pending lockout) are on tap as well.  Lebron will look to cement his legacy among the greats of all time, and the wide open NHL will begin its 82 game grind back to Lord Stanley's Cup.  We are also six weeks away from the MLB playoffs that should have more excitement as there will be 2 wild card teams from each league this season.  There are great story lines with perennially poor teams making a push for the playoffs (Pirates/Nationals), and other stalwarts battling to the end (Giants/Dodgers, White Sox/Tigers).

With all the great events on tap, let's not forget about the great sports summer we have already experienced. The Kings and Heat won their championships in commanding fashion, establishing new superstars in the NHL and reaffirming others in the NBA.  Roger Federer won a record 7th Wimbledon title and further distanced himself from other tennis greats in the historical rankings.  Spain reasserted itself once more on the world stage winning their third major world soccer title in a row.  They have become the preeminent world soccer power holding both the World Cup and Euro Cup title at the same time once again (the Olympics do not count as it's an U23 tournament that does not include most of each countries best players).

Speaking of Olympics, there was a little event over in London that had too many amazing stories to count.  The major ones included Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time and the U.S. women's gymnastics team and individual all around gold medals.  There were many American athletes to be proud of in London.  The U.S. won the most medals and most gold medals going away.  We won often times where we were supposed to (see Swimming, Track/Field, Gymnastics, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball).  We also took home medals and many of them gold in our weaker sports (see Judo, Water Polo, Wrestling).  It was also a great celebration for Britain.  Their athletes performed at the highest level coming in 3rd in the medal count and putting on a fantastic show for the entire world.  The Olympics are always a captivating and often times a controversial event and this version was no different.  Britain did a fine job hosting and it was fun to watch (minus NBC tape delaying EVERYTHING).  Now it becomes Rio's job to prepare for the world spotlight both for the World Cup and Olympics in the coming years.

It has been a great summer of sports with many memorable events and outstanding performances.  There have been highs and lows, controversies and uplifting moments.  More importantly, it has been the best summer ever with friends and family.  So with all that, I am back in the groove and looking forward to what lays ahead inside the boundary lines of athletics.

mfindorff