Cook Now, we’re returned to our regularly scheduled summer programming ... for the most part.

With the world soccer cham- pion- ships over with, and with Lebron settled in Miami for the next few years, maybe we can now get back into our normal sports summer.

It’s mid-summer, so there’s an approaching trade deadline in major league baseball, division races are heating up, and speculation on who will or won’t make the playoffs can again surface.

And all of that doesn’t mention the fact that we’ll soon be hearing about NFL training camps and live reports from the aforementioned by many of our regional, big television station sports departments..

OH...and don’t forget... now that Lebron news begins to die down, it’ll be time for that annual speculation on another star athlete.

Is Bret Favre retiring, or is he going to make another run at a Super Bowl?

Stay tuned ... same Bat time, same Bat channels.

Loyd Cook has worked in newspapers for 17 years. He has earned multiple sportswriting and newswriting awards from the Texas Press Association and the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors organization.