For those of us who showed patience, the long, wet summer finally provided some weather worth waiting for. The last few weeks have been, well, summer-like, and there has been a lot to be excited about. I attended the Bruce Springsteen concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center the week before last. A friend told me I seemed exceptionally happy on the day of the concert, and the truth is a Springsteen concert is a feel-good event and the day before, the day of, and the day after the concert are usually happy times. If I ever get a dying wish it will be to attend a Springsteen concert, thus guaranteeing a content final 72 hours to my earthly existence………..Two days later I visited the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts for the B.B. King and Buddy Guy concert. I've always been a B.B. King fan and at 83 years old the King of the Blues is still amazing. Buddy Guy was also phenomenal, and both men have a genuine relationship with their fans that make their concerts perfectly intimate settings, perfect for the surroundings provided by the Bethel Woods facility. Driving around town the rest of the week I was absolutely sure I was the only person in America listening to the unique combinations of Bruce Springsteen, B.B. King, and the Grateful Dead on my car CD player……….On Friday, I made my first trip to the new Yankee Stadium to watch the Bronx Bombers defeat the Chicago White Sox in an exciting 5-2 extra inning game. Being old school, I had mixed reactions to the "new" Yankee Stadium, begrudgingly comparing everything about it to the "original" stadium of my childhood. I like the fact that once inside the new stadium you are free to walk about the entire place. The old stadium reinforced perceived social class standing. If you had tickets to the bleachers, you were relegated to remain with the other "commoners." This was always fine with me since I grew up watching Mickey Mantle and the other Yankees greats 450 feet from home plate. I had noticed over the years that fans with more expensive tickets were usually treated with more respect and dignity than the fans that sat in the bleachers. Many times I witnessed stadium security being downright rude to those of us who rooted from the cheaper seats. Once you realize that the Steinbrenner family doesn't give a damn about Yankees fans, it makes rooting for the team a lot easier. Nonetheless, the total stadium access is a nice touch. My major gripe with The House That Steinbrenner Rebuilt was the new location of Monument Park. Again, my point of reference was the old stadium where Monument Park was in the actual outfield. Mantle was one of a few who could actually hit a ball far enough to reach the old monuments and it was always interesting when the ball would bounce around the monuments in the cavernous outfield of the old stadium. The old Monument Park was visible from anywhere in the stadium but the new Monument Park looks like the Yankees did their very best to hide it. Tucked away in center field behind a high fence, it seems like the current Monument Park is inadequate to properly honor all the great Yankee tradition and players. I will make another trip to the stadium this year and I am confident the place will grow on me, but as you get older it seems like nothing is ever as good as the original. Special thanks to my Cousin Tony for providing the four tickets that allowed me to attend my first game at the new park……….Last Sunday I headed off to Cooperstown for the New York State United Teachers Conference. Spending three days and two nights at the luxurious Otesaga Hotel was a great way to end the summer. Cooperstown, the historic home to baseball, is an exceptionally beautiful village and the baseball-themed stores love to run specials as the summer season fades. Labor Day traditionally closes the Cooperstown season but as baseball winds toward the annual playoffs, a trip to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame is rewarded with smaller crowds, great bargains, and beautiful scenery……….One of the great intrinsic rewards of parenthood is knowing that your kids turned out well in spite of all the time, effort, love, and money you have invested in them. Last week Kevin submitted his version of SporTalk Jr. and promptly seized the opportunity to declare himself the best writer in the family. Kids today struggle with the concept of humility.……….The end of summer is no fun, but it does bring us college football. Week One of the college football season brought us some interesting results. It was a nice story as Syracuse native Greg Paulus returned home after four years of playing for the Duke basketball team and won the starting quarterback job for the Syracuse Orange football team. Paulus, a former national Player of the Year in high school, was responsible for the Orangemen almost upsetting Minnesota and, more importantly, for filling the Syracuse Dome to near capacity for the opening game. Not bad for a team that won a total of ten games in the last four years………..The Army Black Knights know a little something about losing football. It seems Army has not beaten Navy since the Civil War (it's actually been since 2001) but Army managed to win their opening game against Eastern Michigan 27-14 and, for at least one week in time, the cadets are undefeated……….The Ellenville Blue Devils football team opened defense of their Section 9 title by blanking Class B New Paltz, 16-0. The game was sloppily played with each team committing several turnovers. It is obvious the Blue Devils are not the team they were last season. Coach Tony Borriello will take the win, but he must get his Blue Devils to play more fundamental and disciplined football if the Blue Devils hope to get back to the championship game. Leaving the field last week, a New Paltz fan commented that the Blue Devils were not good, and didn't deserve to win the game. True, Ellenville did not play well, but I am reminded of the old joke that asks, "What do you call the guy who graduates last in medical school?" "Doctor!" And until a new kingpin is selected, the Blue Devils are still the defending Section 9 – Class C Champions……….Larry Haight reports that the recent Elks Golf Tournament was a complete success. The tournament saw just over 90 golfers participate and had nearly 50 sponsors. The area youth benefit from the Elks efforts……….The Lady Devils varsity soccer team has won two of its first three games, and if Ellenville hopes to be competitive throughout the season, the team will need consistent offense……….The New York Mets are so bad and have had such a lousy run of luck that out of respect for my Mets friends I will not mention them here………..Derek Jeter is set to pass Lou Gehrig as the all-time Yankees hit leader. Let the enormity of that fact sink in for a moment. Until next time………