The Times They're A Changin' & The Stars They're Alignin'...

Hi all, it's time for another "man post" as Sarah so affectionately refers to them. So for all of you peeps out there who are uninterested in reading just another sports blog, this post might not appeal to you. But to my 4 friends who very dedicatedly check this blog on a regular basis, this one's for you. So let's get on with it...

Ahh, the dog days of summer. As we enter baseball's All-Star break and the sports world grinds to a halt, what better time to glance into my crystal ball and prognosticate a bit. Now mind you, I'm the eternal optimist when it comes to my sports teams, but this year perhaps more than any other year in my lifetime, I have reason to be sensibly and realistically confident. Indeed it seems that the stars are aligning themselves and what has always been a very one-sided, non-reciprocal relationship with my beloved teams could very soon become gratifying. I stand on the cusp of what could be the most memorable fall of my lifetime. Allow me to elaborate on the reasons for my exuberance:

I'd be remiss (and in a lot of trouble with my wife) if I didn't first mention how excited I am to become a dad this fall. That overshadows everything else on this list and remains the only event on the list that I can personally influence. That said, I can't help but wonder if our little daughter might be the catalyst that sets these other events in motion. Karma is a funny thing. I'm just saying...

1. It has been well documented that the Chicago Cubs as a franchise are in a little bit of a slump. Okay, so it's a pretty big one, like a 100-year one and the media loves to remind me of that. But as has become the slogan of the team this year, "It's Gonna Happen" sooner or later and you just start to get the feeling that this year might really be the year. I know Cubs fans have surely felt similarly in previous seasons only to be unexpectedly upended by billy goats, black cats, bouncing ground balls or Bartmans but this year just feels different. With the recent acquisition of ace Rich Harden, Cubs management has sent the message to the rest of the league that they won't hold anything back. The Cubs currently have the best record in baseball (just saying that sounds so absurd) and they are sending a franchise record 8 players to the All-Star game. After watching the Red Sox and White Sox vanquish curses in recent years, destiny seems to be calling. Don't be afraid to jump on the bandwagon, everyone else is. But buyer beware: this is the Cubs...stay tuned.
2. With both my Mom and Dad graduates of BYU, I grew up a diehard Cougar fan. I could rattle off the names of McMahon, Young, Bosco, and Detmer as readily as the Latter-day prophets. Needless to say, my expectations for BYU football were high when I arrived in Provo as a freshman in 1999. Instead, I witnessed the Kevin Feterik era soon to be followed by the program's darkest hours with Gary Crowton. To be fair, I was around for the lightning-in-a-bottle 2001 season but the last 3 games of that year left most of us feeling pretty unfulfilled. I graduated in 2004, so I was on-hand for 3 straight losses to the detested Utes and their rise to prominence as the "first BCS busters". In fact I lived in Salt Lake in a University of Utah ward during the Fiesta Bowl season. Ugh. Naturally as soon as I leave, Bronco resurrects the program and has them on the doorstep to national notoriety once again. Indeed, this year BYU seems to be everyone's pick to crash the BCS party. Back when I was in school I remember marveling about the accomplishments of the hallowed 1984 team and wondering if BYU would ever again challenge for a National Championship. And while it remains a long shot, Bronco has allowed us to once again dream what seemed so unthinkable only a few years ago. I'm so serious in my belief that BYU is going to a BCS game this year that I've forced my wife to rework our plans for Christmas so that we remain within reasonable driving distance to Tempe. Unfortunately, those aforementioned Utes have a pretty strong team with similar aspirations. Never has the annual Holy War loomed so large for both teams. And it just happens to be in Salt Lake this year. Stay tuned...
3. Finally, my current school Clemson has a similar history of ineptitude in its recent past. Year after year they field a team favored to win the ACC and year after year they underachieve. But buoyed by 8 returning starters on offense and the nation's #1 ranked recruiting class, expectations have never been higher in the Upstate. The Tigers should start the season ranked in the Top 10 and they have a schedule that should allow them to be in the hunt for a National Championship. While I'd like to believe that is a realistic expectation, I've decided to curb my enthusiasm and I'd settle for an ACC title with its corresponding Orange Bowl berth. Again, I sound like a broken record rattling off my disclaimers but I feel compelled to remind you that this is the Clemson Tigers we are talking about. If Tommy Bowden has showed any reliability, it's been his consistency to make talented teams underachieve. They start the season off in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome against a talented Alabama Crimson Tide team. That game will serve as a very effective barometer for the rest of the season. If they win, the sky's the limit. Stay tuned...

Undoubtedly, not all of this will go according to plan. However, if even one of these events happens, I'll have to consider this fall the zenith of my sports fandom. If all 3 happen, well then... actually you know what? I'm so confident that all 3 won't happen, why I'll promise to drink hydrochloric acid if they do. Does that qualify as a curse? Perhaps of the self-fulfilling variety. Stay tuned...the stars, they're alignin'...