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With the official arrival of spring, we find ourselves at the furthest point of the calendar year from actual football games. While it’s a depressing position to be in, fear not. There are some options when it comes to distracting ourselves during these football-less afternoons of the warm months.
Here are some sporting ways to bide the time until football returns at the end of August and a handful of non-sports activities that can be found throughout the SEC states during the summer.
APRIL: NFL DRAFT
It’s not actual gridiron action, but the annual confluence of the NFL and NCAA is full of pageantry and drama. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a rousing Chicago cheering of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell?
Since the NFL expanded its draft to begin on Thursday nights, the league has been able dominate the sports conversation even more so and satiate our desire for all things football in the process — some five months before the return of games that matter.
The draft is where roster questions get answered and new queries arise, giving plenty of fuel to get us through these dark days without football to watch.
Local, non-sports option: Conyers (Ga.) Cherry Blossom Festival
What better way to usher in the spring than with a crippling allergic reaction?
MAY: KENTUCKY DERBY/PREAKNESS
Grab your hat. We’re heading to the Kentucky Derby.
Granted, the “most exciting two minutes in sports” is a blip on the ‘distraction radar’ in a month with more than 44,000 football-less minutes. That’s why, after we’ve shaken our mint julep hangovers, we’re keeping the party going two weeks later at the 141st Preakness Stakes.
After American Pharoah’s Triple Crown last year, horse racing mania doesn’t come at more fevered pitch and we’re going to take advantage of that. Plus, the Preakness at Pimlico in Baltimore is the most underrated of the three races, anyway.
We can dedicate the rest of our time during the month to Major League Baseball and trying and figuring out how not to give up on our fantasy teams before July’s All-Star break.
Local non-sports option: Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival
Come for front porch barbecue, stay for alpaca shearing competition.
JUNE: NBA/NHL PLAYOFFS
The NHL has skated past the NBA in recent years when it comes to orchestrating a better postseason. Hockey’s sudden-death overtime format creates arguably one of the most nail-biting experiences in all of sports, while the NBA’s horrific schedulers find ways to give teams three or four days off between playoff games — all in an effort to see who is going to beat LeBron James this year in the Finals.
By the time June and the NHL’s and NBA’s respective finals roll around, however, both leagues are back on equal footing and tuning in each night is must-watch television.
The NBA hasn’t had a team swept in the Finals since the San Antonio Spurs yanked the rug out from the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games during the 2006-07 postseason.
You have to dig further back into the hockey annals to find the last blanking. After four straight Stanley Cup sweeps from the 1995 New Jersey Devils to the 1998 Detroit Red Wings, the NHL has gone 16 years without a finals sweep. Xix of those series went the full seven games.
It all adds up to a nice football distraction, if only temporarily.
Local non-sports option: 60th Annual Bradley County (Ark.) Pink Tomato Festival
If Arkansas’ oldest continuous annual festival doesn’t suit your fancy, you can always learn diamond mining 101 at the Sixth Annual Prospector’s Gemboree two weeks later in Murfreesboro, Ark., two weeks later.
JULY: BASEBALL
Frank Thomas (Auburn) might be the only SEC player ever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but the conference is flush with hardball talent at the major league level for you to follow during the dog days of summer.
Especially when it comes to pitching. The SEC can boast five Cy Young-winning pitchers since 2008, including Cliff Lee (Arkansas) in 2008; R.A. Dickey (Tennessee) and David Price (Vanderbilt) in 2012; Max Scherzer (Missouri) in 2013; and Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas) in 2015. Plus, 2007 winner Jake Peavey eschewed Auburn out of high school to join the San Diego Padres organization.
Strong pitching has returned to Major League Baseball, and the SEC appears to be leading the charge. Remember that and perhaps your fantasy team will still have a fighting chance after the July 12 All-Star Game in San Diego.
Local non-sports option: Slugburger Festival
Be there when they crown Miss Slugburger at the raucous food festival that celebrates its 28th year in Corinth, Miss.
AUGUST: RIO OLYMPICS
The Zika virus has locals scared. Civil unrest threatens public safety. But come on. It’s Rio, baby.
This year’s Olympic games give us the chance to root not only for the United States, but the SEC as well. In particular, the women’s track and field team, which will be led by Ole Miss head coach Connie Price-Smith.
You never know who the next Olympic star-turned-NFL player is going to be — like Tennessee alum Willie Gault, even if the former Chicago Bears wide receiver earned his Olympic glory at the 1980 boycott games (Liberty Bell Classic) and a stint with the United States’ bobsled team.
The point is, just like college football, the Olympics are the grandest stage for amateur athletics. Plus, word, is Michael Phelps is looking stronger than ever.
USA! USA! USA!
Local non-sports option: 65th Delcambre Shrimp Festival
We’d also suggest the Lake Charles (La.) Arts and Crabs Fest in a pinch.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
