Today is an exciting day, because the NFL will be in full gear.

I know the regular season officially started Thursday night in Seattle, but a Sunday just feels like the official kickoff day. I know that a majority of people in our area cheer for the New Orleans Saints or other teams, but we all we glued to our favorite big screen to catch all of the week one action today.

It is also hard to believe that we are also in the final month of Major League Baseball regular season, and the World Series will be here soon. I have always liked football, but I absolutely love baseball. The races in each division are almost decided, but there are still a few teams to watch closely as we reach the home stretch.

I also know that everyone on the campus here at Meridian Community College is keeping our eyes on several former MCC stars that are playing at the top level in professional baseball. We have well documented the success of Cliff Lee in the past, and the 2014 season has not gone so well for the former Cy Young Award winner.

Lee missed much of the first half of the season with issues with his elbow and that injury has ultimately forced him to sit out the remainder of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies. I know that this will be a minor setback for Lee and we will see him back on the mound next season enjoying the same success from seasons past.

The most exciting former MCC star that has made the most noise is Corey Dickerson with the Colorado Rockies. Dickerson has made the most of his playing time with the last place Rockies in the National League West and is making a very strong case to be an everyday player.

Dickerson continued to swing a hot bat earlier this week in a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants by bashing a pair of home runs in the victory. The former All-American at MCC had 22 home runs and 68 RBI’s heading into this weekend. Dickerson has made the most of his time as a regular player as of late for Colorado after several key injuries in the outfield. Dickerson was always known for his power hitting at MCC, and this season he is currently batting .311 for the Rockies.

I got excited because I was out eating with my wife earlier this week when our eyes drifted toward the televisions in the bar area, and that is when we saw both of his home runs during Baseball Tonight on ESPN. I got super excited of course, and it makes you very proud to see a great young man do so well at the Major League level. I am not sure what the future will hold for Dickerson with the Rockies in 2015, but he is making it very difficult for manager Walt Weiss to keep on the bench for most of the season.

Former MCC star Tyler Moore also made a return to the Major League level earlier this week as the Washington Nationals recalled him for the final month of the season. Moore won the NJCAA National Player of the Year Award while he was at MCC and he has bounced back and forth between both levels for the past few seasons. We are also proud of what he has accomplished at the big league level and he could be a valuable asset for the Nationals down the home stretch in the National League East.

I know it is hard to focus on baseball while we are in the beginning stages of football, but I just wanted to give a quick update on our former MCC stars. It always gets me excited to talk about these guys as they leave their foot prints at the big level of baseball. I hope everyone enjoys week one of the NFL, and Who Dat!

Robby Atkinson is the sports information director at Meridian Community College.