Musings and mutterings from sizzling-hot Okinawa as the fireworks and the mercury in the thermometer rise almost as quickly as the price at the pump:

-- Boy, is it nice to see the Firecracker Shootout Interservice Softball Tournament return to life on Okinawa over the July 4th holiday weekend. Fourteen men's teams and seven women's duked it out for Pacificwide honors, with seven teams -- a third of the total field -- coming from South Korea alone. Not only a shot at bragging rights, but also a last-chance proving ground for players seeking invitations to their respective All-Service tryout camps.

-- It didn't take long for Gerrard Barnes, Pacific Air Forces basketball legend as a player and coach, to put a Pacificwide invitational tournament on the map after his return to Andersen Air Force Base in February. Osan Air Base walked away with the gold in the 2008 Summer Slam tournament, beating the Guam Senior National Team which has almost as many accolades on its roster as Barnes holds, including three PACAF tournament titles in the 1980s.

-- As the Summer Slam was getting started, soccer addicts also got their share of tournament glory as the Kadena Kup revived June 27-29 after a three-year absence due to budget cuts and support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom -- the same factors that wiped the Firecracker off the map for four years. Get some more off-island teams here to sub-tropical paradise and the Firecracker and Kadena Kup can really take off.

-- Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam!