“Culling the thoughts that occur when you’re standing around waiting for something to happen”

How do you suppose former University of Arizona Wildcat Richard Jefferson and his teammates feel about the recent photo of Mexican drug cartel kingpin Sergio Villarreal Barragan being arrested on Sept. 10 proudly wearing a San Antonio Spurs T-shirt?

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The NHL preseason is underway and if you’re anything like me you…well, you also probably hadn’t noticed.

It seems like just yesterday the Chicago Blackhawks were hoisting the Stanley Cup, 10 days before the Los Angeles Lakers did an Irish jig on the Boston Celtics’ NBA Finals dreams.

Well, the boys of winter are back — despite the fact that Los Angeles hit  a record high 113 degrees today.

Off-seasons appear to be shrinking in the big-dollar game of sports. How much of a hiatus do we actually get to ease out of our post-title hangovers?

On average? About 100 days.

SEASON FINALE     .     TRAINING CAMP BEGAN     .     DAYS

NHL     June 9     Sept. 17     100

NBA     June 17     Sept. 27     102

MLB     Nov. 4     Feb. 15     103

NFL     Feb. 7     July 23     166*

*Mini camp after 75 days

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David Aardsma recently picked up his 30 save of the season for the Seattle Mariners.

I’ll never forget my first encounter with the closer when he pitched for the Chicago White Sox in 2007.

Aardsma was in the Sox’ spring training office in Tucson and using a copy machine.

All I could think was “what the heck does a baseball player need to make copies of?”

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A recent television commercial for the ‘Snuggie’ features a mom and dad cheering on their kid while wearing the blanket-with-arms at a Little League game.

Nothing represses childhood memories better than your pajama-clad parents yelling from the bleachers.

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A punk band played halftime of the New York Jets-Baltimore Ravens Monday Night Football opener on Sept. 13. Wouldn’t it have made sense for Green Day to wait until week seven and played at Green Bay?

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Favorite word of the week that I misspelled while typing too fast:

“Sheddling”

Noun. SHED-ling. Of or pertaining to being a baby tool shack.

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You need all the fingers of one hand to count the amount of fantasy football teams I have this season. Naming them wasn’t easy.

The short list of names:

- The Rolling Brown Outs

- Sweat Favre

- Manassas Man-asses

- Incontinent-eyed Joe

- Good Newz Kennelz

Send new suggestions to inprogressatpresstime@Gmail.com

“Culling the thoughts that occur when you’re standing around waiting for something to happen”

You think you’re an all-star every Thanksgiving when the family plays touch football on the front yard?

Try winning Turkey Day MVP honors in the Findley household.

Robbie Findley could use a big plate of comfort food after suffering what has to be one of the more devastating losses of his career on Saturday — much worse than losing out on the honor of licking the wooden, mash-potato-serving spoon.

The Shadow Mountain (Phoenix) High School grad was the starting forward for Team USA in Saturday’s World Cup, 2-1, loss to Ghana.

Ghana midfielder Anthony Annan (6) battles for the ball with USA forward Robbie Findley (20) during the round of sixteen in the 2010 World Cup at Royal Bafokeng Stadium. Christian Ort/GEPA via US PRESSWIRE

The former Oregon State Beaver returned to the lineup after sitting out the Algeria game (bummer) due to two yellow cards.

Findley is cousins with former University of Arizona star and current Atlanta Hawk Mike Bibby as well as with former Pittsburgh Steeler and Detroit Lion wide receiver Shaun McDonald.

He’s also related, through marriage, to New York Knicks’ guard Eddie House. 

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Speaking of World Cup soccer, there are whispers that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, oil tycoon and owner of Manchester City of the Premier League, is looking to sign Team USA star Landon Donovan.

That’s Manchester City, and not their fabled, cross-town rival Manchester United. Big bucks abound, nonetheless.

Do you think Donovan drives a hybrid car? The answer is: not anymore. 

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As long as we’re on the subject of money grabbing…

When Donkey from Shrek does a television commercial for Royal Caribbean cruises, is it Donkey or Eddie Murphy who is the one selling out?

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Colorado Rockies pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

As the Major League Baseball season progresses, one race to watch is that of: Ubaldo Jimenez verses the Baltimore Orioles.

Through Sunday’s action, the Colorado Rockies ace (13-1 on the season) has as many road wins (8) as the entire Oriole team. 

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Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics hurled a perfect game on Mother’s Day (May 9). His grandmother, the one who raised him, was in attendance.

On Father’s Day (June 20), Toronto Blue Jay infielder John McDonald (he of 14 career home runs in nearly as many seasons) hit a pinch-hit dinger in his first plate appearance after burying his dad, who succumbed days earlier to liver cancer. The dinger was a dying request from McDonald’s ailing father.

This kind of stuff only happens in baseball.

Omar Vizquel used Brother’s Day (May 24) to tie his fellow Venezuelan countryman Luis Aparicio for second on the all-time hits list for shortstops. The Chicago White Sox infielder, who grew up idolizing Aparicio, collected the 2,764th hit of his career on May 24 to move behind Derek Jeter (2,835+) for hits by a shortstop.

Some future holidays, teams and players to keep an eye on the rest of the season:

WORK-A-HOLICS DAY               July 5

Tune in to see if notorious slacker Manny Ramirez will show up and actually play hard for all nine innings.

DISOBEDIENCE DAY               July 3 

See Manny Ramirez and July 5

AUNT’S AND UNCLE’S DAY               July 26 

Tune in to witness free agent Gary Sheffield pay homage to his uncle, Dwight Gooden, by getting arrested during his first game of the season with his new team. 

TAKE YOUR PANTS FOR A WALK DAY               July 27 

Tune in to watch Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe, the league leader, by far, in intentional walks (8), to see if he intentionally keeps his pants on as another batter takes a free stroll to first base.

MUTTS DAY               July 31 

Not to be confused with the New York Mets, who have been accused in the past of dogging it late in the season.

MORE HERBS, LESS SALT DAY     Aug. 29

The ideal day for Barry Bonds to return after a 2.5 year furlough from the game.

NATIONAL BEHEADING DAY               Sept. 2

Otherwise known as the annual day when the Kansas City Royals fire their manager.

LABOR DAY               Sept. 6

Manny Ramirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes the field for…nah, too easy.

GRANDPARENT’S DAY               Sept. 12

Watch to see how many innings the Big League’s oldest player, Jamie Moyer, 47, of the Philadelphia Phillies, can throw without breaking a hip.

DEFY SUPERSTITION DAY               Sept. 13

See if Pedro Martinez can step on the chalk baseline without getting injured.

FELT HAT DAY               Sept. 15

The Pittsburgh Pirates try to get a win wearing actual feather-laden, buccaneer hats. Answer: The Bucs lose no matter what kind of hats they wear.

ASK A STUPID QUESTION DAY               Sept. 28

Is anyone still reading?

CONFUCIUS DAY               Sept. 29

Seasoned baseball guru Joe Torre explains to his young team why ‘man with four balls cannot walk.’

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The NBA draft has come and gone and, once again, I went un-drafted. Maybe it’s because I’ve got a Dr. J ‘big-man’ attitude in a Spud Webb body.

Perhaps it’s because I’ve got an ultimate little-man’s complex and the intense desire to grow a killer afro. Call me Napoleon Dolemite.

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 New word I learned this week: the plural of people from Ghana is Ghanaians.