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No lull in the sports world right now

It's the time of year that people in the sports media world — whether you cover it on TV, the radio or in newspapers — call the dog days because there is limited action to cover.

The NFL hasn't officially started training camp, the NBA is over and the National Hockey League has crowned its champ.

It's left to Major League Baseball to carry the load for a couple of months, but sometimes those dog days have a pedigree quality, particularly this year with an overflowing abundance of controversy and stories.

So even though Tiger Woods missed the first two majors and the U.S. Open was underwhelming, there still has been plenty of buzz.

The baseball races are heating up as Clayton Kershaw throws a no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Washington Redskins' name controversy has cropped up again with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruling against the team's trademarked name.

The World Cup grabbed our attention as Team USA won its first game over Ghana. The NBA draft is next week, and we are all eager to see what the Chicago Bulls will do and which player will be the first pick overall.

And anytime there is a brief lull in the action, we can always look to Johnny Manziel for some excitement.

Then there were the deaths of “Mr. Padre” Tony Gwynn, a lifetime .338 hitter, and the legendary Chuck Noll, the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach.

But even though three of our major sports aren't on the tube, and there is still plenty to debate and discuss, I don't like pressing our luck. We don't need any more strange or bizarre things happening like we have had with Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers.

So hurry up NFL, college football and the World Series — they can't come soon enough for me.

Locally I guess we can be content right now with the Chicago White Sox grinding it out close to a .500 record and within striking distance of first place. Of course, the Cubs are working on the rebuilding process, and team officials are offering up some of their pitching to continue that rebuilding, but when will the rebuilding stop and the winning begin?

As the Chicago Bears report for training camp next month, the talk will be all about the offense and the need to put up 45 points per game.

Then the Bulls and the Hawks will be in camp before we know it.

Just like the news and weather in Chicago, the sports is constantly changing and there is no shortage of stories.

One of the good guys:

Congratulations to my longtime friend, Tony Vaughan, who is being honored as Man of the Year by the Coaltion for Better Government tonight at Biagios Banquet in Chicago.

Program notes:

Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com.

• Mike North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.

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