On Your Mark: MLB trade deadline, NFL training camps and Special Olympics to highlight week

Here at The Sun News we’ve promised you a bevy of new features – well, check this one off the list.

The name of this column is “On Your Mark.” If you’re unclear, yes, that is meant in racing terms, as in to be followed by “get set.”

The information you need to “get set” is what we’ll detail here. Each Monday we’ll give you a quick breakdown of what’s coming in the world of sports, because we understand you, the reader, are busy. This will be a one-stop shop to get ready for the “go, go, go” of the week ahead in sports, both locally and nationally.

Big matchup? That will be here. Important event? That will be here. Something to look out for? You get the idea.

That said, we at The Sun News certainly do not purport to be all-knowing – if there’s something you’d like us to keep an eye out for, or feel we should be including, tell us about it. This column is meant to be as tailored to our readership as possible, and feedback will only aid in that goal.

With that, let’s get rolling:

MLB’s trade deadline on tap

Want a slice of Hamels? Name your Price.

When did baseball get such highly tradeable and pun-worthy names?

The Detroit Tigers came into the season with high expectations; the Philadelphia Phillies not so much. Either way they find themselves in the same situation with the trade deadline approaching: Stuck in a dead-end season with a highly paid pitcher likely to star for a contender down the stretch.

Keep an eye out for pitchers like Cole Hamels (Phillies) and David Price (Tigers), along with a number of other big names from around the league, to feature in trade talks as teams look to load up for the stretch run of the MLB season.

NFL training camp, cross your fingers

The season before the season is beginning for all 32 NFL teams this week. Some sqauds have already had rookies report, but all teams’ veterans will report between July 29 and Aug. 1.

The Carolina Panthers will again hold their training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, with all players reporting on July 30.

It seems every year there are several injuries that can get a season off track before it begins (current injury report). Last year’s crop included Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee (torn ACL, out for season) and New York Giants receiver and eventual rookie of the year Odell Beckham Jr. (hamstring injury, missed first four games).

Keep your fingers crossed that your team can avoid the bug.

Special Olympics a sight to behold

Did you notice the Google Doodle starting on July 24? That wasn’t for the Pan Am games (which ended on Sunday), it was for the Special Olympics World Games, held every two years – this one in Los Angeles.

The event is significant in many respects. This is the first time the games (beginning in 1968) have been held inside the United States since 1999. Every one prior to 1999 had been in a U.S. city. It is also the largest sporting event held in L.A. since the 1984 Olympic Games, according to the event’s official website.

Billed as “the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event,” the games began on July 24 and run through Aug. 2. TV coverage will shuffle between ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.

Of note

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans will be back in town through July 30. They finish up a series Monday with the Carolina Mudcats before beginning a three-game set with the Potomac Nationals. All four games have 7:05 p.m. starts and are broadcast live on 1450-AM.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "On Your Mark: MLB trade deadline, NFL training camps and Special Olympics to highlight week."