We’ve reached the halfway point of summer already, and it’s time to take a look at some major sporting events on the calendar in the next few weeks. Four of the richest nights in sprint car racing take place this week at Eldora Speedway so expect huge crowds and heavy traffic along Ohio 118 for a few days!
Starting Wednesday, the world-famous half-mile dirt track will host the Double Down Duels, part of the High Limit Racing Series. Thursday will see the Jokers Jackpot, with $100,000 awarded to the winner, followed on Friday by the Knight Before The Kings Royal with a $25,000 first-place prize. Saturday the 20th features the 41st running of the World of Outlaws Kings Royal. The racer taking home the checkered flag will also collect a cool $175,000, so you can bet that the competition will be fast and furious!
Baseball’s All-Star game takes place in Arlington, Texas Tuesday night, with the Reds being represented by Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene, while the Guardians in action will include Jose Ramirez, Emmanuel Clase, Josh Naylor, and Steven Kwan. Why more Guardians (still hard not to say Indians!) than Reds, you ask? Cleveland is tied for the American League lead in wins with the Yankees, while the Reds remain below .500.
The Open Championship (also known as the British Open) begins Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Expect all of the world’s finest golfers to compete in the fourth leg of golf’s major championships (also anticipate the usual moaning and groaning about the tall grasses, bunkers, wind, and rain that is par for links golf!).
Finally, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be held from July 26th through the 11th of August in Paris, causing the hearts of NBC anchors and announcers to flutter with excitement. How about some trivia concerning the world’s premier multi-sport event that’s held every four years? Answers to follow.
When was the first Olympics held, and where?
Only five countries have participated in every Summer Olympics, can you name them? The United States has hosted the Summer Olympics four times—when and where?
Besides football, other fall sports at the high school level begin official practices soon— boys and girls golf get early starts on July 29th, while volleyball, girls tennis, boys and girls cross country, and boys and girls soccer get underway on August 1st. We’ll soon know which teams have improved over the past few months of camps, summer leagues, and individual workouts!
Twenty-one-year-old Carlos Alcaraz made short work of seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in winning his second Gentlemens’ Final to go along with his French Open title of a few weeks ago. Seems like the torch is being passed to the younger generation as 22-year-old
Jannik Sinner of Italy is ranked number one in the world ahead of Alcaraz. On the women’s side, Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic downed Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in a dramatic three-set championship match.
Great times were had at the Darke County Center for the Arts annual BBQ and Blues Friday night. The featured act, the Brass Tracks Band, entertained a large crowd assembled on the front lawn of the Greenville Public Library on a perfect night weather-wise. Food trucks, beer and wine tents, and the music of Chicago, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, Earth, Wind, and Fire, etc., all made for the finest in small-town living!
The first Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, with 250 males representing 14 nations competing in 42 events. The 2020 Tokyo Games were held in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic and had over 11,400 male and female athletes from 206 countries participating in 339 events!
The five countries to participate in every Summer Games are Australia, France, Great Britain, Greece, and Switzerland. The US boycotted the 1980 Games in Moscow in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan (some things never change—my father had a book written by Greenville’s own famed Lowell Thomas back in 1928 titled “Adventures in Afghanistan for Boys” that warned, “it is absolutely forbidden to cross this border into Afghan territory”. Seems like advice that both the Russians and later we Americans should have heeded!).
The Games have been held in three US cities over the years—St. Louis in 1904, Los Angeles in both 1932 and 1984 (the Soviets and 13 other Soviet Bloc countries gained revenge on the Americans by not showing up in California), and Atlanta in 1996. LA will again host the 2028 Games, while Brisbane, Australia will do the honors in 2032.
Finally, one of my favorite authors is Harlan Coben. In his latest novel “Think Twice” was the quote “You are always seventeen, waiting for your life to begin”. That really made me pause and think—what’s your response to that quote? Have a great week, stay healthy and active!
