It is that time of year again, almost.

It is still the melting summertime filled with the sweltering dog days of August, but it also the cat's meow when it comes down to the pleasurable anticipation of what is to come for Port Chester's returning high school varsity athletes.

It may not rank anywhere near Wimbledon, Forest Hills or the French Open, and it doesn't boast world class talent like Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer, but it certainly is a lot closer in Rye Brook, admission is free and it will include a chance to see 24 top tier players—amateurs and former pros—swinging away throughout two upcoming days at Arrowwood with $3,000 in prize money on the line.

It didn't end the way they wanted it to in Aberdeen, Md., but at least the young Port Chester Youth Baseball League 12U (age 12 and under) Pirates one upped the New York Yankees who got swept in four games against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park last weekend.

Manny's back. Manny Martinez, that is. And he is right back where he belongs. Coaching Rams basketball as well as teaching science. Port Chester now has him both in and out of the classroom after Blind Brook inexplicably let him go despite his outstanding record as one of the best girls’ basketball coaches in Westchester.

The Port Chester Youth Baseball League 10U Pirates have their own Murderers’ Row in Billy Villanova, Dylan Cally, Paul Heintz and Johnny Borzoni. They have ace pitchers in Cally and Nikash Bhandari, solid hitters in Dom Luzzi and Julian Arnaud, good speed in Eddie Mateus and Cole Wolff and headsy clutch players in Izeyah Fentress, Bryan Sachs and Tommy Hinz.

They were the Port Chester Youth Baseball League version of the little engine that could. The 8U (ages 8 and under) Pirates kept showing they could win against their peers until they ran out of steam and couldn't in the one-and-done first round of the Greater Hudson Valley Baseball League (GHVBL) playoffs last Thursday (7/26) at Lyon Park. But even in losing, they went down swinging.

Baseball history unfolds on local and national fronts this weekend—and those fronts are linked by a love of the beautiful game as well as its heroes, whether they be Major League superstars or Port Chester youth baseball miracle workers.

When it comes to rooting for Port Chester area U teams, it is hard to remain impartial because certain age group players stand out on the P.C. Pirates squads competing in the 8U, 10U and 12U (ages 8 and under, 10 and under and 12 and under) divisions.

With his first collegiate football practice less than a month away, Port Chester Rams high school football and track star Jordan Lewis has been working out on his own to get ready for his Springfield College athletic debut Aug. 7 with the persistence that has made him a "goat," one of the greatest local athletes of all time.

It is not a day they are likely to forget. And not just because Friday the 13th is traditionally a superstitious day associated with bad luck, black cats, witches and ladders not meant to be walked under.