If it hasn’t hit you that the summer of 2012 has been passing by with startling speed, this should make the point — the Cincinnati Bengals begin training camp on Friday.

It’s that time of year again, as the saying goes, but it’s always that time of year in the new age of sports and media. ESPN runs its “NFL Live” program every afternoon of every weekday. Every one of its fewer and fewer news shows feature the league prominently, while more and more of the increasingly analytical shows and segments talk incessantly about the league.

Which means that league never stops, which isn’t a bad thing if you live and die for the NFL.

Or live and die with the Bengals. So in honor of the return of the boys in stripes, here are predictions for this football season.

• Whatever goodwill last year’s playoff run generated, the Mike Brown family will do something startlingly stupid in its dealings with the county to erase it. It could be arguing over a new scoreboard system, or some contracted obligation to paint all the parking lot stripes white instead of yellow, the Brown family never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. After all, it’s in the contract.
• Even with a dream schedule of home opponents that include multiple Mannings, the Dallas Cowboys and the return of Carson Palmer, the team will still struggle to sell home seats. This will lead to multiple radio talk show hosts going to the air and lamenting the fans who would rather watch at home with the game in high definition. These same same talk show hosts will have no problem sitting in the press box during each game.
• At least one person will call a local sports talk show and say the team should trade for Chad Johnson.

Good luck this season, boys. And remember to play well, because as Jerry Glanville once said, the NFL means “not for long.”