The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT August 18, 2010

Just in case you're wondering, I don't know where the summer went either.

It seems like just a few weeks ago I was watching the Coeur d'Alene Vikings defeat the Lewiston Bengals at the Idaho Center for their third straight state 5A high school girls basketball championship.

SOCCER FIELDS around the area will feature games for the first time that count since last October as local high school soccer teams take the field on Friday.

Not far behind, football teams take the field once again when Lake City travels to Lakeland next Friday. Coeur d'Alene and Timberlake will open the season on the road as the Vikings take on Moscow and Timberlake waits until Saturday, Aug. 28 to travel to Montana to face Libby.

The North Idaho College soccer teams will open on Bill Eisenwinter Field with Western Wyoming on Saturday, Aug. 28.

NIC's volleyball team will hit the road as the season begins with a tournament at the College of Southern Idaho.

Each team will play its share of tough games, both home and away, but this is the time for most teams to be optimistic.

HIGH SCHOOL volleyball teams will have to work a little harder once they get to the state tournament, with an opening loss costing them a shot at a state title.

In previous seasons, teams could play their way back through the consolation bracket, but not anymore after the IHSAA passed a motion earlier this month in an attempt to save money.

There is a bright side to the switch, as opening round matches on Friday could be some of best played of the tournament.

Those eight teams in each classification will have to be on their game from the time they get off the bus until the net comes down at the conclusion of the tournament.

IT WOULD not be training camp in the NFL for me without quarterback Brett Favre flip-flopping on whether to play.

Two weeks ago, Favre had announced he was going to retire, walking away from the Minnesota Vikings just a year after getting them to the NFC Championship game.

The following day, he denied the whole report, adding that he hadn't made up his mind quite yet. Just a few days after opening the preseason against the St. Louis Rams, the reports flowed in that some of Favre's teammates weren't at practice on Tuesday, and instead on a flight to Mississippi to try to convince him to come back.

An hour later, Favre was rumored on a flight to Minneapolis and then lurking around the Vikings practice facility.

A press conference has been called for today, most likely to announce he's returning for a 20th season in the NFL.

There are plenty of signs to the start of the fall sports season - the sound of whistles on a football field or volleyball court. That or if you see a future Hall of Famer throwing footballs to a group of high school players - it's about to count for something again.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached via telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020, or by e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.