The Sports Monitor

Yeah, I know there's still a couple more weeks before the calendar says fall begins. For me, however, summer ends when my kids go back to school. That was today. Golf's over (the PGA Tour's playoffs are a joke), baseball pennant drives are heating up and the U.S. Open has started. Couple that with football around the corner and our vacation to Myrtle Beach, S.C., wrapped up, and it's over. I'm just waiting for the trees to fall.

It's been a strange week. A couple days ago I was soaking up the sun in Myrtle Beach, S.C., enjoying the waves and a cool breeze. A 12-hour drive, return to work and getting the kids off to the first day of school later, it's beginning to feel a lot like fall. In many ways, that's a good thing. It means football season officially will kick off and my Steelers fever will kick in. It also means another losing Pirates season soon will be put to rest -- and that's definitely a good thing. It also means more posting, especially after a summer filled with trips to Deep Creek, Md., Allegany State Park and Myrtle Beach. Throw in a couple trips to Kennywood, a Sandcastle day and visits to Waldameer in Erie, and there were plenty of memories. And the beach trip included a wonderful oceanfront stay, plenty of sun, surf and food. Now it's time to wait for those sports memories of the fall to happen. But I wouldn't mind a little more beach time.