Friday Night Lights! Football Season Arrives in Force

Photo by FLICKR/adobemac/257265824/ The Red, White and Blue Titans of T.C. Williams visit Robinson on Sept. 3 and visit Mount Vernon on Sept. 11. The Maroon, White and Black "Maroon" of Episcopal visit Flint Hill Sept. 18 and host Fork Union on Sept. 26.

With the high school football season approaching in just a week, here are the first two contests for the ten Greater Alexandria high schools.

The Red, White and Blue Titans of T.C. Williams visit Robinson Sept. 3 and visit Mount Vernon on Sept. 11.  The Maroon, White and Black "Maroon" of Episcopal visit Flint Hill Sept. 18 and host Fork Union on Sept. 26.

The prestigious private school, coached by veteran Mark Gowin, does not open until relatively late due to the nature of the boarding school and that the students are not back on campus until early in September.

The Cardinal and Gold "Cardinals" of Ireton host Carroll on Sept. 4 and host Riverdale Baptist on Sept. 12.

The Red, White and Green Saints of St. Stephens/St. Agnes host St. Christopher's on Sept. 12 and then five days later host St. Anne's Belfield on Sept. 17.

Regarding Fairfax County schools, The Red and White Atoms of Annandale host Centreville on Sept. 3 and then visit Falls Church on Sept. 11.

The Red, White and Blue Eagles of Edison visit West Springfield on Sept. 3 and host Centreville on Sept. 11. The Orange and White Hawks of Hayfield host G.C. Marshall on Sept. 3 and visit Robert E. Lee on Sept. 11.

The Red, White and Blue Colonials of Thomas Jefferson host Herndon on Sept. 3 and host South Lakes on Sept. 11.

The Maroon and White Majors of Mount Vernon visit West Potomac on Sept. 3 and host T.C. Williams on Sept. 11.

Finally, the Blue and Silver Wolverines of West Potomac host Mount Vernon on Sept. 2 and visits Westfield on Sept. 11.

As previously stated, the 32 teams in the Northern Region have been shuffled and W.T. Woodson will now be a member of the Patriot District; Hayfield will now be a member of the National District and Fairfax will now be a member of the Liberty District.

In the process, the Patriot, National and Liberty Districts will be comprised of eight schools each; whereas the Concorde District will only be comprised of six schools.

Regarding high school football, in the book entitled "Football For Dummies"  written by Howie Long with John Czarnecki (2003) - it states the following: "On the youth level, football is not like baseball or basketball. My long experience with those sports is that it's OK if you don't play well,  you're not putting yourself in danger. With football, on the other hand, you can really get hurt if you're not physically and mentally equipped to handle the game - especially if you're a young kid."

The book further states:  "But football can teach you a lot about life; it's a character-building sport. Young players can learn about the rewards of hard work, dedication, teamwork and discipline. Football, like a lot of sports, is a great way to bring families together and can create a special bond between a father and a son."

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On updating the Washington Nationals, the Nats currently weigh-in at 44-81 (.348) and need to surge pass either Kansas City 47-77 (.379) or Baltimore 51-74 (.405) to avoid being tagged the worst team in major league baseball in the current season.

With 37 games remaining (15 at home/22 on the road), the Nats would love nothing better than to avoid that dubious distinction.

Since taking over following the all-star break, interim manager Jim Riggleman has guided the Nats to an overall record of 18-20 (including a red-hot 17-9 during the middle portion of those 38 games).

The Nats, which signed right-handed pitcher/top-draft pick Stephen Strasburg last week, conclude the home portion of the '09 season with the following games: Sept. 4-6 vs. Florida; Sept. 8-10 vs. Philadelphia; Sept. 22-24 vs. L.A. Dodgers; Sept. 25-28 vs. Atlanta and finally Sept. 29-30 vs. N.Y. Mets.

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The U.S. Open (won by Tiger Woods in July) and the PGA Championship (won by Y.E. Yang in August - with Woods placing second) were two of the great "major" competitions in recent memory.

Local Kicks' commander-in-chief John Arundel, a golf fan of significant degree, would undoubtedly concur.

In the book, The Secret of Golf, edited and annotated by George Peper (2005), it states on page 5: "The basic factor in all good golf is the grip. Get it right, and all other progress follows....A good grip is to keep the little finger of the left hand from being loosened; then the next two fingers will stay firm assuming one swings right handed."

On page 40 it states that "the golf swing should become a pure swingin' motion of centrifugal force, not a pushing, striking motion that most golfers are inclined to do."

By putting the tips into practice in this nearly 400-page book, one should be able to significantly improve their golf game.

Contact the writer at dgsusa@juno.com