It’s September. There’s a lot to like about September.

College football has started, and NFL football is right around the corner. (Preseason NFL football doesn’t count. I like good football, not bad football. Preseason football is bad football … very bad football.)

Fans here in Ohio are very excited as Urban Meyer takes over as the Ohio State head coach. Ideally Jim Tressel would still be leading the Buckeyes, but Meyer is as good of a replacement as the Buckeyes could hope for. He’s won everywhere he’s been and has a couple national championships to his name. While Ohio State can’t play in the postseason this year, the Buckeyes still should be strong this year and are poised for a great 2013 season.

On the NFL side fans in Ohio are excited about the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The Bengals are looking for another playoff run while the Browns are excited about a young core of talent. My favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings, aren’t looking so good, though.

Darke County resident Shaun Suisham is set to begin another year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers should be strong again, like they almost always are, so it should be interesting to see how Suisham and his teammates do.

The MLB playoff races also are heating up. The Cincinnati Reds are in the lead in the National League Central and look poised for another shot at the postseason, as long as they don’t have a massive collapse like the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox a year ago.

Craig Stammen and his Washington National teammates also in the playoff hunt. The Nationals have been one of baseball’s strongest teams all year. Who knows, we could end up seeing Stammen pitching in Cincinnati during a playoff game.

High school sports also are in full swing. Plus there are other big events in the county such as the state horseshoe pitching tournament and the upcoming Tour de Donut in Arcanum.

Outside of sports the weather is getting cooler, which is nice. It’s great when there’s a bite in the air, just enough that a hoodie is all you need.

There are negatives of fall such as the constant politicking going on. I would prefer it is Obama and Romney would leave us alone for another six weeks, but they’ve been going at it for months already, and it’s only going to get worse.

But overall there’s a lot to like about the fall. Football is back and baseball is getting really compelling. There’s a lot to like.

Kyle Shaner is the sports editor for The Daily Advocate. He can be reached at kshaner@dailyadvocate.com.