Every February, there is at least one day where the temperature jumps into the 60s and the smell of baseball is in the air.

Every August, there is at least one day in the mid-90s where it’s hard to breath just walking around outside. That’s when you know it’s football season.

While we had our scorcher on Sunday, Kenosha County football teams couldn’t have asked for better weather — low 70s with a nice breeze — on Tuesday when the 2009 high school season kicked off with the first day of practice.

For Bradford, Central, Shoreland Lutheran, St. Joseph, Tremper and Wilmot the three-month gridiron grind began on Tuesday.

Much like the start of the Major League Baseball season, all the teams begin with the hope that the season will end in State glory.

It’s been eight seasons since Tremper (Division-1) and St. Joseph (Division-5) appeared in the WIAA State finals, only to both come up short of a title.

The last county football team to earn a State crown was the 1994 St. Joseph squad. The Lancers edged Manitowoc Lutheran 21-20 for the now disbanded Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association Division-2 title.

It’s been 18 years since the county’s last WIAA title. Tom Follis led Tremper to a perfect 13-0 season and the Division-1 championship.

Bradford and Tremper have raised the bar by putting together extremely successful campaigns the last three seasons.

While time will tell whether a State champion is forming in our midst, one thing is certain: Kenosha County is overdue.

*Glory’s Last Shot: Golf’s final major of the season gets under way today when the PGA Championship (preview, page C5) tees off at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn.

Don’t be surprised if a control player like Wisconsinite Steve Stricker stays in contention all weekend. The course has been lengthened to 7,674 yards and most of the par-5s are not reachable in two for even the longest hitters.While TV coverage doesn’t start until the afternoon, streaming video begins on the PGA Web site starting at 8:30 a.m.

*Book it (20-18): I went a surprising and disappointing 1-4 on predictions during my two-week vacation.

The slam dunk that didn’t come true was Brett Favre coming out of retirement.

The lone victory was the Brewers earning only a split against Washington at the end of July, but the only deadline acquisition was Claudio Vargas, who no longer qualifies as a “starting pitcher” — creating a Brewers split.

The Cubs let me down. Chicago was in first place during my hiatus, but has since fallen back so they are not in first place by Aug. 12. While Milton Bradley has heated up measurably, his batting average entering Wednesday’s game was still shy of .275, the predicted mark.

This week, give me Tiger Woods against the field to capture his 15th major at the PGA Championship.

Mike Larsen can be reached at mlarsen@kenoshanews.com