That football season is still around the corner is but a myth. Last Saturday I saw (for only a moment) parts of a live college football game. The contest was in Japan, and matched a team of American college football players against a team made up of Japanese players. The game ended in a tie during regulation play, and was going into the second overtime when I tuned out. In truth, the American team appeared to consist of mainly Division II and Division III players, and there may have been a player or two from Division I and NAIA teams. I did not watch long enough to see all of the players, and did not recognize any of the officials.

National Football League teams have all started their pre-season practice, and most college and high school teams will follow suit in a week or so. Game action and practice start a full month before they did in “my time.” Had we started in early August then, nobody would have survived. We were allowed no water during practice. Now, players are allowed (required to drink) all the water they can hold. Most players now have been on an organized weight and running program all summer, and many have actually participated in several “7 on 7” games (without their regular coaches, of course.)

I earlier wrote about the 2007 college football rules changes. High school football saw few rules changes for the 2007 season. While there were a number of noticeable changes in the college football rules for 2007, the most fan-noticeable difference between the two sets of rules remains the high school prohibition against blocking below the waist. A few years ago, college rules seemed to be moving in the same direction as the high school rules. When I write about high school and college football rules, it is impossible to do more than skim the surface. Though the early game survived on seven or eight basic rules, the college game now requires over 300 rules. It is sometimes hard to tell if the game has changed to follow the rules, or if the rules have changed to follow the game. In the 1980s, the use of hands while blocking became more and more liberalized as the passing game began to dominate. The NCAA Football Rules Committee is made up of college football coaches, so the rules are designed so that the game is played like the coaches want it to be played. Wise coaches coach the game to fit the abilities and personalities of the players they have available.

Except for the professional leagues and a few youth travel teams, baseball is about over. I noticed that Vidalia’s Jarrett Hoffpauir has kept his average over .300. He is now in AAA ball at Memphis. His brother Josh is the baseball coach at Holmes Community College, and seems to have successfully recruited a few players from high school baseball power Madison Central. Both chaps, I think, belong to long-time Vidalia baseball coach Johnny Hoffpauir.

And, That’s Official

Al Graning writes a weekly sports column. He can be reached by e-mail at AlanWard39157@aol.com.