Carpenter’s Crunch Time pick ’em is back as I am thankful for the return of football

BUCKHANNON – Thank goodness fall and football season are almost here.

I used to think February, after the Super Bowl and the NFL ended, was the worst month for sports. Boy, I was ever wrong. February still gave you the NBA and NHL regular seasons and the lead-up to March Madness for college basketball.

July now has that distinction as the worst month for sports. Sure, you have the MLB All-Star game, and there is baseball, but I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, so enough said.

In July, I was reduced to watching whiffle ball, dodge ball and corn hole tournaments. While those sports are fun to play in the backyard, I am not sure ESPN needs to televise those events, even in the lazy summer month of July.

Even worse, there was something on my television called Professional Pillow Fighting League. To my dismay, it wasn’t the sexy kind with Playboy models fighting but rather grown men doing cartwheels in a boxing ring with something that resembled a pillow.

But we can put that behind us now with college and pro football right around the corner.

Also, back for another year is the Carpenter Crunch Time pick ’em contest, where the My Buckhannon staff gets to show off their football knowledge by picking seven local high school and college games each week.

And you, the reader, are also invited to play again, competing for bragging rights and possible other surprises for our weekly winners.

You can click here to pick our week one games, and here they are in print form below to give you a quick look.

Good luck to everyone, and thank goodness football season is here.