At this time next week we’ll all be watching college football. Carry on.

NFL training camps have started and it’s usually the time when reporters and coaches say which players has impressed them with their performance so far. But this year is different.

The story of NFL training camp so far is the large number of fights between players during practices. At the start of training camp, Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant got into a fight with teammate Tyler Patmon. On Saturday, during a joint practice between the Houston Texans and the Washington Redskins, two large fights broke out between players from both teams. The fights halted practice and eventually the two teams practiced separate from one another. Then on Monday, Carolina Panthers franchise quarterback Cam Newton got into a fight with teammate and cornerback Josh Norman after an interception. Today, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith got into a fist-fight with teammate IK Enemkpali in the team locker room. A punch by Enemkpali broke Smith’s jaw and it was announced that Smith would miss 6-10 weeks recovering from surgery. Enemkpali was released by the team after the fight.

Teammates getting into fights at training camp is not a new thing. We see it happen every year and brush it off as players expressing their aggression. Younger players and players trying to make the team get into fights to stick up for themselves and try to earn respect. But players and coaches should be careful with fights in training camp. Small scuffles between two players is ok, but when it turns into a WWE fight like most of these examples have been, there is a huge problem. Notable players could get hurt and miss a significant amount of time, a possibility that was proven today. Fans love these fights and view them as entertaining, but the coaches of these teams view fights as counterproductive. Jets head coach Todd Bowles called todays fight “childish.” Soon, the coaches or even the league will have to do something about these fights.

The annual NFL Hall of Fame preseason game took place yesterday. This years matchup featured the Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburg Steelers, which the Vikings won by a score of 14-3. The game is the first preseason football game of the year and takes place in a high school stadium right next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on the weekend of the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Although star players don’t play a lot (if at all) and we see backups play most of the game, it’s an exciting event because it signifies one thing: football season has officially started!!

Preseason games for all 32 NFL teams start on Thursday and run through Sunday. There will be football on every weekend from now until February. Football fans, get excited because we’ve made it through a long offseason and now it’s time to watch some football!

On Monday, Jacksonville Jaguars General Manager David Caldwell said that he believes wide receiver Justin Blackmon’s football career is over. Blackmon was expected to be the Jaguars future franchise receiver.

Blackmon was a gifted four sport star in high school, playing football, basketball, baseball, and track. Football was his best, and he eventually received a scholarship to play football at Oklahoma State University. He was a three year starter on the Cowboys and twice won the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best wide receiver in college football. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the fifth overall pick in 2012 NFL Draft.

However, two months after he was drafted he was arrested in Oklahoma and was charged with DUI. He was released later that day. During his rookie year in 2012 he played in all 16 Jaguars games and started 14 of them. He was able to record 865 receiving yards and scored 5 touchdowns. In April 2013, he was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the 2013 season for violating the league’s Substance Abuse Policy. After serving the suspension, Blackmon played in four games and was able to record 415 receiving yards and a touchdown before being suspended indefinitely by the league for again violating the Substance Abuse Policy. Blackmon again ran into trouble in the offseason when he was arrested in July 2014 for possession of marijuana. Blackmon didn’t play at all during the 2014 season and in May of 2015 he was denied reinstatement by the NFL, meaning he would miss the entire 2015 season as well.

Blackmon hasn’t practiced or played football since week 8 of the 2013 NFL season, meaning it is unlikely he will attempt a comeback.  If he does, it is extremely unlikely he will be the same type of player he once was. Even the Jaguars GM thinks Blackmon’s career is most likely over. Sadly, it looks like Blackmon’s talent will be wasted thanks to his substance abuse problem.

Blackmon’s story should be taken as a cautionary tale for young athletes. This story proves that even the athletes with the most talent can see their careers disappear before their eyes if they’re not smart and get too deeply involved with alcohol or drugs, even if it’s something like marijuana. Marijuana is still against the substance policies for most sports programs, so why would athletes want to do it if they know it can jeopardize their playing careers? Coaches and teachers should be teaching their players more about staying away from things that can end their careers way before it should, using Blackmon’s story as a prime example. Blackmon himself has an opportunity to make something good come out of his situation. He could go around and speak to young athletes about his experiences, and how they shouldn’t make the same mistakes he did. It could have a huge impact on a future superstar athlete if he or she heard Blackmon say, “Don’t be like me. Stay away from things that can harm your career. It may be too late for me but it’s not too late for you.”

American Pharoah won the Haskell Invitational yesterday in Oceanport, New Jersey. It was the racehorse’s eighth straight racing victory and was the first race the horse ran since winning the Belmont Stakes on June 6. American Pharoah also won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in the weeks prior to the Belmont. By winning all three races, he became the first racehorse to win the coveted Triple Crown in 37 years.

American Pharoah was born on February 2, 2012 in Lexington, Kentucky. He is an offspring of the racehorse Pioneerof the Nile, who finished in 2nd place at the 2009 Kentucky Derby. His breeder/owner is Ahmed Zayat and his trainer is legendary horse racing trainer Bob Baffert. His first career race was on August 9, 2014 in Del Mar, California, where he finished in fifth place. He hasn’t lost a race since, winning the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes in 2014 and the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby in 2015 before winning the Triple Crown. By winning the Haskell Invitational, he also accomplished the horse racing “grand slam.” In most of his victories, American Pharoah won by very wide margins and has been jockeyed by Victor Espinoza since his Del Mar victory in 2014.

Horse racing has not seen a horse this dominant in decades. American Pharoah is planned to race a few more times in 2015 before retiring. Horse racing fans should cherish and enjoy these races because it could be a long time before we see another living legend like him compete again.