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The calendar is about ready to hit September, but we aren't finished with the month of August just yet.
I for one am definitely not quite ready for next month because once all the fall sports get going in earnest it will be full steam ahead until June.
With school starting across the Mountain State and athletics picking back up it's once again quite busy here in the office.
Of course, for the scribes at the paper we've been out and about already both in West Virginia and Ohio trying to get everything prepared for football season.
In today's edition the 96-page Pigskin Preview should give gridiron fans lots of information on all the programs around the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Suffice it to say the annual project is indeed a labor of love.
Personally, since I was a young reader many, many moons ago it always was one of my favorite days of the year to see the morning paper show up and try to get through some of the football tab stories and rosters before school started.
One of the best parts about preseason football is having the opportunity to take in some practice time and just talk with the coaches and some of the players about the upcoming campaign.
Bouncing around in the back of my mind when I go out to my schools, for whatever reason, I have a tendency to think about and get a good laugh when I recall the quote former Wirt County head coach Jimmy Frashier loved to use about having a lot of T-shirt All-Americans in practice.
Earlier this month I was able to make the trek down to Glenville State University and catch the end of a morning practice.
We ran out of room in the Pigskin Preview, but I will have a feature story on the Pioneers of head coach Mike Kellar and their defensive backfield led by Parkersburg South graduate Brandon Penn, Dane Lynch Jr., and Shaun Sterling Jr.
I was disappointed in the fact the Mountain East Conference opted to have a virtual media day.
Of course, that's better than the Ohio Athletic Conference not having one at all.
Anyway, I ran across a story on the express.co.uk website early Wednesday morning where former tennis star John McEnroe was offering his views about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continued stance on not allowing entry into the United States to those unvaccinated for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Of course, McEnroe was talking about the upcoming U.S. Open and Novak Djokovic, who was banned from the Australian Open but allowed to play in both the French Open and Wimbledon after that restriction was lifted.
"No, I don't think it's fair. I think it's a joke," McEnroe said during a U.S. Open preview event.
No matter your vaccination status, there are some spots open for guest pickers this season who would like a chance to go 22-0 on Friday in the grid picks.
Feel free to drop myself or sports editor Jordan Holland -- jholland@newsandsentinel.com -- a line if interested.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com