What's Your Favorite Sports Month July Through December?

July

This month is characterized by the MLB’s All-Star Game, and the trading deadline. The mid-summer classic is a celebration of each individual’s performance during the first half of the season, and the players hold a selection to the All-Star team in high-esteem. In the days leading up to the All-Star game, we have the Home Run Derby where some of the game’s powerful players square off against each other by trying to out-mash each other. The trading deadline is placed on July 31, where general managers wheel-and-deal their players to build lineup/rotation that can carry their teams to a World Series championship. Players switch uniforms, and leave their old teams behind and build a new foundation for their new team. The Open Championship, the third tournament in the Grand Slam of golf, is played on the third Friday of the month at any of nine courses in the United Kingdom. Often called the British Open, it is the only major held outside of the United States, and since 2002, it has had the richest purse of all four majors. The NFL kicks into gear with teams reporting to training camps, where teams get a first look at their new acquisitions and how they perform in their new offense. Training camps start each NFL team’s high hopes of attaining that elusive Super Bowl ring. NASCAR’s season is steaming towards the postseason with races at Daytona, Chicago, and The Brickyard. Several UEFA Champions League clubs begin their quest for the European Cup.

August

Another month full of baseball games, only August games bring an added pressure of winning to inch closer to a postseason berth. The NFL pre-season games get underway, where teams finally get to see their new acquisitions in action against NFL talent, and how they adjust to the speed of the NFL game. Pre-season games are typically for rookies, and second stringers to compete for a spot on the team, and to show their coaches that they can contribute to their team. College football kicks off at the end of the month when every Division I-A team opens its season with its non-conference schedule, which is characterized by massive blowouts when the nation’s powerhouses tune up for a title run against talent-starved Division I-A teams or Division I-AA teams. The PGA wraps up its major schedule with the PGA Championship during the first week of the month. The PGA Championship, nicknamed “Glory’s last shot”, is the last major of the season and the last chance for golfers to claim a major championship during the season. Tennis also has its last major of their season in the US Open, held during the last week of the month and into September; another last chance to gain a major championship for the season. Last, but certainly not least, is five of the last six races in NASCAR before the chase for the Nextel Cup races begin. Races in California, Bristol, Michigan, Watkins-Glen, and Pocono take place during the course of the month and have a huge effect on the points standings for each driver looking to be in the top 12 to advance to the Nextel Cup chase.

September

As the calendar turns to the ninth month of the year, Americans are cured of their football fever that they have been suffering from for awhile when the NFL opens a new season early in the month. The most popular sport in America has everybody glued to their televisions every Sunday and gives us an outlet every Monday after a long day of work. The NFL draws over 67,000 viewers for each individual game making the NFL one of the most watched domestic sports in the world. College football continues during the month to its fifth week of games, where most teams have cleaned up the rust and start playing their conference schedule, and with an early loss dropping a team from the top ten, or out of the top 25 altogether (Michigan, anyone?). Baseball enters its last month of the season where teams are jockeying for better playoff position, or when teams make a run for the postseason (see Rockies and Phillies), or go through a fall from grace (see Mets). NASCAR starts the chase for the Nextel Cup with races at New Hampshire, Dover, and Kansas where the top 12 racers pick up valuable points to inch closer to that coveted championship. While the PGA has already played all of its majors, there still is one tournament that every golfer dreams of competing in: the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is sort of like the Olympics for golf, pitting the American team versus the European team. It is a highly esteemed tournament that is played for country pride every two years. This famed tournament has been in existence since 1927. Like golf, tennis has finished its majors for the season, but there are still smaller tournaments that can keep a tennis player sharp for the beginning of next season.

October

The month of ghouls, goblins, and ghosts is known for its scary holiday, but there’s nothing scary about the Fall Classic held towards the end of the month. Baseball’s season officially comes to an end at the very beginning of the month, and the playoffs start soon after, matching division winners against each other, with the first team to win eleven games taking the title. The NFL has weeks five through eight during the Sundays and Mondays of the month, with teams starting to play their division rivals to improve their division records for a better chance at winning a division title and an increase in their playoff seeding. The college kids are doing their best impressions of their professional counterparts as they are midway through their season, where the rankings are changing weekly and when a handful of teams separate themselves from the rest of the pack and emerge as possible title contenders. The NBA and NHL begins its season during the month, with each team anticipating big things for a brand new season where everybody thinks they have a chance to compete. NASCAR continues its chase for the Nextel Cup with races at Talladega, Charlotte, Martinsville, and Atlanta, when drivers start to gain more points towards the top spot and a chance to grab the cup. Tennis and golf wind down their seasons with smaller tournaments that keep players at the top of their game, and to prepare for next season.

November

There is much to be thankful this month sportswise. The NFL starts its annual Thursday games, along with the usual Sundays that are full of NFL action, and the must watch Monday Night Football game. November marks the crucial weeks of football that can catapult a team into the playoffs or with some losses fall from a playoff spot. College football finishes its 14^th week of action with important games against some of their division rivals to set up a better chance of competing for their conference title, and with a solid November, teams can climb the rankings for a better bowl appearance. The NBA and NHL are just beginning their seasons and players are still shaking off the rust of the offseason. NASCAR has its last three races in the chase for the Nextel Cup with races at Phoenix, Texas, and the final race at Miami-Homestead where the points leader after the race claims the cup and the title for the best driver of the year. College basketball opens its regular season with the pre-season Top 25 rankings that get release around the early part of the month, and with basketball being played throughout the month, with each teams hope high to dance in the tournament. Golf and tennis end their seasons with each having one full tournament at the beginning of the month.

December

After eleven months of exciting sporting events, we finally reach the last month of the sporting calendar. With winter fast approaching, football takes center stage during the month with the NFL’s regular season coming to an end, and with the six teams in each conference who withstood the battles of the regular season to fight for a Super Bowl title. Meanwhile, the college kids are finished with their season and have many weeks off before bowl week starts in the middle of the month, when all college football fans are tuning in almost everyday to watch their team win a bowl game, or just tuning in to watch great match-ups; and all eyes are looking forward to the BCS Bowls. The NBA and NHL are both at least a month into their seasons, with both league’s players jockeying for votes for their league’s respective All-Star games. College basketball is a month into their season, with teams finishing up their non-conference schedules and getting tuned up for their conference schedules.

*2007-2008 schedules were used for all sporting events